Build Operational Capability: Remember, convenience is key. Consumers expect to be able to purchase products effortlessly and receive them quicker than ever before. Meeting consumer expectations is key to driving a top-notch customer experience. In order to succeed, brands and retailers must invest heavily into their internal delivery process and drive efficiency to minimize the time from click to ship.
Aspart of our series about the future of retail, I had the pleasure of interviewing Jason Stuckey.
Jason is an authority in advertising and ecommerce with over 10 years of experience in digital marketing, ecommerce strategy, and back-office operations. Jason has helped launch many successful Direct-to-Consumer endeavors for celebrities Rihanna, Kate Hudson, Kim Kardashian, and Michael B Jordan, and has been an integral part of building over a dozen online and brick and mortar businesses. Jason has a deep understanding of ecommerce and, in his role as General Manager at Linnworks, uses his experience to implement successful Total Commerce strategies for thousands of global sellers and brands.
Thank you so much for joining us in this interview series! Before we dive in, our readers would love to learn a bit more about you. Can you tell us a story about what brought you to this specific career path?
Itook a non-traditional route to get where I am today. I started in Advertising, Content Creation, and Digital Marketing and even produced music videos for a while. Eventually, I met e-commerce pioneers Don Ressler and Adam Goldenberg, the founders of Techstyle Fashion Group. These were the early days of online Direct-to-Consumer (DTC) and digital storefronts. It was a really exciting time because we were literally inventing ways to build an online brand. As our operation grew, I saw firsthand the challenges that DTC sellers faced online and where the market was headed. Even then it was clear to me that online marketplaces were the future, and that led me to Linnworks. So, to summarize, I went from working in content creation to e-commerce operations, and from e-commerce operations to e-commerce technology.
Can you share the most interesting story that happened to you since you started your career?
I’ve worked with some amazing celebrities in the past. In fact, one actually helped me impress my now wife. A few days after I connected with my wife on Bumble, I mentioned I was working with Kate Hudson in an obvious attempt to impress her. My wife didn’t believe me, so I asked Kate for help. Being the wonderful person she is, the following social media post ensued. So, you could probably say I owe my marriage to Kate.
Can you share a story about the funniest mistake you made when you were first starting? Can you tell us what lesson or takeaway you learned from that?
I make mistakes every day, often with hilarious consequences. I think that’s the takeaway. It’s ok to make mistakes, and it’s important to see the consequences as opportunities in order to learn and get better. We’re all continuously learning and a big piece of that is failing. What matters is that you’re easy on yourself as you take risks and try new things, and when things don’t work out, move forward and understand that it’s simply a part of growth.
Are you working on any new exciting projects now? How do you think that might help people?
The world of e-commerce is evolving at warp speed. We’ve seen nearly a decade of growth and innovation in the industry over the last 18 months alone. These rapid changes make it even more challenging for brands to see where the market is headed next. At Linnworks, we have access to in-depth, real-time market data that gives us an insight into the state of commerce operations across thousands of different sellers. Internally, we’ve been able to look at this data, create market hypotheses and then watch as those hypotheses are confirmed over time. It’s incredibly cool! It’s a capability we plan to extend to our customers to help them make better choices for their businesses in the future as well.
Which tips would you recommend to your colleagues in your industry to help them to thrive and not “burn out”?
Time is your most valuable currency. Protect it and use it wisely.
None of us are able to achieve success without some help along the way. Is there a particular person to whom you are grateful, who helped get you to where you are? Can you share a story?
Is this an awards show? If so, there are many people to thank! First, there’s my father, CEO of the Stuckey Family, for teaching me the value of hard work. Then there’s Don Ressler, CEO at Techstyle, who showed me that commitment, risk-taking, and loyalty remit reward more often than not. And of course, Tony Ruane, Chairman at Linnworks, who continues to push me to explore my curiosities and ask the hard questions.
How have you used your success to bring goodness to the world?
Part of my own journey has involved something called Better Board Meeting. It’s a Board of Directors for my personal life that I lean into for guidance, accountability, and support. It’s something that happened organically in my career, but a resource I genuinely believe everyone should have. I’ve partnered with a friend to take this concept beyond the two of us and into the world. We run weekly sessions with a few different groups to help others utilize their network and regularly lean on those who truly want to see them succeed. It’s been incredibly fulfilling to see this concept and program work for others since we started over a year and a half ago.
Ok super. Now let’s jump to the main questions of our interview. The Pandemic has changed many aspects of all of our lives. One of them is the fact that so many of us have gotten used to shopping almost exclusively online. Can you share a few examples of different ideas that large retail outlets are implementing to adapt to the new realities created by the Pandemic?
The retail space is about a decade into an inevitable transition to a digital-first world. If you can believe it, e-commerce has only made a 16% dent in overall retail sales, which means there’s room to grow. And that’s with the record growth we’ve seen in e-commerce over the last 18 months as a result of the push to online at the start of the pandemic. At one point during the pandemic, it jumped to over 30%. This should be an indication to retailers that now is the time to make the shift from retail or wholesale-first to online and DTC-first. I liken it to Napster vs the Music Industry in the early 2000s. Napster was the early indicator of where the market was shifting. The music industry didn’t adapt, and that cost them. We’re in the trudges of a similar transition in how products are consumed and now is that inflection point to reimagine commerce strategies.
A great example of this is Nike’s Consumer Direct Acceleration (CDA). It’s clear that they are committed to DTC and to reinventing how they sell products. Items I’ve liked in the Nike app now pop up on my mobile when I’m shopping in a Nike store, and the app says “Hey Jason, the store you’re in has some of your favorites in stock, want to buy them? Oh, and here’s a 15% off code for being a loyal member.” What a great experience!
In your opinion, will retail stores or malls continue to exist? How would you articulate the role of physical retail spaces at a time when online commerce platforms like Amazon Prime or Instacart can deliver the same day or the next day?
For starters, in-store retail is far from dead. It’s being reinvented to support a digital-first, DTC strategy. In-person connection is a basic human need, and consumers still have the need to see, touch, and physically interact with products as part of the buying experience. Think showrooms and experiential events that draw consumers in and provide a place where they feel part of a larger ecosystem: a place for them to connect and build community with like-minded folks; a place for a better brand experience.
The fastest changing component of traditional retail is consumers’ expectations for how they receive products. Ultimately, it comes down to one metric: convenience. In a recent study conducted by Linnworks, 76% of consumers cite convenience as their top priority when choosing what and where to make a purchase. So, while a consumer may make their purchase online, they still want the opportunity to physically engage with the product ahead of time or pick it up in person. The move to this integrated, multichannel experience is a result of consumers’ demand for an effortless economy: a world where one single commerce experience happens across multiple environments.
An interesting trend to watch over the next few years is what will happen with the space being vacated by department stores. 25% of department stores are expected to close over the next three years, leaving shopping malls with a lot of unused space. However, that doesn’t mean that they are going to sit vacant. Brands are increasingly looking at brick-and-mortar locations as marketing channels and fulfillment centers to drive the level of connection and convenience that consumers now desire. From buy-online, pick-up in-store (BOPIS) to same-day delivery, the lines of commerce are more blurred than ever — and centralized inventory management is critical for getting it right. The jury is still out on what will happen to this space. My money is on vacated department stores becoming integrated fulfillment centers for the brands in the malls, but it’s going to be something to watch during this major shift in retail.
Amazon is going to exert pressure on all of retail for the foreseeable future. New Direct-To-Consumer companies based in China are emerging that offer prices that are much cheaper than US and European brands. What would you advise to retail companies and e-commerce companies, for them to be successful in the face of such strong competition?
Retail and e-commerce companies should focus on delivering quality products and a great customer experience. While millennial and Gen Z customers are known for their brand loyalty, studies show that around half are willing to switch brands for better product value and quality. Overall, brand loyalty is something that both Amazon and foreign entities struggle with. It’s truly their Achilles heel when it comes to competing with local sellers. The key to success is to focus on the long game. Lifetime Value (LTV) is the metric to track and invest in.
Based on your experience and success, what are the five most important things one should know in order to create a fantastic retail experience that keeps bringing customers back for more? Please share a story or an example for each.
- Define your Brand: your brand, your voice and your message is your power. Understanding who you are (and who you are not) as a brand is key.
- Build a Strategy for Marketplaces: Marketplaces control more than 50% of all e-commerce transactions. Since the start of the pandemic, their Gross Merchandise Volume (GMV) has grown more than 80%. They are here to stay and should be a key part of every seller’s go-to-market strategy.
- Build Operational Capability: Remember, convenience is key. Consumers expect to be able to purchase products effortlessly and receive them quicker than ever before. Meeting consumer expectations is key to driving a top-notch customer experience. In order to succeed, brands and retailers must invest heavily into their internal delivery process and drive efficiency to minimize the time from click to ship.
- Always be Testing: Every brand should be testing their customer journey multiple times a day. This stretches across every step of the process, including creative & messaging, pricing, product placement, advertising channels, sales channels, customer support, warehousing & fulfillment, technology, and retail. No stone should be left unturned. I’ve seen something as simple as the color of the “Add to Cart” button make a 15% difference in conversion rates.
- Have a Customer Centric Mentality: This is harder than it sounds. It’s brutal out there for sellers, but ensuring your entire staff is focused on delivering a customer-first experience no matter what, is a tried and true philosophy. There will always be customers that test your team’s metal…but the good will always outweigh the bad…and the good will keep coming back to buy more over time.
Thank you for all of that. We are nearly done. Here is our final ‘meaty’ question. You are a person of great influence. If you could start a movement that would bring the most amount of good to the most amount of people, what would that be? You never know what your idea can trigger. 🙂
I would like for people to be more mindful of and connected with their impact on the world. Technology has made us more connected in some ways but very disconnected in others. We all possess the capacity to make a positive impact on the world, leaving it better than when we found it. Motivating people to believe in this concept would move us much further into a sustainable future. I think it starts with putting our digital life down and looking around to how we can connect more with our communities.
How can our readers further follow your work?
LinkedIn: https://www.linkedin.com/in/jasonstuckey/
This was very inspiring. Thank you so much for joining us!
Source: medium.com