[Voiceover]: Welcome to the checkout. We catch up with previous add to cart guests and ask them five quick questions to get to know them better and leave you with a little extra inspiration to get you through your Friday.
[Voiceover]: Today's checkout features Andrew Maver, co founder and CEO of Stock In Store. Stock in Store is an omnichannel SaaS platform that connects online and physical stores with clients such as Adairs, Cookeye, PriceAttack and Scanlan Theodore. Stockinstore allows customers to find store locations, check product levels and lots more, creating an integrated and convenient shopping experience.
Nathan Bush: Andrew, we've learned a lot about what you guys are doing at Stock in Store. Really exciting in helping retailers keep track of their inventory across the network. But we're here to learn a little bit more about you. I've got five quick questions. Number one, what's the weirdest thing that you've ever bought online?
Andrew Maver: Depends what you consider weird.
Nathan Bush: I think everyone's got their own version of weird.
Andrew Maver: I think a dust mite vacuum cleaner. Is that considered weird? Maybe. If not, it's probably. My dog has this massive aversion to having his nails clipped, so I bought an electronic one that just has a little light buzz.
Nathan Bush: That's cool.
Andrew Maver: Yeah, cool. But he still hates it, so I still got the same problem. So it's stuff like that that I think I buy, you know, all the time that I forget about. So I don't know.
Nathan Bush: Have you been able to repurpose it? Does it work on human nails?
Andrew Maver: No, it's sitting on the shelf somewhere.
Nathan Bush: Oh, that is weird. That fits the brief. All right, number two, who is your favorite retailer?
Andrew Maver: I think Lululemon are doing an amazing job as a retailer. I think aside from the fact they've got great products that I back up with really good service. Like my other half was a big Lulu fan from years ago and she took in a pair of pants that had split down the side and they did, no questions asked. Change it over. It shouldn't happen. She actually went in there to see who could repair them. She loved them so much. I think they do it really well and they complement it with things like yoga and your workouts. And they start from really well trained. I think they do it really, really well. So I would say Lulu.
Nathan Bush: I agree. And doing that authentic connection really well. But also investing big on the technology side as well. So they've got two worlds at play here, but balancing it up really nicely.
Andrew Maver: Yeah, yeah, absolutely.
Nathan Bush: All right, number three, which e commerce practice do you wish was history?
Andrew Maver: I have a big pet hate Pop ups asking me to sign up as soon as I get on their website. I hate it with a passion. Right. For me, it's like walking into a store and having somebody at the door saying, do you want to sign up? And I complete aversion to it. I wish it was gone. Didn't exist. And it obviously converts, but I just. First thing, close all the pop ups as soon as you get on there.
Nathan Bush: Anyone you want to call out is like really bad at it.
Andrew Maver: Yeah, yeah. And the other part to that is, if I'm already subscribed, don't prompt me. You should know who I am.
[Voiceover]: We heard another of your things that
Nathan Bush: you wish was history was the clip of the ticket in the main episode as well.
Andrew Maver: Yeah, absolutely. So I think a lot of suppliers out there are taking a clip of the ticket because some others have done it. I know it's a pet hate for a lot of retailers as well.
Nathan Bush: A lot of clips equals a lot of dollars.
Andrew Maver: Absolutely.
Nathan Bush: Number four, can you recommend a book or a podcast that our listeners should immediately get into?
Andrew Maver: I'm probably more of a book person than necessarily a podcast person. I am reading at the moment. I actually bought it for a friend of mine who is a wine lover and a wine aficionado. It's called Stalin's Wine Cellar.
Nathan Bush: Okay.
Andrew Maver: And it's actually about a real life story about a Sydney wine store that gets involved in a wine collection that may have been previously owned by, you know, Tsar Nicholas II and Stalin. And it's this espionage meets wine meets Aussie retailer type story. So it's pretty epic and I'm loving it.
Nathan Bush: True story or fiction?
Andrew Maver: True story.
Nathan Bush: Wow, that's cool.
Andrew Maver: Yeah. Stalin's Wine Cellar.
Nathan Bush: Okay. Nice recommendation.
Andrew Maver: Yeah. On your holiday, go and read it.
Nathan Bush: While drinking a wine, obviously.
Andrew Maver: While drinking wine. Absolutely.
Nathan Bush: All right, number five, finish this sentence. The future of retail is hyperlocal, hyper local in terms of service, fulfillment, the whole lot.
Andrew Maver: The whole lot. I think it will just go completely local and in that distributed network type environment through having inventory around the place as much as you can, but getting it to customers as quickly as possible. And that's what I mean by local. Customers want things faster and faster and faster and faster. And the way to do it is to get it to them from a store that's as close as possible to them.
Nathan Bush: Yeah. Brilliant. Andrew, thank you so much for joining us on the checkout.
Andrew Maver: Thanks, Nathan, great speaking.
[Voiceover]: To hear more from Andrew, jump back on over to episode 226, where Andrew shares his thoughts on the product categories that are the hardest to keep track of. He also shares the tips he has for staying on top of stock and how growing up as a long distance swimmer has helped him build a technology business. Thanks for listening and until next time, keep adding to car.
