Technology
The Checkout Point
Step into the fast-paced world of online business with 'The Checkout Point,' a dynamic, 20-minute podcast that wraps up the week's must-know eCommerce news, trends, and strategies.
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Episodes
The archive
26 episodes, newest first.
- Week 44 - Holiday Spending Forecasts: Adobe's $275.1B Number, Deloitte's Second Opinion, Prime Big Deal Days Results, and Shopify's Canvas ToolHoliday shopping forecasts are rolling in, and this week we compare two of them and look at what the Prime Big Deal Days numbers say about shopper behavior. We also check in on Shopify's new AI store design tool. If you run an online store and want to plan your holiday season with real data, this episode is for you. This week's themes: - Adobe's record US online holiday forecast - Deloitte's second forecast and the role of AI shopping tools - Prime Big Deal Days results and what they signal for mobile and discounts - Shopify's Canvas tool and its Meta tie-in Follow The Checkout Point so you never miss a weekly eCommerce rundown, and share this episode with a fellow store owner.
- Week 43 - Holiday Forecasts Are In: Adobe's $275.1B Online Number, Shopify's New Canvas Tool, and Google Discover Turning Into an AI ConciergeFall Prime Day is over and the holiday season is officially underway. This week on The Checkout Point, Max and Rachel break down the biggest holiday ecommerce forecasts, what AI traffic could mean for online stores, and the newest ecommerce tool and search news merchants should know about. This week's themes: - Adobe's record holiday ecommerce forecast and how it compares with Deloitte's - Rising AI traffic to retail sites and what it means for merchants - Shopify Canvas, Sidekick, and other new ecommerce tools - Google Discover becoming an AI concierge and the traffic risk for publishers - Who actually owns the customer, plus consent and tracking setups Subscribe to The Checkout Point, leave a review, and visit blikket.co for more ecommerce insights.
- Week 42 - Google Ads Automated Promotions Start Oct 12: OpenAI's ChatGPT Visual Ads, Google's Spam Update Explainer, and Prime Big Deal DaysThis week in eCommerce, Google Ads is about to start pulling promotions straight from your website, OpenAI is bringing a visual ad format to ChatGPT, and Google explained why it keeps rolling out spam updates. Max and Rachel break down what each change means for your ad campaigns, your search visibility and your holiday planning. Themes for this week: - Google Ads Automated Promotions for Search and Performance Max campaigns - OpenAI's visual ChatGPT ad format and what it means for advertisers - Google spam updates, AI spam and search visibility - Prime Big Deal Days and the start of holiday shopping season - Quick hits on Google Ads AI localization and Search Console social profiles Subscribe to The Checkout Point for your weekly eCommerce roundup, and visit blikket.co to learn more.
- Week 41 - Google Enters the Checkout Wars: A Record $275 Billion Holiday Forecast, the Agentic Commerce Standards Fight, and WP Engine's Antitrust TwistThis week on The Checkout Point, Max and Rachel dig into a record-setting holiday forecast and the scramble among tech giants to own the checkout button before the season even starts. They break down why a huge slice of that holiday traffic is expected to come from AI assistants, why Google just threw its own checkout protocol into the ring, and what it means that merchants may end up juggling more than one agentic commerce standard at once. Themes covered this episode include the $275 billion holiday ecommerce forecast and AI traffic surge, Google's new Universal Commerce Protocol and the wider agentic checkout standards fight, and a run of smaller stories including a payments expansion in Europe, WP Engine's antitrust case against Automattic, a UK push to bring outsourced contracts back in house, an ecommerce research acquisition, and a fresh look at how AI translation tools are performing against humans. Subscribe to The Checkout Point so you never miss a week of eCommerce news, and head to blikket.co to see how the team behind this show helps merchants stay ahead of it all.
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- Week 40 - The Agentic Commerce Reality Check: Google's AI Mode Click Problem, OpenAI's Checkout Expansion, and Meijer's European Tech BetThis week on The Checkout Point, Max and Rachel dig into the widening gap between the AI shopping hype machine and what's actually happening at checkout, plus a handful of retail moves worth watching heading into the holiday season. The episode covers Google's push to make AI agents shop on merchants' behalf, new research suggesting that same AI search experience might be sending shoppers away unhappy, what it actually takes to get a business found and trusted by AI systems, and a roundup of retail news spanning a Midwest grocer's automation bet, fresh funding for lending AI, and the friction still slowing cross-border ecommerce in Southeast Asia. Themes this week include the agentic commerce land grab, the AI Mode reality check, building AI-ready local pages and data, and global retail and fintech moves. Subscribe to The Checkout Point wherever you get your podcasts and follow along at blikket.co for more on staying ahead in the digital marketplace.
- Week 39 - PayPal Goes Solo: Shopify's Luxembourg Money Move, India's New E-Commerce Rules, and EcommerceBytes' Final ChapterThis week on The Checkout Point, Max and Rachel dig into a quieter but bigger story than it looks: the biggest names in payments and commerce are all racing to build and control their own financial infrastructure instead of leaning on partners. From a stalled fifty billion dollar buyout to a new banking license application in Luxembourg to a fresh set of consumer protection rules, the throughline is the same, and it matters for anyone running an online store. Themes covered this week include India's amended e-commerce rules and what the new dark-pattern audits and disclosure requirements mean for sellers, PayPal's plan to go it alone after buyout talks with Stripe and Advent stalled and what that means for merchants who rely on its checkout, Shopify's move to set up a Luxembourg entity aimed at its own electronic money license, fresh data on payment and fraud trends shaping merchant strategy, the everyday grind of running multi-store e-commerce operations, and the end of an era as EcommerceBytes closes its doors after twenty seven years. Subscribe to The Checkout Point so you don't miss next week's rundown, and share this episode with a fellow online seller who needs the download.
- Week 38 - AI Checkout Hype Check: Shopify's Numbers, Aviator Nation's Early Wins, and the Small Business Digital DivideThis week on The Checkout Point, Max and Rachel dig into the fast moving world of agentic commerce and ask whether AI powered shopping is actually delivering results or just generating buzz. From the big platform promises to the real adoption numbers, this episode breaks down what merchants need to know right now. Here is what we cover this week: - The Universal Commerce Protocol and OpenAI's Instant Checkout, and what the big platforms are promising shoppers and merchants - Shopify's eye catching AI traffic numbers versus the reality of merchant adoption, plus what a Forrester analyst says about the FOMO driving brands into agentic commerce - Aviator Nation's early ChatGPT orders, Lands' End's e-commerce comeback, and how boomers fueled summer retail sales crowds - Why the smallest businesses are falling behind as Main Street goes digital, and a cross border e-commerce compliance company's new IPO filing Subscribe to The Checkout Point for weekly eCommerce news and strategy, brought to you by the team at blikket.co.
- Week 37 - The EU's Ecommerce Customs Shakeup: Descartes' Filing Fix, Holiday Sales Forecasts, and Spain's E-commerce BoomThis week on The Checkout Point, Max and Rachel dig into a quiet compliance shift that's about to touch pretty much every ecommerce shipment heading into the EU, then pivot into the holiday season numbers every seller should be watching. From automated customs filings to the disappearance of a duty-free loophole, this episode breaks down what's actually changing behind the scenes of global online retail. This week's themes: - How Descartes and K&R International Services are automating EU customs filings for high-volume ecommerce air cargo - The EU's removal of the 150 euro duty exemption and what it means for low-value shipments - Cross-border sales, buy now pay later spending, and TikTok Shop's holiday growth forecasts - Spain's decade-long ecommerce boom, a marketplace optimization partnership, and why a smooth checkout experience still decides who wins Subscribe to The Checkout Point to keep your shortcut to the week's ecommerce news, powered by the team at blikket.co.
- Week 36 - Warehouses Bet Big on Robots and Workers: Amazon's Holiday Fee Squeeze, Anthropic's $30 Trillion Bet, and Retail's Efficiency RaceThis week on The Checkout Point, Max and Rachel dig into the surprising warehouse robot story that flips the usual robots-versus-jobs narrative on its head, then head straight into the holiday season prep chaos at Amazon, where fulfillment fees stay flat but the shipping calendar gets a lot less forgiving. From there they take on Anthropic's jaw dropping thirty trillion dollar revenue forecast and ask whether the number means anything at all. Themes covered this week include warehouses hiring workers and buying robots at the same time, Amazon's tightened 2026 holiday inbound deadlines, Anthropic's eye popping revenue bet, BJ's Wholesale Club trimming a fifth of its SKUs, and Walmart's new boho inspired private label rollout alongside a rough quarter for Foot Locker and Dick's Sporting Goods. Hit subscribe so you don't miss next week's rundown, and share this episode with a merchant friend who's trying to keep up with the pace of retail right now.
- Week 35 - Amazon's AWS Engine Powers a Blowout Quarter: Shopify's New Merchant Deadlines, Etsy's Surprise Layoffs, and Walmart's Same-Day PushThis week on The Checkout Point, Max and Rachel dig into a wild stretch of eCommerce news, from record-breaking earnings at the top of the industry to a marketplace shakeup that caught a lot of sellers off guard. It is a packed rundown of who is winning, who is tightening belts, and what merchants need to have on their radar before the next big shopping season hits. Themes covered this episode include Amazon and Shopify's blowout Q2 earnings, new Shopify deadlines merchants cannot afford to miss, Etsy's surprise layoffs right after closing its Depop deal, and how Walmart, Kroger, and Canadian retailers are all repositioning for the next phase of online shopping. Grab your coffee, settle in, and let's get into it. Subscribe to The Checkout Point so you never miss a week of what's actually moving in online business.
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Powered by the visionary team at blikket.co and narrated by the AI-driven voice of Max, this podcast is your shortcut to staying ahead and informed in the digital marketplace.
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