Monkey Monday - June 12th, 2025
Relewise: How industry experts are beating 2025’s biggest ecommerce challenges
What's in this video?
In this video, Dave Wiltshire (Patchworks), James O'Hare (Sitoo) and Russ Brockett from Rusty Monkey join Mike Sar from Relewise to talk about the big e-commerce trends for 2025. They cover the role of AI, the rise of composable technology, the need for personalisation, and how online and in-store retail are becoming more connected.
The panel stress that AI should be seen as a tool to improve existing processes, not a total replacement, and that understanding different types of AI is key. Composable technology gives brands flexibility and speed, but it needs careful integration to avoid problems.
Personalisation is highlighted as one of the biggest opportunities, with real value coming from meeting customer needs rather than simply pushing products. And while e-commerce keeps growing, the group agree that physical shops still matter, offering both in-store experiences and acting as part of the wider fulfilment network.
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Mike Saar (Relewise):
Right. My name’s Mike Saar. I’m from a company called Relewise. You’ve probably never even heard of us—we’re Danish—but we use AI to generate uplifts in conversion rates of over 20% for most of our clients. We’re not going to be talking about us today. Instead, I’ve invited three very well-educated gentlemen in ecommerce to do most of the talking. Let me introduce them: First, Dave Wiltshire, an entrepreneur with deep experience in retail and integration. Then James O’Hare, brilliant at translating technology into in-store success. And Russ Brockett, from Rusty Monkey, who knows everything UI and development. Let’s get into it. What should merchants think about with AI in 2025?
Russ Brockett:
From the dev side, we always say—don’t reinvent the wheel. There’s already great tech out there that can do what you need. AI is getting better and better, but it’s still the garnish, not the main dish. Focus on how it can enhance what already works. Dave Wiltshire:
For me, it’s all about efficiency and experience. We work with a brand called Cash Store—40 locations—and they use AI to cut 40% of their customer support tickets. Now they want to push that to 60% by feeding AI more data. Another client, Wear for Retail, uses AI for stock replenishment across 250 Steve Madden stores—no human involvement. It’s fully automated. AI like this makes a real operational difference. James O’Hare:
Coming from the in-store tech side, I think AI has huge potential in personalised product recommendations. Imagine walking into a fashion store and being recognised by a staff ambassador—AI helps tailor that interaction, making it more organic and personal. But it all depends on having the right tech in place. Mike Saar:
The thing I see most often is that people think AI just means ChatGPT or generative AI. That’s hot right now, but it’s only one part. There’s predictive AI, machine learning—all with very different use cases. Merchants need to understand what type of AI fits their challenge. What’s going on with composable commerce?
Mike:
Composable tech is a big buzzword. But here’s the real question: how do you plug different systems together without creating a mess—or a massive bill? Dave:
Composable lets you swap out parts of your tech stack as needed. Most modern platforms are API-first and much more open now, which is great. But it’s not without risk. We’ve seen big systems with only a 20% launch success rate—that gives composable a bad name. Still, the tech itself is often fast to deploy. What matters is how quickly you can get up and running. And once you do, your systems need to be wired up properly. If not, you’ll live with constant “low-level pain.” You’ll be firefighting forever. That’s where integration becomes make-or-break. James:
Composable doesn’t mean “rip everything out.” It’s about improving the stack you already have. Products like Patchworks let you layer in improvements tactically. Look at your weakest link—fix that first. That’s the real composable journey. What about personalisation?
Mike:
Only about 8% of merchants are really doing personalisation well. It’s still one of the biggest untapped opportunities. Russ:
People think it’s just about selling more. It’s not. It’s about doing the right thing for your customer. Example: I searched for wall-mounted lights and the site recommended ceiling ones. That’s not useful. Personalisation should be accurate, relevant and considerate. Think long-term. What your customer wants today might change in a year. If they buy a pram today, maybe they’ll need a bike in five years. Mike:
Exactly. Done right, personalisation is like a money turbocharger. Some of our clients implement it in under 24 hours and see 25–50% uplift. And because it integrates into their customer data and journey, it pays off fast. Merging digital and physical retail (a.k.a. “Phygital”)
Mike:
James showed me a demo of Sitoo and I was blown away. It bridges the digital and physical retail worlds. Can you talk about that? James:
We’re a Swedish company. If you go to a Westfield mall in Stockholm, 1 in 3 stores uses Sitoo. Scandinavia is often ahead of the curve in this space. They don’t see online and offline as different anymore—it’s just one journey. Physical retail isn’t dying. Bad retail is. Brands like Gymshark started as online-only. Then they opened a showroom—and made so much money, they started opening real stores globally. Mike:
Exactly. Your stores become part of your warehouse network. You reduce returns by letting customers try on products. And if you don’t have the right colour in-store, you can check nearby locations or send it to them directly. That’s how you win. What should merchants actually do in 2025?
Russ:
This year is about quick wins. Not major replatforms. Small changes, fast impact. Like British cycling—tiny improvements across the board, and you win big. James:
First-party data is key. Customers are more comfortable giving their email online, but in-store is harder. That’s where digital wallets help—tap to pay and your loyalty card is automatically applied. It works brilliantly in Scandinavia. Dave:
Retailers need consolidation. We meet a lot of businesses with five or six systems that don’t talk to each other. That’s a recipe for wasted time and poor CX. Also—watch out for emerging areas like resale, post-purchase upsells, and hidden wholesale. There’s gold there if you mine it. Mike:
Great points. Many merchants actually have a hidden B2B business but manage it badly. You need to start identifying customer types, tracking B2B behaviours and pricing, and using AI to map who’s who across multiple brands or stores. When it all connects—data, experience, channel—you can do smarter remarketing, better personalisation, and improve loyalty without annoying your customers. That’s how you stay relevant. Audience Q&A: Making phygital work
Audience Member:
I like the idea of “phygital”—but what can brands do better to join up the journey? James:
Great question. It starts with empowering store staff. Right now, they’re juggling four systems just to manage click-and-collect. It needs to be one simple interface. Imagine this: you order online, walk into a store, and your saved cart appears. You’re told immediately if that size or colour is available here—or if another store has it. You can reserve, try on, or get it delivered. It’s fast, clean and personal. That’s the future. Mike:
Thank you to our panel. Hopefully this has given everyone something practical to think about as you plan for 2025.
Right. My name’s Mike Saar. I’m from a company called Relewise. You’ve probably never even heard of us—we’re Danish—but we use AI to generate uplifts in conversion rates of over 20% for most of our clients. We’re not going to be talking about us today. Instead, I’ve invited three very well-educated gentlemen in ecommerce to do most of the talking. Let me introduce them: First, Dave Wiltshire, an entrepreneur with deep experience in retail and integration. Then James O’Hare, brilliant at translating technology into in-store success. And Russ Brockett, from Rusty Monkey, who knows everything UI and development. Let’s get into it. What should merchants think about with AI in 2025?
Russ Brockett:
From the dev side, we always say—don’t reinvent the wheel. There’s already great tech out there that can do what you need. AI is getting better and better, but it’s still the garnish, not the main dish. Focus on how it can enhance what already works. Dave Wiltshire:
For me, it’s all about efficiency and experience. We work with a brand called Cash Store—40 locations—and they use AI to cut 40% of their customer support tickets. Now they want to push that to 60% by feeding AI more data. Another client, Wear for Retail, uses AI for stock replenishment across 250 Steve Madden stores—no human involvement. It’s fully automated. AI like this makes a real operational difference. James O’Hare:
Coming from the in-store tech side, I think AI has huge potential in personalised product recommendations. Imagine walking into a fashion store and being recognised by a staff ambassador—AI helps tailor that interaction, making it more organic and personal. But it all depends on having the right tech in place. Mike Saar:
The thing I see most often is that people think AI just means ChatGPT or generative AI. That’s hot right now, but it’s only one part. There’s predictive AI, machine learning—all with very different use cases. Merchants need to understand what type of AI fits their challenge. What’s going on with composable commerce?
Mike:
Composable tech is a big buzzword. But here’s the real question: how do you plug different systems together without creating a mess—or a massive bill? Dave:
Composable lets you swap out parts of your tech stack as needed. Most modern platforms are API-first and much more open now, which is great. But it’s not without risk. We’ve seen big systems with only a 20% launch success rate—that gives composable a bad name. Still, the tech itself is often fast to deploy. What matters is how quickly you can get up and running. And once you do, your systems need to be wired up properly. If not, you’ll live with constant “low-level pain.” You’ll be firefighting forever. That’s where integration becomes make-or-break. James:
Composable doesn’t mean “rip everything out.” It’s about improving the stack you already have. Products like Patchworks let you layer in improvements tactically. Look at your weakest link—fix that first. That’s the real composable journey. What about personalisation?
Mike:
Only about 8% of merchants are really doing personalisation well. It’s still one of the biggest untapped opportunities. Russ:
People think it’s just about selling more. It’s not. It’s about doing the right thing for your customer. Example: I searched for wall-mounted lights and the site recommended ceiling ones. That’s not useful. Personalisation should be accurate, relevant and considerate. Think long-term. What your customer wants today might change in a year. If they buy a pram today, maybe they’ll need a bike in five years. Mike:
Exactly. Done right, personalisation is like a money turbocharger. Some of our clients implement it in under 24 hours and see 25–50% uplift. And because it integrates into their customer data and journey, it pays off fast. Merging digital and physical retail (a.k.a. “Phygital”)
Mike:
James showed me a demo of Sitoo and I was blown away. It bridges the digital and physical retail worlds. Can you talk about that? James:
We’re a Swedish company. If you go to a Westfield mall in Stockholm, 1 in 3 stores uses Sitoo. Scandinavia is often ahead of the curve in this space. They don’t see online and offline as different anymore—it’s just one journey. Physical retail isn’t dying. Bad retail is. Brands like Gymshark started as online-only. Then they opened a showroom—and made so much money, they started opening real stores globally. Mike:
Exactly. Your stores become part of your warehouse network. You reduce returns by letting customers try on products. And if you don’t have the right colour in-store, you can check nearby locations or send it to them directly. That’s how you win. What should merchants actually do in 2025?
Russ:
This year is about quick wins. Not major replatforms. Small changes, fast impact. Like British cycling—tiny improvements across the board, and you win big. James:
First-party data is key. Customers are more comfortable giving their email online, but in-store is harder. That’s where digital wallets help—tap to pay and your loyalty card is automatically applied. It works brilliantly in Scandinavia. Dave:
Retailers need consolidation. We meet a lot of businesses with five or six systems that don’t talk to each other. That’s a recipe for wasted time and poor CX. Also—watch out for emerging areas like resale, post-purchase upsells, and hidden wholesale. There’s gold there if you mine it. Mike:
Great points. Many merchants actually have a hidden B2B business but manage it badly. You need to start identifying customer types, tracking B2B behaviours and pricing, and using AI to map who’s who across multiple brands or stores. When it all connects—data, experience, channel—you can do smarter remarketing, better personalisation, and improve loyalty without annoying your customers. That’s how you stay relevant. Audience Q&A: Making phygital work
Audience Member:
I like the idea of “phygital”—but what can brands do better to join up the journey? James:
Great question. It starts with empowering store staff. Right now, they’re juggling four systems just to manage click-and-collect. It needs to be one simple interface. Imagine this: you order online, walk into a store, and your saved cart appears. You’re told immediately if that size or colour is available here—or if another store has it. You can reserve, try on, or get it delivered. It’s fast, clean and personal. That’s the future. Mike:
Thank you to our panel. Hopefully this has given everyone something practical to think about as you plan for 2025.
