AI in Retail & E-Commerce: Insights from NetElixir CEO at eTail West
We’re live from eTail West in Palm Springs with NetElixir CEO Udayan Bose, who breaks down the latest innovations in AI-driven retail marketing. From predictive analytics to strategic experimentation, Udayan shares how brands can increase revenue, optimize Google and Meta ad spending, and navigate the digital marketing evolution.
🔹 [0:14] Live from eTail West: Introducing NetElixir and its mission
🔹 [1:06] Udayan’s 19-year journey with eTail and key industry shifts
🔹 [2:30] How NetElixir pioneered AI-driven customer acquisition
🔹 [4:16] Top concerns for retailers: margin compression and AI adoption
🔹 [5:26] AI in digital marketing—what actually works vs. hype
🔹 [6:40] How AI is changing Google Ads and Meta advertising
🔹 [7:28] The role of AI agents in marketing operations by year-end
🔹 [8:08] Why brands should allocate 10% of their budget to experimentation
🔹 [9:41] Final advice: Identifying problems, rethinking workflows, and leveraging AI for smarter retail growth
Join us for this insightful discussion, and subscribe for more cutting-edge retail and e-commerce strategies. And thanks to NetElixir for making all our coverage from eTail West possible!
#ecommerce #etailwest #onlineshopping #retailinnovation
This podcast uses the following third-party services for analysis:
Podcorn - https://podcorn.com/privacy
Transcript
Hello everyone, this is Omnitok Retail.
Speaker A:I'm Anne Mazinga and I am coming to you live from Etail in Palm Springs.
Speaker A:We're so excited to be here covering the show and I wanted to kick off our coverage of E Tail west here because we have a very special partner that's helped bringing us bringing you all of the content and all of the interviews from the retailers and brands in attendance.
Speaker A:And that is Net Elixir.
Speaker A:And they are in here in booth 501.
Speaker A:And standing next to me I have the co founder and CEO of Net Elixir, Udayn Bose.
Speaker A:Udain, welcome.
Speaker B:Thank you very much.
Speaker A:Yes.
Speaker B:Wow, this is amazing.
Speaker A:How have you been?
Speaker A:It's been a little minute.
Speaker B:I'm doing great, thank you.
Speaker A:Yeah, thank you.
Speaker A:I have to tell you all that Udayne is basically like the mayor of Etail.
Speaker A:How many, how many Etails is this for Udane?
Speaker B: th etail and I still remember: Speaker B:Our first etail was before iPhone was launched.
Speaker B:So it has been a crazy ride.
Speaker A:I mean, think about that.
Speaker A:Before the first iPhone was launched.
Speaker A:I mean, and it's really so unique.
Speaker A:I remember Chris saying last year when we were here, you know, it's kind of like when E commerce first came to the fore.
Speaker A:And now we're kind of on this precipice again with AI, which, which is something that I'm really excited to talk to you about today too.
Speaker A:So let's start with what Net Elixir is and maybe the origin story and what Net Elixir is doing today.
Speaker B:Absolutely, absolutely.
Speaker B:So Net Elixir has been around for 21 years now.
Speaker B:Right?
Speaker B:So it has been a long time.
Speaker B:We are an independent digital marketing firm.
Speaker B:We have really integrated AI into how we really do things.
Speaker B:And this was probably more lucky, I would think.
Speaker B: And in: Speaker B:And we wanted to solve one problem.
Speaker B:We wanted to use machine learning and predictive analytics to proactively identify and win the high value customers as such.
Speaker B:Okay, so that's the start part.
Speaker B:Finally, after two and a half years of research, we were able to crack that formula.
Speaker B:So where we are able to use live data to identify as to who's a high value customer for a business.
Speaker B:And then we just kept on adding the predictive analytics algorithms and so on and Covid struck and then essentially the world changed.
Speaker B:And at this point in time, the entire world is Talking about AI.
Speaker B:AI that we know of is more of a machine learning and predictive analytics as such.
Speaker A:And what have you been able to help brands do?
Speaker A:Especially being so early on the forefront of AI and really starting to test that before anyone else was what have you been able to really help them utilize AI for and how has that changed their business?
Speaker B:I mean, I know I can get extremely professorial on this one and.
Speaker B:But if you really look at AI, I think it starts with identifying the problem that you want to solve.
Speaker A:Okay.
Speaker B:The first thing was we were able to identify the right problem to solve.
Speaker B:The second part is we knew that we really needed to redesign the workflows because just using AI and throwing around AI as a bug word doesn't work.
Speaker B:The third component at this point in time, 75% of the AI still which really works internally for companies is predictive analytics and machine learning.
Speaker B:So what we have been able to do is we have been able to build a technology, an AI marketing experimentation platform which delivers higher revenues from the same Google Ad spend or a meta ad spend by predictably identifying the high value customers and doing that.
Speaker B:So we can truly claim that we are the first and only AI marketing platform that exists which has proven to drive predictable top line revenue growth for the last few years, not the only one at this point in time.
Speaker B:I really wanted to clarify and emphasize that part.
Speaker A:Noted, noted.
Speaker A:You can come here to booth 501 and Dane will explain even more of that for you.
Speaker A:You know, I'm going to talk about predictions a little bit more here.
Speaker A:Udayn, what do you predict?
Speaker A:Some of the retailers and brands attending Etail today are going to be asking you when they walk up to booth 501 today, what are some of the things that they're going to be looking for your help in solving?
Speaker B:I would say three things probably sort of come to my mind.
Speaker B:The first thing is very clearly in terms of we all live in very turbulent times, right.
Speaker B:So I think the E commerce has been going through a massive up and down and so on and specifically since Netflix works with customers between 20 million and 200 million, so our mid market is our focus, we are seeing the margins getting extremely squeezed.
Speaker B:So when you said the margins, basically the contribution margins are getting completely hammered because people are struggling to raise prices and at the same time the cost of operation has gone up quite dramatically as well.
Speaker B:Right, right.
Speaker B:I'm talking about even the advertising cost on Google.
Speaker B:The CPCS on Google last year versus this year, February has been up by 27% aggregate.
Speaker B:Right.
Speaker B:So I mean, all of this is a stress and lot of businesses at this point in time are just trying to identify as to what, what is that part, what is that thing that they should do which can really help him succeed.
Speaker B:So I think that first one, what are some of the solutions available which can really help us shore up our margins?
Speaker B:The second part I would emphasize is there is a lot of talk about AI and I really wish we get a question as to what truly AI that means for me, which solves the problem that is important for me does and how does it work.
Speaker B:So I'm hopeful that people are able to find out and break through the clutter between any AI talk and AI which really works and drives top line growth.
Speaker B:And the third and the final part is what are the new fun technologies which are out there and what are some of the problems that they are solving?
Speaker B:So Net net, I think if people can just focus on two things in this show, the first is what problem are you trying to solve?
Speaker B:The second is if you really work backwards from the outcome, the ideal outcome, how do you really redesign your work workflow?
Speaker B:So I think those are the two.
Speaker B:I sound, I know again like a professor.
Speaker A:But you look like a professor today.
Speaker A:Yes.
Speaker B:And all this stuff.
Speaker B:Right.
Speaker B:So.
Speaker B:But those are the two things I.
Speaker A:Think and okay, so you're going to be on stage also.
Speaker B:Yes.
Speaker A:What are you going to be talking about on stage here at eto?
Speaker A:What's the focus of that conversation?
Speaker B:I think, I mean, we have somehow and in the last one year become a massive evangelist and proponent of the right AI and right problems.
Speaker B:So we are a part of the New Jersey Big Data Council and all this stuff.
Speaker B:I'm speaking in colleges, educating the students and all this stuff.
Speaker B:So what I'm going to say is first define the problem.
Speaker B:Right?
Speaker A:Yes.
Speaker B:Right.
Speaker B:Because most of the people don't really know as to what is the right problem.
Speaker B:And the second part is how do you really use responsible AI to solve those problems better than anyone else can do?
Speaker A:Right.
Speaker B:So those are the things.
Speaker B:Right.
Speaker B:Because I think what is happening is the entire channel marketing landscape, the Google and Meta and all that stuff that has been changing quite dramatically.
Speaker B:And if you think that the old systems really work currently, it does not.
Speaker B:Yeah.
Speaker B: ,: Speaker B:I know I'm probably sort of just sort of jumping ahead and telling this.
Speaker B:So if you really look at it, work backwards from the Google results earlier, the core operations.
Speaker B:So you had the keyword selection, that copywriting and all this stuff.
Speaker B:So that was 100% of this thing.
Speaker B:So we believe that that needs to change.
Speaker B:So 70% of the core operations of Google.
Speaker B:And I truly believe, and I know I'm going to scare a lot of people by saying this will be done by AI agents by the end of this year.
Speaker A:Wow.
Speaker B:So it would not require humor this year.
Speaker B:By the end of this year, AI agents will be, I mean, you can always say that deep seek really, really hastened the entire development and all this stuff.
Speaker B:So.
Speaker B:But the balance 30%, whoever masters that, I think will win big time.
Speaker B:The 30%, 20% is going to be the regular experimentation component, identifying as to what are the incrementality tests and all this stuff.
Speaker B:So, for example, later today I'm speaking with the CMO of Newton Baby Aaron Saga and we are talking about all these, the different type of culture of experimentation.
Speaker B:But what we profess, and that's where LXR Insights we are trying to do, is the importance of assigning 10% of your budget to what, what I call the strategic experimentation.
Speaker B:Interesting experimentation drives top line revenue growth and is insanely profitable for your business.
Speaker A:I have a question for you about that because I think that in these times where people are really trying to sweat their existing assets, they're trying to find those, those nuggets of where can I save some incremental or where can I save some money?
Speaker A:How do you explain or help those listeners justify that 10% that's going into a bucket of research and development or testing and the value of that.
Speaker B:That's a great point.
Speaker B:So at this point in time, I think if you really jump for 10%, you probably will say no.
Speaker B:Yeah, but can we really start with a smaller percent of the budget?
Speaker A:Sure.
Speaker B:Can we really prove?
Speaker B:Because I think Even at about a 3% of your overall budget, you can really prove almost like an MVP sort of a situation.
Speaker B:Prove the case and then scale it from there.
Speaker A:Sure.
Speaker A:Okay.
Speaker A:Well, Udayn, it's been so wonderful getting to catch up with you today.
Speaker A:Please, please stop by visit Net elixir in booth 501.
Speaker A:They'll be here for the next couple of days.
Speaker A:Udain's on stage tomorrow, so make sure you catch all of that content.
Speaker A:Udine, any parting words of wisdom for people as they're out here getting the most out of e tail and getting the most out of the content here?
Speaker B:I'll end with a very optimistic note.
Speaker A:I love it.
Speaker B:Focus on identifying the problems you want to solve.
Speaker B:Solve rethink or re engineer the workflows.
Speaker A:Yes.
Speaker B:And you will get returns which are.
Speaker B:Which sort of blow your mind.
Speaker B:It's much bigger than what you probably initially were getting.
Speaker B:You just have to really look at it from the different perspective.
Speaker B:I keep on giving the example of my favorite movie, Dead Poet Society and Robin Williams, Right?
Speaker A:Oh, yes.
Speaker B:You really have to look at the world from different perspective.
Speaker B:And the time for doing that is right now.
Speaker A:Well, I love that advice.
Speaker A:Exploring and finding the problem first, and then you'll be surprised.
Speaker A:Right?
Speaker A:I mean, with all the AI applications that are available to help you solve that problem, whether it's a partner like Net Elixir or one of the other partners here at Etail to help you first find the problem and then find the solution.
Speaker B:Absolutely.
Speaker A:All right, thank you so much.
Speaker A:Thank you so much.
Speaker A:Thanks for your help in making all of our coverage possible.
Speaker A:And we'll be right back with another interview with Denise and Candela, the EVP of fashion at Walmart.
Speaker A:And.
Speaker A:And until then, be careful out there.
