Some Future Day

Marc Beckman: Jessica Williams, it's so nice to see you. Thank you for joining me on some future day. How are you today?
Jessica Williams: I'm wonderful. Thanks for having me. So lovely to be here.
Marc Beckman: Uh, this is really an exciting conversation For me as you know Retail has been a big part of my life. Not just as a Avid shopper, but also as a marketer who exists in the retail and fashion space. So it's really great to see you. I'm really looking forward to getting into it with you today, but let's start with your background.
I know that you too have a ton of experience as it relates to fashion, lifestyle, retail, and beyond. Tell everybody a little bit about your background and where you come from.
Jessica Williams: Sure. Um, I've been in marketing, gosh, 20 plus years now. Uh, I started in, as in marketing measurement, like way back in the day when social platforms were first starting, um, and spent quite a few years at Visa in a number of different roles. That's sort of like my foray into. Big brand marketing. I started in their marketing measurement department and then did a lot of rollout.
Across product marketing, um, e commerce marketing back when visa checkout was a thing, and then ended in their partnerships and sponsorships department, um, really focused on large partnerships like Uber and Airbnb along with. The sponsorships, FIFA, NFL, um, the Olympics, and others. Uh, I then red pilled into Web3 for a couple of years.
Um, started when I was at Visa, given their role in Building blockchain technology and just thinking about the future of how money moves over blockchain. Um, went to Coinbase for about three years and led their partnerships team. Really focused on the intersection of Web3 and fashion, sports, technology, music.
Um, I feel like we were a little ahead of our time there. Um, some of the things that we dreamed up at the time are just now coming to fruition. But It was both a lovely time in crypto and a very tough time in crypto and started in like the highs of the bull market and Left in the depths of the bear so happy to see it coming back But really it just learned a lot there around working for founder led brands at the forefront of technology You know, leading the way, um, and really focused on, you know, a core mission and vision, um, which is what led me to Shopify.
Uh, I run the brand and partnerships team here, uh, which, um, encompasses quite a few things, but, um, mostly what we are focused on is inspiring the next generation of entrepreneurs to think about entrepreneurship, so growing the category of, Business building and entrepreneurship, but then also to um, love shopify and think about us as You know their um right hand chief of staff best friend marketing manager as they're building their business shopify does all of those things um And it's been great.
I've been here about a year and a half. I love the mission. I truly love working for founder led brands Um, and I do think we're on the forefront of the next wave of commerce and technology
Marc Beckman: Yeah, Shopify really is on the forefront, but you know, it's clear to me that your career has been on the forefront of fashion and marketing. So I can't let you jump away from your history just yet because it's really compelling. Like, for example, on the Visa vertical, Visa is an old trusted brand. And, you know, obviously at the center.
Of so many transactions, but you highlighted a couple of partnerships on the sponsorship side that are best in class like fifa I'm curious do sponsorships like that in your opinion still matter?
Jessica Williams: Yes, um, yes, I'm the biggest advocate of partnerships and sponsorships when they make sense for the business but visa does them better than anyone because they've built these relationships over the course of 20 plus years But also because there is a huge roi for visa Visa is the only card accepted at the olympics meaning that you cannot pay with cash or with a master card You have to have a visa card.
Um, so they have sort of like reverse atms where you can put cash in and get A visa card back but everything's going over the rails. Um, so this is like big business for them Um for some of the other things like visa getting into new categories when you think about visa I think sports comes to mind just given all of the partnerships there But while I was there, we also started a new york fashion week partnership.
Um, I saw that they just rolled out some new Advertisements during the oscars the other night like really thinking about the way that people associate the visa brand It's got a hundred percent awareness in Um the u. s
Marc Beckman: amazing
Jessica Williams: But, you know, thinking about how you're choosing which card you use, oftentimes it's because of loyalty and you know, what's coming with that.
But if you're Gen Z sort of moving into the world of credit cards and you're thinking about what you want, you do have a choice. And if Visa is there supporting the gaming industry, they're supporting the fashion industry, they're supporting the Um, you know, arts industry and the film industry, you're going to think about Visa a little different than, um, if you didn't have those partnerships and you didn't see them in those spaces supporting your favorite designers or your favorite filmmakers.
Um, it really does, like, present an authenticity and a connection that you would not otherwise get without the partnerships.
Marc Beckman: It's interesting when you talk about Gen Z because like every generation, but even more so with Gen Z, they are so tied into the digital realm. Everything they're doing is digital these days from academia to socialization, to listening to music and watching films. So as you transition through your career and you have that big moment in time, that three year block with Coinbase, do you think that the Gen Z, um, uh, population now or the Gen Z shopper is ready or, or fully understands the value proposition and using cryptocurrency and digital assets versus credit cards.
Jessica Williams: No, absolutely not. But I do think that You know, physical cash could go away and no one would know the difference. Like, I don't think Gen Z or even me, like, touches cash anymore. Um, I pay my dog walkers through Venmo. I pay my, you know, bills through a credit card. I pay, you know, every, I mean, ACH is like a dying business, but still there for some.
But I do think You know, a lot of the Coinbase marketing that I think was so well done, and this was after I left, but Kate Rau, who led the marketing team there before she went to OpenAI, is a brilliant creative brain. And, you know, the agencies that they had support in them. It was all about showing The, just how backwards our financial system is today, how long it takes to send a wire transfer, how long it takes to get your money after you've sold a stock, like how long it takes to move money.
Um, and crypto is instant. And I think that will be the thing that really helps, not just, um, for folks that are here sending money back home to other countries, but really thinking about, um, I don't want to pay fees for sending my money places, and I want to be able to pay the way I want to pay, and like crypto is just another very transparent.
Very fast way. So I do think those, um, commercials that launched over the last, you know, year or so, that really hone in on fees, um, and speed are, you know, the most interesting part about crypto.
Marc Beckman: All right. So let's bring it back to Shopify. Our original goal, uh, you articulated Shopify's mission, but I'm curious from your perspective, how has the mission evolved? I know that when I first learned about Shopify, I was like, wow, this is a real convenient utility and you highlighted a couple of the features just now, but it's so much bigger than just a convenient utility.
It's so much more for than, you know, a tool for entrepreneurs who are starting off. What has happened to the mission of Shopify today?
Jessica Williams: Um, well, the mission for Shopify is different, a little bit different than, um, For my team personally, but it really is for all of us like, you know If you don't wake up thinking about this I can Toby will know and you will be gone. This is What he breathes and lives every day, but it's really to make commerce better for everyone And to empower, you know individuals and businesses to achieve this independence by simplifying the processes that would, would take to really running and growing the business.
And that is honestly like mission from day one and rings true still today. Now, the tools have changed and some of the barriers have changed and you know, the places that we need to make those connections to make commerce easier, but it really is just to make commerce better for everyone and to grow really this idea of like.
You know, anyone can be an entrepreneur, um, with the right tools. So that is what we're all dedicated to here. Everyone from, um, you know, our deepest ML and AI engineers all the way to, you know, us, us on the brand marketing team to try to sell that story to the world. Um, but you know, the tools have grown exponentially over the years, whether it's mobile.
Or analytics, or AI assistance, or the plugins that we have, um, I know we'll probably talk about it later, but, you know, we are the back end to all of the social commerce that's happening, whether it's on Instagram or TikTok Shop, um, you know, that all is fueled by Shopify, so it
Marc Beckman: didn't realize
Jessica Williams: becomes, yeah, the, I mean, we're the second largest commerce platform in the world, by a long shot, you know, second only to Amazon, um, so, and I don't think that many people know it because, You know, unless you've got that purple shop pay button on there, which everyone does know, uh, then, you know, it's really about the brands that we're helping to build.
Marc Beckman: So let's talk about that for a second. If we look at the nexus between the brand and the consumer, you're focused on the entire ecosystem, right? Shopify isn't just thinking about how to make the experience better for the brands, but also how to enhance the experience for the user, for the consumer. So starting with the consumer, because we are all consumers, everybody listening.
To this show right now is certainly purchasing product. What is going on with regards to shopping? How will you, how will Shopify enhance the shopping experience for consumers? Let's say over the next short term, 12 to 18 months, but then what do you see evolving in the next two, three years?
Jessica Williams: Yeah, I mean, it is everything that we're building is both useful to the consumer as well as to the merchant. But, um, I think our biggest play in the consumer world, well, a couple of things. Um, one shop app, which, um, I'm sure all of you have on your phone, even if you don't know it, is that purple app, um, that many use to track their packages.
But it is also an interface for consumer shopping, and we are very much focused on making that the best platform, um, to surface up maybe businesses you've never heard of, but have products that you're looking for, um, and really make that a personalized experience within the app. Um, for a long time, it's on a hundred million phones, uh, in the world.
Yeah, and we just launched, I think, in four or five new countries. Um, and it's an amazing marketing tool for merchants, um, because of the exposure that it has on consumer, uh, devices, but it's also an amazing shopping experience. If you know, it's tailored the right way and you're using it the right way. Um, we also have a.
Internal currency called shop cash that comes as a result of, you know, marketing plans that we make with specific merchants that, you know, become a real tool for consumers to get. Exposed to your business and perhaps get you know a discount on something that might otherwise, you know be out of their price range So that's the first one.
I think the second one is truly the shop pay button and we got some research back recently that Even when it isn't used for checkout shop pay converts at like 10 percent better for every merchant that has the shop pay button on their website because it is such a No, like well known Sort of safety factor for people.
Oh, if it's got the button, I know I'm on a Shopify site and I know that I'm gonna be, you know, I can trust this merchant. Um, I'm gonna get my goods, um, I'm gonna be able to track my package. So that particularly is such a good consumer facing tool, but also a tool for merchants. Um, and then I think the other one is we have this incredible, um.
Mass of small businesses that have niche products that people want. And right now, unless, you know, they're, and all of them do, uh, you know, unless you're doing really wonderful targeting on TikTok shop or Instagram, it's hard to get into people's feeds to sort of see a new business. Um, but even if this person really wants this.
And so what we are, um, working on is a bit more of functionality around being able to. You know, search within the Shopify ecosystem for a business you're looking for or being served up a merchant that you might not know about, but because we know, you know, about your shopping behavior, like we think you will like this.
So a little more on the personalization side within the Shopify ecosystem, which I think will be a major benefit to consumers.
Marc Beckman: So that's amazing. Those are like so many attributes that frankly, I wasn't, I'm aware of them, but I didn't realize that, uh, Shopify was boosting them. Um, on the, on the, uh, merchant side, on the retail, on the, uh, brand side, tell me, uh, what kind of benefits you're bringing to that side of the equation.
Jessica Williams: I mean,
Marc Beckman: know you hit on some of
Jessica Williams: yeah, I mean, that really is like the bread and butter of the business. It's what everyone here is focused on. I think the big ones are, you know, AI assistance in the same way that, you know, creatives have so many tools at their fingertips now to support them as they, you know, think about mood boarding and, um, you know, building out creative ideas like Shopify.
Is also that, um, so product descriptions, background images, uh, anything that you can think about that a small business owner might not have access to in the same way an enterprise does with photo shoots or, you know, a product marketing team, we want to be that for them. And so the tools, um, under this umbrella called magic, uh, are really just exponentially.
growing every day to make entrepreneurship easier. Um, and that really is from like day one. You are starting a business and you're starting from square one. How can we make it so much easier for you? And, um, you know, a lot of this stuff is fairly simple, you know, but makes it so much easier to get the shop up to advance your shop to make better product descriptions that will Surface better in seo like we think about all of the back end stuff that you would need in order to really grow this business Um exponentially that includes things like taxes international shipping Um, we make all those things so much easier.
Um, Right within the platform versus having to use all these separate plugins And then, of course, the Shopify ecosystem is massive, and so many businesses are built with Shopify in mind. Um, you know, everything from like SMS, um, you know, messaging to Align to your CRM plan, to international shipping, we get the best rates for merchants, to, um, you know, you want to grow the B2B side of your business, we have that all inclusive of the admin that you get with Shopify, so that you can grow your wholesale business alongside your consumer facing business.
Marc Beckman: So let's talk about that for a minute. Uh, the admin piece of it specifically, because what you're talking about, it seems like there's just such a plethora of amazing u amazing and innovative utility. You're talking about ai, you're talking about content creation, you're talking about data analytics. I mean, it goes on and on and on.
Incredible. But how do I learn how to use all of it? How do I operate it? How do I take advantage of it really as a, as a customer of Shopify.
Jessica Williams: I mean, it's really a step change in like, if you are a day one entrepreneur, we're not going to put all of these things in front of you. It is really like, choose a theme, choose a plan. Do you have a product to sell? And um, you know, again, like Shopify is used for businesses that have. 5, 000 SKUs all the way to um, Harley was just on stage with Kat Cole from AG, uh, Athletic Greens at NRF not too long ago and you know, I mean Athletic Greens is a billion dollar business with one SKU.
You could just buy one thing You know, you know, it is really truly from a day one entrepreneur where we're really just stepping you into how do I use this platform the best of my ability to sell my one product and we have a ton that are just really in that like You know under 1 million a year revenue, um, but growing a business alongside maybe a content creation business or a drop shipping business or you know, they've just moved over from Etsy or Ebay, where it was sort of like a niche business, and now they're ready to scale, it really is for everyone.
We've got a massive enterprise business, where enterprises are realizing that their legacy commerce platforms aren't going to keep up with the technology that is, you know, arising every day, but Shopify will, and so they're making the move over to Shopify as well. So it really is the, like a fully flexible platform that can grow with you from day one entrepreneur all the way to enterprise.
Marc Beckman: So I know you mentioned Athletic Greens, but is it possible to point to a few North Stars as far as brands go that are really using or showcasing all of these attributes that that Shopify offers? Are there two or three websites that you could point to and say, like, check it out. These are really, really great examples of Shopify full throttle.
Jessica Williams: Yeah, I mean, the businesses that we always point to is like, here's what, you know, here's day one businesses that have grown with Shopify skims is a great example. Jim shark is a great example. I mean, the founder of Jim shark was one of our original build a business owners back in the day when we did this competition, they built Jim shark submitted it to Shopify for this build a business one, the competition and now billion dollar business, you know, with One of the largest, um, you know, real life events.
They do these gym events and hundreds of thousands of people go. I mean, it is a wild, wild business, but that is a North star for us. As far as like, here's what's possible with the tools that,
Marc Beckman: Skims and Gymshark are incredible.
Jessica Williams: um, denim tears is another one that uses sort of the flexibility of the creative tools that, um, we have on Shopify.
They use a, um, a technology that we call headless. So they really are able to. build their own creative system on top of the Shopify technology. You don't have to just build into the themes that we have. Like you can bring your own creative system to the platform. Um, and they have an incredibly creative team.
It's a massive, um, sort of cultural streetwear business. Um, but their website is. Amazing and truly like a work of art Uh, so another good one as far as like the the flexibility of the technology And then there's hundreds of others. Um, you know, my friends run a business called east side golf. It started as a you know, small Culture based brand is now growing exponentially They are shipping internationally now, and that was a big You know, hardship for them.
They didn't want to pay, you know, the large international shipping fees. It was going to cut into their margins, um, but found a really flexible opportunity with Shopify where they can now ship internationally to, you know, a number of countries and still keep the margins that they had using our, um, you know, international shipping prices.
They're also using the B to B platform. So they just started selling into dicks and a couple of other like wholesalers and they can use our B to B side of the platform to do so. there's a.
Marc Beckman: that work? Are you saying the B2B platform allows for emerging brands to sell like big retailers like Dick's? Is that how they found each other?
Jessica Williams: Um, they didn't find each other through the platform, but what it allows them to do is take their inventory from the warehouses in the same way that they're pulling inventory from the consumer side of the business. They can have people order from that same, whether it's the same inventory or a separate inventory, but it works the same way as the consumer platform.
A wholesaler can go in there, order their goods from the Shopify platform. Then we build them in the same way that you would get a, you know, a checkout page. And they can check out right there on the platform and then it ships in the same way. Um, so that it is a truly like all in one commerce platform and you don't have to have a separate B2B business where you're doing things the old fashioned way where, you know, someone has to like log into a legacy B2B platform.
You then have to send them a, you know, a bill. They are sending you some sort of like wire transfer, ACH. It's really done in the same way that we would do any sort of consumer facing, um, interaction on the sales
Marc Beckman: So, so I gotta ask you. So if I'm starting a new business today, let's say I, uh, starting, I'm, I'm going to launch a, uh, magic marker business, just making it up, obviously. And I wanted to. Connect with somebody at Shopify to teach me all of this. Is there some kind of support system or an agent that I could access at Shopify?
Because you are telling me so much that I don't know. And like your knowledge is literally worth probably billions of dollars. Right? I mean, it's really incredible what you're offering. So how could people take advantage of it now that this has turned into a Shopify
Jessica Williams: I mean, well, first of all, you can email me directly. Just jessica. williams at shopify. com. I will help anyone who emails me. But, um, we have so many educational tools on our website. I mean, it is literally chock full of everything, plus communities there where, um, Literally day one entrepreneurs will go and ask questions to folks that have been in this business forever We also have agents that are in that community platform helping people Um, our youtube library is chock full of how to get started We have partner agencies that you know, if you need someone to design the website, you know, you'll get Better rates coming from, you know, an agency that we typically work with.
Again, the Shopify ecosystem is so massive and there have been so many businesses that are just built on how to grow a Shopify store. Um, the, the resources are endless, but honestly just go to Shopify. com and they will all be linked there. And, um, I promise you it is much, much easier than, um, you might think.
Marc Beckman: That's so encouraging. Really, really congratulations. Incredible what you have built and your team has
Jessica Williams: Certainly like Toby and the rest of the crew, there are a ton of people at Shopify that have been here since day one. It's actually really fun to be there because there's so many amazing stories of like growing the business and growing it in Canada, which is, you know, different. There's not a ton of massive, you know, tech platform success stories in Canada.
Um, and Toby has really built something incredible. Um, that's useful for people all over the world, but certainly like a massive Canadian success story.
Marc Beckman: so it seems like everybody can have an e com platform now and it seems like you're even unlocking all of this S com. Um, so with this You know, advent of tools and and access to technology, I would imagine come new problems and new challenges. So here we are still in the first quarter of 2025. Big shopping season is in the fourth quarter.
What kinds of problems do you anticipate in the e commerce in the e commerce realm? Uh, in the next, you know, two, three quarters. If any.
Jessica Williams: I, I won't get into this, but obviously tariffs will have a big impact on,
Marc Beckman: Tariffs.
Jessica Williams: tariffs, not our business, but certainly the businesses on Shopify, which, you know, in turn has an impact on our business. So the, the new administration and the tariffs will certainly, you know, be something to watch for a lot of the businesses on Shopify because many of the products that, you know, they import or, you know, print on or whatever it may be come from some of the countries, um, that are being.
Tariffed, taxed, um, at a, quite a high rate. Um, I think some of the other things is just like the technology is moving so fast. And I think when you're a small business owner, um, it's hard to keep up with that stuff. And so you just, you know, finish getting your Instagram commerce connection done. And now there's millions to be made on TikTok shop.
But how do I do that with just a four person team? And now I need to think about an AI shopping agent. And how do I do that with just a Four person shopping team and how do I do it with a chat bot, you know instead of a customer service team So I think the technology is just moving incredibly fast and that is really tough to keep up with So again, it's something that we hope to take the pressure off of with a lot of the merchants on Shopify and that we are Keeping up with the technology so you don't necessarily have to All of the plugins that, you know, you can get through the Shopify app store, make it easier so that you don't have to do your own research.
Like we're not going to partner with a company that hasn't passed a million trust and safety, um, thresholds. Uh, so you know that if you're using attentive for your SMS that we've vetted attentive and that this is a company that we trust and you can trust. Um, you know, the TikTok shop integration, like we're not going to integrate with a platform that isn't.
Making sure that you're getting your shipments that you know, isn't you making sure that you're getting your refunds? And so, you know, our relationship with tiktok is so strong because so many of those tiktok shops plug right into shopify Um, so there's a lot of things like that where we hope to make it easier But I really do think that's the number one problem is that marketing is so hard now.
It's not just seo and it's not just You know, content on, you know, your social channels, it is literally everything everywhere and it's moving at the speed that I don't think we've seen before.
Marc Beckman: So what do you think brands need to do from a top line perspective? If they want to optimize sales, where should they market? How do they do it?
Jessica Williams: I mean, I think social commerce is where everything is going and that is the number one place that I would go to. Um, you know, whether it's TikTok shop or Instagram. It's really the number one discovery platform to help I mean certainly make sure your shop is on the shop app as well because we do a lot of discovery opportunities there, but um, I mean we've seen businesses 100x that are on Shopify because they did a live stream during black friday cyber monday you know with a couple of sales and we're able to You know just crush previous revenue projections.
Um, I really do think this move into live shopping is a massive one Um, whether it's to talk shop or whatnot, is this amazing growing platform, you know, where people can get rid of excess inventory through these live shopping opportunities. Um, I think the other thing is that, you know, we see this move from, you know, content to commerce.
Uh, I do think, um, while it's not for everyone, that making sure that you're thinking about whether it's outside influencers as part of your content strategy, I mean, Every single person now, I think the data is at least up to like 75 or 80 percent of people in the U. S. have taken an influencer's recommendation and bought a physical product.
Um, whether it's micro influencers or, you know, if you're a bigger business, um, macro ones, they're so important. And even as a merchant to create content that is discoverable on your Instagram or on your TikTok so that, you know, people know who you are, they know your story, and they feel more comfortable purchasing.
Marc Beckman: So let's hang out on the s commerce piece for a second. Just let's break it down. Like, my agency has a lot of high profile celebrities and they're always like, we wanna launch something. And the other side, we have a lot of brands that manufacture product, but they don't have the high profile of the celebrity.
So, for example, we have one client who is a jewelry, that is a, a jewelry company. Um, but they really sell their jewelry as if it's a commodity. And they're asking us. Connect us with a celebrity. We want to sell. We're finding it to be cumbersome to build, um, separate e comm sites for every celebrity. It still is, even with your features, it's cumbersome.
It takes time. You got to get it perfect from a branding perspective and it could be expensive. Then somebody wants to operate it. But some of these celebrities, celebrities are coming with massive audiences on both Instagram. So if we wanted to take that jewelry company and let's say launch one SKU on.
Uh, the s commerce vertical. How best to do it? Is that possible? Is it easy to execute? What needs to be done now?
Jessica Williams: I mean, well, this question about like celebrities and creators and commerce is one I'm fascinated by. Um, and I love because I don't think every celebrity and creator needs to. create their own product from scratch. I think there's so many opportunities now where we see celebrities coming on the cap table for businesses that they, you know, are authentically connected to or feel passionate about where they can 10x, you know, that company because of their Audience engagement distribution, but they don't necessarily need it doesn't need to be the celebrities business.
It is Um, I think archer ruse is a great example. It's a you know, a canned wine company My friend conley is the cmo they partnered with Oh god, I'm gonna totally forget her name. Uh, oh god, uh, they partnered with a celebrity. I'm gonna remember her Elizabeth Banks Um where she didn't create the company but she's the face of the company because she loves the wine and she thinks this is a great category to be in and so You know She invested in the business and now is part of the content strategy and is in all of the commercials and on the billboards But it wasn't like her idea from the get go and she didn't need to build that So I do think there's a lot of different partner models that are happening now Um, you know, I think there's a lot of amazing creator led businesses that are funded from, um, companies like Whaler who know the creator space better than anybody.
And they're sort of pairing these business models with a creator who cares about this. Um, and so I think there's a bunch of different things happening, but, um, I do think the celebrity creator. Owned businesses are the next billion dollar brands for the same reasons I mentioned before It's really hard to have discovery or distribution In today's world without a built in audience.
And so those who have a built in audience are already much more in the driver's seat and likely to succeed because You know, they have an audience that they can talk to without needing to spend so much in paid advertising Um, and most likely if you care about this celebrity or this creator You're going to want to try the product that they're pitching to you
Marc Beckman: so so just quickly talking like if we isolate to TikTok for a second on the s commerce piece specifically. Let's say we have Kim Kardashian and we want to launch a new espresso cup and we only want to launch it on Kim's TikTok channel. What needs to happen? Like obviously these come the two entities come together.
They cut a deal. But then is Kim, if Kim's live streaming, is there a button that can be pressed and then it goes back, it's powered by Shopify and, and then obviously the company drop ships. Like how does it work?
Jessica Williams: Well, TikTok has two options there. Yes, you can buy directly in the to talk shop platform. TikTok is also building a commerce ecosystem so that they to talk has their own warehouses and they do drop shipping directly from there to try to speed up a lot of the shipping times that might take a long time specifically for those who are shipping overseas.
I mean, a lot of the products that they sell are like team who like to products, so they warehouse them locally. Um, but yes, you can certainly as a business start day one just in TikTok shop and many have. They have never had a commerce ecosystem outside of TikTok shop. For Shopify businesses that already exist, um, Tart, Fenty, um, you know, some of the other big ones, Pink Friday Nails, um, uh, any of these businesses that do In massive numbers on TikTok shop, they don't want a second e commerce instance.
And so they plug everything directly from their Shopify store. So they're shipping directly from the same inventory. As their Shopify store, they are returns were a nightmare if they had two instances So they anytime there's a return it goes directly into the same process that we process their returns as um You know All of the customer data is centralized in one space versus having a tiktok shop customer base and a shopify customer base obviously on shopify you own your own customer from Day one.
You know, you're not sharing the data with us at all. Uh, so many who are established businesses, they don't want this separate instance. There are plenty that are starting straight, like directly into TikTok shop and having massive success. And we don't see
Marc Beckman: So is the, is the acquisition, is the product acquisition for the consumer then going, am I going to a separate link and going back to the, um, Shopify powered store? Or am I just purchasing right in the
Jessica Williams: right into TikTok shop. It's just linking back to Shopify. It's the same thing as like, um. Yeah. And I mean, in Instagram, obviously you're leaving and going, but there's also like an Instagram instance where you don't actually have to leave Instagram. You can purchase right in there and that, but that is a Shopify store inside of Instagram.
The same thing. We have a, um, like a buy with prime button on our ecosystem. You can buy with your Amazon balance like directly in Shopify. So all of these technologies really do work together. Some of them we see as frenemies. Others we have deep, deep, um, Very beneficial partnerships with, um, but, you know, it's all sort of like commerce has to Uh, all connect for the consumer's sake.
Otherwise, it's a terrible experience for them, and that's not what we want.
Marc Beckman: Jessica, you're so knowledgeable, like you're striking on all of these trends, one after the other, you hit on like consumer customization, personalization, s commerce, um, but we're also, times are funny, like you kind of hinted towards it because of the incoming tariffs, I think today, in fact, as we're recording this is the first day, um, but it's a sign of the times, and Something that my office often looks at is pro social marketing.
We've always been cause related. We always like to give back and we actually think it works to stimulate sales. Something, um, that Shopify took the lead on early on was The idea of being eco friendly and sustainability. They really embrace that. Do you think consumers still care about some of these pro social initiatives?
Are they motivated because a brand cares about the environment or cares about, about other causes?
Jessica Williams: I think so. I mean, I think most people still care about the things that they care about and they want their dollars to go to those things. Um, I do also think, you know, there are enough folks who are socially conscious that, you know, if they're, Um, favorite brand is donating a portion of the proceeds to X, Y, and Z.
Like, that's a reason to continue to buy from that brand versus to turn into somewhere else. Um, yes, Shopify is very focused on being carbon neutral, which, um, I personally love. And really, a lot of the things that we think about are how to reduce our imprint, um, in the world. And that includes, like, how do we Um, make returns, um, more carbon friendly, i.
e. how do we keep them from being shipped back and forth between merchant and consumer? Can we take a return and have a consumer ship it to the next consumer who's going to purchase that item or, you know, really reduce those times when we do hack days here? It's, um, a lot of what, um, the people who participate in hack days are thinking about is how do we even increase our carbon neutrality faster, um, and make, Our merchants, um, more carbon neutral, faster,
Marc Beckman: That's really cool. So,
Jessica Williams: very cool.
But I do think, I mean, a lot of our merchants, um, Donation, donate a portion of their proceeds to certain causes. Mad Happy is a great example. Um, they donate a portion of their proceeds to mental health, um, causes. Uh, another one, a friend of mine, Siegelman Stable, donates a portion to equine therapy for pet, you know, veterans with PTSD.
Um, and, you know, they, they proudly talk about that all the time. And it's proudly on their website. So, I must think that it impacts. You know, the consumer wanting to continue their purchase, especially if it's something that they care about.
Marc Beckman: It's so interesting, like you really are at the center of the lifestyle brands with a nice balance between the up and coming emerging brands and these huge mega brands and some that have really grown. Look at skims. I mean, such a quick trajectory. Of course, Kim is fueling it. But nonetheless, product is champion.
If it wasn't great, it wouldn't hit
Jessica Williams: partnered with Nike, which, you know, it's like Kim Kardashian can't do that on her own. That is, I mean, maybe she can, but like that is a Nike is looking for an innovation partner and someone who has built such a strong. Ecosystem within women where Nike's struggling like skims is such an interesting case study to me And I'm a skims fan myself just because I do think they're the best products on the market But certainly such an interesting trajectory You know with them going from a couple of skews now to hundreds and hundreds in partnering with Nike for a whole new line Not just like skims on Nike, but a whole new brand called Nike skims.
It's wild
Marc Beckman: I totally think it's cool. So how do you balance then from Shopify's perspective, where do you put your priority? Is it for the young entrepreneurs that are breaking into apparel, accessories, beauty, skincare and beyond? Or are you looking at these bigger brands and saying, we need to lean in because that's where the volume is coming.
That's where we're going to make our, you know, our maker, a majority of Shopify's revenue.
Jessica Williams: Well, luckily, I don't have to prioritize because we have a separate enterprise marketing team that is really focused. I mean, that's such a different story to tell. Um, and that is You know, it's a list of 100 businesses that we're focused on, um, or a very clear sort of mid market business that, you know, we want them to re platform off of eBay onto Shopify or onto Etsy, and those are like very clear messages that will speak to that specific business, and of course, the enterprise, they need Very detailed information about conversion and, you know, transition and merchant success and, um, you know, like taxes and all of those things, which is a, you know, an amazing team that we have, but not my team.
So we are focused on not just day one entrepreneurs and small business owners, but like really focused on the next generation of entrepreneurs. Like we, you know, target a lot of high school, college, um, you know, folks who are. thinking about what their next thing is, side hustles, like really wanting to, um, want people to think about entrepreneurship as an option.
And that really takes, uh, someone to encourage it. Because I think most of the time, you know, you think about the corporate world as being your only option and like, there's a second path that's available.
Marc Beckman: So look, you're a super creative also. And obviously Shopping for some people stinks, right? Like personally, I hate trying things on. I find it to be such a pain such a waste of time. Even if it's sent to my home. I still don't want to take the time to try it on in private truly. So. Where do you think, creatively speaking, shopping is going?
Like, what's the future of retail? Take me out now, like, five years, six years from now, really, really putting your creative hat on. What are we gonna, what are we gonna experience with retail in, you know, 2030?
Jessica Williams: Well, some of it I honestly think is being built right now. I mean, Shopify has a bunch of very cool, we call them like tech flexes, or like mini apps within the shop app, um, that, you know, are, are, Making shopping a little bit better ie you can With our app if you're in a long line Let's say you're in line for the latest road drop from Haley like you can order in your cart Through the shop app based on what the inventory is in the store and then pick it up, you know while you're in line We are making The ability to purchase directly off of a billboard, i.
e. you see this amazing product off a billboard, you just scan within the billboard, you can, you know, get it directly into the,
Marc Beckman: Is that available now?
Jessica Williams: um, we have done a few different tests with some brands, but yeah, the technology, um, is available. Uh, we're just starting to roll it out. We've done a bunch of cool stuff with beauty brands on like scavenger hunts, like to make it a little more engaging.
Now this is obviously not for someone who doesn't love to shop. Um, but you know, we think shopping should be fun and should be an experience. And you know, that's why we do a ton of pop ups. We have a store in Soho and one in Venice where we allow the DTC brands. Um, on our platform to come and feel what it's like to pop up, you know, in a real life store and make it a little experiential.
So we've done it with hundreds of brands and it's such a fun experience because You don't get to see the fans of your brand when you're a DTC brand, you know, until you have a physical location and then you can see how much people love you how much they want to come out and meet the founder and Experience what the brand is life and real like in real life.
So that is always fun to us I think really if I'm being honest the The biggest change is going to be like AI shopping agents and live shopping I do think everyone will have their own AI shopping agent that knows what styles you'll have a 3d model of yourself It's going to be like your own personal shopping assistant, which i'm personally excited for
Marc Beckman: If you were
Jessica Williams: I think right now you're doing a lot of like Will that look good on me?
Is, you know, I love buying new brands, but half the time the sizes that they have aren't really the sizes, you know, I'm normally fitting in. So you do end up sending a lot back. Um, so I think that's going to be the big one is like, you know, 3d modeling and AI shopping agents. Um, but you know, I, I'm excited for what happens.
I think shopping definitely can improve and is on the way to, and Shopify is definitely at the forefront of all of that.
Marc Beckman: So if you're going to provide a new business owner with advice on like, just like one super tip on getting ready to launch an e com platform with Shopify, what would you tell this person
Jessica Williams: Um, I honestly would say, like, content is still king out there. Like, you need more than just a typical SEO strategy. It is so important to have a content strategy on social. It is really the only way to make your business discoverable, to get into, you know, the feeds of folks that, You might not otherwise find out there in the world, um, and you know to really hone in on building your content as you grow the business and whether that again is with Other content creators that you're paying or if you yourself are becoming a content creator Which I know is hard while growing a business, but I think it's really the number one most important thing Because just we're on so many social channels all the time You know, the businesses that we find are because of these social channels and the platforms aren't going away.
They're only growing in, you know, exponentially in their influence. And so, um, I would say you got to grow, grow your content strategy while you grow the business.
Marc Beckman: digitally? Digitally? It's really interesting, but you did mention brick and mortar
Jessica Williams: I love
Marc Beckman: well, yeah.
Jessica Williams: order. Yeah.
Marc Beckman: DTC brands away Warby Parker like they've opened up in brick and mortar and they are jam packed.
I went into Warby Parker over on on 5th Avenue downtown just this past weekend and you have to wait online. You have to register to take an appointment. It's a total different experience. So my question to you is this. I end my show with my guests the same way. I don't know if you're familiar with it, but I put together a leading question with the name of the show some future day and I allow for them to finish it.
Can, can you enter into this game with me?
Jessica Williams: of course.
Marc Beckman: Awesome. Okay. So in some future day, because I want to, I'm thinking about your brick and mortar comments now. So in some future day malls will become.
Jessica Williams: Um, I honestly think not too far off like malls will become a place for DTC brands to pop up and sort of test the waters. Uh, I think we'll see malls not with your standard Macy's or stores. It's really going to be like, um, just a mishmash of stores that are coming in to pop up for a few weeks or a few months and then to go away or even like stores within a store.
I think Sephora will become the place that. Nicki Minaj Nails pops up for a few weeks. You go there, you get your nails, you, you know, meet Nicki's nail designer. Um, but it's not, it's Sephora, but it's Nicki Minaj Nails for a few weeks. I really do think, like, these physical spaces will become just places for brands to cycle through.
Um, versus, like, having an always on brand experience there or a shop that isn't that experiential. Uh, I think what brands and consumers want is more experience when they shop. And so, I do think. Pop ups will become the new malls
Marc Beckman: Jessica, you're so insightful. I appreciate all your time. Is there anything that you'd like to add? Did we miss anything important that you want to cover?
Jessica Williams: We didn't this was so fun It's always my funnest topics to talk about and because we've known each other through a few different roles now it was fun to go back through history, but I appreciate you so much. This was amazing and Truly happy to come back anytime
Marc Beckman: Likewise, we'll definitely have you back. Remember you said that I'm going to hold you to it. I want to, you know what we should do. We should break down brands. Like if you're open to it, you have such a good knowledge and perspective on brands across lifestyle, like so many different categories. I'd love to create a conversation with you.
Maybe leading into the fourth quarter about what to look out for brands.
Jessica Williams: I love it. Another one of my favorite topics, I probably read every single fashion and trends report there is in existence, so you can count on me for all of that cultural knowledge, for sure. Thanks
Marc Beckman: Thank you so much. Uh, you're an amazing guest. You're an amazing expert. Thank you for joining me today.
Jessica Williams: Thanks, Mark. Cheers.