eCommerce Podcast

Most ecommerce operators can rattle off their LTV, churn rate, and CAC without thinking. But when Jay Myers asked a room full of subscription experts at SubSummit whether anyone knew their referral rate, only one person raised their hand — and his was zero. That single overlooked metric, Jay argues, is the difference between a business that flatlines and one that grows exponentially.In this episode of The eCommerce Podcast, host Matt Edmundson sits down with Jay Myers, co-founder of Bold Commerce, to unpack the data behind referral-driven growth — and why a tiny shift in referral rate can mean 56 times more subscribers. Jay shares the strategies that actually work, from golden ticket referrals to paid memberships, and explains why most "share and save" programmes fall flat. Whether you run a subscription box or a one-time-purchase store, this conversation is packed with ideas you can start using today.00:00 — Introduction and Jay's background02:56 — From archery store to 32 Shopify apps11:14 — The launch of RePete, Bold's AI reorder agent14:32 — The Subscription Death Curve and the metric nobody tracks22:48 — Golden tickets and the psychology of scarcity referrals36:40 — Practical implementation for any ecommerce brand40:14 — Dollar credits vs discounts vs percentages45:45 — Paid membership vs free loyalty programmes49:21 — How to connect with JayWhy Your Referral Rate Matters More Than LTV, Churn or CAC[14:32] Jay's 2022 SubSummit talk, "The Subscription Death Curve," revealed a striking blind spot in ecommerce. He asked a room of subscription operators to name their most important metric. People shouted out LTV, churn, CAC, and ARPU. Then he asked how many knew their referral rate. Not a single hand went up.The data tells a compelling story. Doubling acquisition moves the subscriber count higher, but the business still flatlines at the same point — around month 32. Reducing churn pushes the flatline further out, but it still flatlines eventually. However, increasing the referral rate from just 0.8 to 1.2 — a difference of 0.4 — results in 56 times more subscribers by month 30.Less than 3% of the average marketing budget goes toward referral programmesA viral coefficient above 1 is needed for true viral growthSuper-referrers need uncapped ability to keep sharing"There is no bigger thing you can do to your business to change the long-term health of it than increasing customers who refer other customers." — Jay MyersGolden Tickets and the Psychology Behind Referrals That Actually Convert[22:48] Most referral programmes follow the same formula — share a code, both people get a discount. Jay explains why this generic approach rarely works, and it comes down to the difference between intrinsic and extrinsic motivation.The golden ticket strategy works on a completely different principle. Instead of rewarding the sharer upfront, the approach relies on scarcity. One unique code, no immediate reward for the person sharing, and a focus on finding the ideal customer rather than casting a wide net.Generic "share 10, get 10" codes produce low engagement because extrinsic rewards crowd out genuine enthusiasmScarcity-based referrals tap into intrinsic motivation — people share because the offer feels specialThis strategy requires no app — Jay walks through how to run it with a CSV export and any email toolDollar Credits Beat Discounts — and Here's Why[40:14] Not all incentives are created equal. Jay breaks down the psychology behind different reward structures.Dollar credit performs best — it creates a sense of ownership ("there's £10 in your account")Dollar discount comes second — tangible but framed as future savings rather than something already ownedPercentage discount performs worst — abstract, requires mental arithmetic, feels distantThe distinction is subtle but significant. Credits feel like money already in your pocket, which changes buying behaviour far more effectively than a promise of future savings.Paid Memberships and the Sunk Cost Psychology That Builds Loyalty[45:45] Jay highlights three brands that show why paid membership programmes outperform free loyalty schemes through sunk cost psychology.Restoration Hardware — $125/year membership. Their 100,000 members account for 95% of revenue and spend 400% more than non-membersFabletics — $50/month gives members $70 in credit. The monthly commitment fundamentally changes how members shopAmazon Prime — almost never the cheapest option, but Prime members rarely price-shop elsewhere. The membership creates brand affinity that makes comparison redundantWhen someone pays to be part of something, they behave differently. Free loyalty programmes ask nothing and, in return, tend to get very little engagement. A paid membership creates a psychological contract that drives repeat purchases and deeper brand connection.Today's GuestToday's guest: Jay MyersCompany: Bold CommerceWebsite: boldcommerce.comLinkedIn: Connect with Jay on LinkedInEpisode link: https://www.ecomme

With 56% of CEOs reporting zero ROI from their AI investments, Matt Edmundson takes a refreshingly honest look at the four AI tools he actually uses across his ecommerce businesses right now. In this solo Slingshot episode of the eCommerce Podcast, Matt breaks down his monthly AI spend of roughly £350 and explains exactly how each tool fits into daily operations at Aurion, from deep research sessions to product photography and building what he describes as a digital second brain. Rather than chasing every shiny new tool, Matt shares how his team culled their AI subscriptions and settled on a focused toolkit that delivers real results. He also tackles the thorny issue of team adoption and offers a practical challenge for anyone still sitting on the AI fence.Key Points:Claude Code and Obsidian as a Second Brain [00:05:00]Deep Research with Perplexity [00:13:00]Learning Smarter with Google Notebook LM [00:16:00]Making the Tools Work Together [00:23:00]Claude Code and Obsidian as a Second Brain [00:05:00]Matt’s primary AI tool is Claude on the Max plan at around £150 per month, and he pairs it with Obsidian, a note-taking app that stores everything as plain markdown text files on your computer rather than locking them away in someone else’s cloud. The real magic happens when Claude Code connects to this system.“Think of the difference between texting a plumber for advice versus having the plumber in your house with their tools.”That’s the difference between using a chatbot in a browser and running Claude Code in your computer’s terminal, where it can see your files, run commands, and make changes directly.All company information, branding documents, playbooks, and scripts live inside one Obsidian vaultClaude reads thousands of notes and even learns and updates its own files over timeMatt describes the result as “more like having a team member who has spent six months reading every document you have ever written”Everything stays local on your machine, which is a significant security advantage over cloud-only toolsThe migration from his previous app (Craft) to Obsidian took about two days, and the system has been running for roughly three monthsDeep Research with Perplexity [00:13:00]For research tasks, Matt turns to Perplexity at around $20 per month. Unlike a standard chatbot, Perplexity provides sources with clickable links so you can verify everything it tells you.The narrative binding episode (episode 274) came from a full-day Perplexity research session that produced a 30-page documentMatt uses the voice chat feature during his Wednesday morning walks, turning exercise time into research timeThe sourced approach means you can trust and fact-check the output rather than blindly accepting AI-generated claimsLearning Smarter with Google Notebook LM [00:16:00]Google Notebook LM, part of the Google Gemini suite at roughly $20 per month, takes a different approach to AI-assisted learning. Instead of drawing on the entire internet, it restricts its answers to the sources you upload, with a limit of up to 300.Matt used it to study negotiation techniques, uploading both Getting to Yes and Never Split the Difference and then asking questions across both booksThe audio generation feature creates 20-minute podcast-style conversations from your uploaded sources, making it easier to absorb material on the goBecause it only references what you give it, there’s far less risk of hallucinated information creeping inMaking the Tools Work Together [00:23:00]The real value comes not from any single tool but from how they connect. Matt outlines a workflow where Perplexity handles the initial research, Claude Code turns that research into playbooks and frameworks, and those playbooks generate prompts for other tools like Nano Banana (Google Gemini’s image generation, used for product lifestyle shots).Nano Banana has been used for product photography, including an Omega-3 bottle lifestyle shot with dolphins, though Matt still works with his photographer Lindy for key shootsAI supplements the creative process rather than replacing itThe system stays current over time because Claude updates its own reference files as new information comes inTeam adoption has been gradual. Even the dev team were slow to pick it up. Not everyone needs the full setup, and the admin team use Claude with project files and specific prompts tailored to their rolesMatt’s challenge to listeners is simple but pointed. Pick one thing, give it a proper go for two weeks, and remember that AI is a co-pilot, not a replacementEpisode link: https://www.ecommerce-podcast.com/how-im-using-ai-in-my-ecommerce-businesses-right-now