Thursday, November 16

🗣 Want to get in front of our audience? Start here…

🚨 In today’s newsletter 🚨

• How Stanley became an unexpected viral brand

• Wish launches new services

• A new shopping app that may inspire you

Let’s get into it👇

#1 - 🥤 How Stanley became a viral sensation

📰 TL;DR - This is a great deep dive into tumbler brand Stanley and their rise to viral fame. You might not even know that Stanley’s most viral product is over 100 years old. Originally, the brand targeted workmen and outdoorsmen but they’ve totally transformed themselves by tapping into women. It actually started with The Buy Guide, a third-party shopping blog and Instagram account, who loved it, even though Stanley wasn’t prioritizing it. It soon started selling out and Stanley eventually worked with the blog for a wholesale order. They sold out. Stanley learned from the experience that a pivot was in order.

💡 Insight - This is such an interesting story. It’s crazy to think Stanley wasn’t even thinking about their Quencher, and now there are “Stanley Girlies” on TikTok showing off their massive collections. It’s a great lesson that who you think your target market is might be your best bet. It also shows how you absolutely must be utilizing social listening to understand how consumers are actually interacting with your brand and products. You need to be able to admit when you’re wrong and jump on new opportunities even if they’re unexpected.

➡️ You can read the article here...

#2 - 😵‍💫 Hacking together your 2024 budget with Excel and duct tape?

Annual budgeting and planning season is here. And DTC brands deserve tools that are purpose-built for the job. Less data wrangling and manual analysis, more strategic planning and execution.

➡️ You can get a free custom 2024 budget in 24 hours with Drivepoint.

It’s possible thanks to AI-driven FP&A automation with 1-click data connections to Shopify, Amazon, QuickBooks Online, and NetSuite.

Brands like Oats Overnight, Curology, Graza, and immi already use Drivepoint for everything from budgeting and forecasting to scenario analysis and real-time financial reporting.

Book a personalized demo to learn more, or create your free account and get started right away.

📣 Want to get in front of our audience? Start here… 

#3 - 📦 Wish launches logistics service

📰 TL;DR - Wish has launched its own logistics-as-a-service product, available to brands that aren’t currently selling on Wish. Merchants can leverage Wish’s logistics network across first-mile, international line haul, customs brokerage and last-mile delivery, a release said. It will initially work with shipments from China bound for the UK, France, Germany, the US, and a few other select markets. This comes after Wish introduced flat-rate shipping and on the heels of others launching their own fulfillment services, such as TikTok.

💡 Insight - Are you noticing a trend? Wish is just the latest e-commerce brand to expand to offering logistics services. We’re seeing these companies realize that the networks they’ve built are just as valuable as their bread-and-butter e-commerce businesses. I think that’s good news for all of us — it means more options for logistics as well as increased competition, which theoretically means a race to have the best prices.

➡️ You can read the article here...

#4 - 🛠️ Things worth checking out

🐭 SHOP SMALL - 72% of consumers plan to shop small this holiday season.

😎 GEN Z - Of all the generational cohorts, Gen Z is very adept at product research and price comparison.

🔥 BRANDING - Here are some tips to build a memorable brand identity.

🧶 ETSY - Here’s a thorough guide for getting started with selling on Etsy.

📊 WHOLESALE - These charts show US wholesale trends for Q3.

#5 - 📲 Pottery Barn launches mobile app

📰 TL;DR - Pottery Barn has launched its own mobile iOS shopping app and it comes with some neat features worth noting. First, shoppers can get free help from dedicated Design Crew staff, an extension of what’s available in-store. Shoppers can also create and manage registries and shop from curated rooms. Perhaps the coolest feature is an AR tool to preview pieces in your own home. Plus, the app offers Apple Pay and has social sharing options.

💡 Insight - In yesterday’s newsletter, we had a survey showing how shoppers are eager for mobile shopping apps. Well, here’s an example of how to make such an app worthwhile to customers. It’s not that these features can’t be integrated into a website, but it’s a much more seamless experience on a mobile app. And keeping these features in the app gives shoppers a reason to download it. If you’re going to launch an app, include features shoppers can’t get from your website and integrate tools like AR to keep it fresh.

➡️ You can read the article here...