[Voiceover]: Welcome to the checkout. We catch up with previous guests of Add to Cart where we ask them five quick questions to understand more about them and leave you with a little extra inspiration to get through your Friday. Today's checkout features Alex, Tanya and Aaron Weller. The co founders of online rug brand Missamara Misamara have turned rugbying from a shouting, closing down sales into a sophisticated content driven shopping experience. They're on track for $20 million annual revenue and are in markets including Australia, New Zealand, Hong Kong and soon the
Nathan Bush: U.S. all right, Alex and Aaron, welcome to the checkout. I have five quick questions to learn a little bit more about yourselves. We're going to kick off with both of you answering the question. So you may have different perspectives but that's good, that's fine, it's healthy. Number one, what is the weirdest thing you've ever bought online?
Alex Weller: Oh God. I need to give you some context. So for my wedding dress I wanted to have a little bit more of that hourglass look. So I bought some silicone butt pads and they'll kind of inbuilt to these bike shorts to give me a bit more of a.
Nathan Bush: That's hilarious. And did you get the right butt pads the first time?
Alex Weller: I did, but I have to say like silicone, like lots of hours in the sun, like very sweaty. Not a good idea.
Aaron Weller: Hong Kong's very humid.
Nathan Bush: Yeah, that is. How do you even research silicon butt pads?
Alex Weller: You know Amazon, you can buy anything these days.
Nathan Bush: Nathan, that's fantastic. I think that goes up as one of our best ones yet, so well done.
Aaron Weller: I don't know if mine's as interesting. So I saw this water bottle that seemed like a great idea. It's got a water bottle with. It's supposed to self cleaning water bottle. So I bought it off Kickstarter. I can't remember the name of the brand.
Alex Weller: I wouldn't name it.
Aaron Weller: I can't remember the name of the brand. But I got eventually got it after like six months or something like that. And then on the, you've got to basically plug it in.
Alex Weller: So you've got like a water bottle.
Aaron Weller: A water bottle that has to be charged. So I thought, I didn't realize. Yeah, you charge it. So you got kind of like a USB cable which goes into the lid of the water bottle. So I can't say I've ever used it.
Nathan Bush: Yeah, that is awesome. You've doubled down on two of the best that we've had. No, I think it just goes to show no matter how, how Much. You're an E commerce guru. We can still be suckered in by some of the craziest products out there, right?
Alex Weller: It's an amazing place, let me tell you.
Nathan Bush: All right, guys, number two, who is your favorite retailer?
Alex Weller: I love go to Skincare. I love their messaging. So snappy, so funny. And Zappos.
Aaron Weller: So I mean, it's an old one, right. So they've been around for a while. But I mean, the way they focus on customer first is really, really. Again, we got a lot of learnings from that business. Obviously, very different market selling shoes, but
Nathan Bush: yeah, both great examples and I think both give great insight into what you're creating with Ms. Amara as well.
Alex Weller: Oh, thank you. Take that as a compliment.
Nathan Bush: It's definitely a compliment. Number three, which retail fad do you wish was history?
Alex Weller: Oh, my God. You know those Spin to Win pop ups, I hate them. They're awful. They need to go into, like, a deep place and never come back.
Nathan Bush: Just on the Spin to Win. And I've got a client who I'm working with at the moment. The first time I looked at her website, I was like, I can't actually access your website because the Spin to Win is blocking the entry. And she'll be listening to this. So it's not offensive. We laugh about it, but it's one of those things that just takes up a lot of screen and they're confusing, I think, for customers. Cause you're like, what am I winning? How am I winning?
Alex Weller: What am I doing? Am I on Wheel of Fortune? Am I trying to buy some athleisure? Like, I don't understand.
Aaron Weller: I remember when they first came out, there are a lot of, like, case studies, and they were like, this has improved my email acquisition rate by this much. And I'd scratch my head and say, really? Is it really, like, you know, popping up on the whole screen? And maybe, maybe at first, when they first came out, they were like, unique.
Nathan Bush: They definitely do attract email addresses because I think it's just because people want the fuck out of there. They just go, I'll give you my email address so I can just get past this stage.
Aaron Weller: Just let me see the page. I want to buy something. Yeah. I have to say I'm unoriginal. I'm going to say the same thing. Funny story is YP threads. When we. When we first acquired it, I think that's the first thing that we switched off. So. Yeah.
Nathan Bush: Yeah, good one. All right, number four, can you recommend a book or a podcast that our listeners should immediately get into?
Aaron Weller: Yeah.
Alex Weller: So my one is going to be the How I Built this podcast. Love that one.
Aaron Weller: Yeah. For me, zero to one.
Nathan Bush: The book. Love the book. Yeah. Great examples. Love it. And number five, finish this sentence. The future of retail is the customer.
Alex Weller: 100%.
Aaron Weller: Yeah, the customer. Definitely.
Alex Weller: Stop stealing.
Nathan Bush: My answer hasn't changed for a long time, has it? It's always been about the customer.
Alex Weller: For the good reason, forever.
Aaron Weller: Everything is always about the customer. So whether it's a customer telling us or whether you is looking, thinking, maybe what the customer isn't thinking themselves and coming up with something that's going to solve a problem without them realizing it's a. It all comes down to the customer.
Nathan Bush: Alex and Aaron, thank you very much in sharing a little bit more about yourself. Butt pads and Wheel of Fortune on the checkout.
Aaron Weller: Thank you, Nathan. Really appreciate it.
[Voiceover]: To hear more from Alex and Aaron, jump back into episode 66 where we discuss how augmented reality has boosted their conversion rate by up to seven times. They also share how they managed to get customers to share photos of their products in their own homes. And also why Alex wrote over 400 handwritten letters during COVID My hand hurts just thinking about it. Thanks for listening. And until next time, keep adding to cartoon.
