The e-commerce year-end checklist and what really matters for Q1 with Vervaunt’s Paul Rogers & Shamoli Miah
As we reach the end of the year, most e-commerce teams find themselves in the same place: deep in trading, tightening the final campaigns and trying to carve out enough headspace to think about what comes next. It is a moment that carries both pressure and opportunity, and it is the perfect time to pause, reflect and reset.
Timex, joint Grebban and Vervaunt client.
At Grebban, we speak to ambitious brands every day, and the themes are remarkably consistent. Leaders want clarity. Teams want direction. And everyone wants to understand where effort will truly move the needle in the year ahead.
To help cut through the noise, we asked two people who sit at the centre of the e-commerce ecosystem, Paul Rogers and Shamoli Miah at Vervaunt, to share what they believe brands should end the year with and what they should begin the new one focused on. Their experience working with some of the fastest-growing and most operationally sophisticated brands gives them a unique vantage point on what really matters.
What Every Brand Should Close the Year With
What is one thing every brand should review or clean up before year end to start Q1 with clarity?
A single, reliable view of performance. Tracking, attribution and reporting need to be aligned across teams so everyone is working from the same numbers. When the basics aren’t consistent, it can create issues later and slow down decision-making. It’s also worth revisiting the experience you give top-of-funnel visitors. How new audiences are introduced to the brand and how the catalogue is presented matters more than ever, particularly with today’s cost of demand.
Which performance or trading insight do you think leaders overlook most often at this time of year?
There is usually untapped value in product recommendations, bundling, and post-purchase flows to increase basket size. Promotions are another area where teams often miss the chance to influence basket composition more intentionally.
If you could give e-commerce managers one year end reminder, what would it be?
Be confident in your data. If trading becomes challenging and you need to dig into behaviour on-site, you need clean, consistent foundations.
The second reminder is around data collection. There are simple optimisations - how users are passed into your CRM or CDP, what’s captured at account creation or checkout - that create long-term value across retention, measurement and acquisition.
What’s your biggest learning this year?
For many brands, it’s the over-reliance on the US. When performance in the US dropped, it created pressure and issues quickly. Diversifying into other markets is the obvious way to reduce that risk, which I do think is good advice, but the reality is the scale of the US, and the way investors view it, means it’s always going to be a major focus.
What Will Matter Most as Brands Move Into Next Year
What will be the biggest differentiator between brands that grow next year and those that don’t?
A deep, accurate understanding of margin. Not only CAC or MER, but which parts of the catalogue and which acquisition routes genuinely drive profit. Alongside this, the ability to commercialise the on-site experience - from retail media to ad placements - to create more room to buy traffic. We’re seeing this become particularly impactful for multibrand retailers.
Which emerging consumer trend or behaviour should brands be planning around from January?
I think you have to say, annoyingly, the LLMs - particularly the traffic coming from ChatGPT. It’s early, but brands need to look at how they’re measuring that traffic and how they might optimise towards those channels over time. There are already a lot of people trying to sell things that probably won’t add any real incremental value, but you still need to be prepared and keep an eye on it as it develops.
The same goes for Google to an extent. As they roll out new formats and test different approaches, there will be points where it becomes more relevant for brands.
What is one area of the tech stack or data foundation that deserves renewed focus at the start of the new year?
Reporting. Too many teams are working with different data sources, different definitions and even separate BI setups. A unified, trusted view of performance - and alignment on which metrics truly matter - is one of the highest-impact investments you can make.
What mindset shift would you love to see more e-commerce leaders embrace for the year ahead?
More focus on brand. Many teams invest heavily in physical stores but hesitate to invest similarly in art direction, creative and photography - even though the impact on new customer acquisition is significant.
With so many sites looking interchangeable, the opportunity to differentiate through brand presentation and creative is huge.
This interview highlights where ambitious brands should pay attention as the year turns. If you’d like help navigating those priorities, we’d love to hear from you.