Monday, August 7

#1 - 👀 Who Solo brands is going in on wholesale

📰 TL;DR - Solo Brands has a portfolio of DTC brands and it’s reaping the rewards of going hard on wholesale. Before, it was a split of about 80% and 20% wholesale, now it’s more like 70/30. They’ve specifically chosen wholesale over opening standalone retail and have increased profitability along the way. Another advantage of this strategy is that the time of year DTC slows is when wholesale orders tick up, keeping revenue stable. Another key element is stocking wholesale with marquee products, while leaving accessories and other goods on DTC channels, so they’re capturing sales on both channels.

💡 Insight - This piece has a ton of great details about how DTC and wholesale can work in harmony. It also seems to be the trend now. For a while, a ton of brands seemed most interested in opening their own retail locations or concept pop-ups, but wholesale is probing to have staying power and fewer associated costs. There’s been a slew of announcements this year of DTC brands entering wholesale, rather than standalone retail, and I expect that trend to continue as digital marketing gets tougher.

➡️ You can read the article here...

#2 - 🤔 Do appliances need an e-comm revolution?

📰 TL;DR - I was recently reading about how appliances are something most people still go into a store for, but why? This report reveals there are a ton of missed opportunities for appliances in the DTC space. DTC is a key channel, one that appliance sellers have left behind. In fact, most shoppers will visit an appliance brand’s website while considering a purchase, but then don’t actually complete that purchase on the site. But why? Some of the factors identified include pricing issues, shipping availability, quality of the website, and after-purchase support.

💡 Insight - All I can think about is mattresses. There was a time when if you wanted a mattress, you had to visit your local store and lie on a few. But then Endy, Casper, and the rest of them came along and completely changed how we purchase a new bed. I think major appliances are overdue for the same kind of shake-up. Granted, it’s a hard space to work in due to the technological and financial demands, but I can foresee it happening one day soon.

➡️ You can read the article here...

📣 If you want to reach our audience of 10,000+ DTC store owners, tap here 

#3 - 👶🏼 Get to know Gen Alpha

📰 TL;DR - Move over Gen Z, there’s a new cool young cohort that marketers have their eyes on. Gen Alpha is very close to coming of age and they’ve grown up in a world surrounded by digital brands — and they have opinions! This piece gets into what matters to Gen Alpha, and it includes gaming, mental health, and having a sense of purpose. They also already have quite adult tastes. Like, did you know nearly half of Gen Alpha considers Amazon a favorite brand?

💡 Insight - I have two major predictions when it comes to marketing products to Gen Alpha. First, I think we’ll have to get to the point that we acknowledge gaming with the same reverence and emphasis as social media, like TikTok or Instagram. Gen Alpha treats gaming as an extension of their lives, you need to meet them where they’re at. The second is I think we’ll see influencer marketing taken to a new extreme, where Gen Alpha sees it as the primary means of consuming marketing. Traditional advertising will seem like a joke. Just some food for thought!

➡️ You can read the article here...

#4 - 🛠️ Things worth checking out

⚡️ SHOPIFY - Transform your Shopify store with Monk's AOV enhancement app. Elevate cart conversions, upsells, cross-sells, free gifts. 25% lifetime off + extended trial here.

📦 AMAZON - Amazon is deploying a strategy to increase same-day delivery. Read more here.

🚨 PRODUCT ALERTS - Here’s a roundup of the latest e-commerce product releases.

🛒 INSTACART - Instacart has released new features to let retailers have more customizable e-commerce options. Read here.

👟 TIKTOK - As TikTok continues its e-commerce expansion, it’s eyeing pre-owned luxury bags and sneakers. Read here.

#5 - 🚫 Brands crack down on customer perks

📰 TL;DR - Over the pandemic, brands were desperate to get customers back, and that meant doling out perks all over the place. For example, if you mysteriously got airline status, you weren’t alone. Now that things are normalizing, brands are scaling back. You might remember the controversy over Sephora adjusting their birthday gift perk, for example. The focus is now on controlling costs, and those perks don’t come for free. This piece focuses on retail and airlines, but the halo effect impacts DTC.

💡 Insight - A big theme this year in DTC is reaching profitability, and having too many perks makes that harder to do. But how do you balance customer loyalty with your bottom line? I think the trend is more to rewards than flat-out freebies. In any case, it’s always smart to assess whether your loyalty perks make financial sense compared to the revenue they’re creating.

➡️ You can read the article here...