Bruce Bennett

This week we went up against two other POS providers for a new restaurant, which is exciting and the way it should be. On paper, we did not look like the obvious choice: •Our quote didn’t include a bundled merchant services rate. •Our upfront cost was higher. •Our proposal looked like “less” compared to the packages the others presented. To a restaurant owner who’s been out of the industry for a while, it made total sense that we were the hardest quote to digest. But here’s the difference: We were the only provider that did not require them to process with a specific merchant services company. Because we’re local and this restaurant is in our own backyard, we took the time to give a crash course on: •How merchant services rates really work. •What happens when your POS and processing are locked into one binding contract. •The long-term impact of giving up flexibility for what looks like a cheaper all-in-one solution. Once you start peeling the onion back and look at the true cost over time, the picture changes. There is no better option than keeping your merchant services a stone’s throw from your POS contract – close enough to integrate, but separate enough to protect your flexibility and your margins. Sometimes the quote that looks “more expensive” upfront is the one that’s actually fighting for your long-term best interest, not just the short-term sale. Tabit.cloud Greenlink HCM RoosterWise

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AI-Powered Communication for a Florida Manufacturing Leader Techchieva is proud to welcome King Plastic Corporation to our family of clients! In partnership with Dialpad, we delivered a cloud-based UCaaS phone system powered by AI features including real-time call transcription, sentiment analysis, call recording, and performance analytics. The result? Smarter conversations, actionable insights, and crystal-clear communication across teams and facilities. #Techchieva #Dialpad #KingPlastic #UCaaS #AI #BusinessConnectivity #ManufacturingInnovation McKensie Whitton

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Google just announced UCP at National Retail Federation. There’s a lot of noise right now about “agentic commerce,” protocols, and AI-driven checkout. Most of it is vague. Very little of it is actionable for merchants. On Wednesday, Feb 4 (1–2pm ET), we’re doing a live session with Reshmi S. and Harsh Mehta from Worldpay, Idan Levin 🔵 (nekuda), and Scot Wingo from ReFiBuy.ai to talk through what’s actually happening in the market. What we’ll actually cover: - What UCP really changes and what it doesn’t - How UCP fits next to OpenAI ACP and other protocols already in the market - Where merchants are getting stuck today (hint: it’s not just checkout) - What you can implement now without waiting for standards to “settle” If you’re responsible for commerce, payments, or digital strategy, this will be useful. Register here: https:https://lnkd.in/ehc99tAb

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🔥⛴️🔥 When founders "burn the boats," magic happens. Yesterday I watched Kevin Lee share immi's inspiring journey alongside Matt Higgins at the EEE Miami 2025: 4th Edition Ecommerce Conference. --- What makes immi's growth from zero to national retail distribution remarkable? 4 insights I took away: 💝 Emotional investment drives customer loyalty. Kevin & Kevin Chanthasiriphan built a community before having a single product. They signed up 35K email subscribers in 8 months by sharing their authentic Asian heritage story and mission to help diabetic family members. 🦻 Customer feedback is gold, not criticism. When their V1 ramen wasn't perfect, they embraced honest feedback and reformulated completely. V2 was "100 times better" per reviewers. Their willingness to hear hard truths accelerated product-market fit. 🤖 AI can modernize traditional retail. They've implemented AI-driven inventory monitoring that automatically notifies store managers when shelves run low. This tech-first approach helped them expand retail presence with a lean team. 🌀 Continuous experimentation wins. Not just with product flavors, but also marketing channels, conversion funnels, and customer engagement. Their mantra: 'There is no silver bullet, only continuous experiments' applies to every aspect of their operation." --- The journey from idea to $10M Series A wasn't linear. In 2020, their first production batch was seized by customs. Then COVID hit. Zero revenue for a year would sink most startups. But Kevin & Kevin had "burned their boats" - no fallback plan. They slashed expenses, built community, and refused to quit. We've had the honor of being their DTC data partner since 2021 and working with their team has been inspiring. When founders commit fully and use data to drive decisions, remarkable growth becomes possible. #ecommerce #founders

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Does Agentic Commerce Have to be a Zero-Sum Game? Heather Hershey had a great post breaking down the recent McKinsey report about agentic commerce, and I took issue with a few comments about the goals and motivations of merchants and buyers in the course of a particular transaction. Let me know your thoughts in the comments, and if you are interested in contributing, feel free to pick up the conversation with a video reply.

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In franchise orgs, websites impact way more than marketing and tech. Website’s role by department: 𝗠𝗮𝗿𝗸𝗲𝘁𝗶𝗻𝗴: Tell brand story, run campaigns, drive leads 𝗢𝗽𝗲𝗿𝗮𝘁𝗶𝗼𝗻𝘀: Launch new locations, support franchisees, keep local info accurate 𝗖𝗼𝗺𝗽𝗹𝗶𝗮𝗻𝗰𝗲: Protect trademarks, enforce brand standards, ensure franchisee alignment 𝗧𝗲𝗰𝗵𝗻𝗼𝗹𝗼𝗴𝘆: Deliver stable, scalable platform; integrate martech stack; future-proof against technology changes 𝗙𝗿𝗮𝗻𝗰𝗵𝗶𝘀𝗲 𝗗𝗲𝘃𝗲𝗹𝗼𝗽𝗺𝗲𝗻𝘁: Showcase opportunity, qualify leads, connect with candidates 𝗙𝗶𝗻𝗮𝗻𝗰𝗲: Mitigate risk, reduce wasted spend, create predictable ROI 𝗖-𝗦𝘂𝗶𝘁𝗲 / 𝗟𝗲𝗮𝗱𝗲𝗿𝘀𝗵𝗶𝗽: Signal confidence, show you’re serious about growth That's why we say websites are foundational. Get the basics right. #franchise #websites #franchising

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NOT another MJBiz recap from me. I was there for one thing: AI and how it is already changing the face of cannabis retail. It's really confusing now, everybody is using those two letters, AI. But there is a lot underneath the tip of the AI iceberg that defines quality and outcomes. Just because someone or something says AI-powered to drive a menu, a result, a recommendation, or an outcome, do not take it at face value. Educate yourself before you lock into something that is hard and expensive to unwind later. Rick Bashkoff of Lit Alerts kept the conversation tight, and Jason Siegel of Kiva Brands, Inc. brought a dose of reality and operational considerations. We talked about what happens when you move past menus, discounts, and THC percentages and start treating the digital experience like a real relationship. AI as infrastructure, not a toy, and what it takes to actually move cart size, conversion, and loyalty instead of adding more noise. At StrainBrain, we are staying heads down on that problem, how AI sits on top of existing tech, reduces friction for shoppers, and helps retailers make better decisions in real time. This panel was one more step in pushing that conversation forward inside the industry, not just talking about AI, but putting it to work in the retail experience. #cannabisretail #cannabistech #aiinretail #strainbrain #mjbiz

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Chicago invented D2C long before Shopify existed. Montgomery Ward was America’s first true Direct-to-Consumer brand. In 1872, Aaron Montgomery Ward launched a single-page mail-order catalog from Chicago. The idea was wild for its time:  - Ship directly to customers, skip store markups - Offer fixed prices so nobody haggled - Promise a money-back guarantee -- By 1904, the “Wish Book” was over 1,000 pages and reached 3 million homes. Farmers and families across America could now order furniture, tools, or even entire houses. That spirit of retail innovation never left this city. - Sears scaled the catalog model into the world’s largest retailer - Walgreens redefined the neighborhood pharmacy - Groupon pioneered online group buying - Trunk Club reinvented men’s fashion shopping - Foxtrot turned convenience into a modern D2C brand - Interior Define built furniture around customization and direct delivery Chicago has always been where new consumer models take root. -- And today, another wave is reshaping the landscape again. AI is giving brands the ability to scale what Montgomery Ward started: - Personalized recommendations at the speed of content - Storytelling that adapts to every customer - Marketing that feels 1:1, even at massive scale Direct-to-Consumer is back - only now it’s powered by data, personalisation, and AI. -- Atharva and I will be at Shoptalk Fall from 17-19th Sept, excited to meet fellow Chicagoans (and global innovators) continuing this tradition of retail reinvention. GetCrux (YC W24)

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I caught up with dLocal CEO Pedro Arnt and SVP Corp Dev Christopher Stromeyer to discuss the company’s Q2 2025 results and the factors driving its strong performance. dLocal posted a 50% rise in revenues to $256m – its fastest pace since 2023 – with cross-border volumes up 75%. All this helped push the share price 31% higher. Growth is broad-based, with Brazil and Mexico rebounding, while markets outside the company’s top three are expanding almost three times faster, strengthening diversification. Product innovation is also key, from SmartPix in Brazil to BNPL rollouts across multiple markets, alongside stablecoin settlement capabilities via partnerships with Circle and BVNK. With raised guidance across all key metrics, dLocal is positioning itself at the forefront of alternative payments and localised solutions for global merchants. Full article here: https://lnkd.in/eRMiuNms #Payments #Fintech #CrossBorder #EmergingMarkets #dLocal

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Temu changed the game. Target is changing the rules. What started as a trickle is now turning into a tidal shift: retailers and brands bypassing distributors, warehouses and even themselves. Target is now piloting a Temu-style model, shipping goods straight from Asian factories to U.S. doorsteps. That’s a massive mindset shift for a legacy retailer. But it’s not just a pricing play, it’s a structural one. 🧩 No distribution centers Factories handle labeling, packing, and ocean container bundling. No Target DC ever touches the product. 💡 No middlemen Target becomes the platform, the shipper, and the price-setter. Brands are still behind the scenes, but distributors are cut out of the picture. 🚚 No fast shipping expectations 7–12 days is the new normal when your socks cost $2. Delivery speed becomes optional, not default. 🧮 Yes to direct margin math The real value? Margin compression is owned, not absorbed. If tariffs rise, you move the factory. If prices fall, you tweak bundles, not shelf prices. This move is a direct response to what Temu and Shein have already proven: when price beats speed, customers recalibrate expectations. But this is just the beginning. We're heading into a retail future where: ✅ Brands become logistics nodes ✅ Retailers become software layers ✅ Marketplaces become API-powered sourcing engines The question is no longer "Where can we sell?" but "What can we skip?" t’s not just about going direct, it’s about thinking factory-first. #ecommerce #retailstrategy #marketplaces #directfromfactory #supplychain #target #temu #shein #retailinnovation #channelshift

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If you run a restaurant or retail chain, you’ve probably experienced: 1. Terminals not syncing. 2. Branches operating with different pricing. 3. Sales data delayed by hours (or days). We’ve helped multi-location brands implement unified POS systems integrated directly with inventory and accounting. POS isn’t just about selling—it’s about seeing. If you manage multiple outlets and need real-time visibility, let’s fix your POS setup.

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Big orders feel great. Until the customer doesn’t pay. I interviewed Alec Papesch from NCS Credit to talk about two things: → How tech is changing collections and lien rights → How tariffs are impacting inventory and cash flow Right now, companies sourcing overseas are stockpiling inventory. But if you can’t collect, what’s the point? Alec broke down how smart teams handle this: → Secure lien rights → Tighten credit policies → Think about collections before closing the sale This interview is a must if you touch credit, finance, or supply chain.

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