Data-Driven Amazon Forecasting With Todd VanderStelt and Sam Hager
The Digital Deep Dive With Aaron Conant
Release Date: 11/13/2025
Data-Driven Amazon Forecasting With Todd VanderStelt and Sam Hager
The Digital Deep Dive With Aaron Conant
Todd VanderStelt is the Co-founder of MixShift, a firm that helps Amazon agencies, aggregators, and brands scale operations and reporting for their Amazon accounts. He is also the Managing Partner at Dash Applications, which delivers software to improve operations and sales for retailers and brands, and the Founder of TidalBore Group, a management consulting firm specializing in retail. Previously, Todd held leadership roles at Amazon, where he built forecasting tools and operational systems. Sam Hager is the Co-founder and CEO of MixShift. He began his career in the Amazon space,...
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Discoverability in the Age of LLMs With Spencer Millerberg
The Digital Deep Dive With Aaron Conant
Spencer Millerberg is the Founding Partner of DetailPage, which helps brands optimize traffic and gain Amazon market share. He founded OneClickRetail, the original provider of Amazon market share data that was sold to Ascential. As an eCommerce and data analytics expert, Spencer has helped over 650 brands improve sales, margins, and search positions on eCommerce sites. In this episode… In today’s digital marketplace, visibility is everything. With AI tools like ChatGPT shaping how shoppers discover products, brands are facing a new kind of competition — one where search optimization...
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Current State of AI Content With Josh Fulmer
The Digital Deep Dive With Aaron Conant
Joshua (Josh) Fulmer is the Executive Creative Director of Lunge Marketing, a full-service eCommerce agency specializing in Amazon, Walmart, TikTok Shop, and Google Ads services. With over 18 years of design and brand strategy experience, he leads creative teams in developing engaging, inclusive visual narratives. Before joining Lunge, Josh served in the US Marine Corps, worked in the craft beer industry, and built a design consulting practice. In this episode… Content creation has become more essential and complex than ever. AI tools promise faster, cheaper results, but at what cost to...
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Retention Marketing and Maximizing Customer Potential With Aaron Schwartz
The Digital Deep Dive With Aaron Conant
Aaron Schwartz is the Co-founder and Co-CEO of Orita.ai, a software company that improves email deliverability. He is also an advisor and investor in various commerce tech companies, including Passport and EcoCart. Previously, Aaron built and managed the DTC brand Modify Watches and was the President of Loop. In this episode… Email remains a core channel for reaching customers, but brands often misuse it. As customer acquisition costs climb and competition intensifies, many brands resort to blasting their audiences with more campaigns, only to see engagement fall and customers unsubscribe....
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The Reinvented Omnichannel Org of the Future With Lauren Livak Gilbert
The Digital Deep Dive With Aaron Conant
Lauren Livak Gilbert is the Executive Director of the Digital Shelf Institute (DSI), which shapes the future of digital and advances commerce through community, content, and education. In her role, she defines the strategy for creating a global industry commerce community to support brands, retailers, and future leaders in the complex digital environment. As a thought leader in digital and design, Lauren has over 10 years of experience driving impactful multichannel design content, transformative digital shelf solutions, and high-conversion web UX designs across multiple regions. Before DSI,...
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Leveraging TikTok Shops for Omnichannel Growth With Jana Weinstein
The Digital Deep Dive With Aaron Conant
Jana Weinstein is the Director of Social Commerce and Affiliate Strategy at Blue Wheel Media, an omnichannel marketing and operational agency, where she leads influencer, creator, and affiliate strategies across managed programs and creator-led initiatives. As a sales and growth leader, she specializes in TikTok Shop, business development, go-to-market strategies, and full-funnel social commerce performance. Before Blue Wheel, Jana was part of the founding team of TikTok Shop, where she launched the partner ecosystem and built enterprise agency partnerships. She also served as the Director of...
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Gen AI's Impact on ROI for Businesses and Agencies With Udayan Bose
The Digital Deep Dive With Aaron Conant
Udayan Bose is the Founder and CEO of NetElixir, a digital marketing agency designed to help the growth of eCommerce businesses, B2B companies, and retail brands through strategic solutions and an AI-powered platform. Udayan is also the Co-founder of The Udaan Trust, a nonprofit foundation of NetElixir that supports underprivileged young women in India to pursue their education goals and build successful careers. In this episode… AI is transforming the way businesses operate, but the question remains: How can AI create measurable value instead of being just another buzzword? As industries...
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A Deep Dive on Microsoft Copilot and Productivity With Will Nelson - Part 2
The Digital Deep Dive With Aaron Conant
Will Nelson is the Copilot Lead at Microsoft, where he leads federal executive engagements for Microsoft Copilot, focusing on AI applications. With a background in product operations, internal tooling, and early-stage tech companies, he has launched new products, built scalable systems, and bridged gaps between emerging tools and real-world outcomes. Before Microsoft, Will was a Founding Product Ops Intern at Pie Insurance, where he grew the commercial auto vertical from zero to $2 million in premiums. In this episode… Many organizations waste time in meetings, scatter knowledge across...
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A Deep Dive on Microsoft Copilot and Productivity With Will Nelson - Part 1
The Digital Deep Dive With Aaron Conant
Will Nelson is the Copilot Lead at Microsoft, where he leads federal executive engagements for Microsoft Copilot, focusing on AI applications. With a background in product operations, internal tooling, and early-stage tech companies, he has launched new products, built scalable systems, and bridged gaps between emerging tools and real-world outcomes. Before Microsoft, Will was a Founding Product Ops Intern at Pie Insurance, where he grew the commercial auto vertical from zero to $2 million in premiums. In this episode… Many organizations are racing to adopt AI but struggle to apply it...
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AI’s Missing Link: How Data Readiness Unlocks AI’s Full Potential With Joe Luchs
The Digital Deep Dive With Aaron Conant
Joe Luchs is the Founder and CEO of DatalinxAI, an AI-powered data refinery that simplifies customer data. As an expert in AI, AdTech, MarTech, and SaaS, he previously served as the Global Head of AWS and Amazon Ads at Amazon, where he led global partnerships and AI business development. Joe was also the Commercial Founder and Head of Revenue at Beeswax (acquired by Comcast) and held a leadership role at Oracle. In this episode… Organizations are beginning to implement AI for personalization, automation, and business intelligence. Yet, messy, unstructured, and inconsistent data hinder smooth...
info_outlineTodd VanderStelt is the Co-founder of MixShift, a firm that helps Amazon agencies, aggregators, and brands scale operations and reporting for their Amazon accounts. He is also the Managing Partner at Dash Applications, which delivers software to improve operations and sales for retailers and brands, and the Founder of TidalBore Group, a management consulting firm specializing in retail. Previously, Todd held leadership roles at Amazon, where he built forecasting tools and operational systems.
Sam Hager is the Co-founder and CEO of MixShift. He began his career in the Amazon space, managing multimillion-dollar business books across advertising and agency services. Before MixShift, Sam was the Marketplace Strategist and Amazon Advertising Manager at Booyah Advertising.
In this episode…
Forecasting in the Amazon ecosystem is one of the most frustrating challenges for brands and agencies. With so many shifting variables — from ad spend to competition to inventory fluctuations — how can companies predict sales and plan budgets without wasting resources or missing opportunities?
Amazon forecasting and automation veteran Todd VanderStelt and eCommerce strategist Sam Hager have developed a forecasting method for Amazon brands. They emphasize simplifying forecasting through a top-down model that uses a few key data inputs — ad spend, seasonality, and organic growth — to generate highly accurate predictions. Sam and Todd advise building forecasting tools that align teams around data, tie budgets directly to performance, and factor in real-world contexts, like promotions or unexpected press coverage, to make informed decisions.
In this episode of The Digital Deep Dive, Aaron Conant talks with Todd VanderStelt and Sam Hager, Co-founders of MixShift, about building accurate and actionable Amazon forecasting models. Together, they explain why top-down forecasting outperforms traditional methods, how linking ad spend to revenue improves planning, and the future innovations transforming eCommerce analytics.