Retail & Merchandising

“Loop engineering” is a hot buzzphrase after mentions of it by Boris Cherny (Claude Code’s creator) and Peter Steinberger (OpenClaw's creator) went viral on social media. Loops are now a key part of how we get AI agents to iterate at length to build software. In this letter, I’d like to share my 3 key loops, shown in the image below, for building 0-to-1 products. These loops guide not just how I build software, but also how I decide what software to build. Agentic coding loop: Given a product specification and optionally a set of evals (that is, a dataset against which to measure performance), we can have an AI agent write code, test its work, and keep iterating until the code is bug-free and meets its specification. This idea of closing the loop took off around the end of last year, and it has been a game changer in enabling coding agents to work longer productively without human intervention. For example, over the weekend, I was building an app for my daughter to practice typing, and my coding agent could easily work for around an hour, using a web browser to check what it had built multiple times before getting back to me, without needing my intervention. The engineering loop executes quickly. Every few minutes, the coding agent might build and test a new version of the software. I hear frequently from developers who are finding new ways to engineer more effective engineering loops. This is an active area of invention! Developer feedback loop: In this loop, a developer examines the current product and steers the coding agent to improve it. Last year, a lot of developers (including me) were acting as the QA (quality assurance) function for our coding agents, manually finding bugs and then asking the agent to fix them. But with coding agents much more able to test their own code, the amount of time we need to spend on this function has decreased significantly. This allows us to make higher-level product decisions, such as what key features to offer, where the UI needs improvement, and so on. The developer-feedback loop operates over time intervals between tens of minutes and hours — that's how frequently a developer might review a product and give feedback. In the case of the typing app, I changed my mind a few times about the visual design, what cat costumes she can unlock as she learns (she loves cats), and the user flow for a grown-up to log in and steer the child's learning experience. When a developer has a clear vision for what to build, it is still a lot of work to translate that vision into a specification for a coding agent to implement. Further, after the developer has seen an implementation, they might update (or perhaps clarify) the spec to steer it toward what they want. If you find that the system repeatedly runs into certain problems, building a set of evals for the agent becomes useful. [Truncated for length. Full text: https://lnkd.in/gKDQ6H9s]

IndiGo (InterGlobe Aviation Ltd) CRISIS WASN’T IN THE SKIES. IT WAS IN THE LEADERSHIP CABIN. Three things stood out. One: Employees were left alone to face furious customers. No leader should ever let that happen. If you don’t stand by your people in a storm, don’t expect them to stand by your customers in the sun. Customer experience collapses the moment employees feel abandoned. Two: In any crisis, honesty is the only strategy that works. This time, the communication wasn’t transparent. When leaders hide the full picture, years of goodwill can disappear overnight. A crisis can earn trust, but only if you tell the truth. Three: The belief that “we are too big to be ignored” has ended more companies than competition ever has. Customers always have a choice. And if they don’t, they will create one. We shouldn’t watch the Indigo crisis like spectators. This is a reminder for every leader to build their own crisis blueprint. Because crises will come, when they do, your response becomes your reputation. There is more to business than profits. There are people, trust, and how you show up when it matters most.

80% of your PDP visitors will never see the add to cart CTA. Here's why: - your price seems too high - your product does not look attractive - your PDP has too much info in initial folds This impacts your add to cart rate. And your conversions, revenue, profit. A visible add to cart CTA is key to a successful online business. Visible. But not placed "too early". Not before your visitor is ready to click on it. In this example, using Cetaphil's PDP, I've made 10 changes that make the add to cart CTA more visible and increase the conversion rate. 1. Add the "use case" of your product above the product name. What purpose it solves. Helps the visitor quickly understand if it's for them. 2. Add a 1-2 line benefit-driven summary of the product under the product name. This gets the user interested and reading further. 3. Optimize the price area by mentioning quantity, ml, units (if this is applicable to your product). This shows them value for money and justifies price. 4. Highlight a result the user can expect with numbers on the image. This should be proven by an actual study. 5. Add image thumbnails. Make sure the image gallery in a one-stop place to get all key information about the product. 6. Add a short summary in bullets before the add to cart. Keep the bullet points to 1 line on mobile. 7. Show the quantity and their price upfront and not under a drop-down. If you have more than 4 options, you can consider having a drop-down. Highlight savings for all options. 8. Optimize the add to cart area by highlighting the delivery time and rate. 9. Highlight product USPs or brand USPs below the add to cart in a visual format using icons. Make sure this info is unique and not repeated above. 10. Add an upsell section like "Complete your routine" or "Complete your look". This increases your AOV and helps the shopper find relevant products easily. Other UX/UI and CRO changes I did: - Added an information bar with shipping info - Added a cart icon in the logo bar - Reduced the image height Found this useful? Let me know in the comments! P.S. If you want to maximize your PDP’s potential, start by understanding your visitor's behavior and the gaps. Start with one change, measure impact, and iterate for continuous improvement. If you have questions about CRO or web design, reach out to me on DM. #conversionrateoptimization

Is THIS the best ad campaign ever? In 2015, Sport England challenged ad agency FCB Global to close the 2 million strong gender gap by getting women more active. The agency used the insight that women often feel 'fear of judgement' in exercise, to create the campaign 'This Girl Can'. The campaign is a rallying cry to women to get active in THEIR own way by replacing fear with a 'don't give a damn' attitude. This is shown with bold copywriting, relatable casting, REAL moments (the make-up smudged under the eyes, normal jiggling bodies, menopausal sweat, period cramps, tampon string hanging out your pants) and a true sense of female camaraderie. Since it's launch: - 3 million women were inspired to exercise as a direct result of seeing the campaign - 1000+ social media mentions each day - 37m views across social media - 500,000 active members in the This Girl Can community - Cannes Lions award The campaign is evidence that advertising can make great impact and drive change in many little corners of the world. THIS is the result of a clear brief, unifying insight and - in this case - a dedicated female creative team who truly 'understand' their audience. But more than that, it's the result of a LONG-TERM campaign that has been running for almost decade, and continues to re-engage the audience in various different ways, globally. I think there is such a short-term mindset in advertising nowadays. Mainly due to the fast-paced nature of social media, the need to 'go viral' and the economic need for performance marketing tactics to generate cashflow. But without the longer-term brand campaigns, we are missing the ability to build strong narratives and make REAL change in the world. And with that, stronger brand salience, brand love and LEGACY. This is an element of advertising that I fell in love with years ago. And an element that I see really defining which brands stand the test of time, an which fall apart years down the line.

🗣️ “I didn’t want to make Nike, Adidas and Puma richer.” - a masterclass in sports business and fashion. This quote is from Aurelio De Laurentiis, owner of SSC Napoli. His club Napoli went fully inhouse for their jersey and merch and created a startup in the club. A masterclass in sports &business by Europe’s most financially sustainable club ♻️- you would not expect in Napoli ;). I) How it usually works – Club x Supplier 👕 – Club signs with Nike, Adidas, Puma, etc. – Brand pays yearly fixed fee as sponsor – Club gets free gear + ~€5–7 per jersey – Royalties = ~10–15% of wholesale price – Brand handles production, logistics etc – Club only earns more via its own stores In short – Safe, low-margin, low-control – Great for global distribution – Merch is outsourced – so is upside 🤯 II) Napoli’s shift – DIY + EA7 “I called my friend Giorgio Armani. I needed to make my own jerseys, but with a credible brand. That’s how the idea was born.” 🧠 Starting 2021/22: – Ended Kappa deal (€8M/year) – No traditional sponsor replaced it – Partnered with EA7/Armani (€100k/year) – Napoli handles: design, production —>all – EA7 provides: brand, fashion expertise Strategic plays: – No middlemen – Global D2C via Amazon et al – Released 13 kits in first year❗️ – Built demand through drops & storytelling Control gained: – Faster time to market – Higher per-unit net margin (est. ~50%) – Cultural & visual brand alignment III) Did it work? Merch revenue by season “It’s like another company within our company, one that produces a lot of stuff. We’ve transformed everything.” ⬇️ Merch rev., growth, est. % of total rev. year by year: 20/21: €3.4M, –, 2% (last season w/ Kappa) 21/22: €5.8M, +71%, 3.5% 22/23: €14.7M, +332%, 5.5% 23/24: €21.5M, +532%, 8.0% 24/25: Est. €25M+ considering title momentum 🏆 📈 5x merch revenue growth in 4 years → Thanks to entrepreneurial vision and execution. 📌 Lessons for the industry – Vertical integration isn’t just for factories – Brand control > brand dependency – Storytelling, scarcity, speed = sales Could this model scale to other top clubs? Or is this DIY path one-of-a-kind? Want to see more behind-the-scenes from Napoli’s business model? 👇 Let’s talk in the comments. Lucas Sorrentino

In 2008, Marks and Spencer charging 5p for a plastic bag was seen as a huge risk. Today, DEFRA data shows bag sales are down 98%. Proof that voluntary corporate leadership paves the way for national policy. Back in 2008, I was part of the team at M&S that voluntarily introduced the 5p carrier bag levy in food halls. Before rolling it out nationally, we tested it across 50 stores in Northern Ireland and the South West. Demand plummeted by over 70% almost instantly. To make the transition seamless for shoppers, M&S gave away free reusable bags for a month before the May 2008 launch, and partnered with Groundwork to channel every penny raised directly into local green spaces and community parks. Seven years after that initial bold move, the UK government made the 5p charge mandatory across all major retailers. Now, bag usage is down by 98% (over 7.4 billion fewer bags!), proving three key principles about driving real sustainability: Pilot before you scale: Testing behavioral shifts in limited markets builds the data and confidence required for big decisions. Remove friction with alternatives: Giving customers reusable options upfront turned potential resistance into collective action. Corporate bravery enables policy: When business proves a model works, regulators can step in with confidence. Systemic change rarely happens overnight, but it almost always starts with a single organisation willing to challenge the status quo. https://lnkd.in/ejhwWYKW Clare Wilkes, Mike Barry, Carmel McQuaid, Paul Willgoss, Louise Nicholls, Richard Gillies, Alexis Steadman, Daniel Himsworth

The Paradox of Growth: The Bigger You Get, the Less You Know I came across something that stuck with me: When companies scale, they gain users — but lose understanding. Not because they stop caring, but because their customer feedback starts living everywhere — support tickets, sales calls, forums, surveys, social media, and app store reviews. That thought really made me pause. I’ve seen this firsthand. When a company is small, every piece of feedback feels personal — every bug report or review has a face behind it. But as you grow, those voices scatter across platforms and departments. Support sees the frustration, sales hears the hesitation, leadership sees the numbers — and somehow, everyone’s looking at the same customers, but no one’s hearing them anymore. That, in my opinion, is the quiet cost of growth. This is the problem Enterpret is solving — by helping teams stay in tune with their customers even as they scale. Here’s how it works: → It collects real-time customer feedback from 55+ channels — support tickets, sales calls, social media (X, Reddit, Instagram, Facebook), app store reviews, community forums, surveys, Slack, and more. → It analyzes all that feedback using AI and tells you exactly what to fix or build next. → It maps everything through a customer knowledge graph that connects feedback, complaints, and requests by channel, user, and payment data. → It even provides a chat interface where you can directly ask questions, and AI agents that flag bugs or issues automatically. That’s why teams like Notion, Perplexity, Canva, Chipotle, and The Farmer’s Dog use it — to make sure customer voices never get lost in the noise. In my view, the real lesson here isn’t about using more tools — it’s about staying close to the people you build for. Here’s how I’d approach it: ✅ Centralize every piece of feedback — even if it’s messy. ✅ Look for patterns instead of isolated complaints. ✅ Use AI systems like Enterpret to uncover the “why” behind what customers say. Because in the end, growth shouldn’t make you deaf. It should make you listen better — just faster. How does your team make sure you’re hearing what customers really mean, not just what they say? #CustomerFeedback #AIProducts #ProductStrategy #VoiceOfCustomer #Enterpret #Leadership

This company made ₹576 crore in India by saying no to the biggest e-commerce giants. This is the story of how UNIQLO, a Japanese clothing giant, chose to swim against the tide-when most global fashion brands in India rushed to list on Amazon or Flipkart, UNIQLO boldly said no to the biggest marketplaces. Launched in 2019, UNIQLO earned ₹139 crore in its first year. Fast forward to FY23, they’ve grown 4X, proving their unique strategy works. Here’s how they did it: 📌They chose to stay off Amazon and Flipkart, focusing on its app and website to control its brand and customer experience. 📌Compared to other fast fashion brands like H&M or Zara, UNIQLO’s products often come with a higher price tag. But they justify it through superior quality, timeless designs, and innovative materials (like HEATTECH and AIRism) 📌While fast fashion giants rely on aggressive sales and discounts, UNIQLO focuses on trust, slow but steady growth, and loyalty. From opening in Delhi in 2019 to 15 stores across India today, UNIQLO uses data to expand where it matters, rather than chasing scale. I managed to visit their stores during my trip to Japan and truly amazed at the experience at the store as well comfort of the products. In a world of marketplaces, UNIQLO is building its own market. What’s your take? Does this “quality over quantity” approach resonate with today’s consumers?

When growth on Amazon stalls after a certain scale, it is either a traffic problem or a conversion problem. If you are struggling to grow profitably on Amazon, just go back to basics, log into Brand Analytics, and look at 3 metrics to diagnose the problem 1.      Search Term Impression Share for High Volume Generic Searches : Amazon is a search led platform and in most categories upto 75% of searches are generic keywords( no wonder they are fast catching up with Google search in revenue). The biggest lever to grow is to have a high impression share( mix of organic and ads) on high volume generic keywords. If your impression share on high volume KWs don’t grow, overall growth is difficult. 2.      Branded Search Volumes for both Own Brand and Competition: This is often a function of activities done outside the platform. If branded search volumes don’t grow, the reliance on Ads driven glance views won’t come down and profitable growth will be difficult. Similarly if competition branded searches go up, you will find it extremely difficult to hold on to your market share 3.      Conversion Rates for all High Volume Keywords: Look at the conversion trends. If you are not able to maintain/improve conversions with increasing search term impressions share( provided it is increasing), you need to go back to the product pricing proposition. Maybe a competitor with a better proposition is taking market share. Maybe you have hit the ceiling of growth with the current product proposition and further growth will only come if you can introduce new propositions to appeal to a broader TG I am amazed at how much data Amazon shares so that businesses can diagnose problems correctly and take decisions. And equally amazed at how few leaders go deep, open the portals and read the reports that are available. If you are not doing it, start it today P.S. It doesn’t matter how busy I am, most Sundays I will open brand analytics, Amazon Pi and the ads platform and look at the metrics from the source itself. This is how one of the sample reports look like.

Seasonal design, lasting connection Why makeup packaging should evolve with the calendar. In beauty, timing isn’t just about product launches, it’s about emotional alignment. And few tools are more powerful to create that connection than seasonal design. As the year changes, so does our mood, our skin, our pace, and with it, our perception of beauty. That’s why the most thoughtful makeup brands don’t just launch products. They design collections that feel like they belong to the moment. Think of a blush with a soft pastel compact in spring. A bronzer that comes in sun-faded orange for summer. A lipstick in a matte, smoky case for autumn. A highlighter in iridescent silver for winter. These aren’t just aesthetic choices, they’re emotional cues that speak to the season we’re living in. Why does it matter? Because packaging isn’t static. It’s an experience. And that experience becomes more meaningful when it echoes the world around us. Consumers don’t just want new formulas. They want products that feel in sync with their mood, their wardrobe, their routines. When a design captures the energy of a season, its light, its colors, its textures, it does more than attract attention. It builds resonance. Seasonal packaging also opens the door to creative storytelling: – Limited editions that feel collectible – Special formats tied to holidays or seasonal rituals – Reusable components that evolve with each release But more importantly, it builds rhythm. It invites the consumer to return, again and again, as the year turns. Because when packaging evolves with the calendar, it doesn’t just reflect a product, it reflects a lifestyle. And in a market that thrives on connection, being seasonally relevant isn’t a trend, it’s a strategy. Featured Brands: - Christian dior - Kiko - Lancome - Clarins - Yves saint laurent #PackagingStrategy #SeasonalBeauty #MakeupCollections #EmotionalDesign #LimitedEditionDesign #PackagingWithPurpose #CalendarBasedLaunches