Mar 3, 2026
Episode
19
Ethan Burnett, Salesfire, on Retention, Post-Purchase Growth & Smarter CRM
Summary
Transcript
Guest Details
Watch on YouTube
Most retail CRM is busy work dressed up as strategy.
Personalisation is talked about constantly, yet customers are still served generic emails, lazy welcome flows and relentless discounting. The result is short-term conversion at the expense of long-term trust. This conversation with Ethan Burnett, Senior Email Strategist at SalesFire, challenges many of the habits retailers treat as best practice.
The discussion cuts into why the first order is the most expensive one you will ever acquire, why post-purchase matters more than acquisition, and why open rates are one of the most misleading metrics in retail marketing. It also tackles cookie loss, anonymous traffic, overuse of SMS and WhatsApp, and how brands like ASOS win by removing friction rather than throwing discounts at customers. If your CRM feels noisy, underperforming, or built on outdated assumptions, this conversation will make you rethink it.
About Salesfire
Salesfire is a Middlesbrough-based SaaS platform helping ecommerce brands improve conversion through personalisation, on-site search, product recommendations, and retargeting. Founded in 2017 by Rich Himsworth, it is used by over 700 brands including Hamleys and Moss Bros, and has raised over £5 million in funding to date.
Jamie Hamer
Host, Retail is Detail Podcast
Dan Coleman, Coleman Marketing, on Profit, Platforms & AI Search in Ecommerce
Dan Coleman has been building ecommerce since 1998. He explains the dangers of ROAS obsession, why blogs can hurt your SEO, and how AI search will reshape product discovery in retail.
Thomas Hill of HyperFinity, on AI Myths & Real Media Shifts & Decision Intelligence
HyperFinity co-founder Tom Hill cuts through AI hype. He explains why AI can't replace strategy, why loyalty is a profit engine, and what decision intelligence actually means for retail.
Paul Ryazanov of MageCloud on Security, Conversion and Smarter Retail Execution
Paul Ryazanov has spent 20 years in ecommerce building platforms and brands. He explains why small conversion gains compound, where retailers have security blind spots, and what actually drives growth.