An-Hacking : episode 10 🏂

Shopify Winter Editions, diving deep into Blendjet website, GenAI at Ridestore, which strategy on Amazon in 2025, shopify apps medley

Jan 28, 2025

Hi everyone! 👋

As is customary, I’d like to wish you all an excellent new year—may it bring happiness, fulfillment, love, friendship, passion, learning, and, above all, fun! Because let’s face it, having fun is what really matters (or almost)! 🏄‍♂️

This start of the year is also an opportunity for me to thank you for your support throughout 2024. An-Hacking is an ambitious but, most importantly, fun project, and I’m thrilled that you enjoy it!

You may have noticed a significant change: I’m now writing to you in English. A few weeks ago, I decided to migrate this newsletter to English. Why? Simply because the e-commerce ecosystem knows no borders (at least, that’s my belief), and I think it’s only fair that everyone can access it. Translation tools are, of course, at your disposal if you’d prefer to continue reading it in French 😎

I hope I don’t lose too many subscribers by doing this, but it’s a risk I’m willing to take. For those interested, all previous content has been translated (including the first nine episodes), and you can find everything on the homepage.

Best 🫶

On today’s program :

Shopify Winter Editions 24’ ❄️
Let’s break down Blendjet website 🍓
GenAI at Ridestore/Montec ✨
Musical interlude
Your strategy on Amazon with Michael Weisz 📦
My very first Shopify apps medley of 2025
Bonus 🎁

Let’s go 👇

1. Shopify Winter Editions 24’

This episode couldn’t start any other way: I’d like to reflect on Shopify Winter Editions ‘24. Beyond the marketing aspect—which, in my opinion, has been a true masterclass—this Winter Edition is absolutely essential because it reminds us that small improvements can make a big difference : small hacks, huge steps… does that ring a bell ? 😎

These "boring" updates bring impactful refinements to Shopify’s existing features, focusing on reliability, speed, and merchant usability—making the platform more efficient and effective for everyday operations. - here are 5 announcements that caught my attention :

B2B Features:

🙍 Customizable Customer Accounts: Extensions allow merchants to offer quotes, downloadable invoices, and other B2B-specific features, enhancing the professional client experience.

📦 Streamlined Wholesale Orders: New Shopify Flow functionalities automate account setups for new customers, simplifying wholesale sales processes.

AI Integration:

💬 Sidekick AI Assistant: Available to English-speaking merchants, Sidekick provides instant recommendations and insights to optimize store management.

⚙️ Enhanced Automation with Shopify Flow: New workflows help automate returns, exchanges, and marketing campaigns, boosting operational efficiency.

Point of Sale (POS) Improvements:

💳 Offline Payments: Card payments can be recorded offline and processed once the connection is restored, ensuring seamless in-store sales.

🖥️ Split-Screen Search: Cart and search results can be viewed simultaneously, improving transaction efficiency at POS.

Performance and User Experience:

🏃 Faster Cart and Checkout Loading: Cart loading is now 50% faster, and accelerated checkout buttons load 58.8% faster, reducing cart abandonment rates.

📈 More Responsive Admin Interface: Initial page loading times in the admin dashboard are 25% quicker, and navigation between pages is five times faster.

Checkout Enhancements:

👷‍♂️Customizable Checkout: "Checkout Blocks" are now available for all plans, enabling merchants to customize order status and thank-you pages without coding.

🤓Chat App Integration: Merchants can add chat apps to thank-you pages, providing real-time support for customers.

2. Let’s break down Blendjet !

I was said that was one of you favorite exercices from previous content : let’s continue diving deep into ambitious e-shops and sorting out what are the nice to have & must have - let’s face it, that’s also something i like very much as well.

Let’s start with one of the top Shopify brands in the US : Blendjet.

I discovered Blendjet last October, while searching for a blender using Perplexity - I asked a question through the platform and it did recommend 3 products (highlighting their strengths) including Blendjet - I did some research and ordered a product on the website, of course I took the opportunity to analyze every part of it and what did work well and had an impact on my consumer journey

Here are 5 nice to have and must have elements I noticed :

Product variant display - that’s in my opinion one of the best tricks you can find at Blendjet : without requiring any additional clicks, you may look at all the product variations directly on the homepage - also we can see key points on same screen - with a dedicated CTA, sending you to the last product variant you were exploring (short video below 👇)
Social proof everywhere : similar to other (almost) mono-product brands like Tushy, BlendJet reassures prospects about its flagship product by proving it satisfies users' needs. With over 67,000 reviews from customers (imagine how many blenders they must have sold to gather that many reviews!), any potential buyer can easily verify the product's power, cleaning instructions, and recipes. Moreover, BlendJet goes the extra mile by displaying logos of prestigious media outlets that have featured their product, such as CNN, People, and Rolling Stone. This clever use of social proof solidifies trust in their brand.
B2B advertising : here’s something you don’t often see on EU websites: BlendJet promotes Corporate Gifting directly on their site. This is a smart move for several reasons. Anyone browsing for personal purchases might share this idea within their company, spreading the word about blenders as corporate gifts. The CTA invites users to request a quote, making the process seamless and approachable.
Crossed-upsell : BlendJet has been featured in the previous episode of An-Hacking for being one of the biggest user of Carro, a smart Shopify app that connects merchants to other Shopify stores, enabling them to adopt a marketplace model. After selling a blender, BlendJet leverages this technology to upsell complementary products.
Initially, they introduced their own ingredients, then partnered with other brands like Venus Williams’ Happy Viking protein powders. This genius move ensures that customers keep coming back for products that enhance their BlendJet experience.
Massive blog & boosted SEO : as discussed in a previous analysis, SEO has become a gold rush in response to rising acquisition costs. BlendJet has built a robust SEO strategy with an impressive blog featuring hundreds of recipes. These include everything from cocktails and protein shakes to coffee drinks, dips, and even beauty recipes. This content not only attracts traffic but also keeps users engaged and coming back for more ideas.

3. GenAI at Ridestore

In early December 2024, I came across a post by a friend in the ecosystem, Matthieu Seiller (whom I highly recommend you follow!), co-founder of the agency laboucle. His post reflected on the onsite experience of Ridestore.

At first, quite naively, I liked his post after watching just 10 seconds of the video. Then I thought, why not take the opportunity to explore this shopping journey on a laptop (vs. mobile, as he did) and see for myself what the brand was offering? Naturally, this bonus ties into the “Gen AI & Product Pages” chapter from Episode 9 of An-Hacking, where we talked about Rains and Atelier Loupiote.

The verdict? It’s stunning 🚀

As a consumer, you can instantly (and I mean instantly, thanks to the super-fast image loading!) visualize a complete outfit based on the selection of six products: jacket, pants, beanie, neck warmer, gloves, and goggles.

What the brand offers through this experience is the ability to project yourself into a fully customized outfit—designed entirely by you. They even include a “mountain” background for better immersion. From there, you can either order all the items together in one go or save the outfit for later.

It’s truly impressive!

A massive game-changer for:

👉 Boosting AOV (Average Order Value): Encouraging customers to purchase a complete outfit instead of individual items.

👉 Capturing valuable customer information (email, phone) for cart recovery: Customers must provide an email to save their outfit or create an account, paving the way for targeted follow-ups.

👉 Increasing CVR (Conversion Rate): Similar to sizing tools, this hack allows customers to visualize themselves in an outfit, essentially trying it on virtually in a way.

Musical interlude

You know the ritual—mid-episode, we take a moment to treat our ears to something sweet 👂

For this tenth and first episode of 2025, I wanted to take things a step further than what we’ve done so far. Today, I’m not sharing just one track, but a 12-song playlist gathering some of my very favorite (inspired) Disco tracks (funk, new wave, synth-pop), specially curated for the occasion. Among these tracks is the incredible Precious Little Diamond by the Dutch group Fox The Fox 💙

Indeed, disco is far more than just Earth, Wind & Fire or the Bee Gees. It’s a genre of infinite richness, one that notably gave rise to techno and house movements, while spawning countless subgenres and vibrant scenes.

4. Your strategy on Amazon with Michael Weisz

For this very first episode of 2025, I’d like to bring some fresh air and innovate by having someone different on An-Hacking - for the first time I’m pleased to welcome a merchant and also Amazon expert : Michael Weisz.

As founder of Shapeheart, Michael knows almost everything about Amazon, so I was very excited about having him on An-Hacking as Amazon has now become a massive opportunity for many retailers that have started with a

But before starting selling on Amazon, Michael got something for you 👇

7 Things to Consider Before Starting on Amazon in 2025

In today’s complex economic climate—marked by declining consumer spending, rising CPMs and CPCs, and ever-fiercer competition—e-commerce brands must constantly seek new growth opportunities. For many, Amazon seems like an obvious choice. But succeeding on Jeff Bezos’ platform is no easy feat.

Here are 7 critical factors to consider before diving in:

1. Margin, Margin, Margin

Amazon can be a fantastic sales channel, but its commissions and often-hidden fees can quickly eat into your profits. Before starting, analyze your margin structure to determine if you can remain profitable.

Amazon isn’t necessarily cheaper than Shopify or wholesale, and it doesn’t suit every price range or product category.

2. No Free Lunch on Amazon

Speaking of margins, it doesn’t stop there—Amazon is pay-to-play. PPC (Pay-Per-Click) campaigns are often essential to boost your product visibility. Even if you’re the best seller in your category and seemingly unbeatable, running ads will only enhance your performance—and it won’t be free. Expect to allocate 15–30% of your revenue in ads.

Here’s an example of a product ranked No. 1 in its market for the last 18 months. When the ads were paused (blue line), the results were clear:

3. You Can’t Create the Market

Before launching, study the Amazon market. Is there existing demand for your products? You can’t create a market on Amazon. If people aren’t already searching for your keywords, you won’t get far.

Paid tools like Helium 10 can quickly help you assess demand. If there’s no search volume, you might want to explore platforms like Meta instead.

4. What’s Your Unfair Advantage?

Amazon is a platform where products often look alike. Your ability to stand out is crucial. Whether through pricing, quality, or innovation, find a unique edge that will set you apart. Without it, you might struggle on the platform, given how tough the competition is.

5. Are You Ready to Sell Like in the US?

A well-crafted Amazon listing can make all the difference, but creating one isn’t straightforward—you need to be bold and persuasive in your messaging.

Focus on:

Title
Bullet points
Main image
Product visuals
A+ Content

Here, forget about aesthetics or lifestyle shots—go for impactful and sometimes ugly wording that maximizes conversions. Using tools and A/B testing is also essential to get it right.

6. No Tools = Big Headaches

Amazon provides data—lots of it—but managing day-to-day operations and dashboards without additional tools is a nightmare. Here are a few examples of tasks that need tools:

Ad creation and monitoring (M19, Pacvue, BidX...)
Revenue tracking (Sellerboard)
Inventory management
Handling compliance issues and penalties (Saivings, Getida, etc...)

Expect to rely on at least 2–3 tools to streamline your daily operations.

7. Be Strong Outside Amazon

And finally, the best advice: remember that Amazon is just one channel among many. A strong brand presence outside of Amazon will increase your chances of success on the platform. Use your external presence—especially paid traffic campaigns—to drive traffic and build credibility.

In short, launching on Amazon can be an incredible opportunity for e-commerce brands, but it requires a solid strategy and careful preparation. By keeping these 7 factors in mind, you’ll be better equipped to tackle the challenges and maximize your chances of success on this highly competitive platform.

Many thanks to Michael for the great work - that’s honestly one of the best speeches we’ve ever had on An-Hacking! You should follow him on Linkedin 👈

5. My very first Shopify apps medley of the year

Again, could 2025 start without a new chapter of now notorious Shopify app medley ?! I don’t think so. This is undeniably one part of my “digging” I like the most : diving (very) deep into Shopify appstore and stumbling upon apps that seem breaking rules and push limits of the platform.

That said I’m super happy to propose you my very first Shopify app medley of the year with 3 solid softwares bringing seamless improvements to your shopify store and consumer journeys.

🔹 Instant.so is a game-changer for Shopify merchants who want to build stunning, high-converting landing pages without touching a single line of code, thanks to a drag-and-drop super intuitive editor and more than 200 ready-to-use templates.

Every page you build looks flawless with a mobile-ready design and all your content may be imported from your Figma - also you may use smart integrations with much-used Shopify apps such as Klaviyo, Yotpo or Judge.me.

Last but not least, Instant.so offers fast-loading templates that boost your SEO, making your customers happy and store ranks higher in search results.

🔹 Order Editing is a Shopify application that empowers customers to modify their orders post-purchase, enhancing their shopping experience and reducing the burden on your support team—truly that’s one my very favorite apps ever.

Customers can independently update their shipping address, adjust product quantities, swap or add items and apply discount codes after placing an order. Also they can request order cancellation directly though the app.

Generally speaking, Order Editing aims reducing the need for direct support intervention by providing autonomy over order modifications.

🔹 Sensefuel Personalized Search is a Shopify application designed to transform on-site searches into hyper-personalized shopping journeys, thereby enhancing the customer experience and increasing conversion rates.

Using advanced and deep learning technologies, Sensefuel delivers real-time hyper-personalized search results tailored to each visitor’s preferences and behaviors - merchants may adjust the search user experience to align with their brand, gathering enriched filters and guided navigation for an easier, smoother product discovery.

Sensefuel also provides detailed dashboards and analytics to help merchants understand performance metrics, identify trends and gain insights into customer behavior - that’s terrific operational efficiency !

Bonus : EcomDay was a blast !

Last week I had chance to be on stage for the EcomDay, a french-speaking event dedicated to e-commerce hosted by a good friend of mine and e-commerce expert : Grégory Pairin from Ocarat (also curator of a very relevant newsletter named “Veille e-commerce” that I highly recommend to all of you)

I had a great moment, first because, let's face it, I love talking about e-commerce—that’s obviously why I created an-Hacking 😎

Then because Greg told me I had carte blanche regarding Payments' 2024 fun facts & 2025 predictions (again thanks Greg for your trust) so we dealt with many topics :

👉 Cryptocurrencies in the e-commerce landscape
👉 The launch of Wero initiated by the EPI
👉 The position of e-wallets vs smartphone market shares
👉 The continued rise of BNPL and its challenges
👉 SoftPOS as a renewal in retail
👉 And many other things

Also Greg asked me about "Black Mirror Payment prediction" for the next 5, 10, 15 years, and that was a tough one :

I'm pretty sure the payment is going to be truly immersive in the very next years, just like payment with smartwatches, but also VR with embedded payment - it's terribly exciting (also scary in a way)

Last but not least, we had chance to listen to inspiring people from the ecosystem, such as Laurent Kretz (CosaVostra/Le Panier podcast), Marjorie Dubois from Bobochic, Joseph Ayoub from Mieuxquedesfleurs or Rania Refsi, Ecommerce Manager at CapsMe.

Laurent and Greg have started this event with a focus on E-commerce trends for this brand new year—such a masterclass 🔥

Full replay is available right here 👈

That’s it, you’ve made it : episode 10 has ended and I truly hope you’ve learned something from this one

Please let me know if you have any feedbacks and feel free to forward it 👇