In the latest instalment of our e-commerce industry executive interview series we spoke to Hannah Morris, Head of Partnerships at Dataships, about increasing customer retention, combatting rising acquisition costs, leveraging first-party data, upcoming market consolidation and more…
Tell us about your company, products and services.
Dataships is a Shopify checkout app that can immediately increase the number of marketable contacts you collect.
Dataships helps brands achieve growth through compliance by increasing the number of marketing contacts in Klaviyo. It optimizes consent collection, ensuring compliance and significantly boosting marketing consent rates. This leads to higher repeat purchase rates and increased revenue, transforming data compliance into a powerful growth strategy.
What value do we add? Dataships gives companies:
- Significantly bigger email and SMS marketing lists
- Substantial incremental revenue uplift from email and SMS marketing
- Audit-ready compliance records
- Seamless integration with Klaviyo
What have been the biggest challenges the eCommerce/Payments industry has faced over the past 12 months?
Over the past year, rising acquisition costs, particularly with new emerging platforms like TikTok Shop, have been a major challenge. These platforms demand precise data tracking and analysis to optimize marketing spend. Additionally, evolving consumer expectations for seamless, omnichannel experiences have pressured businesses to continuously innovate their technology and customer service strategies to stay competitive.
As a result of these rising acquisition costs, it’s becoming more and more difficult (and expensive!) to target and reach your ICP online.
And what have been the biggest opportunities?
Increasing customer retention rates is a significant opportunity. Focusing on the entire customer life cycle, from acquisition to post-purchase, builds long-term loyalty and encourages repeat purchases. Enhanced retention boosts revenue and reduces acquisition costs, making it a valuable growth strategy. As many people know, it is far cheaper to retain an existing customer then acquire a new customer, thus giving brands a big incentive to focus on retention.
What is the biggest priority for the eCommerce/Payments industry in 2025?
The top priority for the eCommerce and payments industry will be leveraging first-party data. With growing privacy regulations and the end of third-party cookies, direct access to customer data will be crucial. First-party data enables personalized marketing, improved customer experiences, and more accurate insights, driving success in a privacy-conscious market. Prioritising first-party data can also allow brands to build out a robust and sophisticated retention strategy without relying on third parties.
What are the main trends you are expecting to see in the market in 2025?
We expect significant consolidation in the industry. Companies will streamline their tech stacks, eliminating unnecessary business apps, and focusing on tools that deliver clear returns on investment. This shift will help businesses reduce costs and increase efficiency, allowing them to allocate resources more effectively to drive growth and innovation.
What technology is going to have the biggest impact on the market this coming year?
Dataships! Using its trusted compliance engine, Dataships refines consent collection processes directly in the checkout to ensure compliance and elevate consent rates. By pinpointing customer locations and implementing the appropriate legislation, it transforms compliance into a growth mechanism, expanding marketing lists and driving customer retention. This can have a significant impact on brands, by on average increasing the number of people you can market to from the checkout from 2 out of 10 purchasers to 9 out of 10! This allows brands to grow a list of their most engaged audience, recent purchasers.
What’s the most surprising thing you’ve learnt about the eCommerce/Payments sector?
It’s surprising how many businesses still rely on manual processes like using spreadsheets instead of automating processes. Given the availability of brilliant automation apps, it’s shocking to see the underutilization of these tools. Automating routine tasks can free up valuable time, allowing teams to focus on more important, value-adding activities.
You go to the bar at the eCommerce/Smarter Payments Summit – what’s your tipple of choice?
I work for an Irish company, so I have to say Guinness. Nothing beats the classic.
What’s the most exciting thing about your job?
Definitely the people. Being surrounded by smart, driven individuals keeps me motivated. People in this field are very generous with their time, sharing their experiences and ideas freely. This sense of community, both within our team and in the industry, makes it so exciting to be a part of.
And what’s the most challenging?
Managing back-to-back calls, sometimes starting the day with Australia and ending on the West Coast. It’s a long day but worth it – like I said, the people are all amazing!
What’s the best piece of advice you’ve ever been given?
One of the most valuable pieces of advice I’ve been given is to concentrate on what I can control within my circle of influence. This advice reminds me that while external factors may sometimes feel overwhelming, I have the power to focus on areas where I can make a difference.
Succession or Stranger Things?
Succession.
