HEP

A podcast discusses the Headless E-Commerce Platform Package 1 (HEP), which aims to revolutionize online shopping. HEP offers flexibility and customization, allowing buyers to build their own packages and choose how to pay for each component separately. It simplifies the buying process by integrating financing and add-ons seamlessly. HEP is compared to a waiter at a restaurant, ensuring smooth communication between different systems involved in a purchase. It will initially be launched in the UK, focusing on customizable service plans and financing options. HEP has the potential to change how we purchase cars, houses, groceries, and other items online, providing a personalized and streamlined shopping experience. The podcast concludes by encouraging listeners to consider their ideal purchasing process and stay tuned for the future of online shopping. All right, everyone, buckle up, because today we are diving deep into the future of, well, buying stuff online, basically. It sounds ambitious. It is, but we're tackling a really cool podcast you all listen to about this thing. It's called Headless E-Commerce Platform Package 1. Yeah, catchy. Catchy in the way that ... It's going to be huge-y-y, I think. I'm with you. Okay, so this podcast we listen to, it was focused on car sales. Right. And H-E-P, which is, we'll call this Headless E-Commerce Platform Package 1 thing. Yeah. H-E-P is way easier. And H-E-P, it is. H-E-P is going to change things big time. But even if you're not out shopping for a new car every day, stick with us on this one, because this is about way more than just cars. This is about how we buy anything online going forward. Yeah. This is like ... Think about it. Remember when you had to actually buy software on a CD and then install it? Oh my gosh, yeah. And now we have the cloud. Totally. So H-E-P is kind of like that for online buying. It's changing how it all works behind the scenes, but it could totally change how we actually buy anything online in the future. Okay. I like where this is going. This is good. So it's less about the car itself and more about just totally changing up the entire experience of how we buy it. Exactly. So what does this podcast say is the main problem that H-E-P is even trying to solve? So they kept coming back to flexibility and customization. Okay. And when you're buying a car online, you've got all these choices, right? You've got your trim level, your color, your engine, and then you start to get into all the add-ons. It's like, oh, service plans, financing, all these extras. It turns into a headache so fast. Oh my gosh, it really does, yeah. And that is where H-E-P Package 1 comes in. Okay. It's designed to give you, the buyer, more control over all those choices. So instead of being stuck with these preset packages, you can kind of build your own. Okay. So instead of picking from Package A or Package B, I can be like, give me that sunroof, but hold the extended warranty. Precisely. Oh. And you can choose how to pay for each part separately. You want to finance the car, but pay for the service plan up front. H-E-P is designed to make that possible. See, now that's what I'm talking about. It's like online shopping, but it's like those build-your-own-burrito places. Yes. You get exactly what you want, no more, no less. Yeah. And this could really change those traditional auto loan models that we're used to. So imagine being able to compare financing options for each piece of your purchase totally separately. Ooh, that's a good point. Yeah. Right. So instead of having one massive loan, you might have a few smaller loans for different things, all managed in one spot. Exactly. That could be really good for buyers. Yeah. Okay. But before we go too far here, how does this whole headless e-commerce thing even work? I'm still a little fuzzy on that part. Yeah. Yeah. So basically imagine traditional e-commerce websites are like giant pre-built houses. You don't get to change the structure. You can just kind of mess with the furniture inside. Right. Headless e-commerce is like having all the building blocks to create any kind of online store you could imagine. But so then there's way more freedom and flexibility for the sellers, which hopefully means more options for us, the shoppers. You got it. Okay. So this is making more sense now. But how does that translate into me actually buying something? Walk me through what this might look like for someone who's actually buying a car, let's say. So, okay. Let's say I'm on a website, right? And I've built my dream car. I've got all the things, heated seats, sound system, the whole nine yards. Then what? Okay. So instead of being taken to a completely separate page for all the financing stuff or the add-ons, imagine all of that just like appears right there. Okay. It's like seamlessly part of what you're already doing. Ooh. And I'm in the flow. I don't have to click through a million screens. Exactly. Yeah. No more of that. And you know how like some websites have those little pop-up help bubbles? Uh-huh. So with H-E-P, those could be even smarter. They could like offer you personalized advice based on what you're doing, what you've already picked. So if I'm like, yeah, give me that super expensive sound system, it'll be like, okay, maybe we should look at a shorter financing term to keep the payments down. Exactly. So you get it. It's like guidance, not pressure. Right. Exactly. So that's just like the really cool part. Okay. H-E-P works behind the scenes to connect all the different systems that have to be involved in a purchase like this. Remember when we were talking about APIs? Vaguely. That's one of those things where I'm like, yes, that's very important, but I don't actually. Right. Okay. So think of it like a waiter at a restaurant. Okay. Sure. The API takes your order, which is your car purchase with all your customizations, sends it to the kitchen, which in this case is the financing company, the warranty people, all of them, and makes sure everything comes back together the way it should. Okay. So it's like the behind the scenes communicator. So there's no more lost orders, there's no more miscommunication, it's all good. Got it. Got it. So this H-E-P thing, it sounds kind of amazing. When can I actually expect to see it? Well, they said in the podcast they're rolling out H-E-P package one in the UK first. Okay. And they're going to focus specifically on those customizable service plan options and financing options. Why the UK, do we think? I don't know. It could be a few things. They have a really mature automotive market. That's true. Everybody there is already buying cars like all the time. They're also pretty tech savvy and it's like a smaller, more contained market to test things out before they take it global. Yeah. It's like a little test drive for the software. Exactly. Did they give any hints about the timeline for all this? They were a little cagey on actual dates. Okay. But they did say they're hitting all their milestones week by week. Oh, okay. So like right now they're working on integrating with all the different financing providers and making sure that the user experience is super smooth. So they're keeping the specifics under wraps. But it definitely sounds like things are moving right along. Yeah. And knowing that there's a whole team, like laser focused on every single step, that's reassuring. It's not just some random idea, you know. Yeah. Yeah. This is not a drill. This is happening. Okay. So we've talked about why HEP exists, the flexibility it gives, how it actually works, even what their plans are for launching it. Right. But what about the bigger picture? Like this all sounds incredible, but is this really going to change how we buy everything online? Oh, absolutely. Yeah. Imagine buying a house was as easy as ordering a pizza. Okay. You could like customize your mortgage terms, add on a home warranty, get your insurance lined up, maybe even schedule some renovations all in one place. Okay. See, now that is a game changer. That's what I'm talking about. Yeah. What about like everyday things like groceries, clothes, electronics, that kind of stuff? Could HEP work there too? I don't see why not. Imagine like instead of getting all those random product recommendations that make no sense. Right. That have nothing to do with you. You get a shopping experience that's actually like designed for you. So instead of me scrolling through like 8 million pairs of jeans, the website would already know my size, what I like, what I can afford, and just show me good options. Exactly. That's the idea. It's using technology to actually make life easier, not just more like noisy and overwhelming. Right. And I think that's what's so cool about this whole thing. Like HEP isn't just about tricking people into buying more cars. Right. Or even just fixing one industry. This could completely change how we think about buying anything online. Totally. And it really puts more power in the hands of the customer, you know, more transparency, more control, way lower of a headache. It does sound almost too good to be true. It really does. But knowing that there are like actual brilliant people out there right now working on this, that does give me hope. Oh yeah. It's a huge collaborative effort for sure. And it's not just about like the technology itself, right? It's about how it's used. And that's where the human element is still so important. Like designing systems that people actually want to use that are easy and even kind of fun. Yeah. It's like the difference between like a self-driving car that's super clunky and awkward and one that actually feels good to use. Exactly. We want that seamless experience. It's about technology making life better, not just more complicated. Right. Exactly. Exactly. Okay. So we've gone from a podcast about a software package with honestly a kind of boring name It is a mouthful. to like a whole deep dive into the future of how we buy everything. And I got to say, I'm excited. This is cool. As you should be. This is huge. It could change everything. It's a really interesting time to be, you know, a person who buys things. Yeah. It really is. Okay. So here's the final thought for everyone listening. If you could wave a magic wand and just completely customize how you make your next big purchase, what would it be? And how would you want that whole process to work? What would make it amazing for you? Think about it. Until next time, keep exploring, keep asking questions and get those online shopping carts ready. Because the future is coming.