eCom@One with Richard Hill

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237

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Oct 2026

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Unfiltered conversations with eCommerce owners, industry experts and more... Our podcast is raw, honest and damn right insightful, as we chat to some of the best minds in eCommerce. Welcome to the eCom@One Podcast. Hello there, So, you are a passionate eCommerce enthusiast just like us? Richard Hill, our CEO, interviews guests from a wide range of eCommerce related industries. On this weekly podcast, we interview store owners, marketers and those on the frontline of online retailing. Listen to their career stories, their tips for success and the challenges that they have faced in eCommerce. Each episode will have its own personal spin from, motivation, leadership to strategy. Don’t get FOMO. Subscribe now!

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November 11, 2026Episode 23747 min

E237: Tom Doherty - How AI Is Helping This Automotive Brand Grow 70% Year-on-Year

Richard Hill sits down with Tom Doherty from the team behind My Motor World to unpack how an automotive group took its eCommerce sales from single-digit millions to just shy of £40 million, growing 70% year on year for the last three years. Tom is clear that it was not just bigger ad budgets or acquisitions. It came from building a team and a culture, then building processes that can handle a huge catalogue. Tom walks through the numbers. The internal eCommerce team grew from 3 people to 18. The catalogue runs to 70,000 products on the D2C site, 1.5 million SKUs on eBay and 70,000 ASINs on Amazon across 13 marketplaces. AI sits over around 15 integrated platforms, handling localisation, compliance checks and customer complaints, while newer tools spot underperforming Amazon listings, rewrite the content and run A/B tests. He also explains why production plans are now linked to ads so the business never pushes a product that is delayed or out of stock. The most striking story is the PPC reset. When Tom took over the account, the D2C site was spending £350,000 to £400,000 a month on PPC, with a customer acquisition cost of £48 against a lifetime value of £60 and a ROAS of around 1.2. Tom cut spend to around £20,000, stopped advertising third-party brands like Castrol and Bosch, and focused on own brands where the margin sits. The site is now profitable, with a ROAS of 7 to 8 each month, and spend is being scaled back up. This is not a story of constant growth at any cost. Tom is open about the high seven-figure losses the original plan would have led to, the habit of discounting 15% off almost everything every week, and why customers learned to wait for the next deal. He explains the shift to 10 to 15 hot deals at 40 to 50% off, giving away gloves, funnels and drain pans instead of cutting price, and what it takes to compete against rivals with 300 to 400 stores when you have 42 click and collect locations. Along the way, Richard and Tom cover marketplaces (25 of them, and why everything outside Amazon adds up to roughly the same size), the software you need before you launch, why you should commit properly or not bother, a quickfire round, eBay live shopping that sold around two items, and Tom’s view that owned automotive eCommerce sites are now almost impossible to start. Broader themes include empowering a team to make decisions, margin over turnover, and letting the people doing the job build their own AI tools. If you run a large catalogue, spend heavily on PPC and are questioning how much of your turnover you actually keep, there is plenty to take away. Listen to the full episode now, and don’t forget to hit subscribe. Thank you to DataFeedWatch for sponsoring the eCom@One podcast. DataFeedWatch keeps our clients' data fresh and optimised and lets us group products around what’s selling, what’s profitable, and what we actually want to spend budget on. Easily. No technical hurdles. Get 2 months free here. https://www.datafeedwatch.com/pricing?discount=ECOMONE-FREE2MO&utm_source=ecomone&utm_medium=podcast&utm_campaign=free2mo&utm_content=shownotes

October 28, 2026Episode 23647 min

E236: Radoslav Chernaev - How Fixing Fitment Data Cut Auto Parts Returns From 10% to 3%

Richard Hill sits down with Radoslav (Rado) Chernaev, CEO of Autofixa, to get to the root of why automotive eCommerce has spent years trailing fashion and tech. Rado’s answer comes down to one word: fitment. The pair first met at Autofixa Live in Milton Keynes, in a room of 350 people from across the UK automotive parts industry. This conversation picks up where that day left off. Selling car parts online is a different game. A fashion retailer deals with a product, a size and a colour. An auto parts retailer is managing 90,000 to 200,000 parts, legacy systems, patchy product data and few or no images, and every buyer is asking the same question: will it fit my car? Rado shares the story of one retailer with 500,000 listings and a 10% return rate. A large share of those listings had no fitment data at all. What did exist was around four years out of date and the customer service team was answering compatibility questions by hand. Autofixa focused on the 20% of products driving 80% of the returns, and within a year the return rate had dropped to around 3%, with stronger marketplace rankings on top. This isn’t a polished software pitch. It’s a frank look at how bad data compounds at scale. One error repeated across hundreds of thousands of listings turns into wasted staff hours, lost margin, poor reviews and weaker visibility in Google and in AI tools like ChatGPT and Claude. Rado is just as honest about AI itself. Autofixa uses it to scale fitment work, but every result is still checked in-house, because a hallucinated fitment means a returned part and an unhappy customer. The conversation goes well beyond fitment. Rado explains why buyers are turning to aftermarket and green (refurbished) parts as household budgets tighten. His own hunt for Kia Sorento wiper blades turned up prices anywhere from £35 down to £2. He also argues that OEM brands gain control by selling on marketplaces directly, because resellers are already listing their products, usually with poor data. Richard and Rado unpack what a one to two year OEM tender process really involves, from security and GDPR to disaster recovery and financial due diligence. They finish on where automotive eCommerce goes next, as AutoDoc, B&Q and Temu move into parts and more brands go direct to consumers. If you sell automotive parts or accessories online, you’re weighing up a move onto eBay or Amazon, or you’re dealing with returns you can’t explain, this one’s for you. Listen to the full episode now and don’t forget to hit subscribe. Topics Covered: 00:00 - Introduction: Richard and Rado reconnect after Autofixa Live 03:12 - Why automotive lags so far behind fashion and tech online 09:22 - How Autofixa solves fitment at scale with data providers, automation and AI 12:45 - Case study: 500,000 listings and a 10% return rate cut to 3% 15:37 - How wrong fitment hits reviews, search visibility and margin 18:43 - Tighter budgets, an ageing vehicle parc and £35 vs £2 wiper blades 29:22 - Marketplaces: are brands losing control by selling on Amazon and eBay? 35:43 - Inside a two-year OEM tender process 39:24 - Where automotive eCommerce goes next: DTC, AutoDoc, B&Q and Temu 42:17 - Book recommendation and where to find Rado Thank you to DataFeedWatch for sponsoring the eCom@One podcast. DataFeedWatch keeps our clients' data fresh and optimised and lets us group products around what’s selling, what’s profitable, and what we actually want to spend budget on. Easily. N o technical hurdles. Get 2 months free here .

October 6, 2026Episode 23540 min

E235: Laura Davies: How She Acquired a Competitor 3X Bigger & Scaled Two eCommerce Brands

Five minutes. That's how long it took Laura Davies to agree a deal to buy Scandiborn, a competitor three times the size of her own business. Making it work took the next two years. Richard Hill sits down with Laura, founder of The Kid Collective, whose story starts 18 years ago in a spare room selling reusable nappies, learning eCommerce from online forums with no maternity leave. When her loyal community kept moving on after 18 months, she launched The Kid Collective to keep them longer, tested what stuck and landed on toys. After the eco market crashed post-Covid, Laura sold the nappy brand, went all in, and in May 2024 acquired Scandiborn. In July 2025, both businesses moved into one warehouse over a single weekend, with zero web downtime. This isn't a polished success story. Their first joint peak "hit us like a ton of bricks." The backlog passed 8,000 orders, stock had nowhere to go and paid marketing had to be scaled back. Laura's line in the sand was every Christmas order out by 22 December without a single cancellation and they did it. Richard and Laura also dig into choosing which brand partners to go all in on, why the Nuremberg Toy Fair matters every January, merging two teams onto Shopify without losing the culture, and how two brands in one market avoid cannibalising each other, from pricing to Meta strategy. If you're weighing up an acquisition, running more than one brand or bracing for an untested peak, this one is packed with hard-won lessons. Listen to the full episode now, and don't forget to hit subscribe. Topics Covered 00:00 Introduction: Laura Davies, The Kid Collective and Scandiborn 01:10 Choosing which brand partners to go all in on, exclusives and the Nuremberg Toy Fair 07:00 From reusable nappies in the spare room to launching The Kid Collective 09:50 Buying Scandiborn, three times the size, in five minutes, and merging into one warehouse 14:30 The first joint peak: an 8,000+ order backlog and the 22 December deadline 18:50 Migrating to Shopify Plus and structuring teams without losing the culture 22:30 Fast-fire round and the Rainbows Hospice fundraising partnership 28:45 Running two brands: SEO, paid media, pricing and avoiding cannibalisation 36:20 What's next: range expansion and moving beyond a flat structure 38:20 Book recommendation and where to find Laura Thank you to DataFeedWatch for sponsoring the eCom@One podcast. DataFeedWatch keeps our clients' data fresh and optimised and lets us group products around what’s selling, what’s profitable, and what we actually want to spend budget on. Easily. N o technical hurdles. Get 2 months free here .

September 9, 2026Episode 23443 min

E234: Roger Dooley - Why 95% of Purchase Decisions Are Made Before Logic Kicks In

Richard Hill sits down with Roger Dooley, the behavioural science author and neuromarketing expert behind Brainfluence, Friction and his latest book The Persuasion Engine. He unpacks why 95% of purchase decisions happen below the level of conscious thought and what that means for how eCommerce brands sell, price and design their checkout. Roger walks through the research behind non-conscious buying triggers, including a countdown timer test that lifted conversion by 15% simply by creating urgency. He shares the JCPenney story of what happened when former CEO Ron Johnson stripped out discounts in favour of “everyday fair pricing”. Disclosure, sales collapsed within three quarters, the company nearly went bankrupt, and the old markdown strategy was reinstated almost overnight. From there the conversation turns to friction, including Amazon's one-click ordering patent, the legal fight with Barnes & Noble that followed, and Steve Jobs paying Amazon $1 million just to license one click for the original iTunes Store. Richard also brings in a live example from an eComOne client, where removing guest checkout in favour of forced account creation quietly killed conversions on low-value orders. This isn't a polished highlight reel of marketing hacks. It's a genuinely practical breakdown of where eCommerce brands are losing sales without realising it, from pricing pages that anchor on the wrong number, to product pages stuffed with logical features and missing the emotional cues that actually move people to buy. Along the way, Roger and Richard cover a wide range of themes including, how AI tracking tools can now show exactly where customers look on a page for the cost of a coffee, what actually makes a testimonial credible, the psychology of price colour and anchoring, and a live experiment showing that AI-written customer messages were rated more empathetic than human-written ones, until people knew which was which. Roger also shares the lesson in trust and community he took from co-founding College Confidential and a sobering AI case study involving a Starbucks Korea promotion that went badly wrong. If you're running a scaling eCommerce brand and want to understand exactly why customers hesitate, what actually gets them to act, and how to make the buying journey easier without giving away margin, this episode is packed with actionable insights. Listen to the full episode now, and don't forget to hit subscribe. Topics Covered 00:00 – Cold open: friction vs persuasion, pricing psychology 02:33 – 95% of decisions are unconscious (Zaltman's research) 04:23 – Buying psychology across machinery, fragrance and apparel 06:04 – Countdown timer test: +15% conversion 07:59 – The JCPenney story: killing the markdowns 10:19 – Why "friction" is eCommerce's most important word 10:42 – Amazon's one-click patent, Barnes & Noble, and Jobs' $1M payout 12:55 – How Amazon made returns a loyalty weapon 17:43 – The guest checkout mistake costing a client conversions now 18:38 – Inside The Persuasion Engine's "neuromarketing 2.0" 21:23 – AI eye-tracking: predicting where customers look 21:38 – Roger's own invisible CTA fix 23:54 – AI eye-tracking tools: Feng Gui, Neurons Inc, Expose.io 25:16 – Levelling up social proof beyond star ratings 27:39 – Borrowing authority: when a logo does the selling 29:05 – Pricing psychology: red tags and anchoring 33:08 – Quickfire round 36:16 – What College Confidential taught Roger about trust 38:03 – Roger's 3-year AI/eCommerce prediction 38:59 – Starbucks Korea's "Tank Day," and the AI empathy audit fix 41:41 – Book rec: Cialdini's Influence

August 25, 2026Episode 23342 min

E233: Ben Grass - From CBD to Mushrooms: Grass and Co’s Journey to 1,500+ Stores

“There’s only so many times the director can put Michael Caine on the floor on a freezing cold day in Shoreditch.” If you want to understand this quote from episode 233, give it a listen. Richard Hill sits down with Ben Grass, founder of Grass & Co., to explore the journey of building a wellness brand that started in the CBD space and has boldly transitioned into the booming world of functional mushrooms and drinks. Ben Grass reveals the behind-the-scenes realities of getting stocked in over 1,500 UK stores, shares practical tips for securing and maintaining major retail listings, and opens up about navigating regulatory hurdles in an evolving industry. The conversation also delves into Grass & Co.'s international expansion attempts, the operational challenges of scaling up, and why strong products and authentic brand positioning outweigh chasing trends. Rounding out the episode are insights from Ben Grass's unique career journey, from producing films with legends like Michael Caine to innovating in the world of wellness. Whether you're an eCommerce entrepreneur, aspiring retailer, or wellness enthusiast, this episode is packed with actionable advice and inspiring stories. Topics Covered: 00:00 - Ben Grass on scaling retail brands 04:55 - Launching initial CBD product lines 10:44 - Getting into Holland Barrett 12:41 - Improving in-store product communication 16:49 - Managing Cash Flow Challenges 17:59 - Entering the Chinese market 21:15 - Testing the German market 25:10 - Challenges of Movie Financing 30:47 - Discussing CBD regulations challenges 32:52 - Navigating regulatory challenges in marketing 36:23 - The "Touching Grass" campaign 39:28 - Expanding drinks distribution and innovation 42:31 - Ending and subscribe reminder Remember to subscribe to the podcast!

August 11, 2026Episode 23243 min

E232: Oli Cook - The Power of Small Actions: Sustainability Strategies for eCommerce Brands

In Episode 232 of the eCom@One podcast we’re focusing on the practical integration of sustainability into the eCommerce checkout experience. The discussion explored how brands can empower customers to support meaningful environmental projects without creating friction in the buying journey. One concept discussed was the significant impact of small, simple actions at the point of purchase, offering both a boost to customer advocacy and an edge in brand loyalty. Several points were raised, including the commercial viability of embedding sustainability practices, the myth that consumers don’t care about climate action and the evolving expectations surrounding ethical business practices. A key theme that emerged was the importance of starting with manageable steps to build a foundation for genuine, long-term positive impact. Whether you’re an eCommerce startup or an established brand, this episode provides insightful inspiration and actionable strategies for making sustainability a core part of business growth. Time Stamps: 00:00 Journey to sustainability focus 03:16 Discovering sustainability in business 09:27 Trying new sustainable brands 12:24 Making the Checkout Experience Joyful 13:44 Transparent charity donations 19:51 Brand sustainability and market challenges 20:40 Working with B Corp businesses 25:45 Helping brands understand sustainability 30:01 Discussing B Corp certification process 31:50 Shift to value-added products 37:38 Working with merchant clients 38:33 Future of sustainability in brands 41:45 John Sills' consumer insights blog

July 30, 2026Episode 23149 min

E231: Moise Abubakr - Protecting Brand Uniqueness and Driving Growth through Smart Email Marketing with Rockett St George

“Although, can you ever have too many cushions?” “Ask my wife, it's definitely no.” Welcome back to eCom@One with Richard Hill! In this episode, Richard Hill sits down with Moise Abubakr, Head of eCommerce at Rockett St George, a brand celebrated for its bold and personality-driven homeware. Together, they dig into the secrets behind building and protecting a truly unique brand, the power of niche marketing and how to keep your story consistent across all channels from product and creative to email and paid media. You’ll also hear Moise Abubakr share practical strategies for high-performing email marketing, insights into understanding your customer psychology, how to approach working with agencies, and how to leverage both D2C and marketplace partnerships like their recent collaboration with Next. Whether you’re looking to sharpen your brand identity, supercharge your email CRM, or future-proof your marketing strategy in the age of AI, this episode is packed with actionable advice you won’t want to miss. Time stamps: 00:00 Protecting and Growing Unique Brands 04:47 Importance of niche branding 08:30 Benefits of an agile in-house team 11:37 Empowering team through ownership 14:18 Working with agencies effectively 18:47 Optimising the welcome email flow 23:01 Improving customer conversion strategy 26:37 Tailoring email messages for audiences 27:59 Using data for customer targeting 33:11 Personalising marketing strategies 37:07 Understanding AI in Marketing 41:00 Expanding product range on marketplaces 43:11 Partnering with Next for expansion 45:51 Importance of community for brands 49:33 Encouragement to subscribe

July 6, 2026Episode 23053 min

E230: Alex Spooner & Aoife Daly - How to Create eCommerce Content That Ranks, Converts and Gets Cited by AI

"I could be writing about ponies and glitter... then writing about swords... and AI would make them sound exactly the same." The conversation focused on the ever-evolving landscape of content strategy, with a particular emphasis on the impact of AI, the enduring fundamentals of SEO and the crucial distinction between content that drives revenue and content that simply fills space. A key theme that emerged was the importance of emotional connection in content, as well as the rising demand for concise, value-driven writing in an age of information overload and shrinking attention spans. The discussion explored practical strategies for standing out in a crowded digital marketplace, the role of forums and PR in building authority, and how brands can adapt their approach to maximise both visibility and trust. Several points were raised, including the necessity of balancing AI tools with human creativity, the timeless value of high-quality blogs and actionable tips for both new and seasoned content creators. Whether you’re a marketer, business owner, or content writer, this episode provides valuable insights into creating content that not only ranks, but converts. Time stamps: 00:00 Practical content strategies with AI 05:11 Impact of social media on content 09:23 Using search results for content strategy 10:25 SEO strategies and AI adaptations 13:48 Engaging on discussion boards 20:03 Optimising content for conversions 24:11 Discussing AI vs human content writing 25:51 Balancing factual and engaging content 29:12 Impact of AI content on SEO 32:54 Using research tools carefully 36:35 Importance of headlines in PR 38:16 Discussing Link Placement in Articles 43:40 Discussing low-volume keywords 44:51 Finding Hidden Keyword Opportunities 48:59 Advice for new content writers 51:27 Real productivity vs. burnout

June 18, 2026Episode 22948 min

E229: Helen Lord - From Dragon’s Den to Marketplace Leader Helen Lord Explains Sustainable Retail

"You see 10 minutes on Dragon's Den. What you don't see is the two-and-a-half hours in the Den, months of forensic BBC due diligence, and the fact you've only got about a 1% chance of ever making it onto TV." In this episode, Richard sits down with Helen Lord, founder of Rehome, a marketplace dedicated to giving kitchens, bedrooms, bathrooms and interiors a second life. Helen shares her honest insights on what it really takes to make sustainability work in retail, discussing the challenges of building trust in a high-value resale category and the complexities of making reuse accessible for both buyers and sellers. The conversation also explores Helen's memorable experience on Dragon’s Den, the behind-the-scenes reality of due diligence, the critical role of partnerships and practical lessons learned from developing a purpose-driven brand and marketplace. Whether you’re interested in sustainability, marketplaces or founder-led growth, this episode promises authentic advice and inspiration from a trailblazer in sustainable eCommerce.

June 1, 2026Episode 22831 min

E228: Kieran Wright & Damian Duke - Mastering AI for eCommerce Success Without Losing the Human Touch

“What could’ve been a five-minute conversation with a human has now taken 30 minutes and made me angry.” In this episode of eCom@One with Richard Hill, the spotlight turns to AI’s real-world impact on the eCommerce landscape. Richard hands the reins to Kieran Wright and Damian Duke, who dive deep into where AI genuinely adds value beyond the hype. Listen in as they discuss how AI is speeding up processes, enhancing research and strategy, and revolutionising workflows, while also exploring its limitations, ethical considerations and the irreplaceable role of human insight. Whether you want to refine your operations, improve content, or simply make smarter decisions about AI tools, this episode is packed with practical advice and candid opinions, helping you cut through the noise and harness AI where it matters most. And remember “The trick is: I actually don’t know what I’m talking about, but if I say it in this tone of voice…” We’re joking, kind of! Hit subscribe, and let’s get started! Time Stamps: 00:00 Exploring practical AI in business 04:44 Skepticism about chatbots in retail 07:13 Using AI as a thinking partner 10:17 Discussing AI tool reliance 15:05 Discussing AI and ethical concerns 18:12 Caution with AI data privacy 22:20 Clients pushing for AI in reviews 23:16 Evaluating AI tools for clients 27:03 Shifting roles in agency teams 30:10 Recommending a YouTube channel