Thursday, April 6

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

♻️ The top brands in resale are...

📰 TL;DR - ThredUp has released its annual report on the state of resale and the future is looking bright. The US resale market is expected to hit $70 billion by 2027 — compared to $39 billion in 2022. As well, 58% of retailers say offering resale options is now a minimum requirement. 

They also listed the top brands in resale. Here are the top 5:

  • Torrid

  • Lululemon

  • Madewell

  • Zara

  • Free People.

💡 Insight - There's a lot of great data in this story, including from the perspective of retailers. I want to zero in on this stat: 82% of Gen Z buyers consider the resale value of apparel before buying it. Even if you don't have a resale channel (and at this point, why don't you?) that says a lot about the level of quality and timelessness Gen Z hopes to find in purchases. As well, 64% of Gen Zers look for an item secondhand before buying it new. Why let someone else make that sale if you could be the one doing it?

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🤔 What DTC founders wish they knew before entering retail

📰 TL;DR - As many DTC brands shift into retail, they've learned some things away. This article speaks with the founders of Care/of, Fishwife, August, and Vacation wish they'd known before hitting store shelves. One big lesson is that retail is expensive. Stores need to have a guarantee that you can meet their stock demands, and that takes capital. And earning that money back can take some time. For that reason alone, getting into retail isn't a move to be made lightly.

💡 Insight - What I found most interesting is that these founders said their DTC marketing actually supports their retail efforts. They in fact invested more in DTC marketing. You don't have to completely upend your marketing strategy when starting in retail, although they did say reworking packaging is important. Altogether, let their growing pains become lessons for you.

 ⛓ Level up your link-building game

📰 TL;DR - Link building is a major facet of a solid SEO strategy, but it can be tough to earn those links. This guide gives advice specifically for e-commerce brands, combining content and reaching out to sites that can help you out. For example, do you know how to find mentions of your brand that don't link back to you? This guide will tell you how. 

💡 Insight - Two things here. First, this shows why building out content on your site can be useful, even if that page itself doesn't directly drive conversions. Second, heed the advice about reaching out and asking for links. When I worked full-time in a newsroom, brands would often reach out and ask me to please link when I'd mentioned them in a piece. And I often would! It's a quick edit and there's no harm in asking.

👋🏽 Brands on what happens if TikTok goes away

📰 TL;DR - This article has quotes from ThredUp, Shein, and Pacsun on how the brands will cope if the TikTok ban actually happens. All of these brands use TikTok a little differently. ThredUp prioritizes other platforms, Shein relies on UGC, and Pacsun is very active. As you might guess, it's Pacsun that's most vocal about how losing TikTok would be disappointing.

💡 Insight - What I really take away from this is: don't panic. Social media platforms come in waves of popularity and if TikTok goes away, users will inevitably flow to another platform. It's your job to follow them. As the co-CEO of Pacsun says: "Wherever the customer is, we want to be there."

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