Episode · 2026-03-27
@Shopify Agentic Storefronts
@Shopify Agentic Storefronts | The End of Endless Scroll? | Connor Gross x John Mark Pero
Rundown
Chris Hall and Colin open by breaking down Shopify's new agentic storefronts and AI-chat checkout, then cover a wave of Meta lawsuits and GLP-1s' impact on apparel demand. The back half features two guest interviews: recruiter Connor Gross on hiring growth talent and interview best practices, and telehealth/peptide founder John Mark Pero on the compliance-heavy world of compounded GLP-1s and peptides.
Takes from this episode
Shopify's agentic AI-chat storefronts are a win for brands because they shorten the path from awareness to purchase while keeping the normal Shopify experience instead of ceding checkout (and a cut) to OpenAI's instant checkout.
shortening the distance between awareness and discovery and getting people across the finish line for purchase, I think is incredible... now open AI is not going to take their cut on top of instant checkout
The wave of Meta-related harm lawsuits echoes the big-tobacco precedent and could eventually force real limits on how ad platforms are allowed to advertise if it plays out over several years.Prediction
this precedent I mean, this was set with the big tobacco... there is a reason why... they have been limited and they cannot advertise in certain ways
Consumers claim to value things like domestic manufacturing and quality but still primarily buy on price and deal, so stated preference is currently ahead of actual purchase behavior.
people love it and they celebrate it, but they don't buy. They still go with whoever can get me the best deal and whatever that matrix sees for highest quality at the lowest price is
When hiring a growth or marketing lead, it's critical to match their channel expertise to the channels the brand already succeeds on, since a mismatch (e.g. a paid-social hire for an Amazon/TikTok Shop brand) wastes months and tens of thousands of dollars.
making sure that whoever you're hiring is great at the channel that you are already good at is very important
Most job candidates fail to do basic prep like following up after interviews or researching the company's ad library beforehand, so simple diligence and concrete ideas are enough to stand out.
people love when you come into an interview with ideas on what you can do for them and very clear past examples on how you've grown
Compounded GLP-1s and peptides sit in a distinct, actively contested regulatory space since patent holders like Eli Lilly and Novo are working to shut down telehealth compounding, with new FDA-related developments arriving almost weekly.
Eli Lilly and Novo. They hate telehealth companies because we sell oftentimes compounded versions of their drugs, which is legal to do in certain situations... they are trying to shut down