From Merchandising to Machine Learning: How Shopify Shapes the Next Era of Retail
Welcome to "The Orbit," where e-commerce movers and makers share the real stories behind their brands. In this episode, host Nihar Kulkarni (Roswell NYC) talks with one of the most talented and insightful minds at Shopify, Senior Solutions Engineer Michelle Drawert.
Michelle shares her fascinating and unconventional path into e-commerce, her deep-rooted passion for supply chain, and her expert take on how AI is set to augment—not eliminate—the human side of retail.
A Foundation in Retail (Before E-Commerce Existed)
Long before she was a solutions engineer, Michelle began her career in tech. But her very first job out of college was at a major fast-fashion retailer. This was before e-commerce was mainstream; the company had a "dot com, a splash page" but sold its products at 600 mall-based locations across the US.
Working in corporate, Michelle was a distributor, responsible for "planning assortment". She would manually select how many units of each SKU went to which store , basing her decisions on sales figures, trends, geography, and even weather.
"I looked at green and white striped paper... we used pencils," she laughs. While she jokes that this job probably doesn't exist anymore , the experience gave her a deep, fundamental understanding of retail, inventory, and sell-through —a passion that would define her future career.
The "McDonald's" Lesson: Why Supply Chain is Everything
When Michelle officially pivoted to e-commerce, one of her first managers taught her a lesson she never forgot. He asked his new team, "What's the first step in placing your order at McDonald's?".
The team guessed walking up to the counter or looking at the menu. The manager kept pushing them to think earlier. The real answer? "The purchase of the grain that was planted in the field... that eventually turned into the flour that made the bun".
"That's the first step," he explained, "because without the bread, there wouldn't be a hamburger on the menu". This lesson ignited Michelle's passion for supply chain , a topic she believes is a fascinating and critical entry point for anyone new to the industry.
Shopify's AI Directive: Augmentation, Not Elimination
As a Senior Solutions Engineer, Michelle works with partners like Roswell to solve complex merchant requirements using Shopify's platform. A huge part of that platform is now AI.
"AI is a directive" at Shopify, she explains. The company's vision is to have AI "represented in as many surfaces of the product as possible". This started with Magic and has evolved into powerful tools like Shopify Audiences, which leverages "network intelligence".
This tool allows a merchant to target high-intent buyers by tapping into the collective, anonymized data of the entire Shopify network. For example, a tennis apparel brand can serve ads to an audience of customers who have purchased tennis balls from any participating Shopify store in the last six months. "You share, I share, we all benefit," she says.
But Michelle is quick to point out that AI's true value is augmentation, not elimination. The goal isn't to lay off staff ; it's to "reallocate" human talent. Why have brilliant, creative people doing tedious, manual tasks when AI can handle them? The real benefit is freeing up your team to focus on "things that are meant for growth versus just keeping the lights on".
On "Vibe Coding" and the Future of the Front-End
Host Nihar Kulkarni notes that agencies like Roswell are now focused on "building for our brains, not for our hands," acting as "executive producers" for an AI-driven output.
Michelle agrees, emphasizing that she still believes in the "beauty of the human oversight". She appreciates AI for sourcing insights and code, but she doesn't "know how I feel about AI having an opinion that is based on an emotion". The human element—the creative inception—remains irreplaceable.
What's it Like Working at Shopify?
Michelle describes working at Shopify as "fascinating". Her first impression was that "everyone that I've met... is just really smart". The company is built on a massive engineering team and is intensely focused on "craft development" , allowing people to become true masters of their lane.
The most exciting part is the velocity. "What other commerce platform do you know of that has that many releases at this velocity of a cadence?" she asks, referring to the hundreds of updates that drop with every bi-annual Editions. This speed, combined with a thoughtful, future-proof strategy , is what allows entrepreneurs to start on Shopify for $5 a month and grow into a global, omnichannel enterprise on the very same platform.