The hottest Ecommerce Substack posts right now

And their main takeaways
Category
Top Business Topics

Klaviyo S-1 breakdown

Tanay’s Newsletter • 201 implied HN points • 29 Aug 23
💼 Business Technology Finance Marketing Ecommerce Entrepreneurship
  1. Klaviyo is a marketing automation platform that helps retail and eCommerce businesses drive revenue growth through digital channels like email and SMS.
  2. Klaviyo has strong financial metrics, with $585M in revenue over 12 months, impressive retention rates, and profitability with 76% gross margins.
  3. The efficient growth model of Klaviyo, its ability to resonate with eCommerce businesses, and reliance on partnerships like Shopify have contributed to its success.

LinkedIn Posts from 2022 and 2023

In Depth on Africa Fintech • 39 implied HN points • 02 Jan 24
💼 Business Payments Regulation Innovation Leadership Ecommerce
  1. LinkedIn can be a useful tool for clarifying thinking by writing publicly.
  2. The topics covered include banking, payments, fintech, regulation, innovation, leadership, ecommerce, emerging markets analysis, electric vehicles, venture capital, and general business/startups.
  3. Content includes insights on leadership, customer acquisition, startup success, failure reasons, investing in Africa, and disrupting industries.

AI will predict what you'll buy in two years; is AI the future of film-making? 16 examples of how open-source LLMs are used today; the US is building AI infrastructure for academic researchers;

Computerspeak by Alexandru Voica • 19 implied HN points • 02 Feb 24
🕹 Technology AI Ecommerce Innovation Computer Vision Artificial Intelligence
  1. AI is playing a significant role in various industries, from predicting consumer behavior to improving movie-making processes, indicating a growing reliance on AI technology.
  2. Companies like Amazon, Google, Meta, and Microsoft are investing in custom AI chips and developing AI assistants to enhance their services and offerings.
  3. Advancements in AI, particularly in natural language processing and computer vision, are shaping the future of ecommerce by enabling personalized, engaging, and context-aware experiences for customers.
Get a weekly roundup of the best Substack posts, by hacker news affinity:

Be Mindful of the Power of Platforms

Equal Ventures • 79 implied HN points • 25 Apr 23
💼 Business Platforms Ecommerce Retail Investing
  1. Platforms like Salesforce, Apple, and Amazon have significant power over not only customers but also business partners, with potential risks for those who rely heavily on them.
  2. Shopify, once a DTC favorite, is now making strategic moves to increase its own revenue through actions like tightening control over checkout and fulfillment services, affecting both merchants and app developers.
  3. Amazon's dominance in the retail platform space has grown, leading to concerns for sellers regarding fees and limited alternatives, emphasizing the importance of balancing platform reliance with diversification.

Retrospective on a Kenyan Payments Workflow

Vivid Leaves • 2 HN points • 14 Mar 24
🕹 Technology Payments Infrastructure Ecommerce APIs
  1. Ecommerce players in emerging markets often face challenges with cash management due to low card adoption and customer trust issues, leading to a need for innovative solutions like payment upon delivery.
  2. M-Pesa in Kenya revolutionized cashless payments with its mobile money network, which played a crucial role in enabling online commerce and providing a solution for payment workflows in the region.
  3. Creating unique solutions, like using M-Pesa for cash remittance and optimizing delivery routes, can help businesses navigate operational challenges and improve efficiency in regions with specific infrastructural characteristics.

Commerce Flows vs. Capital Flows

Equal Ventures • 39 implied HN points • 02 Mar 23
💼 Business Ecommerce Venture Capital Retail Investment Brands
  1. The strategy of focusing solely on DTC (direct-to-consumer) is no longer a sustainable path for most brands.
  2. There's a significant mismatch between the amount of venture capital flowing into ecommerce businesses and the actual share of commerce that DNVBs (digitally native vertical brands) hold.
  3. More investment is needed in areas like brick-and-mortar retail, off-price channels, and wholesale, where the potential for economic growth far exceeds current VC interest.

The Point of No Return? A New Model for Reverse Logistics

Equal Ventures • 59 implied HN points • 11 Oct 22
💼 Business Logistics Ecommerce Retail Returns Inventory
  1. Ecommerce returns have surged, leading to unsustainable cycles of returns. Covid-19 exacerbated this trend, with around 40% of retailers easing return policies, resulting in return rates of 20% for ecommerce.
  2. Returns are costly for retailers due to logistics expenses. Online returns can cost retailers approximately 21% of the order value, and long returns processes lock up inventory, impacting retail profitability.
  3. Major retailers like Amazon have mastered optimizing returns through dedicated processing centers. Democratizing this capability to all brands is essential for efficient returns management.

Fight to Repair Daily: Friday September 9, 2022

Fight to Repair • 19 implied HN points • 09 Sep 22
🕹 Technology Hardware Cybersecurity Ecommerce Sustainability Social media
  1. iPhone 14 offers Emergency SOS service via satellite for 2 years, connecting users in emergencies when outside cell service.
  2. National Highway Traffic Safety Administration advises automakers on cybersecurity, focusing on protecting vehicle sensors and OTA updates.
  3. eBay partners with Reskinned to sell repaired and resale clothing items, promoting sustainability and affordability for conscious shoppers.

The Future of Ecommerce

Fish Food for Thought • 2 implied HN points • 29 Nov 23
💼 Business Ecommerce AI Data
  1. GenAI is revolutionizing search and personalization in ecommerce.
  2. Data is crucial for powering AI models and personalizing the customer experience.
  3. Omnichannel retail, long-term customer relationships, and visual commerce are key trends shaping the future of ecommerce.

Brand & Data

Fish Food for Thought • 2 implied HN points • 22 Nov 23
💼 Business Ecommerce Brand Data
  1. In Web 2.0, companies can differentiate through brand and data.
  2. Data allows for personalized experiences and enhances user satisfaction.
  3. Combining a strong brand with rich data can set a company apart in a crowded market.

LLM Chronicles #5: GPT For Ecommerce Search Engine With Pinecone

Pratik’s Pakodas 🍿 • 8 implied HN points • 09 May 23
🕹 Technology ML Search Engine GPT Ecommerce Data science
  1. In certain scenarios, companies use 2 types of hybrid search: weighted scoring and filter and rerank, especially prevalent in e-commerce.
  2. GPT can be leveraged for query understanding to parse out complex queries and populate Elasticsearch/Solr with detected entities.
  3. Although using GPT-4 for this purpose may be costly and slow, training an open-source model like MPT-7B can be a more viable option.

🧩 $5.5mil With Evergreen Niche That Always Sell For Print On Demand

Money Making Engineer (MME) Newsletter • 0 implied HN points • 05 Mar 24
💼 Business Ecommerce Entrepreneurship SEO
  1. Pets niche is evergreen and lucrative for online businesses, with examples like earning $5.5mil with print on demand products.
  2. Differentiation, SEO, and becoming a one-stop shop are key strategies to replicate success in the pets niche on platforms like Etsy.
  3. Exploring niche ideas, trends, and tools can help in finding success and profitability in the online pets niche market.

Finding the Next Klaviyo - USA and Indian Startups are Leading the Innovation in Ecommerce Automation

Golden Pineapple • 0 implied HN points • 09 Oct 23
💼 Business Ecommerce Startups Innovation Marketing Investment
  1. 70% of the fastest growing Marketing Automation and Customer Engagement platform startups are based out of USA and India
  2. Top 10 fastest growing e-commerce marketing automation companies include Elloe AI, Octane AI, and Akia
  3. About 60% of growing e-commerce marketing automation companies have more than a fifth of their staff in the Engineering department