EVOLVE connects NED’s, board-level leaders, senior advisors and fractional executives with growth-stage commerce companies. Our in person events are one expression of that work.

We host expert sessions, in-person meetups, and small, closed dinners across key global markets. These gatherings are designed to support ongoing conversations, not one-off appearances.

Now, onto this week’s newsletter.

This week inside EVOLVE two conversations unfolded in parallel.

One happened online during Expert Session #101, where operators from Brazil, North America, and Europe discussed what is changing inside ecommerce operations.

The second took place in London, where a group of founders, operators, and advisors gathered for a small breakfast focused on go-to-market architecture.

Different rooms.
Different participants.
Yet the underlying themes were closely related.

Commerce is not slowing down.

But the mechanics of operating inside it are becoming more demanding.

Customer acquisition costs continue to rise.
Automation is often implemented without operational discipline.
And many organisations still struggle to operate commerce as a unified system.

The conversations this week offered a useful window into how operators are adjusting.

The first pressure discussed during the expert session was acquisition cost.

For many years ecommerce growth was driven by relatively cheap digital distribution. Paid media and search allowed brands to acquire customers at scale.

That equation is shifting.

Lucas Godoy described the situation directly from the perspective of operators working inside the Brazilian market.

“The cost of acquisition has been higher than ever. Marketplaces have done a very good job becoming the top of mind for most products.”

This concentration of demand has several consequences.

Large marketplaces control a significant portion of product discovery. Their scale allows them to invest aggressively in advertising and customer acquisition.

Independent brands face a different calculation.

They either operate inside marketplace ecosystems or they compete directly for traffic through paid media and content distribution.

Both paths require substantial investment.

Many operators therefore spend increasing time on retention rather than acquisition.

Loyalty programs, post-purchase experience, and customer relationships become more valuable when bringing new demand becomes expensive.

This is not a marketing preference.

It is an economic response.

A second theme from the expert session concerned automation.

Many companies describe themselves as “AI-driven” organisations. Yet the operational experience shared during the discussion suggests a different reality.

Automation frequently appears in places where it creates friction rather than removing it.

Lucas shared a simple example.

While arranging installation for home appliances he encountered an automated scheduling system that could not handle a straightforward constraint. The system offered appointment slots but could not adapt to a basic request for alternative timing.

Resolving the issue required contacting a human operator.

“If I had a person helping me for two minutes, the problem would have been solved,” he explained.

The issue was not technology itself.

Automation can improve forecasting, logistics planning, and internal decision processes. When implemented without sufficient context, however, it simply inserts another layer between the company and the customer.

Several operators emphasized that the most effective use of automation often occurs inside operations rather than directly in front of customers.

Internal systems benefit from faster analysis and improved data processing.

Customer relationships require judgment.

The discussion also returned to a structural issue that has existed for years.

Many companies still operate physical retail and ecommerce as separate entities.

Customers rarely perceive this distinction. They interact with a brand across stores, websites, apps, and service channels as a single experience.

Internally the systems often remain disconnected.

Lucas described the pattern clearly.

“There is still this separation. We do the digital and you do the brick-and-mortar experience.”

The consequences become visible in everyday situations.

A customer may purchase products in a physical store repeatedly while the ecommerce system continues to treat that individual as a new buyer.

Purchase history exists inside the organisation, yet the systems do not combine it.

After two decades of digital commerce this fragmentation continues to undermine loyalty programs, marketing accuracy, and customer understanding.

Operators across markets still confront the same challenge.

Commerce infrastructure often reflects organisational boundaries rather than customer behaviour

Another dimension of the conversation focused on differences between markets.

Retail systems do not operate under identical conditions worldwide.

In Brazil and parts of Latin America large retailers frequently combine retail operations with financial services. Installment payments and credit systems play a central role in purchasing behaviour.

Lucas explained that many retailers effectively operate as both merchants and financial institutions.

Retailers distribute products while also providing the credit that enables consumers to buy them.

This structure shapes marketplace dynamics. Retailers can expand product assortment without carrying inventory while generating revenue through financing.

Operators working in the United States encounter a different set of constraints.

Logistics networks are highly developed and shipping costs remain relatively predictable. Companies spend less time solving transportation infrastructure problems and more time optimizing delivery speed.

Tax complexity also differs significantly.

In Brazil regional tax structures influence where inventory is stored and how transactions are structured. These decisions can determine the economics of an entire operation.

Commerce strategies therefore cannot be transplanted easily from one region to another.

Infrastructure shapes the system.

Earlier this week a smaller group gathered in London for an EVOLVE breakfast focused on go-to-market strategy.

The conversation approached the same pressures from a different perspective.

Most companies still treat go-to-market primarily as a channel problem.

Content, paid media, outbound sales.

These tools remain essential. Yet operators around the table observed that two companies can deploy identical channels and produce very different outcomes.

The difference rarely lies in the tool.

It lies in trust.

Channels distribute information.

Trust distributes decisions.

This distinction becomes increasingly relevant as discovery behaviour evolves.

For more than a decade companies invested heavily in search optimization and content production to rank on Google.

Today many buyers approach discovery differently.

Instead of searching they ask AI systems for recommendations.

These systems draw heavily on information across the internet.

Mentions, conversations, reviews, reputation among professionals.

In this environment visibility alone does not guarantee credibility.

Companies increasingly benefit from trusted references across ecosystems.

Advisors, communities, customers, partners.

Participants in London repeatedly returned to one observation.

Distribution architecture is becoming part of product strategy.

The way a company is embedded in its ecosystem increasingly shapes how it grows.

Both discussions this week pointed toward the same conclusion.

Commerce systems are becoming operationally more complex.

Traffic is harder to acquire.
Automation requires careful implementation.
Organisations still struggle to unify customer understanding across channels.

None of these pressures represent a sudden disruption.

They represent a gradual shift in how companies must operate.

Growth remains possible.

Execution simply requires greater discipline.

EVOLVE brings together board-level leaders, founders, and senior operators across commerce markets through ongoing structured conversations.

These discussions take place through expert sessions, small gatherings, roundtables, and private dinners across markets.

The objective is straightforward.

To understand how experienced operators navigate the realities of commerce as those realities evolve.

For leaders who want to participate in these conversations, EVOLVE offers private membership and corporate partnerships for organisations seeking closer proximity to the people shaping commerce across markets.

The room stays small by design.

The conversations stay practical for the same reason.

Curated. Personable. Global.
That is EVOLVE

If you’d like to learn more how to partner with, please email us at
[email protected] or [email protected]