Relationships > Tech — ShopTalk Edition

Heyoooooo,

Coming off an incredible week at ShopTalk, I wanted to share a few things that stood out — and honestly, some reminders that I think anyone in the commerce space should be paying attention to right now.

We’re talking about real relationships, the Shopify bubble, how AI is changing creative work forever, and some can’t-miss events coming up.

But first... A quick thank you:

Over the past week, so many people came up to me and mentioned how much they’ve been enjoying this newsletter. It honestly meant the world. Like anyone creating content, there are moments when it feels like you’re writing to no one — so hearing that this thing has been valuable to you? That fires me up. Thank you for the support. I’m excited for what’s to come the rest of this year.

Now, let’s get into it…

Why In-Person Will Always Win

After a few days at ShopTalk, one thing became clear: This business is still built on relationships.

We spend all day on Slack, Zoom, and email — but nothing beats grabbing coffee with a partner, sitting down face-to-face, or bumping into someone at an event. That’s where trust is built. That’s where real business happens.

If you’re serious about growing in this space, you need to prioritize those real-life moments. The casual conversations, the side chats, the dinner tables — they matter more than you think.

Shoutout to everyone I ran into at ShopTalk. The conversations, laughs, and even the 5-minute catch-ups were the best part of the whole trip.

The Shopify Bubble — And What’s Happening Outside of It

I’ve spent the last five years fully embedded in the Shopify ecosystem — building sites, scaling brands, working with app partners.

But ShopTalk was a reminder that there’s a whole lot of commerce happening outside of Shopify.

Platforms like:

• Salesforce Commerce Cloud → Ralph Lauren, Crocs, ASICS, Pop-Socket
• BigCommerce → Black Diamond, Solo Stove
• Magento (Adobe Commerce) → Omega, HP

These brands aren’t replatforming anytime soon — the cost, the complexity, the deep operational roots mean they’re staying put.

Shopify dominates the online conversation, but it’s not the whole market. If you’re in this space, start paying attention to the bigger picture.

The caveat? Shopify is still winning — and will likely continue to dominate as they lean deeper into enterprise features, operational tools, and the all-in-one ecosystem. But if you want to really understand commerce at scale, you can't ignore what's happening outside the Shopify bubble.

AI Is Breaking the Creative Barrier

This week, OpenAI dropped their new image generation update — and it’s wild.

You can now create studio-quality creative (yes, even clean, accurate text!) in seconds. The creative skill barrier? Gone.

It’s exciting but also a little scary — because when everyone can generate polished creative instantly, everything starts to look the same.

The brands who will win are the ones who think differently.

🎵 Jon Bellion’s latest music rollout is the perfect example: He didn’t post a clickable link to his new song — he posted a screenshot of a URL, forcing fans to copy/paste it. That tiny bit of friction made people care. The fans who followed through were rewarded with a 14-minute behind-the-scenes video.

Another example: Maison Meta’s AI Fashion Week Designers submitted fully AI-generated collections — the winners got real product drops. AI wasn’t the product — it was the tool.

That’s the mindset brands need today: Originality + Effort + Human Energy. Because when AI can make “good enough” creative instantly… the human touch is what stands out.

If you’re not following Jacob Posel on Twitter/X, you should — his takes on AI and creative workflows have been unreal.

Upcoming Ecom Events You Shouldn’t Miss

If you’re in the world of commerce, here’s what’s coming up:

📧 Breakthrough Strategies for Email & SMS in 2025 Wednesday, April 2 → RSVP Here

🌮 Email Over Tacos Wednesday, April 2 → RSVP Here

📈 "How to go Viral!" - Monday, April 7th → RSVP Here

🏀 eCom Basketball Bash Wednesday, April 9 → RSVP Here

🏀 Jazz vs Trail Blazers Suite Night Wednesday, April 9 → RSVP Here

🏢 Founders House – DTX | Spring '25 Tuesday, April 29 → RSVP Here

Brand Spotlight

🥤 HYQ — Drink Smarter If you haven’t heard of HYQ yet, you will. They’re building the next generation of hydration and performance drinks — science-backed formulas and fresh brand energy. Still in pre-launch mode, but they’re coming strong.

🌐 drinkhyq.com 📸 HYQ Instagram

Tech Spotlight

🧪 Shoplift — Shopify’s Best-Kept CRO Secret If you’re running on Shopify and not using Shoplift, you’re leaving money on the table. It’s the first A/B testing platform built specifically for Shopify — making it insanely easy to test headlines, layouts, images, and more, without slowing down your store or needing a dev team.

If you care about conversion rate, you need this in your stack.

🌐 shoplift.ai

Until Next Time

That’s all for this edition of Ecomconnect.

Last week’s conversations at ShopTalk reminded me why I love writing this newsletter — and how important the real, human side of this business is.

If you found this helpful, forward it to a founder, operator, or anyone who lives in the world of commerce.

Until next time,

Zach

P.S. If you found value in this breakdown, consider sharing it with a friend or colleague who's interested in brand building, consumer trends, or the future of retail. And as always, hit reply with any thoughts — I read every message.