eCommerce Fastlane: Shopify Growth Strategies—Where AI Efficiency Meets Human Connection

Your Business Is A Journey. Invest In Yourself Today.Being an entrepreneur is a life of learning, implementing, and iterating. All it would take is a new idea, a strategy, a Shopify app, or a marketing platform to be the next thing you need to improve efficiencies, drive more revenue, and build lifetime customer loyalty for your Shopify brand.In today’s episode, my guest is John Chao the Co-Founder of the Data Marketing Platform Segments. They are a self-guided marketing analytics platform that helps Shopify brands increase marketing ROI with 1-click segmentation paired with actionable insights.What You Will Learn TodayHow to uncover hidden revenue opportunities from your data.How to increase retention and customer loyalty for your Shopify brand.How to nurture customers across active, at-risk or churned states.How to optimize your marketing ROI by targeting customers with the most potential.How to unlock your store's data to know when and what customers are buying, then allowing you to take action with timely recommendations to increase repeat sales and order value.Links And Resources MentionedSegmentsSegments Shopify AppSegments Extended 30-Day Free Trial - Thanks John!Thank You For ListeningI really appreciate your choosing to listen to the show and for supporting the podcast and its sponsors. If you enjoyed today’s show, please share it using the social media buttons on this page.I would also be so grateful if you would consider taking a minute or two to leave an honest review and rating for the show on iTunes. They’re extremely helpful when it comes to reaching our entrepreneurial audience, and I read each and every one personally!Growth Mindset?Listen to the eCommerce Fastlane Podcast on Apple Podcasts, Spotify, Stitcher, or Google Play. Subscribe to the show and get notifications when new episodes are released.Episode Sponsor: SMSBUMPToday’s episode is brought to you by SMSBump, an incredible Shopify App to boost customer retention and revenue on autopilot.Yotpo SMSBump is the leading SMS marketing solution for eCommerce brands looking to build a top revenue channel. SMSBump helps you recover carts, launch targeted campaigns and engage in truly conversational commerce. SMSBump is a part of Yotpo’s eCommerce marketing platform, helping forward-thinking brands accelerate direct-to-consumer growth.Join over 90,000 businesses that use SMSBump to build meaningful relationships with their customers and sell online.Download for FREE and set up in less than 5 minutes. This is the only text marketing app you would ever need. And now as an eCommerce Fastlane listener, you get a 1-month free trial on their paid plans.  Hosted on Acast. See acast.com/privacy for more information.

Show Notes

Your Business Is A Journey. Invest In Yourself Today.
Being an entrepreneur is a life of learning, implementing, and iterating. All it would take is a new idea, a strategy, a Shopify app, or a marketing platform to be the next thing you need to improve efficiencies, drive more revenue, and build lifetime customer loyalty for your Shopify brand.
In today’s episode, my guest is John Chao the Co-Founder of the Data Marketing Platform Segments. They are a self-guided marketing analytics platform that helps Shopify brands increase marketing ROI with 1-click segmentation paired with actionable insights.
What You Will Learn Today
  • How to uncover hidden revenue opportunities from your data.
  • How to increase retention and customer loyalty for your Shopify brand.
  • How to nurture customers across active, at-risk or churned states.
  • How to optimize your marketing ROI by targeting customers with the most potential.
  • How to unlock your store's data to know when and what customers are buying, then allowing you to take action with timely recommendations to increase repeat sales and order value.
Links And Resources Mentioned
Thank You For Listening
I really appreciate your choosing to listen to the show and for supporting the podcast and its sponsors. If you enjoyed today’s show, please share it using the social media buttons on this page.
I would also be so grateful if you would consider taking a minute or two to leave an honest review and rating for the show on iTunes. They’re extremely helpful when it comes to reaching our entrepreneurial audience, and I read each and every one personally!
Growth Mindset?
Listen to the eCommerce Fastlane Podcast on Apple Podcasts, Spotify, Stitcher, or Google Play. Subscribe to the show and get notifications when new episodes are released.
Episode Sponsor: SMSBUMP
Today’s episode is brought to you by SMSBump, an incredible Shopify App to boost customer retention and revenue on autopilot.
Yotpo SMSBump is the leading SMS marketing solution for eCommerce brands looking to build a top revenue channel. SMSBump helps you recover carts, launch targeted campaigns and engage in truly conversational commerce. SMSBump is a part of Yotpo’s eCommerce marketing platform, helping forward-thinking brands accelerate direct-to-consumer growth.
Join over 90,000 businesses that use SMSBump to build meaningful relationships with their customers and sell online.
Download for FREE and set up in less than 5 minutes. This is the only text marketing app you would ever need. And now as an eCommerce Fastlane listener, you get a 1-month free trial on their paid plans. 

 Hosted on Acast. See acast.com/privacy for more information.

What is eCommerce Fastlane: Shopify Growth Strategies—Where AI Efficiency Meets Human Connection?

Running a Shopify store? You already know success isn't about finding the right app—it's about knowing which strategies actually work at your specific stage of growth.

I'm Steve Hutt, and I've lived every level of the ecommerce journey. From eBay Power Seller shipping products from my garage, to co-founding and scaling VisionPros.com (an optical DTC startup) through to a successful exit, then spending 6+ years as a Shopify Merchant Success Manager helping 100+ brands from startup to enterprise scale, including working with teams at Tentree, Dr. Squatch, Bulletproof Coffee, Salt & Straw Ice Cream, MUD/WTR, Bokksu, and many more.

Here's what makes this podcast different: I've been on both sides of the table.

6+ years working inside Shopify gave me access to what's coming before most merchants know it exists. Building, scaling, and successfully exiting my own ecommerce businesses taught me what actually works when your money and reputation are on the line. That combination of insider access plus real operator experience gives you a perspective you won't find anywhere else.

Since 2018, eCommerce Fastlane has delivered over 430 episodes and more than 2 million downloads to ambitious Shopify founders and marketers. Every week, I chat with operators, developers, and experts who share what's actually moving the needle right now—not theory, but patterns I've seen work consistently across dozens of brands at multiple stages.

Whether you're launching your first store or scaling past seven figures, every episode gives you stage-aware strategies you can implement this week. We dig into Shopify apps, digital marketing, retention tactics, AI tools, and the operational stuff that actually reduces overwhelm—while building customer loyalty that lasts.

You'll learn how to leverage emerging tech without losing what makes your brand unique. You'll also hear real founder stories, including lessons from my own journey building and exiting a DTC brand, plus insights from guests across 430+ episodes who've been exactly where you are.

This isn't content for content's sake. It's what you'd get sitting at a mastermind table with someone who's built, scaled, and exited—and helped hundreds of others do the same.

Ready to grow smarter, not just faster? Join thousands of founders and marketers in the eCommerce Fastlane community through our podcast, newsletter, blog, and forthcoming book "Thriving with Shopify."

Steve Hutt
DTC Founder | Podcast Host

Find Us Online
Website: eCommerceFastlane.com
Newsletter: FastlaneInsider.com
LinkedIn: linkedin.com/in/shutt
X: x.com/stevenhutt
Instagram: instagram.com/ecommercefastlane
Email: steve@ecommercefastlane.com