Jeanel Alvarado, founder of RETAILBOSS, has built her career helping entrepreneurs navigate the fast-changing world of retail. In this episode, she shares how she went from starting a blog to building a global consulting firm, and the lessons you can apply to your own business. You’ll hear how consumer habits are shifting, what AI means for the future of online shopping, and why blogging and content creation are still powerful tools for building authority. By the end, you’ll walk away with practical steps to help you future-proof your retail business and stay competitive in a market that never stops evolving.
About Jeanel Alvarado
Jeanel Alvarado is a visionary leader in media and retail and the founder and CEO of RETAILBOSS, a platform she launched in 2011. With over 15 years in the retail industry, Jeanel has grown Retail Boss from a blog into an internationally recognized retail publication and consulting firm trusted by professionals around the world. She's also the founder and head of marketing at Stylebuy a B2B wholesale platform and fashion label offering women's, men's, kids' wear, and lifestyle products.
Through her partnership with Glow, Jeanel hosts, manages, and produces fashion events and influencer gifting experiences. Her career includes serving as senior managing director at the School of Retailing at the University of Alberta School of Business, where she led consulting projects for major brands like Victoria's Secret, Tiffany & Co., and various real estate firms that own shopping centers and malls.
Contact info
Website: https://retailboss.co/
Instagram: https://www.instagram.com/retailboss/
Email: jeanel@jeanelalvarado.com
Takeaways
- Leverage AI search early to capture new customer discovery.
- Learn core e-commerce metrics to guide smarter decisions.
- Blog consistently to build trust and credibility.
- Optimize product pages for long-tail, detailed searches.
- Create content that proves your expertise versus making claims.
- Understand and embrace AI tools to stay ahead of competitors.
- Use physical retail to deliver memorable brand experiences.
- Pivot quickly when trends, tech, or consumer behavior shifts.
Interview themes
How did blogging spark a career in retail strategy?
Jeanel’s journey began with a simple blog where she shared case studies, brand opinions, and retail observations while still in school. What started as commentary on campaigns and retail experiences soon caught the attention of boutique owners, who began reaching out for her advice. This opened the door to consulting work and planted the seed for Retail Boss. Jeanel shows how putting your ideas into the world—through blogging or content—can establish credibility and lead to unexpected opportunities.
What were the biggest challenges of early e-commerce?
Launching her first e-commerce business in the mid-2010s came with steep learning curves. Platforms like Shopify were still in their infancy, offering limited themes and straightforward functionality at a low subscription cost (which was beneficial to new entrepreneurs) but, analytics, and bounce rates were foreign concepts. Jeanel explains that the hardest part wasn’t getting a site online, but learning to optimize and maintain it—figuring out why visitors weren’t converting, testing photos and pricing, and using data to improve performance.
How has retail marketing shifted over the past decade?
Ten years ago, physical retail was the main priority, and e-commerce often existed as a side channel. Today, the order is reversed—new brands typically launch online first, with physical stores establishing later on or not at all. Jeanel highlights this dramatic shift, noting that foot traffic in malls is no longer a reliable driver, and direct-to-consumer websites have become the first point of contact for most shoppers. The retail playbook has been flipped, and businesses must adapt their strategies to meet customers where they are.
Why is adapting early to new technology a “must” for e-commerce success?
From e-commerce to AI, Jeanel sees a clear pattern: many brands resist change at first, only to realize later that the new technology has become essential. Just as e-commerce went from optional to unavoidable, she believes AI will soon be a core sales funnel. Platforms like Google and Perplexity are positioning themselves as the next discovery engines, reclaiming ground once dominated by social media. Her advice: don’t wait until it’s mainstream—adapt early so your brand stays competitive.
How is Google AI changing search and shopping?
According to Jeanel, search behavior has permanently shifted. Consumers no longer search only by brand names—they’re using detailed long-tail queries like “100% cotton eco-friendly shirt.” Google’s AI shopping features now surface products that match these specifics, often allowing customers to purchase directly through Google without visiting a brand’s website. For retailers, this means product pages must be more descriptive, optimized with clear details, and ready for discovery outside their own storefronts.
Why is blogging still a powerful tool?
Despite the perception that blogging is outdated, Jeanel argues it’s more relevant than ever—just reimagined in new formats like video blogs, influencer roundups, and Substack newsletters. Blogs remain a top source of data for AI search engines, helping establish expertise, credibility, and trust. For brands, blogging isn’t about random updates—it’s about documenting your story, showcasing authority, and giving AI and consumers alike the proof points they need to trust your brand.
What role does credibility play in standing out online?
Jeanel believes that in today’s retail market, success isn’t about what you claim—it’s about what your work proves. Whether through case studies, blog content, or consistent publishing, letting your work “do the work for you” is the fastest way to build authority. She emphasizes that consumers and AI alike look for evidence: brand backstories, sustainability practices, certifications, and partnerships. Sharing this information consistently builds the trust that drives visibility and conversions.
What advice does Jeanel give to new entrepreneurs?
Her first piece of advice: learn the basics yourself before outsourcing. You don’t need to be an SEO or e-commerce expert, but understanding the fundamentals gives you control and prevents costly mistakes. Second, be willing to pivot. The market moves quickly, and clinging to an idea that no longer works can sink a business. By staying adaptable and building a foundation of knowledge, entrepreneurs can scale more sustainably and seize new opportunities as they emerge.
Chapters
00:00 The Evolution of AI in Retail
02:47 Jeanel Alvarado's Journey in Retail
05:46 Challenges in E-commerce Development
08:45 The Shift to Online Retail
11:45 Navigating E-commerce Platforms
14:31 Adapting to Changing Marketing Landscapes
17:33 The Importance of Physical Retail Experience
20:27 The Role of Blogging in Modern Marketing
23:23 Strategies for Scaling Retail Businesses
26:15 The Impact of AI on Consumer Behavior
29:16 Future-Proofing Retail with AI
32:06 Building Credibility Through Content
35:27 Advice for Aspiring Retail Entrepreneurs
Transcript
Jeanel Alvarado
I know there are a lot of people resisting AI and it was almost the same thing with people resisting e-commerce back when e-commerce was becoming something where it's like, sure, we'll just launch a site, just to have it. AI, same thing. Some people are maybe, okay, we'll maybe tweak some things. But over time, it may become the number one funnel, right? We got to think about that. So right now we talked earlier that people discover through social media. I really think Google, as well as Perplexity, really are trying to be that they want to be it.
Social media had its run for discovering products. Google and these AI want it back. They want to be, hey, you want to discover new things? We are the place. So that is where I'm seeing things going and just how they're doing things. Because of the same thing, social media doesn't really encourage people to leave the social media app. They like people to stay there.
Google is trying to figure that out. How can we make people stay here, right? And we can feed them ads and we can feed them products that they like, and we can provide them news that they might be interested in. How can we keep them here? That is what I believe in the real behind the scenes of what really is going on here. So that's why people really need to see this as, okay, if social media is so saturated, they're just so many people dancing around, and there's just too much noise.
Where are people going to go next to discover? And I think Google AI, AI Search is really trying to capture and be that new top funnel.
Glynis Tao
Welcome to Chase Your Dreams, a podcast for fashion entrepreneurs who want to build a purposeful and profitable clothing business so they can make a living doing what they love. I'm your host, Glynis Tao, an apparel business consultant and SEO specialist with 20 years apparel industry experience. I'm also a mom to a wonderfully energetic little boy named Chase.
Today's guest is Jeanel Alvarado, a visionary leader in media and retail and the founder and CEO of Retail Boss, a platform she launched in 2011. With over 15 years in the retail industry, Jeanel has grown Retail Boss from a blog into an internationally recognized retail publication and consulting firm trusted by professionals around the world. She's also the founder and head of marketing at Stylebuy a B2B wholesale platform and fashion label offering women's, men's, kids' wear, and lifestyle products.
Through her partnership with Glow, Jeanel hosts, manages, and produces fashion events and influencer gifting experiences. Her career includes serving as senior managing director at the School of Retailing at the University of Alberta School of Business, where she led consulting projects for major brands like Victoria's Secret, Tiffany & Co., and various real estate firms that own shopping centers and malls. I'm thrilled to have her here today to talk about her entrepreneurial journey, scaling a global retail brand and navigating the future of e-commerce and AI in retail.
Welcome Jeanel, it's so nice to have you here today. Thanks for joining me on the podcast.
Jeanel Alvarado
I'm so happy to be here. Thank you so much for reaching out. I am ecstatic about this.
Glynis Tao
Great. So we had met through a mutual friend of ours, lovely Adila Cokar from Source My Garment.
Jeanel Alvarado
Adila connected us from Source My Garment, who has just an incredible wealth of knowledge on how brands can be more sustainable, or if you're not already a brand, that you can become more sustainable. So yeah, she connected us both, and I'm super glad that she did.
Glynis Tao
Yeah. And I interviewed Adila on this podcast as well a few years ago during COVID. So she offered some really great advice, but I'm actually surprised that our paths didn't cross sooner. And we share a common thread having worked in the Canadian fashion industry for so long. I'm based in Vancouver. I lived in Toronto for 15 years and you are currently based in Edmonton, right?
Jeanel Alvarado
Yes. Edmonton, Alberta, yeah.
Glynis Tao
Yay! I've been to Edmonton several times for trade shows and conventions. It's a great city. A lot of good food there actually.
Jeanel Alvarado
Yeah, we have a pretty good foodie scene, especially in the summertime. We have a lot of events like Taste of Edmonton, as well as Heritage Days. But yeah, Toronto's known for having some really good restaurants though, top of the chain.
Glynis Tao
So I feel like I've been meeting people who I swear are living parallel lives. My last interview was with Laura-Jean Bernhardson, who owned three fashion retail stores in Toronto. And she spoke about building a fashion retail business with heart and strategy. And I think your journey has a lot of parallels, especially when it comes to adapting, scaling in a changing retail market.
Jeanel Alvarado
I know. Changing almost too much. I mean, I can't think of any other industry other than retail that has been just flipped over, slam dunked so many times over this last decade here. It has been a crazy whirlwind of events.
Glynis Tao
Yeah, so much. You know, she started her business in the 90s and went up to the, I think she closed her store in Kensington Market and Queen Street around 2022 due to pandemic. But she was saying how, you know, in those early days, before the internet, she had to call her customers and tell them about new products and sales and stuff like that. So she's been through like two, two decades in retail.
So it's just amazing all the changes that have happened, but you've built a successful career as a marketer, retail strategist. Can you tell us about your background and what inspired you to start your first business?
Jeanel Alvarado
Yeah, so my background was blogging to start. So I always had an interest in fashion. I went right after high school to university and the goal was to become a fashion designer right at the time I was 17 years old. I got into school and then within the first year I realized no, sewing is not made for me. And what was also interesting is although I wasn't taking any sort of business specific courses, we were having to take economic courses because I was at the University of Alberta. So we did have to in our first year also along with fashion design classes, have to take some economic 101, 102. And that's when I learned a lot more about supply and demand, how the economy works and how much we rely on so many external factors such as the retail industry or how consumers behave in shops. And that got me really interested in the business side. And then from there, I pretty much pivoted into business and yeah, I ended up finishing. Well, I have a BCOM in marketing. And then I also have a certificate in real estate, both from the U of A. And when I was there doing real estate, it was focused mainly on commercial, so shopping centers, strip malls, all that good stuff when it comes to securing a store in physical retail.
And so how did your background and early career experiences shape the vision for Retail Boss and your other ventures?
Jeanel Alvarado
Yeah. So I had, while I was actually just finishing up that degree, I launched Style Buy. So I was already trying to do a lot more with e-commerce because we had actually gone to Toronto and we were at the Shopify head offices back when the stock price was in the forties, right? A good time to buy. And we were there. We were there in Shopify. Yeah. And you know what's funny when I was there, yeah, our tour person was like, hey, buy some Shopify stock. I'm like, okay, I'm still here in school. And yeah, that's kind of what opened my eyes to, okay, e-commerce, learned a bit what Shopify was. This was in the early days. So this is in 2015, 2016. yeah, so Style Buy was launched using Shopify back when I was in university. And so, yeah, that's just kind of how my journey started.
Prior to that, I was already blogging. I was already working also at the U of A as I started out as a senior consultant, moved up to a managing director, then a senior managing director. When I graduated, they kept me on for the school of retailing, which is just a center that was in the school of business at the time, that where we would work with retail partners to do any kind of consulting, as well as like you had mentioned, some of the real estate firms that own some of the malls like West Edmonton Mall and different malls and we're always looking for, how can they bring in more traffic and how can they diversify their retail mix of stores for it can entice people to continue shopping?
Glynis Tao
Okay, and in those early days, what problem were you most determined to solve in the retail industry?
Jeanel Alvarado
Yeah, I would say during that time, things were just becoming digital. It's so funny. And we talked about this before on an earlier call that now it is the norm for someone to have an idea and just jump into a website builder. It could be Shopify, it could be Wix and get their brand off the ground. When back in 2015, 2016, almost 10 years ago, this was not the norm. If you had an idea, you would look for a consultant or someone, right, like myself, to help you along that journey. And so during that time, we were actually just in the infancy of figuring out how these physical retailers also have an online presence. So we were mainly focused on that omni-channel.
Seeing e-commerce is just an extension of the store, similar to how the stores were just seeing social media as an extension, right? Not the main drivers. But now fast forward 10 years later, e-commerce is the main driver. Social media is the main driver. And, you know, it's the store that almost takes the backseat.
Glynis Tao
So what were some of the biggest challenges that you faced in getting your business off the ground in the beginning?
Jeanel Alvarado
Yeah, I would say in the very beginning, especially like I'm saying, Shopify only had a few tools at the time. The pro was that the pricing of the plans were a lot cheaper than they are today. The challenge was learning how this works. I mean, it's one thing to have a website builder and it's another thing similar to what Shopify and WooCommerce, which have that whole backend, right? Which is for inventory management, analytics. So I would say it was understanding and learning this new e-commerce world.
So yeah, great, we have traffic, but only half are buying. Why? Right, so figuring out and then what tools or apps can we add to fix this? Is it communication? Is it that we don't have good photos? Is it the pricing? Is it that at checkout there's something happening there or we're not, you know, we don't have an abandoned email, right, going out to kind of get that customer back.
So I think the main challenge wasn't just launching, because I think back then, for me, that was still easy. It was easy for me to get up there and do it, but it was that maintenance on, how do I utilize all this data back here? What's the bounce rate? It's just learning the whole new jargon of e-commerce that took the longest.
Yeah, and so it was really that time period I would say in the mid 2000s to 2010s right? I guess when e-comm started to take off.
Jeanel Alvarado
It was already taking off and Shopify made it where you could do it yourself, a one-man team that you could do it. So e-commerce definitely was already becoming a thing. But also like so many stores had it like big we're talking about big name stores still didn't have a robust e-commerce sites where you could order or buy. That still wasn't the norm.
Glynis Tao
Mm-hmm. And so is there one e-comm platform that you prefer over another?
Yeah, I think it really depends. There's so many in the market right now. I mean, with all this AI technology, there's places where you can just have AI make your whole site, even select what product you should sell to what market. So there's so much out there. I think Shopify was definitely the pioneer of DIY do it yourself. You don't need to hire someone. You can figure this out and do it yourself. And it was very simplified. Like I'm telling you, I was in university. I was still taking full-time classes and I was able to easily get it all started and launch on my own on a plan that was, think, you know, between the $10 a month range that handled everything. So definitely at the time Shopify was the number one, if not the only pick to do something like that without having to really learn too much of the complex things, right? What was really interesting was Shopify at the time when I got on there, they only had maybe three themes. Three or four themes that you could pick from. And you couldn't really customize them, which actually was great because you couldn't really spend time tweaking something. It was just, this is what it is, put your products on. They've already figured out that this layout works the best for mobile and desktop to convert. So they really took all that pressure off designing. So that was number one.
But now, like I said, I can't say that they're the number one. There's so many other platforms that would provide more customization. So WooCommerce would probably be one of them, which is like part of WordPress or one of the backend for WordPress. And you can completely customize and the same thing, they got apps, but that takes a bigger learning curve there, I think. But yeah, I think there's just so many things out there, but yeah, Shopify is definitely way more expensive now than it was back when I was there.
Glynis Tao
Mm-hmm they’re now maybe a couple hundred dollars a month?
Jeanel Alvarado
They are actually more expensive. Like I still have my invoices from back then and even apps were way cheaper. I think some apps that I had were maybe $2 a month. Now an app usually is $29 a month. Back then also it was in Canadian dollars. I think Shopify now has everything in US dollars. I'm not sure how they do it or they tell you in USD and now you can pay in Canadian. But again, it's substantially more expensive. And I couldn't tell you that really it's any better than what it was 10 years ago. You know, it was so simplified, get on there, get out. Now I think it's a little bit more complex. You got so many options, so many apps. I'm not sure, but again, maybe that's just their strategy to have you have 20 apps plus the plan. And then that's what, 300, 400 a month.
Glynis Tao
Shopify definitely changed the game for e-com. I had my online e-commerce store before Shopify even existed. I think I had a CS cart or something. Wasn't that great. I know Shopify would have made my life a lot easier if it was available at that time.
Jeanel Alvarado
Absolutely, yeah, it was definitely a game changer. I, like I said, they pioneered it and then I'll definitely give them that.
Glynis Tao
Yeah. And so how have you seen the retail marketing landscape change since you started and how have you adapted or even have seen your clients adapt?
Jeanel Alvarado
Yeah, I would say huge, huge. It's just not something that is even negotiable to have you, if you're launching a brand. Now it's like a website first. I mean, store location is like last, if even on their radar for starting a brand or selling products at all. So that's a huge change. Back then the only, you know, clients that particularly we had were people who already had physical stores or boutiques, right? So they already had a physical presence or they were selling in retailers, right? And their main website was primarily just for those wholesale customers. So it was more like you can log in once you're a customer. Yeah, right. So the brands didn't really have even their own sites. So yeah, now looking into today, it's like a no brainer. I mean, D2C is the first thing, having your own online storefront is the first thought. So when I do have clients that reach out, it's always they have an e-commerce store or it's like, that's usually the priority here. And then everything else is kind of secondary, which is just so different from how it was just 10 years ago. It is a totally different industry.
The biggest thing has just been a lot of the retailers, I think, scaling down or making smaller, making their larger retail footprints, not in terms of having multiple stores, but having smaller stores, right? Because it's not that many people are walking the stores as much as they used to, right? And malls aren't as big a draw factor as they used to for customers. So you can't just, hey, I'm the new Forever 21, you know in this era and we're going to open up a bunch of stores and malls and people are just going to buy because people are always there. Those days are over. That was the playbook, right? 10 years ago, you can attest.
Glynis Tao
I can, yeah. I know, I guess different generations too. And who is shopping online compared to, you know, in the malls, if you walk into a mall these days, you kind of look around and scan the demographic, right? And it gives you an idea as to who's still shopping at shopping malls. And I guess everyone else is online. So I feel like I'm sort of that in-between. Still enjoy the mall experience. And seeing, especially when it comes to clothing, I still like the experience of feeling, feeling and trying it on as opposed to ordering something online. I mean, I've ordered online, but usually after I've gone into the store and have seen it or tried it on and I know for sure and I'm like, maybe I can find a better price online. And then, yeah, but I don't know, I guess I'm still sort of that old fashioned person who still likes the physical experience.
Jeanel Alvarado
Yeah. And I would say, you know, I also like the physical experience too, because here's the thing. I ordered online multiple times and it never looks like how it looks on the model. Right? The sizing also, you never really know what the size is. You're a medium here, you're a small here. There's no consistency across all those e-commerce brands. But what I'm saying is the main differentiation here is that brands used to let, like I said look for high traffic areas. They would launch into these stores, in these malls, in these strip centers that already have the traffic. And they would just rely on that to build up the brand. And those customers, it would be their first touch point, right? You would learn about a brand because it was there in the mall. Okay, the gap. And then that's your first experience. You can touch, you can feel like you said then you can go online, kind of have, you know what the sizing is, you have better ideas, and then now you can kind of go there.
But now, it's almost reversed. A lot of these Gen Z or these younger people, they're finding out about these brands first through social media, right? Social media is number one for that kind of first touch point for a lot of this next generation. then, also myself now, right? So you learn about so many new brands through social media, and then your next touch point is their website, right? You get their website, and then probably your first purchase is through the website, because they don't have physical stores. And then so it's almost like the store, the touching and being in that brand's physical presence would be the last thing, or if they ever do choose to do that. So that's almost like what I'm saying, the new launch strategy is flipped completely.
Glynis Tao
Just going back to what you're saying about when stores used to be like, if they're in a mall, then they just rely on foot traffic, right? It's like instant visibility, though even having to do much marketing, they can just completely rely on that. But now being an online world, I think it's a whole different ball game because you're up against so much competition. And so I think that's sort of where these retailers struggle. You know, say if they were formerly just brick and mortar stores, physical locations. I have a client actually who owns a physical store in Toronto selling sporting apparel and she moved online to e-commerce and she was like, I don't know what to do here. Like you're going to have to help me with this because you know, I'm used to selling physical, selling in-person selling, you know, this whole e-comm thing is like new to me. So is that kind of what you're seeing out there as well?
Jeanel Alvarado
Absolutely, absolutely. And the friend you just messaged is probably my ideal client, right? For me, because there's a lot of now the new generations are doing a lot of that DIY. So they're actually learning a lot more about that e-commerce side of things and how to manage it themselves, opposed to, like you said, those existing brands who have storefronts or boutiques anywhere. Launching e-commerce is a full-time job in itself.
And that's a whole other arm of the business. It's not just, you know, okay, once in a while, this is an ongoing, everyday, customer is emailing all the things. So it's really something that a lot of those physical stores struggled with. And yes, they did need outside assistance to carry that on. They cannot shut their doors down to be working on a website all day. So that was the perfect moment. And that's a lot of what we were doing, even when I worked at the center, helping with figuring out their e-commerce strategy, digital strategy, and understanding how to connect, you know, store inventory and e-commerce inventory, or should you have separate inventory? Or if you have multiple stores, how do you manage all the inventory?
And again, I'll give Shopify that because one of my clients that I work with, and she has a boutique in Edmonton, she uses Shopify and it does a really good job with the POS because they also have POS systems that can connect to your e-commerce store. So you can see, right, you can see sales across all the stores. So she knows this location in the north side made X amount today. This one in the south side made this amount today. And this is how much we made on e-commerce, which helps them prioritize their marketing budget because they got to kind of now split that up between an extra source there. And that's the thing that you just mentioned. Yeah, how do I sell online? And again, now you need a new budget just for that.
Glynis Tao
Yeah, so for this particular client, they are using Shopify as their POS. So I can see on the back end analytics, their POS sales from the store and their e-comm sales. And when she reached out to me, she was like, my goal is to increase e-comm sales, increase my online sales. I got the retail business down, right? Like, how do I increase my e-comm side of the business. And I'm like, you know what, this is a huge opportunity here for you because like with your physical store, you're serving the local GTA Toronto market, right? And she both built the name for herself and people know about her as the go to for this sportswear apparel. But I'm like, with the e-comm store, you have this opportunity to serve so many other people across the country, in the States, like, you know, she gets customers buying from the US. This is huge. I think now more retailers are beginning to understand that and realize just how important the e-comm, DTC side of their business is. But I think they still need help with it.
Jeanel Alvarado
Absolutely, they need help. It's new, either they've got to outsource it or they need to hire an in-house team for it. Like we just chatted about, it's no longer just something to pass time to just put up a little flyer now and then. That's not what the website is anymore.
Glynis Tao
Yeah, exactly. Or the thought of like, if we build it, they will come. If you just launch the site that magically the customers will just appear.
Jeanel Alvarado
Yeah, no, unfortunately not. Yeah, so no, it's definitely something that is a whole, and I think we're still at the beginning of even like jobs because it's funny because I'll be out here and I think right now it's been a good time for people like us to get a lot of new clients because it's still not something that's really taught in school. So it's not like every year there's an influx of people who are master e-commerce or SEO experts like yourself.
There's, it's not taught, right? So those roles are still being outsourced. They're looking for experts, looking for an external agency or team or like you said, consultant or strategist to take on either giving them a game plan or managing that day to day and helping them get to those goals. Because there's just not anything right now. And that's being, I think, taught across the board to feed into this new department that's needed for probably every single store, every single store across the world.
Glynis Tao
Yeah. And if you're a small boutique owner, you definitely will not have a marketing department that's going to be able to handle this.
Jeanel Alvarado
But they don't know marketing is different from e-commerce. When I finished school, I knew lots about marketing, lots about real estate. Like I said, with my business, my style buy, that one was me learning hands-on e-commerce. That's what I'm telling you. That was a huge learning curve because the most we learned in business school is like, e-commerce is a website, end of story. Right? There's nothing really else here for you. It's when you actually have to start using these platforms where you're like, what is bounce rate? What's organic traffic? What's this traffic paid? How do I get paid? Right? They're just so many things that you find out and what's abandonment rate? So many things. Bounce rate. They're just too many things.
And again, unless you have the time to DIY and learn it all yourself. But if you're someone who's already managing something successful, it's better to just bring in an expert or a team to externally to manage that because they can easily take what you've done if you're successful physically. It's so much easier to be successful online because one of the biggest drawbacks online is poor customer service, right? Having tested out the product.
So maybe what they're selling isn't the best, but you've already tested all these products. So even online, they can go in with just their best sellers and start tapping into different markets.
Glynis Tao
I just want to go back to your business for a second. You had said that you set up Style Buy when you were just finishing your degree and then, so that was your first e-comm business.
Jeanel Alvarado
I was already working on it while I was in school. Yes.
Glynis Tao
And then Retail Boss came after that.
Jeanel Alvarado
So I was already blogging. So I already had Retail Boss before that. So Retail Boss was the first, but that was just for blogging. And then also I was getting booked to do consulting and local boutiques, which prior I was just blogging specifically related to what I was learning in school. So many interesting things. And I felt like this is so interesting. I might as well blog about it. So I would just have random case analysis that I would do about random brands or opinions on brand campaigns. And I would post it and I was on, I think it was blogger.com at the time. And so I was just always there. And from there, I had a local boutique reach out to me and they're like, I really like what you said about how stores should have more experience in store. Cause I was, I wrote up something related to Build-A-Bear and how they've done something so interesting that brings kids in all the time and they focus on, know, if you look at the stats, how many babies or kids have birthdays every month? And that's just, they really tapped into that. And she was trying to figure out, that's so interesting that you wrote about that. Do you help, you know, people do that or figure out ways to do that? And at the time I didn’t, I just had the blog, but I said, sure, I don't mind coming down and seeing what you're doing and see if I have any ideas. And that's kind of how it pushed me into this could maybe be a career for myself to provide advice or solutions based on what I've learned.
Glynis Tao
Yeah. So Retail Boss has become a leading platform for retail professionals. Would you be able to share some of the key strategies that helped you scale that business?
Jeanel Alvarado
Yeah. So Retail Boss specifically. And it's funny because I also, now that I've successfully built up, guess what you would call a media platform. I also help people who are looking to do the same. I actually just had a contract that I was almost done with her media website and they actually also sell services in a whole different industry. What I would say is I just kind of, I just was just bombarded with just so many requests just from a few blogs. And that's when I realized, this is a great way to gain credibility. And one of the strategies or one of my takeaways for people today, I would definitely tell them is something that was told to me and it was let your work do the work for you. Right? So like let your work network for you.
Maybe one day you're thinking, I wish I could get more sales or I wish I could get more of this. Always think about, okay, how can I make my work work for me? So if I want to gain attention, I need to put in some work. So that's what I always say. And with that, yeah, we just kind of upped the content. We upped what we were doing. We upped the insights, right? In the beginning, when you give insights, it does seem interesting to everybody, but then it comes to the point where it's just like, we've heard this before. You always got to up it to something else, correlate benchmarks. So I always have to try to be ahead of the industry. So right now, a lot of our content is related to AI tools or what kind of AI solutions can help you grow your brand. That's what keeps us interesting. It's not just about a strategy that's the oldest test of time. People want this strategy today and who's using it and who's doing it well.
And because if it's timely, relevant and successful right now, let me pivot and do it right now because any kind of strategy, it might just be a blimp. It might just be a moment in time where that's working because what I learned in economics, there's so many external factors and timing is huge with any kind of trend you're going to jump in. And I'm sure you know this with social media, think about TikTok.
The brands that got on TikTok when TikTok was hot, when TikTok, people buying on TikTok and those live feeds, they really gained momentum there.
Glynis Tao
I guess that's all what you're saying in terms of the brands who adapt quickly are the ones that will see success. I love what you said. Let your work do the work for you.
Jeanel Alvarado
Don't be out there trying to convince anyone. Do the work. If you say, hey, it could be anything. I do SEO really well. Okay. Well, show me something that you do on a constant basis that's working. Okay. For me, I could be like, yeah, well, I have scaled a publication that gets between 40 to a hundred thousand visitors a month. It's like it's done. The work speaks for itself. And then you yourself, like with the case studies and, I've taken this company to this.
People need to see the work. It's no longer, I don't think it's ever been about saying that you're good at something. People see you're good at it. That's when they contact you.
Glynis Tao
Yeah, I think it's about building credibility and trust for your brand. And this really leads into this next hot topic discussion. So you have written a blog about Google's new AI-powered shopping tools. What do you see as the biggest implications for our e-commerce brands?
Jeanel Alvarado
Yes, so many things. And we talked about this on an earlier call as well. My main takeaway, because I just love giving just main takeaways, right before I just write it down, is that the search, Google search, and just the behavior of how customers search is changing. And it's changing forever. It's not going to go back ever to how people used to search. The way people are searching is changing.
And especially in particular here, what we're talking about is searching for products. All right. So before people would search online again, a lot of the times when people would search, it was very brand heavy. Those days are over because people are open to discovering new brands online. So that's a pro that that's a good, a good thing. So before people would have really searched like, you know, pink shirts, like things like that.
But people now are searching for very specific long tail keywords, things like cotton, sustainable brand, eco-friendly, or 100% cotton, eco-friendly. People are writing, getting very long with what they're searching instead of just a GAP sweatshirt, which was probably back in our days, right? Was just a GAP this, Victoria's Secret, you know, top, Juicy Couture tracksuit. It was very brand what it is, brand what it is. This new generation is looking. They're discoverers. They don't really put brand this. If they did, they would just search the brand or go to their social media and click the link. So I think that's something that's really interesting. So even with putting out what your product is, you want to be as descriptive as possible. I think that's a huge thing. And we were chatting about even eco brands being very specific.
If it is a hundred percent cotton, you have to have you know, maybe even logos or photos or like have something more that encompasses that, whether somebody searches and then clicks images and then an image of that and then says a hundred percent cotton is part of the image. So you're going to want to get more descriptive with even photos. You're going to want to have more things next to that photo. And that needs to be something that would rank higher because people are looking and discovering and they want something specific. And if they land on you, they're most likely to buy because they already put in exactly what they want and you were recommended. So I think that's one good takeaway.
And the other thing I talked about was that, you know what, your e-commerce store may not be as important as it was before, right? Because Google is now encouraging when they will give that recommendation, they want you to appear in the shopping section. So they want to pull that product, right? So that same example, searching for a cotton, 100% cotton eco-friendly sustainable brand, UK based, who knows what long thing they sent. Want them to click shopping and have those products there to select from. And right through there, they call it a agentic, I believe, checkout where they want you to just do your whole checkout process right there through Google. So that means the customer never goes to your site.
And I truly believe that's based on what I mentioned earlier. It's just the way that customers are searching today. People are searching to discover something new and Google wants to provide them that because they're not really too focused on the brand name as much as they were in the past. And that's why we've seen a lot of luxury brands struggling a bit here because people are interested in no label brands or what they call quiet luxury, right? Because it's like brand-less, but it checks what I'm looking for. I just want 100% alpaca blazer. Give it to me. And Google wants to do that. So the other takeaway is you might want to invest less on your e-commerce, making it look pretty, at least on the aesthetic, because people may never actually reach there in the future.
Glynis Tao
Yeah, it's so true. So you're a hundred percent right in terms of how search behavior is changing and how Google's offering these new features like virtual try on, agentic checkout. People may not even need to go to the site anymore to make a purchase. They can do comparison shop, look at prices right there in Google.
Jeanel Alvarado
Yes, you know what you just brought up a third thing is exactly that. Google also wants to be the person to do all those price comparisons. You can do your pricing alerts. And again, it's actually encouraging you as a brand or a retailer to have regular sales, right? And not fake sales, because a lot of brands have gotten trouble over this past couple years here, right? With the class action lawsuits regarding them having fake sales where they just always are 50% off. Have you heard of those?
So a lot of online brands have gotten in trouble from always having 50% off, right? But the product is never regular. So it's always $20. When you launch it today, it's 50% off, which is a false advertising. So some have gotten in trouble. And you know what? Actually by Google allowing price alerts, it almost makes it where you actually would have to have a regular price and then go to a sale price to benefit from that feature where customers online can get pricing alerts from your brand when you decrease the price by 10%, 20%, et cetera.
Glynis Tao
So let me ask you this with Google encouraging price drops. How can brands protect their value and avoid getting stuck in a race to the bottom?
Jeanel Alvarado
Yeah, I think they need to embrace where things are going. So a lot to do with AI is going to be determining who is going to be ranking and outranking who, right? So to be competitive, it's to understand how they are going to be ranking. So I know Google did put out some information for retailers on how they can show up and be the ones most recommended. Again, it was making sure having the best photography you possibly can, right? So make sure you have great photography, number one. Number two was well thought out product descriptions. Do not just rely on your brand name. So many brands rely on their name, but they will begin to be outranked by those who are more specific in matching with what people are searching for in these long tail keywords.
Number three would be pricing. Make sure to have a pricing where you do have a plan for maybe in two weeks, you're going to decrease the price by maybe 10%. If that inventory is still there, you're going to decrease it by another 40%, you know, a couple of weeks or months after that. Google likes those things because they want to encourage people to again, sign up for the price alerts to see when your product does go on sale.
So those are the top three things. And then the other four, like I mentioned, is people may never make it to your site. So try to make it as clear as possible on those individual product pages, everything that customer needs to know. If you are a sustainable brand, that needs to be in every product description, not just about the product, but that you are a sustainable brand. You might even want to put where you're based. You might even want to put that this is woman founded.
Whatever keywords that you think people may be searching for you need to put that on the product page because the new AI isn't looking to pull all the information from your website. They are just trying to match people with a specific product.
Glynis Tao
Yeah and I just want to highlight this article that you wrote on your Retail Boss website, Strategies for Online Retailers and E-commerce. You list these four points and what retailers can do to future-proof their business.
Jeanel Alvarado
For AI. AI search, AI shopping.
Glynis Tao
And one thing I'm actually looking into incorporating within my SEO strategy is optimizing for Google Merchant Center and organic shopping. So I'm just wondering, like, are you starting to consult, like, work with your clients through this transition and sort of what's happening right now to sort of help them to evolve, adapt to the changing search landscape right now?
Jeanel Alvarado
Yes. There are tons of just like it's so interesting because e-commerce is almost becoming like the app store or it's like once you're a part of it you got to keep updating. This is how Google shopping is just like you just mentioned a key point Google's Merch Center, you can sign up your brand and your site on there and then that's how it'll feed into being in that Google shopping area so again, you have to keep up with that information or enlist a team, right?
Yourself or myself or any other expert to help you navigate that because just like any update, you need to then adjust to fit their terms and conditions. We're still early in this AI search. So what works today to get your products and say that yes, they're okay to be on here may change tomorrow. And then you're so busy in your business that weeks and weeks go by.
And maybe you have been taken off the Merch Center or you're way low in the rankings because you haven't kept up with the updates on what you need to have on there and what needs to be taken off those individual pages or needs to be on your site. I do know one client I work with and it was something as easy as not having a privacy policy, why their site wasn't showing up, right? Because there are certain things that you need to have on your site to be pulled up in these listings.
Glynis Tao
Exactly. I think it's the eligibility factors and what Google looks for to the requirements to make sure that you're eligible to firstly have your products listed in the Google shopping, but also making sure that your product titles and descriptions are also up to date. Like you said, also mentioning, you know, if you're a sustainable brand, talk about it, right? Mention the certifications that you have because right now it's really about building that trust and credibility aspect, not only with your customers, but also with AI search. Because I've just been watching so many of these, you know, video webinars and stuff on the latest AI playbook, how it's working, how it works, how AI search engines pick up your content and how they display it and show it to people.
It really matters, like the type of content that you put out there. And so, yeah, it's just such a, it's a hot topic and it's something that is just changing so quickly, almost every day now, something new is coming up. So having to keep up with that, even as professionals like ourselves, it's even hard to stay on top of it, but I feel that it's important just as my job to do that. But yeah, to me, I think emphasizing on building the trust factor with AI search and your customers gone are the days of, you know, trying to just rank for keywords and get a lot of traffic.
It's nowadays that people are having these conversations within the search engines, like within chat, GPT, Perplexity, they're asking complex questions. So I think the better that you're able to answer their questions and solve people's problems and pain points, the better you're able to build that trust with them. And hence, you know, with AI search picking up your content as well and showing it.
Jeanel Alvarado
Absolutely, are spot on. Everything you said was just genius. Really on point. I couldn't agree more with what you're saying, yeah. I know there are a lot of people resisting AI and it was almost the same thing with people resisting e-commerce back when, you know, e-commerce was becoming something where it's like, sure, we'll just launch a site, just to have it. AI, same thing. Some people are maybe, okay, we'll maybe tweak some things.
But over time, it may become the number one funnel, right? We gotta think about that. So right now, we talked earlier that people discover through social media. I really think Google, as well as, like you just mentioned, Perplexity, which is backed by Nvidia, who recently keep trying to put in their bid to buy Google. Really, they are trying to be that they wanna be it. Social media had its run for discovering products. Google and these AI want it back.
They want to be, hey, you want to discover new things? We are the place. So that is where I'm seeing things going and just how they're doing things. Because same thing, social media doesn't really encourage people to leave the social media app, right? It doesn't really encourage them. They like people to stay there. Google is trying to figure that out. How can we make people stay here, right? And we can feed them ads and we can feed them products that they like and we can provide them news that they might be interested in. How can we keep them here? That is what I believe in the real behind the scenes of what really is going on here.
So that's why people really need to see this as, okay, if social media is so saturated and there's just so many people dancing around and there's just too much noise, where are people gonna go next to discover? And I think Google AI, AI search is really trying to capture and be that new top funnel.
Glynis Tao
When we had our first chat, we had both talked about blogging and how content marketing would help for brands to stand out against fast fashion competitors and that sort of thing. I think we're both sort of in that same, like we agree that blogging is still important, would you say?
Jeanel Alvarado
Yes. And it's funny because everyone that I talk to you think that blogging is dead. No, it is not dead. Maybe blogging about your cat, what your cat ate today is dead. Okay. Maybe that's substack. You can maybe get a, right, get a small niche of people interested in that day to day. That sort of blogging is what people think about when they think blogging
No, the same thing as how the retail industry changed. Blogging has changed from what it was. So the new blogging is really that influencer marketing hub, right? So even when you see nowadays, when you see a content creator, an Instagram girl, girly, let's say, and she is talking about her 10 best picks, that's what used to be a blog. You would blog your top 10 picks, right? But now people showcase their top 10 picks. I think it's about how you think of blogging and the essence of blogging is not dead. It's just, there's new forms of how we are sending out these blogs. Either it's a video, you can still have the blog post, right? And because people want to be able to click and easily find the source, it could also be you just linking to your Amazon store, but in the essence of blogging.
People are blogging all the time. They're blogging where they traveled. You can call it vlogging, right? It's all of these new words, but really blogging is not dead. It is what people are most interested in right now. And if you check out Substack, that's growing and that's still written blogging. So we got video blogging. We got these influencers who are posting all the time, which are a form of blogging. So that is not dead.
Blogging is just really just when you take experiences or things that you like, you kind of package it up and then you send it out there. And if people want to know, well, where was that hotel stay at? Where was that product purchased? So blogging is still here.
And I think you had mentioned a great point in where Google does like to prioritize brands and retailers who are being talked about, who are part of these conversations. So remember what I said, let your work work for you. Blogging is the number one way you can do this. If you want to be known as a hundred percent sustainable brand, you can start by having blog posts that clearly make you the expert in sustainability, right? You can have multiple blog posts and then you can reform those blog written posts into vlogs. You can then take that and make it into social media posts. You can even hire an influencer who then can go down those tips and maybe make a more influencer type video with your clothing, right?
Now it's more tied to the clothing, but also making sure they talk about how you are a sustainable brand based in XYZ that they love to shop. So it all feeds into the same thing. All that chatter is what helps Google say, Hey, yeah, these people don't just say they're sustainable. Other people say they're sustainable, right? Their blogs also create them more as an expert. And that's the number one thing with more written blogs, right? Create that more expertise.
Glynis Tao
Yeah, I was just listening to a recent webinar about this and they were mentioning like where AI gets their data from and like number one was blogs. So that still definitely justifies the importance of it. And not just like, you're not just writing content for the sake of content, but you're creating helpful, original content that establishes your expertise, authoritativeness, trustworthiness, right? So you're building all this credibility and establishing yourself as the expert in your industry or niche.
Jeanel Alvarado
Yes. And I also have another saying that someone told me a while ago and a couple of years ago, and it resonates with this completely. It says, tell your story before somebody else does something along those lines. And the point is if you don't tell your story, right. And that could be the story of yourself, the story of your brand, the story of whatever it is, like your campaign. Yeah, you put out a campaign, but why? That could be a blog post. That's blogging.
Blogging is telling, giving all the insights, right? So people need to document, it's documentation, proof, authority. So just like you're saying, and that saying is really good because it's almost like if you don't tell your story or what's behind your campaign, you leave it open to too much interpretation as to what you are trying to get at, which just doesn't work. And you're going to just end up getting canceled. Cancelled culture is huge.
But how about instead of just putting out new visuals, you have more in-depth blog, more information of what, okay, what was the whole backdrop of this? The behind the scenes, the why did you pick this location, this, this, this. All of that feeds into all that information that you're talking about, that credibility. And then you're telling the real story about your brand because nowadays if people never get to your website, how are they learning about you?
And you were just spot on once again. What if somebody never goes to your site, sees something on social media, and the first thing that they search, and the AI search is, and this is usually something that's very high search, is like, who owns X brand? And let's say you don't even have anything about yourself. It'll just be unknown. They already don't trust you. Already lost. What about, what is this brand legit?
Yeah, you already lost. So what will AI pull? They have an online site, unknown. So yes, just like you say, you're gonna have to feed it constantly for then when somebody searches, is this legit? go, right? They're polling from the blog. yes, this brand was launched and this is this. They recently had two campaigns featuring this, blah, blah, blah. Their philosophy is based on XYZ. They recently did a collaboration with some not-for-profit, da da da da da da da event is actually happening next week. All that information it will not have if you're not blogging.
Glynis Tao
Yeah, actually everything that you just said is 100%. I totally agree with it and this is such great advice. I think it's a great takeaway for people who are listening right now, just in terms of how the content that you create will also help you with your visibility and being found, right? So definitely blogging, we both agree that blogging is not dead.
Jeanel Alvarado
Not dead at all. It is reimagined in tons of different formats to get the same message across.
Glynis Tao
Yeah. And so before we wrap up here, I just wanted to end with some advice from you. So for entrepreneurs who are listening today and want to break into retail or scale their business, what would be one or two pieces of advice you'd give them?
Jeanel Alvarado
Yeah. So one of my biggest pieces of advice would be to make sure that it's something that you can consistently do something that you are able to do yourself. I think you have to have that DIY mentality at least to start. And then of course you can outsource, but your own, your business will be only as good as what you know.
So I do see a lot of brands or retailers kind of just jump in without really knowing much and maybe they pay people who know what they're doing and then yeah, they're up and then they're just sinking. It's like you got the boat in the water and then now the first tide and now you're under the water. So take the time to learn what you're getting yourself into and every little piece of, you don't need to know, be the SEO expert, but you need to know the basics. You need to understand the basics. So know what you're getting yourself into because e-commerce has so many different layers and then same with content marketing, because there's ways you could do it wrong. And you can get penalized by Google if you're just, you know, getting on these automated.
There's so many things and we'll leave that for another day, but don't try to shortcut to start, learn the basics. And then if anything, you can then, once you have those frameworks, you can then outsource people to do it the way that you've determined would be best for your business. Because just like we talked about blogs, you yourself should figure out exactly the tone, the audience, the type of blogging you want, you should have that kind of a guideline first before you hire someone to start putting out a lot of content.
So I would definitely challenge anybody to kind of just get maybe a template of each, then they can go ahead and outsource. And then the other piece of advice is be okay with pivoting. Like I said, the market is always changing, so be okay to pivot. My most recent client, just like we were just talking about, I've been helping them also with a little bit of SEO, but SEO is not the core of what I do, right? What I know, but it's a new skill in my toolbox, right? So that is something that I'm like, okay, yeah, I could definitely do some minor adjustments here and get you on the right track with your SEO a bit. But I think people in whatever they're in, whether they want to also maybe do an e-commerce store or they want to do physical retail because we all also help people who just want to do physical retail.
And I also help brands who just want to get into stores and sell wholesale who don't really aren't, aren't interested in doing all this marketing and branding for G2C. They rather do that or even try to like private label. Yeah. My, like I said, the second piece of advice there would just be, be able to be adaptable. You might have an idea that you go in and then it just isn't a fit and don't keep trying to make the peg fit. Right. Get a new peg, get a new idea. It's the quickest way to success.
Glynis Tao
Those are wonderful, amazing advice. I love it. Is there anything that you would like to share with the audience? Any events that you would like to share?
Jeanel Alvarado
We love to partner with different events. I guess if there's any people interested in beauty, we are partnering again with the Beauty Connect LA, which is happening in November for anybody who may be interested. It's an event that happens all the time. So if you miss this one, get on it for next year. And that's a great event. If you are a beauty brand looking to get into beauty retailers, they have a lot of the like, you know, top merchandise and buyers there.
And yeah, it's just like you get a lot of great information and then also trends. And then even if you're starting out, it can be good because they have these breakout rooms and sessions that are really great to help you figure out how to take your product or launch your products successfully, either on e-commerce and then also in store. So that's something that we're doing. And then, yeah, so just keep up with us. Follow Retail Boss across any social media platform. Find us at retailboss.co and if you have an interesting story about your brand, feel free to reach out.
Glynis Tao
Mm-hmm. And where can people find you if they want to get in touch with you?
Jeanel Alvarado
Yeah. So the best way to reach out is to send us an email. If you're interested in being featured on our publication, you can reach out at media@retailboss.co. If you're interested in working with me professionally, you can just go to hello at JeanelAlberto.com or just find me at JeanelAlverado.com. Do keep in mind for clients right now, we do look for clients who are making over 1 million in revenue. Okay. But like I said, we also have tons of events on Retail Boss. So if you're making less than that, jump over to retailboss.co, keep up with the news. We've got so many tidbits and yeah, that's how best to reach out and work with me. I'm always looking for people. Right now we're actually looking for somebody on social media.
Glynis Tao
Thank you so much Jeanel for sharing your journey and expertise with us today.
Jeanel Alvarado
Thank you so much for having me!