Navigating the E-Commerce Technology Landscape with Derric Haynie, Chief Ecommerce Technologist

Derric Haynie is the Chief Ecommerce Technologist at Ecommercetech.io. He researches and discovers the right apps and software solutions for Shopify stores and brands selling elsewhere in e-commerce. Half of Derric’s day is spent in demos and the other half is spent consulting clients—and it shows! He joined the E-Commerce with Coffee?! podcast for a fascinating conversation about tech and app solutions in e-commerce.

It all started when Derric grew his own e-com tech company and went through over 200 tool demos of other apps as he positioned his own.

Today, especially after 2020 and its whirlwind implications to e-commerce, tech solutions are more important than ever. Yet, most of the tools out there for e-commerce brands either solve problems they don’t know they have or are redundant app-to-app.

That’s where Derric comes in. He advises brands on which tools make sense considering all the unique factors in play. Some tools aren’t made for small brands, for example, and others are made exclusively for them! Still, other tools don’t work if you have over or under a certain sales volume, etc.

Whatever the case for each brand, Derric and his team are there to advise. In this episode of E-Commerce with Coffee?! Derric comes in with all his knowledge to talk about the fast-moving tech landscape. Listen in for his insights on what tools are changing e-commerce and what brands should do about it.

➡️ What to listen for:
- What's in an effective demo? Derric spells that out in the interview. “You have to explain ‘here’s why this is important and here’s how it makes you money,’” Derric says. This answer is far more important than any app’s functionality. “There’s a lot of feature parity right now, so tech companies need to communicate their differentiation factor.”
- Price testing is one of the four “Ps” that Derric says too few brands are doing. Depending on how fast or slowly you want to move inventory, there are ideal times to either raise or lower price points. Derric muses, “everyone's forgetting that you can change your price!”
- “SMS is one part of a strategy that’s a mix of omnichannel marketing and personalization using AI-driven segmentation," Derric explains. He partners with many SMS providers and they’re all great tools, he assures us, but Derric talks about how few brands understand how to use SMS effectively.
- The tech landscape has made the ease of entry to e-commerce a much lower bar to jump. “You could start a [Shopify] store today for $40,” Derric admits. But then, he warns, too many people are then taken advantage of by get-rich-quick schemes that follow.
- Listen in to learn what Derric says about apps on Shopify. “The Shopify app ecosystem is a bit of a mess,” he admits. There are 6,200 apps, with roughly 60 new apps a week, and half of those solve a problem already solved or simply aren't necessary. Apps milking shop owners for $3, $5, $10, $50 a month might not have great security, either. And they might not be maintained well. Derric estimates that of the 6,200 apps on the site, 4,500 fall into this category. He says that brands win when they focus on the tools that CHANGE their businesses in a measurable way.
- Consumers are moving even more into buying with their hearts, and the savviest brands are figuring that out fast. This requires greater transparency and a louder voice about the practices and values important to each brand.
- Derric also offers this insider prediction: “Shopify might launch an Amazon competitor, a sort of anti-Amazon for brands that consumers know and love,” Derric says. “There's been an exodus [of brands from Amazon], and they want a better relationship with the consumer.”
- “Unique, individual brands selling unique, individual products,” Derric repeats. Listen to the full episode for additional tips, predictions, and more!

➡️ Timestamps
0:00-4:22 Derric’s story
4:23-8:08 Tech parity and what makes a good demo
8:09-11:42 Special need for apps in pricing
11:43-14:42 What other apps are coming down?
14:43-17:35 How the tech landscape impacted the ease of entry to e-commerce
17:36-20:56 Derric’s process to learn what tools a brand needs
20:57-24:19 The Shopify app ecosystem
24:20-27:29 Biggest changes in the tech scene during the pandemic
27:30-34:17 Biggest predictions for app developers, e-commerce brands, and consumers
34:18-34:54 How to reach Derric

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