

The Watson Weekly: eCommerce Strategy & News
Watson Weekly
Stop reading the headlines and start understanding the frameworks.
The Watson Weekly is the premier resource for eCommerce executives, delivering sharp, independent strategy on the industry's most critical developments. Join 20-year veteran Rick Watson as he cuts through the noise to help you understand not just what is happening, but why it matters to your business.
Broadcasting three times a week:
Mondays: Strategic deep dives into earnings, mergers, and market shifts.
Wednesdays: Candid interviews with C-Suite luminaries and tech innovators.
Fridays: Join the Watson Weekend for Spirited debates on controversial topics with co-host Jessica Lesesky.
From AI implementation and marketplace dynamics to supply chain logistics and retail operations, we cover the entire commerce landscape. Whether you are a CEO, VP, or operator, this is your competitive advantage in audio form.
The Watson Weekly is the premier resource for eCommerce executives, delivering sharp, independent strategy on the industry's most critical developments. Join 20-year veteran Rick Watson as he cuts through the noise to help you understand not just what is happening, but why it matters to your business.
Broadcasting three times a week:
Mondays: Strategic deep dives into earnings, mergers, and market shifts.
Wednesdays: Candid interviews with C-Suite luminaries and tech innovators.
Fridays: Join the Watson Weekend for Spirited debates on controversial topics with co-host Jessica Lesesky.
From AI implementation and marketplace dynamics to supply chain logistics and retail operations, we cover the entire commerce landscape. Whether you are a CEO, VP, or operator, this is your competitive advantage in audio form.
Episodes
Mentioned books

Jan 16, 2025 • 19min
Modernizing B2B Commerce: Overcoming the Bob Problem with Kelly Goetsch
In Part 2 of this special Watson Weekly series, Rick Watson and Kelly Goetsch dive deep into the complexities of B2B commerce. They discuss:The generational shift reshaping the industryChallenges like the "Bob Problem" and outdated practicesThe role of composable commerce in streamlining processesHow solutions like Commerce Tools Foundry are enabling businesses to innovateExplore how B2B is evolving to meet modern demands while navigating its unique challenges. Don’t miss this insightful conversation that bridges tradition and innovation.Stay tuned for the final episode in this series, rolling out next week!

Jan 13, 2025 • 14min
January 13th, 2025: Shopify 2025: The Entrepreneur, the Rulemaker and the Bridge-Builder, Mastercard Holiday numbers show roses for eCommerce, Is 2025 the year of the niche down? And Amazon still the king of warehouse growth
Today on our show:Shopify 2025: The Entrepreneur, the Rulemaker and the Bridge-BuilderMastercard Holiday numbers show roses for eCommerceIs 2025 the year of the niche down?Amazon still the king of warehouse growthAnd finally, The Investor Minute, which contains 5 items this week from the world of venture capital, acquisitions, and IPOs.Today’s episode is sponsored by Mirakl.https://www.rmwcommerce.com/ecommerce-podcast-watsonweekly

Jan 6, 2025 • 28min
Breaking Barriers in E-commerce and Healthcare with Kelly Goetsch
In this special episode of Watson Weekly, Rick Watson is joined by Kelly Goetsch, a Commercetools Advisor and industry thought leader. Kelly shares his unique insights into the evolving landscape of e-commerce, focusing on the intersection of technology and healthcare. Together, they explore key topics like consumer behavior trends, the growing role of composable commerce, and the untapped opportunities in health tech. From tackling HIPAA compliance to redefining retail experiences, this episode dives deep into the transformative potential of technology across industries. Don’t miss this engaging discussion packed with expertise and forward-thinking strategies.About Kelly - Kelly Goetsch is a commercetools Advisor. Until January 2025, Kelly was the company’s Chief Strategy Officer, and prior to that, he served as the Chief Product Officer at commercetools for nearly six years. Goetsch is an industry thought-leader who champions the MACH (Microservices, API, Cloud-Native, and Headless) movement, and co-founded the MACH Alliance, a group of 100+ independent, future-thinking tech companies dedicated to advocating for open, best-of-breed technology ecosystems. Prior to commercetools, Goetsch held senior-level product development and go-to-market responsibilities at Oracle and held the role of Senior Architect ATG (acquired by Oracle), where he was instrumental to 31 large-scale ATG implementationsHe is the author of four books - GraphQL for Modern Commerce (O'Reilly, 2020), APIs for Modern Commerce (O'Reilly, 2017), Microservices for Modern Commerce (O'Reilly, 2016) and E-Commerce in the Cloud (O'Reilly, 2014). He holds three patents, including one key to distributed computing.

Dec 23, 2024 • 13min
December 23rd, 2024: Amazon building 25% of all warehouses, UPS hiking SurePost rates by 10%, Lowes develops a new marketplace, and Quickbooks partners with Amazon Marketplace Seller Central
Today on our show:Amazon building 25% of all warehousesUPS hiking SurePost rates by 10%Lowes develops a new marketplaceQuickbooks partners with Amazon Marketplace Seller CentralAnd finally, The Investor Minute, which contains 5 items this week from the world of venture capital, acquisitions, and IPOs.Today’s episode is sponsored by Mirakl.https://www.rmwcommerce.com/ecommerce-podcast-watsonweekly

Dec 16, 2024 • 18min
December 16th, 2024: Shopify releases a boring update, was Amazon haul launched sooner as political strategy? What is the potential impact of tariffs on eCommerce? And why use an outside consultant to help you solve a problem?
Today on our show:Shopify releases a boring updateWas Amazon haul launched sooner as political strategy?What is the potential impact of tariffs on eCommerce?Why use an outside consultant to help you solve a problem?And finally, The Investor Minute, which contains 5 items this week from the world of venture capital, acquisitions, and IPOs.Today’s episode is sponsored by Mirakl.https://www.rmwcommerce.com/ecommerce-podcast-watsonweekly

Dec 9, 2024 • 15min
December 9th, 2024: 3 observations from Cyber Week, the 3 coming wars in the next 5 years, and 5 reasons Klaviyo is growing faster than most anyone right now
Today on our show:3 observations from Cyber WeekThe 3 coming wars in the next 5 years5 reasons Klaviyo is growing faster than most anyone right nowAnd finally, The Investor Minute, which contains 5 items this week from the world of venture capital, acquisitions, and IPOs.Today’s episode is sponsored by Mirakl.https://www.rmwcommerce.com/ecommerce-podcast-watsonweekly

Dec 2, 2024 • 21sec
We'll be back next week!
Attention, Watsonians! Pardon us as we were on a brief hiatus over the holiday week - we'll be back next week with a brand new episode!

Nov 25, 2024 • 18min
November 25th, 2024: How you should read the Gartner Quadrant, Wordpress is the Craigslist of website builders, Target reports terrible earnings, and Walmart reports great earnings
Today on our show:How you should read the Gartner QuadrantWordpress is the Craigslist of website buildersTarget reports terrible earningsWalmart reports great earningsAnd finally, The Investor Minute, which contains 5 items this week from the world of venture capital, acquisitions, and IPOs.https://www.rmwcommerce.com/ecommerce-podcast-watsonweekly

Nov 18, 2024 • 19min
November 18th, 2024: Shopify reported Q3 2024 earnings, Klaviyo reports even better Q3 earnings, new RMW Commerce event being held in January, and BigCommerce trying to escape the Alabama mud like My Cousin Vinny
Today on our show:Shopify reported Q3 2024 earningsKlaviyo reports even better Q3 earningsNew RMW Commerce event being held in JanuaryBigCommerce trying to escape the Alabama mud like My Cousin VinnyAnd finally, The Investor Minute, which contains 5 items this week from the world of venture capital, acquisitions, and IPOs.https://www.rmwcommerce.com/ecommerce-podcast-watsonweekly

Nov 11, 2024 • 17min
November 11th, 2024: Amazon reports great Q3 2024 earnings, Children's Place partnership with Shein could be genius, the state of SaaS venture capital valuations, and AI platforms looking to challenge every software category
Today on our show:Amazon reports great Q3 2024 earningsChildren's Place partnership with Shein could be geniusThe state of SaaS venture capital valuationsAI platforms looking to challenge every software categoryAnd finally, The Investor Minute, which contains 5 items this week from the world of venture capital, acquisitions, and IPOs.https://www.rmwcommerce.com/ecommerce-podcast-watsonweekly


