The Unofficial Shopify Podcast

"Now everybody knows code. It's called English."On October 1, Shopify launched Canvas, a new theme editor built around Sidekick. Ben Sehl is Director of Product for Online Store at Shopify. He built themes as a partner, cofounded the clothing brand Kotn, and led Hydrogen from zero to one. Now he's replacing a theme editor that has worked for 15 years, and he says Canvas will be the only one in time.Ben explains what Shopify rebuilt under the hood, who should use Canvas today and who should wait, and why he thinks agencies are worth more now than before AI.SPONSORSSwym - Wishlists, Back in Stock alerts, & moregetswym.com/kurtPromo Party Pro - Free gifts that drive bigger ordersapps.shopify.com/promo-party-fgwpZipify - Build high-converting sales funnelszipify.com/KURTWhat you'll learn:Why Shopify rebuilt the editor instead of adding AI to the old oneThe artboard view: every page of your store on one screenHow a client-side Liquid renderer lets you click any text and edit it where it livesWhy Sidekick for big changes and direct edits for small onesTheme settings: why Horizon was peak settings, and why two or three variants per block is the new ruleWhat happens to your theme, your JSON templates, and your GitHub sync when you switchAutosave, version history, and theme check before publish, built inWhat Canvas does not support yet: Theme Store themes, apps, and MarketsWhy Ben hired an agency for Kotn instead of using Canvas, and why he thinks AI makes agencies more valuableShopify's zero-breaking-changes promise, back to store number one, SnowdevilThe one prompt to try first: "redesign my store"Guest: Ben Sehl, Director of Product, Online Store at Shopify. Cofounder of Kotn.LINKSBen Sehl on X: https://x.com/benjaminsehlBen's site: https://sehl.caKotn: https://kotn.comCommerce-UI (Kotn's agency): https://commerce-ui.comIntroducing Canvas (Shopify): https://www.shopify.com/news/introducing-canvasCanvas changelog: https://changelog.shopify.com/posts/design-a-fully-bespoke-store-with-canvasWORK WITH KURTApply for Shopify Helpethercycle.com/applySee Our Resultsethercycle.com/workFree Newsletterkurtelster.comThe Unofficial Shopify Podcast is hosted by Kurt Elster and explores the stories behind successful Shopify stores. Get actionable insights, practical strategies, and proven tactics from entrepreneurs who've built thriving ecommerce businesses.

"Not knowing what we were doing, just bobbling through it, we did a couple thousand dollars an hour and we were like, whoa, this might be something."John Roman bought BattlBox back in 2023 and went looking for the next channel. With over a million TikTok followers, TikTok Shop looked obvious. Then a Whatnot sales rep sent an email. Seventeen months later, live selling on Whatnot does $447K a month, with no ad spend.John breaks down why Whatnot buyers spend three times what TikTok Shop buyers spend, what a three-hour show looks like when each product gets 30 seconds, and the host-hiring mistake that seemed like a sure thing.SPONSORSSwym - Wishlists, Back in Stock alerts, & moregetswym.com/kurtPromo Party Pro - Free gifts that drive bigger ordersapps.shopify.com/promo-party-fgwpZipify - Build high-converting sales funnelszipify.com/KURTWhat you'll learn:The ramp: $25K in 10 hours the first month, $447K in 317 hours last monthWhy buying intent on Whatnot beats TikTok's algorithm: "You don't open up the Amazon app to look at content"Auctions, dollar starts, and the deal-hunter problem that hurts your marginThe format: 30 seconds per product, 50 to 60 items per three-hour show, 200 SKUs in rotationThe setup: a phone, good lighting, a home studio, and OBS for effectsWhere hosts come from, and why the TikTok Shop affiliates they recruited didn't work outRaids and community boosts, the features that keep Whatnot buyers coming backHow members get box items six months before they reach WhatnotWhy they turned off Whatnot ads after a holdout test, and how their Meta CAC changedWhat's next: Battl Games season three, a six-part YouTube series starting in NovemberGuest: John Roman, CEO of BattlBox. Last on the show in January 2023.LINKSBattlBox: https://battlbox.comBattlBox on Whatnot: https://www.whatnot.com/user/battlboxJohn Roman on LinkedIn: https://www.linkedin.com/in/john-romanOnline Queso (John's blog): https://onlinequeso.comJohn's previous episode, "How a Subscription Box Biz Got a Netflix Show": https://unofficialshopifypodcast.com/episodes/john-roman-battlbox/WORK WITH KURTApply for Shopify Helpethercycle.com/applySee Our Resultsethercycle.com/workFree Newsletterkurtelster.comThe Unofficial Shopify Podcast is hosted by Kurt Elster and explores the stories behind successful Shopify stores. Get actionable insights, practical strategies, and proven tactics from entrepreneurs who've built thriving ecommerce businesses.

Kurt spent a day at Beanstalk, an invite-only ecommerce conference at Industry City in Brooklyn, recording 15-minute conversations under a tent. Seven made it to tape. Every guest is on Shopify. Not one led with paid ads.The lineup: Matt Butcher of Adam's Polishes on why he comes. Jay Wright, who spends about a billion dollars a year on Meta, on why your media buying is "completely cooked." Maria Lopez-May, VP Marketing at Nugget, on life after the pandemic lottery. Vivek Kumar, CEO of Articore (Redbubble and TeePublic), on their new Shopify integration and a $20 million turnaround. NJ Falk of APL on $400 sneakers and the thing she noticed about Sidekick. Robbie Bent of Othership on building $15 million bathhouses and marketing through the local dentist. Ali Weiss, former CMO of Glossier, on launching NoBiggie and choosing not to turn on paid.Paul was not there. He asks what you would ask.What you'll learn:Why a curated conference beats a big one: "everyone I bump into here is worth chatting with"Jay Wright: Meta is an auction, someone is winning at that CPM, and it is not the person buying like it's 2022The biggest mistake Jay sees: founders abdicating growth to a $1,000-a-month retainerHow to label your ad creative so your own account tells you what to make nextMaria Lopez-May of Nugget: right product, right time, then the dupes, then Amazon and CTVArticore's first profit since listing and a Shopify integration that launched ten days before the interviewWhy print-on-demand sellers should not put "the kitchen sink" on their storeAPL: Magento to Shopify Plus in a week, then a flagship store opened four months before lockdownThe Sidekick detail NJ Falk noticed and Kurt never didOthership: a horse trough in a backyard, 90 people screaming in a dark sauna, and why brick and mortar takes two decadesWhy local influencers (the trainer, the stylist, the bartender) beat wide-reach channels for a neighborhood businessAli Weiss on unlearning beauty margins, "playing on hard mode" with two buyers, and why getting on a Target shelf is the easy partNoBiggie Neighbors: free product for your kid's birthday party as the whole acquisition strategyThe hard decision to not turn on paid until repeat purchase shows up across channelsHosts: Kurt Elster and Paul Reda, co-owners of Ethercycle, a Shopify-exclusive agency.SPONSORSSwym - Wishlists, Back in Stock alerts, & moregetswym.com/kurtCleverific - Smart order editing for Shopifycleverific.comZipify - Build high-converting sales funnelszipify.com/KURTLINKSBeanstalk: https://www.beanstalkevents.comAdam's Polishes: https://adamspolishes.comEcommerce Equation: https://ecommerceequation.comJay Wright on Instagram: https://www.instagram.com/jaywrightofficial/Nugget: https://nuggetcomfort.comArticore Group: https://articore.comDashery: https://www.dashery.comAPL: https://athleticpropulsionlabs.comOthership: https://othership.usNoBiggie: https://nobiggieplease.comWORK WITH KURTApply for Shopify Helpethercycle.com/applySee Our Resultsethercycle.com/workFree Newsletterkurtelster.comThe Unofficial Shopify Podcast is hosted by Kurt Elster and explores the stories behind successful Shopify stores. Get actionable insights, practical strategies, and proven tactics from entrepreneurs who've built thriving ecommerce businesses.

Discounts are the biggest line item on your P&L that nobody approved. Kurt and Paul answer the questions merchants keep asking, then lay out the Black Friday plan.Part one is a mailbag pulled from r/ecommerce, r/shopify, and the Shopify Community: the Combines With checkbox that wiped the profit on 60 orders before lunch, influencer codes showing up on Honey, welcome codes reused by new Gmail accounts, and the eternal free-shipping-or-20%-off question. Part two is what to fix in September, and what three consecutive Black Fridays of gift-with-purchase data say about thresholds, gift size, and who actually takes the gift.What you'll learn:Why discounts deserve the scrutiny you give ad spend, and why almost nobody gives itHow one Combines With checkbox stacked free shipping, 20% off, and a bundle script into zero-profit ordersWhat to do about influencer codes on coupon sites (and why single-use codes don't solve this one)The rule Kurt uses on every code he creates: a 12-month expiry, no exceptionsWhy you can't stop welcome-code abuse, and the one-line fix from the top Reddit replyFree shipping vs discount codes: if you have to ask, you don't know your contribution marginThe September checklist before code freeze: SEO metadata, alt text, accessibility, Core Web Vitals, and a discount auditThree Black Fridays, one $50 gift threshold, and carts that landed at $98, $101, and $111The surprise in the data: gift-with-purchase skews to returning customers, free shipping to new onesThe segmented strategy: free shipping code for first-time buyers, gift for everyone elseThreshold math: gift at 2x AOV, free shipping 50% above AOV, gift retail value 10 to 15% of cartWhy Shopify's agentic catalog mapping did nothing on two stores for 14 daysHosts: Kurt Elster and Paul Reda, co-owners of Ethercycle, a Shopify-exclusive agency, and makers of Promo Party, a gift-with-purchase app.SPONSORSSwym - Wishlists, Back in Stock alerts, & moregetswym.com/kurtCleverific - Smart order editing for Shopifycleverific.comZipify - Build high-converting sales funnelszipify.com/KURTLINKSAll three research reports: https://ethercycle.com/reportState of Discounts 2026: https://ethercycle.com/pages/state-of-discounts-2026Q4 gift-with-purchase report: https://promoparty.app/bfcm-gift-with-purchase/The $2K Combines With thread: https://www.reddit.com/r/ecommerce/comments/1qbvg5k/Free shipping vs discount codes thread: https://community.shopify.com/t/675799Welcome code abuse thread: https://www.reddit.com/r/shopify/comments/1u9i640/Influencer codes on Honey thread: https://community.shopify.com/t/222041WORK WITH KURTApply for Shopify Helpethercycle.com/applySee Our Resultsethercycle.com/workFree Newsletterkurtelster.comThe Unofficial Shopify Podcast is hosted by Kurt Elster and explores the stories behind successful Shopify stores. Get actionable insights, practical strategies, and proven tactics from entrepreneurs who've built thriving ecommerce businesses.

He sells vapes with no nicotine. Every ad platform, payment processor, and carrier treats him like Big Tobacco anyway.Conrad Kurth founded Cyclone Pods in 2018 after watching every friend he had get hooked on Juul. Eight years later the brand has grown every year with a 60 percent repeat customer rate, no paid ads, no Shopify Payments, and no USPS. This is what selling on hard mode actually looks like.What you'll learn:Why a product with no addictive ingredient still gets a 60% repeat rateWhere a new customer really comes from when Meta, Google, and TikTok won't run your adsWhy "alternative advertising" on age-restricted sites sent traffic that never convertedThe Sunday morning Shopify Payments shut off with no warning, and the standalone store he keeps ready for next timeHow UPS and FedEx agreed to ship after seeing lab data, and why USPS never willWhether publishing third-party lab results helps SEO (his honest answer: he can't prove it)Why Wisconsin only allows vapes from Philip Morris, Altria, and ReynoldsThe Focus Pouch story: caffeine plus lion's mane, reishi, and cordyceps, two years before caffeine pouches were a categoryVapes for dogs, the leaking device that got pulled, and what he'd tell his 2018 selfHis advice for anyone selling a restricted product: ignore the ad people, do the legwork yourselfGuest: Conrad Kurth, founder and CEO of Cyclone Pods, a nicotine-free vape and nootropic pouch brand based in Santa Monica, California. Former software engineer.Show Links:Cyclone Pods: https://cyclonepods.comEmail Conrad: [email protected] - Wishlists, Back in Stock alerts, & moregetswym.com/kurtCleverific - Smart order editing for Shopifycleverific.com/unofficialZipify - Build high-converting sales funnelszipify.com/KURTWORK WITH KURTApply for Shopify Helpethercycle.com/applySee Our Resultsethercycle.com/workFree Newsletterkurtelster.comThe Unofficial Shopify Podcast is hosted by Kurt Elster and explores the stories behind successful Shopify stores. Get actionable insights, practical strategies, and proven tactics from entrepreneurs who've built thriving ecommerce businesses.