Toby Harris is the founder of 100% Stores, an independent music merchandise company based in West London. In this interview, Toby shares how tools like Shopify, Monday.com, and even AI are helping 100% stay organised, scale globally, and remain proudly independent.
How important is e-commerce to your business?
Toby Harris: It’s central to what we do. Selling records and merch directly to fans is one of the main ways artists can build sustainable careers.
Shopify seems to be a big part of your setup. How does it help you run artist stores?
Toby Harris: Shopify is the engine that powers our online stores. It’s reliable, which is vital — when you launch a new album or limited-edition product, you can get huge spikes in traffic. Shopify handles that without breaking a sweat. It also gives fans a smooth checkout experience with options like Shop Pay, Apple Pay, and PayPal, which makes the process simple and fast. That ease translates directly into more sales for artists as well as higher spend per order.
The other big advantage is the app ecosystem. If we need subscriptions, upsells, or bespoke shipping rules, there’s usually an app we can plug in. That flexibility lets us tailor each store to the artist, rather than forcing everyone into a one-size-fits-all model.
Where does AI come into play with Shopify?
Toby Harris: AI is becoming more and more useful. On the store-building side, we’re using it to generate custom layouts and design tweaks that match each artist’s look and feel, saving us time while keeping everything unique. On the analytics side, AI helps us dig deeper into sales data — spotting patterns in how fans shop, what bundles work, and when the best times are to launch new products. It gives us insights we might otherwise miss, which helps us make smarter decisions for the artists.
Running multiple stores and campaigns must be complex. How do you keep everything organised?
Toby Harris: That’s where Monday.com comes in. We use it as our project management hub. Every release, every merch drop, every campaign is tracked in Monday. We build out boards that show all the moving parts — from manufacturing timelines to to stock deliveries. Everyone in the team can see what’s happening, update progress, and flag issues.
Does AI play a role there as well?
Toby Harris: Definitely. Monday has AI tools that help us set up projects quickly and make sure nothing falls through the cracks. For example, if we’re planning an album release, AI can help create the project structure — tasks, deadlines, dependencies — in minutes. It also helps us keep an eye on timelines, suggesting adjustments if a deadline is at risk. It’s a useful assistant that keeps us one step ahead.
If Shopify powers the front end, and Monday keeps the back end organised. How do they work together for you?
Toby Harris: They complement each other really well. Shopify ensures fans get a reliable, seamless shopping experience. Monday makes sure we deliver on what those fans are promised — whether that’s stock being ready, marketing going live on time, or orders shipping smoothly. Together, they allow a small team like ours to operate at a much larger scale, while still staying hands-on and personal.
Read Also:
Toby Harris Bio on 100% Percent
