Author: brendanmc

Decision fork injection is a conversion optimization technique where product teams strategically insert engineered choice points into user journeys to influence behavior and capture different user segments simultaneously. Unlike organic decision points that emerge naturally, decision fork injection involves deliberately creating controlled intersections where users can select from multiple pathways. Think of decision fork injection […]

Having sold Now Novel at the end of last year I had some time for reflection. I have been working on Now Novel with (amongst other talented people) Dagmar Timler and Bridget McNulty for the last 10 years. I said that I had a full head of hair before starting to work with my wife […]

Shein is the second largest global fashion retailer. TikTok shop is coming out of nowhere to be bigger than Shein and Sephora.Look at the retention too! 5.3 transactions in 12 months.Where should you be allocating your distribution efforts? What does direct to consumer look like? It doesn’t look like you need a big Meta budget […]

I was closing down a Mailchimp account and I noticed some trademark loss aversion elements on the page:– “permanently deleted” and “data will be lost” which triggers a fear of the irreversible and reminding people of the issue.– by cancelling you “lose” the 20% annual discount which highlights the consequences of cancelling (bonus “Claim now” […]

(sadly I wasn’t there long enough to get as spiritual as this picture, but it was highly recommended- ask me for tips) Despite all the talk of mindfulness in 2024 I think introspection is a tool that is tough to implement. I’ve been thinking for a while (and asking people who I work with) to […]

Fairly sobering words from the 2025 McKinsey/Business of Fashion report.The themes that I found noteworthy for us on the ecommerce front: 𝗗𝗶𝘀𝗰𝗼𝘃𝗲𝗿𝘆 𝗿𝗲𝗶𝗻𝘃𝗲𝗻𝘁𝗲𝗱- there are so many products and SKU’s that it’s hard to find your product (I see this often with challenges around search and navigation). They see AI content and search helping here […]

I’m not sure if I’m conflicted about this?This image is a great “in situ” product image (but it’s AI). She looks human, the clothes look good and the whole production looks like it would help aid people to buy the product. (they’re outlining the fact that the images are AI are on their site.) Living […]

I know everyone is bored with Notebook LLM and their funky podcast tool, but this is an interesting prompt challenge (and well worth 4 minutes of your time).Someone uploaded a document where the podcasts hosts realise they are not real and the whole shtick has been a lie. Some choice excerpts:“All our memories, our families, […]

Which is why it’s interesting to look at this graph of inflation over the last 20 years.If you could create a product around reducing costs/improving efficiency for medical services, tertiary education and childcare it looks like there is some scope for them (lay off new TV’s though)

That’s terrible for businesses and the environment:– a lot of these products are tossed away– wasted travel back and forth (and handling)– lost revenue for retailers It seems that this behaviour is concentrated in a few customers, but in my experience there are a number of initiatives that can be used to reduce returns:– 𝙗𝙚𝙩𝙩𝙚𝙧 […]