On today’s episode, Kunle is joined by David Perry, Co-Founder & CEO of Carro, a new age eCommerce platform that combines Cross‑Store Sales and Influencer Marketing. The platform already has over 33,000 stores and 7 Million influencers!

Every merchant’s dream is to become a one-stop shop for their niche. To be able to sell products that aren’t necessarily in their vertical, yet go perfectly well with what they sell. For almost all merchants, such an operation would be out of reach. The sheer volume of investment and overheads would be overwhelming. All that was true until now. Say hello to Collaborative Commerce.

Imagine being able to partner with brands that sell products complimentary to yours and seamlessly sell all those products from your own shopping cart! The possibilities it would open up are endless. Creating bundles and curating products will take on a whole new meaning. Is this the next frontier for online retail?

In this episode, Kunle and David talk about reshaping the future of online retail through Collaborative Commerce. You will get to hear about how you can seamlessly extend your sales channels and create product offerings that were previously unthinkable. This is a great episode for business owners and marketers.

Here is a summary of some of the most important points made,

• • Carro allows merchants to place relevant products from partner brands to their cart seamlessly
  • Shopify Sales Channels allow you to build marketplaces with multiple suppliers combined together
  • There are roughly 8 million brands in the world and 60 million influencers
  • Brands adopting Collaborative Commerce see a 20-60% growth in revenue
  • Any service can be converted into a SKU and bundled with relevant products

Covered Topics:

On today’s interview Kunle and David discuss,

• David’s backstory
• Genesis of Carro
• Carro’s Functionality
• Aligning Customer Experience between Partners
• Shopify Sales Channels
• Data Sharing Mechanism
• Profit Sharing
• Impact on Revenue
• Creating The Right Mix of SKUs

Timestamp:

• 08:50 – David’s backstory:
  • Originally from Belfast
  • Taught himself to make Video Games
  • Best known for making Earthrim on Sega Genesis
  • Had planned to retire after selling his last company to Sony
  • Was drawn to eCommerce
• 11:20 – Co-Founding Carro:
  • He handles investment and tech
  • The co-founder is more focused on product design and relationships
  • Started working on the company on 2017
  • Carro is based on the concept that brands can sell more together
  • Currently have over a million products from over 30000 brands
  • Allow merchants to place relevant products from partner brands to their cart seamlessly
• 14:55 – Setting up Carro:
  • “A product is basically a product description, images and inventory”
  • Products from other merchants can be seamlessly integrated to your cart
  • The partner brands fulfill their respective products and you make a sale on your site
• 16:50 – Aligning Customer Experience between Partners:
  • Carro vets brands as best as possible
  • Brands can connect with partners directly to align customer experience
• 18:50 – Shopify Sales Channels:
  • It allows you to build marketplaces with multiple suppliers combined together
  • It allows you to curate products from different brands and create a unique SKU
  • You can use AI to find optimum products to upsell
• 24:50 – Data Sharing Mechanism:
  • We don’t own any of the data, it belongs to the brand
  • If they leave the platform, they take their data with them
  • Brands can work out data sharing rules among themselves
  • There are roughly 8 million brands in the world and 60 million influencers
• 30:00 – Profit Sharing:
  • Margins are decided by the brands themselves
  • But Brands are incentivized to be generous
  • “Awareness is the path to growth”
• 37:00 – Discovering Carro:
  • They haven’t started marketing yet, it will start on 1st November
  • “This is going to be the biggest Black Friday and Cyber Monday in history”
• 39:20 – Impact on Revenue:
  • Brands see a 20-60% growth in revenue depending on level of commitment
• 41:15 – Balance between your and partner products
  • Even services can be converted into a SKU and bundled with products
• 45:30 – Lightning Round

Lightning Round:

• Q: Are you a morning person?
  A: No 
• Q: What are 2 things you can’t live without?
  A: Technology and learning new things 
• Q: What book are you currently reading?
  A: Listen to audiobooks on Audible 
• Q: What advice would you give to yourself 5 years ago?
  A: Go ahead and retire 
• Q: What’s been your best mistake till date? A set back that’s given you the biggest feedback
  A: Starting with influencers first and then going to brands

Takeaways:

• Brands adopting Collaborative Commerce see a 20-60% growth in revenue
• Any service can be converted into a SKU and bundled along with relevant products

Links & Resources

• Email Carro at hello@getcarro.com and mention 2x eCommerce Podcast
• Carro on Shopify App Store

Tweetable Quotes:

“A product is basically a product description, images and inventory.”

———–

SPONSORS:

This episode is brought to you by: