Tuesday, September 26

#1 - 🛒 One-page Shopify checkout is here

📰 TL;DR - Shopify’s president Harley Finkelstein announced on Monday that the platform is officially launching one-page checkout for all merchants. They teased this was coming and first started rolling it out to Plus merchants and some regular merchants, but everyone will have it soon. According to an email I got, the official switchover is October 2, but according to this help page, some accounts can go make and switch over immediately. Either way, it’ll be available for everyone soon. This blog post also has more info about why Shopify is making the change.

💡 Insight - One-page checkout will be the new standard, especially with Shopify now making it the norm. Every metric I’ve seen shows that customers prefer checkout to be as quick and seamless as possible, so this should be a built-in conversion booster. Essentially it extends the benefits of Shop Pay to every option, which is a great thing. Shopify claims the switch should be seamless and “upgrade-safe,” so let’s hope that’s true!

➡️ You can read Harley’s LinkedIn post here...

#2 - 🇺🇸 TikTok Shop’s existential threat to America

📰 TL;DR - TikTok has come under a ton of scrutiny from the US government — you may remember the very cringy hearings last March. Well, this op-ed makes the case that the real threat from TikTok to the US is the rise of TikTok Shop. The writer argues that cross-border commerce, enabled by TikTok Shop, jeopardizes US economic sovereignty. The fact is that TikTik Shop, aside from the independent brands that have been slow to sign up, is largely goods made in and shipped from China. This digs into exactly why China has had such dominance in this sector.

💡 Insight - This argues that China controlling both social and commerce is a threat, and fair enough. Both social platforms and marketplaces based in the US, like Amazon, have been more than happy to profit from Chinese trade. This also ends with a good point — none of this is going to change unless the US government makes major investments in everything from nearshoring, to manufacturing, to transportation. I’ll also say that so many DTC brands are bucking this trend by choosing domestic or even hyperlocal manufacturing and sourcing.

➡️ You can read the article here...

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

#3 - 📆 Don’t forget Labor Day!

📰 TL;DR - A new report found that Labor Day is displacing BFCM as the top-performing holiday sales event for small to mid-sized retailers. More than half the respondents in the survey (53%) said Labor Day brought more sales in 2022, compared to 44% who said Cyber Week. The survey also dug into some more holiday trends, such as that almost half of the brands surveyed plan to launch 2023 holiday deals by September, and 70% by Halloween. As well, they said the holidays are a massive time for returns and some are planning to combat this with making items final sale, shortening return time windows, and charging more for shipping.

💡 Insight - Well it’s too late to take advantage of Labor Day this year, but it does show that autumn brings out shoppers. I think some of that may be back-to-school shopping, but I’ve also noticed a general trend of more brands offering great deals for Labor Day and other non-Thanksgiving long weekends. And on returns, here’s your reminder to get ready. If you’re planning to adjust your policies for the holidays, get those changes in now. One thing to consider is a fee for returns, there’s definitely been a trend of big retailers doing just that. Customers don’t love it, but H&M for example waives the fees if you’re a loyalty member, so there are ways to get strategic.

➡️ You can read the article here...

#4 - 🛠️ Things worth checking out

😎 SHOPIFY PLUS - Shopify Audiences has added new integrations with ad platforms like Snap, TikTok, and Criteo. Read here.

💿 PRODUCTS - Read a roundup of the latest e-commerce product releases.

📈 TRENDS - Here’s Ad Age’s latest roundup of the latest DTC marketing news and trends.

💃🏽 TIKTOK - The Indonesian government will soon decide the fate of social commerce like TikTok Shop.

🥫 FLY BY JING - The popular brand that makes chili crisps and other goods its expanding its retail presence with Target. Read here.

#5 - 📦 Shein to bring inventory to the US

📰 TL;DR - Low-cost shopping app Shein is planning to bring more apparel and home goods to US warehouses to speed up shipping. The brand is known for its ultra-cheap goods, but also for taking ages to ship. Shoppers might save some money, but they end up waiting two weeks or more for their orders. That makes it difficult for Shein to compete with Amazon, Walmart, Target, etc., and this move will help correct that.

💡 Insight - I think it’s fair to say this makes Shein more of a threat. Cheap and fast is a compelling combination for shoppers. That’s why I’d like to remind you that as a DTC brand, marketing yourself as affordable may not be the move. Rather, your marketing should be built around your value. Trying to compete with Shein, Temu, and now TikTok Shop is probably a losing proposition. Be better, not cheaper.

➡️ You can read the article here...