- Think Z
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- Ecommerce Jobs in DANGER with AI
The TL;DR:
Let’s Chat D2C: Ecommerce Jobs in Danger with AI.
What I’m Thinking about this Week: Our First SCALIS Team Retreat and Why Getting In-Person is SO Important.
The D2Z Podcast: In this week’s episode, I sat down with Noah Rahimzadeh, Director of Partnerships at Digioh, a zero-party data and personalization platform for e-commerce businesses.
App Updates & Highlights: Platter - A Shopify theme and app bundle designed to help build high-converting Shopify storefronts.
Upcoming Events: I’m headed to Recharge’s ChargeX in San Diego 4/29-5/1!
Let’s Chat D2C: Ecommerce Jobs in Danger with AI
In Ecommerce, there are quite a few roles I’ve already seen being augmented or replaced with AI in addition to a few jobs I have my eyes on in the coming years. Not all of these are direct replacements; some of them can just make one person so efficient that instead of having to employ 5 copywriters, maybe you only need 1.
Customer Service Roles
AI and automation technologies are increasingly capable of handling customer inquiries and support tasks, reducing the need for human customer service representatives. Automated chatbots and customer service platforms can manage routine inquiries and support tickets more efficiently and at a lower cost.
Siena is my go-to for empathetic human-like customer service AI right now.
Creative
AI is reshaping the nature of creative work and generating new opportunities for innovation and efficiency. AI tools, particularly generative AI, are being used to automate routine and time-consuming tasks, allowing creative professionals to focus more on high-level conceptual and strategic activities.
Generative AI is proving beneficial in areas like graphic design, where it can quickly generate a multitude of design concepts or draft initial content that creative professionals can refine and enhance.
For example, AI-powered tools are used in UX design to analyze customer data and inform product designs, or in digital marketing to generate personalized content based on consumer profiles.
There are a litany of AI tools for photo editing, marketing asset creation, etc.
Copywriting
I don’t expect AI to fully replace human copywriters. Instead, I see AI giving 1 copywriter the productivity of 5. AI copywriting tools like GPT offer several benefits, such as increasing content production speed, helping overcome writer's block, and generating a large volume of content quickly.
These tools are particularly effective for creating standardized or formulaic content like product descriptions, social media posts, or other short-form content where high volumes are necessary and the creative demands are relatively low.
Copywriting jobs are going to shift the focus of human copywriters towards more strategic, creative, and supervisory roles—overseeing AI output, refining messages, and crafting copy that requires a deeper understanding of the audience and brand voice.
Data Entry and Processing Jobs
Jobs that involve significant amounts of data entry or processing are at high risk. AI can automate these tasks, such as updating customer records or managing inventory databases, much more quickly and accurately than humans.
Really, anything that is routine and mundane by nature is ripe for AI disruption, which in the long run is better anyway, as people are far better suited to leveling skills in other areas.
Market Research and Data Analysis
While more complex analysis might still require human oversight, many of the more routine analytics tasks can be automated using AI. This includes compiling and processing large sets of data to understand market trends and consumer behavior.
Pretty much anything to do with analyzing large sets of data is going to be made more effective and efficient with AI.
Operational Roles
Roles that involve scheduling, logistics, and supply chain management are also vulnerable to automation. AI can optimize these processes to enhance efficiency, reduce costs, and minimize human error.
Back-office Functions
Jobs in finance, HR, and administration that involve a lot of repetitive tasks are likely to see increasing automation. AI can handle activities such as payroll processing, budgeting, and compliance monitoring more efficiently than human workers.
Development
Another area where I see productivity increasing tenfold as opposed to jobs being completely replaced.
AI’s Impact on Ecommerce
While AI does pose a risk to certain jobs, it also creates opportunities for new roles and demands upskilling in others. Businesses are beginning to recognize the need for employees who can work alongside AI, manage and interpret AI operations, and contribute to areas where human skills are irreplaceable, such as creative problem-solving, interpersonal communications, and strategic planning.
There are even companies that are hiring for positions that are solely dedicated to working with AI.
Overall, as AI continues to evolve, the landscape of ecommerce jobs will undoubtedly change, but this will also open up new avenues for innovation and employment in areas enhanced by AI rather than replaced by it.
What I’m Thinking About This Week: Our First SCALIS Team Retreat
SCALIS is fully remote, and I hate it because I’d much rather be interacting with my team in-person on a daily basis, but from a cost perspective, it makes the most sense at our early stage to allow everyone to work from anywhere. If you’ve been following along with the newsletter you know we’ve grown rapidly this year - from a team of 3 in January to now 20 (4 in the US and 16 in Brazil).
So, in advance of our 6/3 launch, we’re having an all-team retreat in Florianopolis, Brazil (where most of our Brazil team is located) at the end of May.
But why am I having an all-team retreat so soon?
I strongly believe that remote work can lead to a sense of isolation and disconnection among team members. An in-person team retreat can counter these challenges, providing significant benefits that will enhance our team dynamics and overall productivity.
Enhancing Team Cohesion
Remote work often limits opportunities for spontaneous conversations and social interactions that occur naturally in an office environment. An in-person retreat enables team members to engage in face-to-face interactions, fostering a sense of community and belonging. These interactions are crucial for building trust and understanding among team members, which are foundational elements of a cohesive team.
Not only are we going to be spending a week working together, but we’ll be eating together, going on excursions together, and overall bonding together as a team and family.
Facilitating Effective Communication and Fostering Creativity
While digital tools facilitate communication, they often lack the nuances conveyed through body language and tone of voice. In-person retreats allow team members to communicate more holistically, which is particularly important for discussing complex issues or brainstorming sessions. This setting encourages open dialogue and can lead to more innovative ideas and solutions.
I’m super excited to dive into our brainstorming sessions and really engage the whole team around where SCALIS can and should be headed.
Boosting Morale and Motivation
Team retreats can significantly boost morale and motivation. In fact, I’m already seeing it firsthand. The SCALIS team is SUPER excited that we’re all going to be getting together for an entire week!
Organizing activities that are not only work-related but also fun and engaging can re-energize the team and increase job satisfaction. Activities such as team-building exercises, workshops, and social events can make employees feel valued and appreciated, which enhances their commitment to the team and the company.
Aligning Organizational Goals
Retreats provide an excellent opportunity to step back from daily tasks and re-align with the organization’s goals and strategies. They can be used to clarify team objectives, set new targets, and discuss the team's direction. This alignment is crucial for ensuring that all team members are working towards the same goals, which is especially important in a remote setting where miscommunications are more likely.
I have an entire agenda for the week so that we’ll be as effective as possible in planning the rest of the year into 2025 and ensuring that every team member has a say in what we’re building and where we’re heading as an organization.
Employee Retention
Employee retention is CRITICAL for any successful business, especially one with as lofty of goals as we have. I find that fully remote team members who do not have in-person interaction with the rest of their team are far more likely to feel disconnected and end up hopping to other jobs sooner rather than later.
But What is Our Long-Term Plan?
In 2025 we’ll open offices in Miami and Brazil as our 2 regional headquarters. At some point, we may open a west coast office in LA or San Diego as well. As we continue to grow our team we’ll focus on hiring in and around those areas so that we can employ a hybrid work environment and I’ll frequently be hopping between all 3.
Some of my favorite memories at Electriq stemmed from our office experiences, post-work events, and just generally hanging out with the team and doing fun shit together!
This Week’s The D2Z Podcast
#103 – Personalized Marketing Strategies & Building Partner Programs from Scratch with Noah Rahimzadeh
🎧 Listen Now 🎧
In this week’s episode, I sat down with Noah Rahimzadeh, Director of Partnerships at Digioh, a zero-party data and personalization platform for e-commerce businesses. Specifically, we explored the following:
💰 Marketing efficiency and how Digioh helps e-commerce brands.
📲 Using zero-party data to boost conversions.
😎 Building a partner program from scratch — partner enablement, lead tracking, and managing agency relationships.
🚀 The value of co-marketing initiatives like case studies and joint webinars in driving business growth!
App Updates & Highlights: Platter - A Shopify Theme and App Bundle
In the era of app consolidation and storefronts minimizing their tech stack costs, Platter is a great fit for ecommerce brands who want a high-performing website but without 50 apps.
What is it: Platter is a Shopify theme and app bundle designed to help build high-converting Shopify storefronts.
Differentiator: They have natively built 40+ categories of app functionality around marketing and conversion into one product bundle, unifying your tech stack, support teams, and costs. Additionally, they provide CRO best practices around increasing your conversion rate and average order value so you can make more money and save more money by using Platter.
Price: Starts at $499/mo
How we use it: Improving conversion rate, average order value, and profitability:
Empower non-technical teams to customize their Shopify store and build sections
Implement powerful features for up-selling and cross-selling
Utilize advanced commerce functionalities, like Mix & Match Bundling and Checkout Extensions
Simplify operations and reduce reliance on 3rd party apps and agencies
Upcoming Events
I’m headed to Recharge’s ChargeX in San Diego 4/29-5/1!
Easily share this newsletter with a friend! As you refer, you earn:
3 Referrals: A Free Tech Stack Audit
5 Referrals: A Free Website Audit
10 Referrals: A Free 30-minute Consulting Session
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