About this episode

Jason Greenwood and Laura Doonin discuss the challenges facing DTC brands and the impact of operational AI on retail strategies.

In this episode, host Jason Greenwood catches up with longtime industry friend, eCommerce veteran, and retail consultant Laura Doonin . Back together after more than 15 years together in the same eCommerce orbit, Jason and Laura dive deep into the cultural shifts between global markets, the realities of navigating the mid-market retail crunch, and how operational AI is changing the playbook for modern brands. The Mid-Market Crunch: Brands with sub-100 store footprints are struggling the most to adapt to social commerce and strategic experimentation. Operational AI is the Real Unlock: While front-end tools get the hype, the true ROI for brands right now is in back-of-house operational AI—streamlining trade packs, marketing, and supply chain logistics. The Wholesale Revival: D2C brands that avoid wholesale to "own the customer" face sky-high acquisition costs; strategic wholesale and global distribution partners are critical to de-risking retail businesses. Centralized Decision-Making: Mid-market retail needs to shed decentralized, fragmented decision-making structures to stay agile and accountable. [00:00:00] – The 15-Year eCommerce Orbit Jason and Laura reflect on their…

People in this episode

Host: Jason Greenwood

Guest: Laura Doonin

Topics covered

• DTC challenges
• operational AI
• mid-market retail
• social commerce
• wholesale strategy
• global distribution

Keywords

• DTC
• operational AI
• mid-market retail
• social commerce
• wholesale
• global distribution
• eCommerce

Mentioned in this episode

Organizations: eBay, Magento, PayPal, agency

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