Shopify1Percent - The Best Shopify Podcast To Make Your Ecommerce Business 1% Better Every Episode

🚨 Don't forget to join me LIVE October 22 as we diagnose a Shopify store to asses any weaknesses, threats, and what to do if something happens during peak season: Bulletproof Your Shopify Store For Black Friday. 

In 2006, MySpace was getting paid to chase traffic, while Facebook's growth team chased one number: seven friends in ten days. One played for clicks, the other played for people who come back. In this 1% Win episode of Shopify1Percent, I walk through the stupid games Shopify merchants play every day, the stupid prizes each one hands you, and the better game to play instead.

We get into chasing first orders, trusting platform ROAS, celebrating a record Black Friday, training customers to wait for discounts, and paying your agency on the wrong number. Then two bonus games, including the one most founders are losing without knowing it (me included). Along the way, I show you the Shopify numbers that actually matter and where to find them in your Shopify admin, from the Customer cohort analysis report to Sidekick to the cost per item field most stores leave blank. By the end, you'll pick the one number your Shopify store should be playing for, and know how to get it 1% better every week.

⭐️ Support the amazing partners who make this possible 👇
REWIND
The undo button for Shopify. I’ve watched merchants lose entire catalogs to one bad import or an app update... Shopify’s own terms make your store data your responsibility. Rewind backs up your products, themes, orders, and customers automatically, and restores one item, or your whole store in a couple of clicks.

In my opinion, if you're actually serious about your Shopify business, you absolutely should have Rewind running on it. There's no excuses not to have it backed up. Rewind is trusted by 25,000+ businesses including Olaplex and Dr. Martens. Set it up once and have peace of mind forever. 

🚨 Our listeners get an extra full month of free FREE protection and backups: https://www.shopify1percent.com/rewind/

OMNISEND
I personally use Omnisend for email and SMS on every Shopify store I manage, and for this show too! I've tried them all, and it's hands down the best way to run every email and SMS automation and campaign you need, segment to personalize them, and A/B test everything to optimize conversion.

PLUS, you can now connect Omnisend to ChatGPT or Claude and just ask “where can my email and SMS be making more money?” It reads your actual store data and tells you, then builds the campaign for you right from the chat. It even writes in your brand's voice. Fifteen years doing this and it's the closest I've felt to having a full-time marketer sitting beside me. (Plus most merchants report paying about half the price of Klaviyo.)

🚨 Listeners (YOU) get an exclusive 30% OFF 3 MONTHS: http://shopify1percent.com/omnisend 

 

💡 BIG IDEAS & TAKE-AWAYS:

Why can your biggest Black Friday ever leave you with a smaller bank balance in January?

Is your ad platform taking credit for customers who were already on their way to buy?

How much of your profit does a "simple" 20% off code really wipe out?

Which number is your agency actually paid on, and could it be quietly working against you?

What's the one game most founders are losing without even knowing they're playing it?

🛠️ RESOURCES & LINKS:
Here are the links and resources mentioned on the show:

Shopify Customer cohort analysis and First-time vs returning customer sales reports: https://help.shopify.com/manual/reports-and-analytics/shopify-reports/report-types/customers-reports

Shopify Sidekick, the AI assistant in your Shopify admin: https://help.shopify.com/en/manual/ai-powered-tools/sidekick

Shopify profit reports and the Cost per item field: https://help.shopify.com/manual/reports-and-analytics/shopify-reports/report-types/profit-reports

rePete, the AI reorder agent we built at Bold: https://apps.shopify.com/reorder-service

SimplicityDX 2022 research on the $29 lost per new customer: https://www.businesswire.com/news/home/20220719005425/en/Brands-Losing-a-Record-29-for-Each-New-Customer-Acquired

Google and MySpace's $900 million search deal (2006): https://www.searchenginewatch.com/2006/08/07/google-myspace-in-900-million-deal-on-search-contextual-ads/

Chamath Palihapitiya on how Facebook's growth team got to a billion users (2013): https://techcrunch.com/2013/01/13/chamath-palihapitiya-on-growth-hacking-and-how-to-create-a-sustainable-user-acquisition-engine

Goodhart's Law: https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Goodhart%27s_law

How do I get more repeat customers on Shopify?

Wes Buckwalter, founder of Seattle Shopify agency SeaMonster Studios, says it starts with about three bucks. He'd rather put $3 of free samples in a customer's box than spend $29 finding the next new one, and a lot of the merchants he talks to never looked at it that way. Then say thank you like you mean it. One brand Wes works with has the owner handwrite a card for every order: "I'm the owner... I actually wrote this card, and thank you."

So if you're asking yourself "Do handwritten thank-you notes actually get customers to buy again?" or "Can my Shopify store get sued if it isn't accessible?", this episode is for you. And if you just want to know why Wes has an employee whose actual job title is Captain Accessible, same deal.

💡 KEY TAKE-AWAYS:

Why Wes says "it's not about loyalty, it's about affinity," and what earns a customer's second order

The rule I stole from the founder of Handwrytten about what never goes in your first thank-you note

How one vitamin brand got Wes to buy five products he wasn't shopping for

Why nobody brags to their friends about your $50 block of cheese, and what they talk about instead

Why Wes calls accessibility overlay widgets "essentially placebo," and how they can make your store a lawsuit target

The AI accessibility tool Wes figures gets a store 50 to 75% of the way there, and why a human still has to check its work

⭐️ Support these amazing partners who make this show possible 👇
REWIND
The undo button for Shopify. I’ve watched merchants lose entire catalogs to one bad import or an app update... Shopify’s own terms make your store data your responsibility. Rewind backs up your products, themes, orders, and customers automatically, and restores one item, or your whole store in a couple of clicks.

In my opinion, if you're actually serious about your Shopify business, you absolutely should have Rewind running on it. There's no excuses not to have it backed up. Rewind is trusted by 25,000+ businesses including Olaplex and Dr. Martens. Set it up once and have peace of mind forever. 

🚨 Our listeners get an extra full month of free FREE protection and backups: https://www.shopify1percent.com/rewind/

OMNISEND
I personally use Omnisend for email and SMS on every Shopify store I manage, and for this show too! I've tried them all, and it's hands down the best way to run every email and SMS automation and campaign you need, segment to personalize them, and A/B test everything to optimize conversion.

PLUS, you can now connect Omnisend to ChatGPT or Claude and just ask “where can my email and SMS be making more money?” It reads your actual store data and tells you, then builds the campaign for you right from the chat. It even writes in your brand's voice. Fifteen years doing this and it's the closest I've felt to having a full-time marketer sitting beside me. (Plus most merchants report paying about half the price of Klaviyo.)

🚨 Listeners (YOU) get an exclusive 30% OFF 3 MONTHS: http://shopify1percent.com/omnisend 

 

🛠️ RESOURCES & LINKS MENTIONED IN SHOW:

SeaMonster Studios: https://seamonsterstudios.com

Wes Buckwalter on LinkedIn: https://www.linkedin.com/in/seamonsterwes

TestParty: https://testparty.ai

Overlay Fact Sheet: https://overlayfactsheet.com

Handwrytten: https://www.handwrytten.com

My episode with David Wachs of Handwrytten: https://shopify1percent.podbean.com/e/robots-with-pens-how-handwritten-notes-turn-customers-into-fans

PostPilot: https://www.postpilot.com

Web Content Accessibility Guidelines (WCAG): https://www.w3.org/WAI/standards-guidelines/wcag/ 

Free store audit (performance, accessibility and conversions) from Wes for Shopify1Percent listeners: mention the show on the contact form at https://seamonsterstudios.com or email wes@seamonsterstudios.com

Got a question for the show? Hit Ask a Question at https://www.shopify1percent.com

Shopify's official backup instructions include the step "copy and paste your blog posts," and that tells you most of what you need to know about who's responsible for your store's data. I read all sixteen sections of Shopify's terms of service, and section 9.9 says that when an app you installed modifies or deletes your data, Shopify isn't responsible. You are. Same goes for your staff, your freelancer, and the AI agents more merchants are handing the keys to. I walk through the four free safety nets already sitting in your Shopify admin, exactly where each one stops, and the 15-minute Undo Map that shows what your store could actually get back today.

Download the Shopify Undo Map -->>  https://www.shopify1percent.com/downloads/undo-map/

KEY TAKEAWAYS

If an app, a staff member, or an AI agent wipes your products, who is responsible under Shopify's terms?

Why should you archive Shopify products and never delete them?

What do the four free safety nets in your Shopify admin cover, and where does each one stop?

Is a CSV export really a backup if your images come out as links?

What five questions should you ask any Shopify backup app before you trust it?

How do you build an Undo Map for your store in 15 minutes?

⭐️ Support these amazing partners who make this show possible 👇
REWIND
The undo button for Shopify. I’ve watched merchants lose entire catalogs to one bad import or an app update... Shopify’s own terms make your store data your responsibility. Rewind backs up your products, themes, orders, and customers automatically, and restores one item, or your whole store in a couple of clicks.

In my opinion, if you're actually serious about your Shopify business, you absolutely should have Rewind running on it. There's no excuses not to have it backed up. Rewind is trusted by 25,000+ businesses including Olaplex and Dr. Martens. Set it up once and have peace of mind forever. 

🚨 Our listeners get an extra full month of free FREE protection and backups: https://www.shopify1percent.com/rewind/

OMNISEND
I personally use Omnisend for email and SMS on every Shopify store I manage, and for this show too! I've tried them all, and it's hands down the best way to run every email and SMS automation and campaign you need, segment to personalize them, and A/B test everything to optimize conversion.

PLUS, you can now connect Omnisend to ChatGPT or Claude and just ask “where can my email and SMS be making more money?” It reads your actual store data and tells you, then builds the campaign for you right from the chat. It even writes in your brand's voice. Fifteen years doing this and it's the closest I've felt to having a full-time marketer sitting beside me. (Plus most merchants report paying about half the price of Klaviyo.)

🚨 Listeners (YOU) get an exclusive 30% OFF 3 MONTHS: http://shopify1percent.com/omnisend 

EPISODE CHAPTERS
0:00 Shopify's official backup steps (yes, it says copy and paste)
0:25 Today's 1% win: the Undo Map
2:20 Shopify is a great landlord, and your admin has no trash can
3:25 300 SKUs deleted three days before Black Friday
5:35 What one hour of downtime costs your store
6:05 Part 1: What Shopify actually protects
7:15 Free win: archive products, never delete them
8:25 Part 2: What the terms of service put on you
10:50 Quick win: tighten staff permissions
11:35 Section 9.9: when an app changes or deletes your data
15:45 Part 3: The four free safety nets in your admin
18:45 CSV exports and where they stop
21:30 The free 10-minute backup routine
22:05 Part 4: The undo gap
23:20 How one badly sorted spreadsheet wrecks 1,400 prices
24:55 What an automated undo looks like
29:25 Five questions to ask any backup tool
30:40 Do this today: build your Undo Map
33:00 Recap

RESOURCES & LINKS MENTIONED IN THE EPISODE

The Undo Map, free one-page worksheet: 

https://www.shopify1percent.com/downloads/undo-map/  

Rewind, automated Shopify backups (30 days free for listeners): https://www.shopify1percent.com/rewind/

Shopify Help Center, Backups and duplication: https://help.shopify.com/en/manual/shopify-admin/duplicate-store

Shopify Help Center, Duplicating themes: https://help.shopify.com/en/manual/online-store/themes/managing-themes/duplicating-themes

Shopify Help Center, Editing theme code (rolling back Liquid files): https://help.shopify.com/en/manual/online-store/themes/theme-structure/extend/edit-theme-code

Shopify Help Center, Using CSV files to import and export products: https://help.shopify.com/en/manual/products/import-export/using-csv

Shopify Terms of Service (sections 7, 9.6 and 9.9): https://www.shopify.com/legal/terms

Shopify developer docs on product deletion: https://shopify.dev/docs/api/admin-graphql/latest/payloads/ProductDeletePayload

Rewind case study, Whisker Seeker Tackle: https://rewind.com/resources/store-has-products-deleted-before-black-friday/

Who is actually buying from your Shopify store? Brice McBeth's team told him the average order on his salon furniture business was $900. Brice says that customer didn't exist. It was two customers: a stylist replacing a broken chair for about $350, and an owner furnishing an entire salon for $15,000 to $25,000. Any ad built for the $900 guy would have missed both. He's the founder of Neurograph and Reap Commerce, and he spent an hour showing me how many brands are marketing to someone who isn't there.

💡 KEY TAKE-AWAYS:

The three random guys test: how Brice got strangers to tell him the truth about his site, and the exact way he worded the question so they would.

He deleted 25 staff profiles from his agency's About page and replaced them with one story. Leads went up 68%. Why a team page can talk a customer out of buying before you ever speak to them.

Data doesn't lie, but it sure will gaslight you. What a $900 average order hid, and why Brice says most brands are making the same mistake.

A 20% discount on a 35% margin product needs a 133% lift in orders just to break even on profit. Brice's math, and why most founders guess 20%.

Why my kids asking "what's frills, Dad?" at the grocery store is the same lesson as Brice's ugly $300 template.

King Charles and Ozzy Osbourne are the same persona on paper. What Neurograph looks at instead, and the three-word phrase that turned out to be driving an entire cohort's purchases.

⭐️ Support these amazing sponsors who make this show possible 👇
REWIND
The undo button for Shopify. I’ve watched merchants lose entire catalogs to one bad import or an app update... Shopify’s own terms make your store data your responsibility. Rewind backs up your products, themes, orders, and customers automatically, and restores one item, or your whole store in a couple of clicks.

In my opinion, if you're actually serious about your Shopify business, you absolutely should have Rewind running on it. There's no excuses not to have it backed up. Rewind is trusted by 25,000+ businesses including Olaplex and Dr. Martens. Set it up once and have peace of mind forever. 

🚨 Our listeners get an extra month FREE. Use code JAY when you sign up here: https://bit.ly/s1p-rewind 

OMNISEND
I personally use Omnisend for email and SMS on every Shopify store I manage, and for this show too! I've tried them all, and it's hands down the best way to run every email and SMS automation and campaign you need, segment to personalize them, and A/B test everything to optimize conversion.

PLUS, you can now connect Omnisend to ChatGPT or Claude and just ask “where can my email and SMS be making more money?” It reads your actual store data and tells you, then builds the campaign for you right from the chat. It even writes in your brand's voice. Fifteen years doing this and it's the closest I've felt to having a full-time marketer sitting beside me. (Plus most merchants report paying about half the price of Klaviyo.)

🚨 Listeners (YOU) get an exclusive 30% OFF 3 MONTHS: http://shopify1percent.com/omnisend 
🛠️ RESOURCES & LINKS MENTIONED IN SHOW:
- Reap Commerce: https://reapcommerce.com
- Neurograph: https://neurograph.io
- Brice McBeth on LinkedIn: https://www.linkedin.com/in/bricemcbeth
- Submit a question for our listener Q&A episodes: https://shopify1percent.com

Brice is offering Shopify1Percent listeners a complimentary persona diagnostic. Book it at reapcommerce.com. He says nine and a half times out of ten he finds a market opportunity the brand had no idea existed.

Can AI customer service actually grow a Shopify store?
Andrei Negrau, co-founder and CEO of Siena AI, told me about a CPG brand that kept seeing the same thing in its support conversations. Customers were asking for smaller sample sizes. So the brand built a sample version of every product. Andrei says that one pattern generated millions in sample sales in 2025, before counting the people who then upgraded to full size. No survey. No focus group. The answer was sitting in tickets they were already closing.

So if you're asking yourself "how do I use AI on my Shopify store for something other than answering tickets?" or "what is my support data actually telling me?", this episode is for you. Andrei has been building autonomous CX agents since 2023, and Siena works with brands doing $20 million a year all the way up to brands doing billions.

💡 KEY TAKE-AWAYS:
- The CPG brand that found one repeated request in its own support tickets and turned it into millions in new product revenue.
- Why Andrei calls Ask Siena "Claude Code for CX", and the kind of question it answers that Shopify Sidekick can't.
- Siena's HexClad case study shows automation up 65% and tickets routed to humans down 20% in 60 days. Andrei says the software wasn't the reason.
- The single question that tells you which AI tool to use for which job. It has nothing to do with the model.
- What happens when a customer uploads a video of a broken product, and whether AI can tell they faked it to get a refund.
- I pitched Andrei a "true fan module" live on the mic. He started working out how much of it Siena can already do.

⭐️ Support these amazing sponsors who make this show possible 👇
REWIND
The undo button for Shopify. I’ve watched merchants lose entire catalogs to one bad import or an app update... Shopify’s own terms make your store data your responsibility. Rewind backs up your products, themes, orders, and customers automatically, and restores one item, or your whole store in a couple of clicks.

In my opinion, if you're actually serious about your Shopify business, you absolutely should have Rewind running on it. There's no excuses not to have it backed up. Rewind is trusted by 25,000+ businesses including Olaplex and Dr. Martens. Set it up once and have peace of mind forever. 

🚨 Our listeners get an extra month FREE. Use code JAY when you sign up here: https://bit.ly/s1p-rewind 

OMNISEND
I personally use Omnisend for email and SMS on every Shopify store I manage, and for this show too! I've tried them all, and it's hands down the best way to run every email and SMS automation and campaign you need, segment to personalize them, and A/B test everything to optimize conversion.

PLUS, you can now connect Omnisend to ChatGPT or Claude and just ask “where can my email and SMS be making more money?” It reads your actual store data and tells you, then builds the campaign for you right from the chat. It even writes in your brand's voice. Fifteen years doing this and it's the closest I've felt to having a full-time marketer sitting beside me. (Plus most merchants report paying about half the price of Klaviyo.)

🚨 Listeners (YOU) get an exclusive 30% OFF 3 MONTHS: http://shopify1percent.com/omnisend 

🛠️ RESOURCES & LINKS MENTIONED IN SHOW:
- Siena AI: https://www.siena.cx
- Andrei Negrau on LinkedIn: https://www.linkedin.com/in/negrau
- Siena AI on LinkedIn: https://www.linkedin.com/company/siena-ai
- HexClad customer story: https://www.siena.cx/customer-stories/hexclad-customer-service-automation
- Our first ever episode, with Lisa Popovici, co-founder of Siena AI: https://www.shopify1percent.com/why-isnt-every-shopify-store-using-ai-for-customer-service/

Andrei's advice on getting started: book a demo at siena.cx and his team will tell you straight whether it's a fit.

It's siena.cx with one N. I have typed it wrong more times than I want to admit.