Monday, May 29

Today's DTC news, tips, & tools you need to know

📲 The top reasons shoppers like apps

đź“° TL;DR - What would encourage a shopper to buy through an app rather than a website? We have some answers! A new survey finds that “ease of use” (35%), “simplifies my life” (31%), and “saves me time” (27%) are the top reasons. Personal recommendations are also an important driver for app discovery, though searching the app store is still tops.

đź’ˇ Insight - As far as I can tell this survey wasn’t e-comm specific, but there’s something to be learned here. No one is going to use your brand’s app is the shopping experience isn’t an improvement from using a web browser. As for app discovery, I’ve personally downloaded apps most when I get a banner or other prompt while shopping using my mobile browser. It’s also annoying when a shopping app is obviously just the browser experience. If you’re going to go all-in on an app, make it worth it.

đź“Ł Reach 100's of UNTAPPED influencers with this automated influencer marketing assistant

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🧸 Why adults are flocking to buy these toys for kids

đź“° TL;DR - The WSJ has a neat story about Jellycats, a line of plushies with cute little faces that adults apparently love. Despite being targeted at kids, there’s been a trend of adults snapping up these items and building collections. Kind of like what happened with Squishmallows. Why? It’s a mix of nostalgia and self care. Also, naturally, TikTok.

đź’ˇ Insight - This is a great study of how a simple toy for kids can become a viral sensation. There are a few components here that work so well together. First, having Jellycats trends on TikTok (again, like Squishmallows) introduced an older generation to these toys. Next, it’s the perfect emotionally-driven purchase: affordable, completely unnecessary, yet delightful. Is there any part of that you can replicate with your business?

🔥 The top online marketplace is…

đź“° TL;DR - Amazon. It’s Amazon. Betting you could have guessed that! This survey asked 1,000 people about their online marketplace habits, and after Amazon, Walmart, Target, Macy’s, and Chewy were next in line. The number one thing shoppers look for is price, followed by quality. Shoppers also tend to compare several online marketplaces to find the best deal.

đź’ˇ Insight - The valuable information for you here is this: 63% would rather buy directly from a brand’s e-commerce store if the price and shipping options are comparable to a marketplace. That should give you some ideas about how to be competitive with marketplaces if you’d rather shoppers come directly to you.

🛠️ Things worth checking out

 đź¤– CHATGPT - Here’s a handy guide of ChatGPT prompts to use for text analysis — a great idea for checking out the competition. Read here.

 đź‘€ IMAGERY - US retailers are more likely than their European counterparts to use advanced product imaging, such as 3D and AR capabilities. Read here.

🛍️ TIKTOK SHOP - Watch out SE Asia, TikTok Shop is on the rise and threatening brands like Lazada and Shopee. Read more here.

🗣️ VALIDATION - Need some reassurance or guidance for a new product? Try customer validation with this guide here.

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