Wednesday, May 24

📦 Brands are punishing frequent returners

📰 TL;DR - There’s a new solution being used to punish customers who return items too frequently: withholding promotions. Returns can be a huge (and expensive) headache, and serial returners are out there, adding to the problem. Technology from a company called Bloomreach can track returns, pinpoint repeat offenders, and stop them from getting promo codes and other deals. It’s one of many tactics brands have been using to deter returns, including charging return fees.

💡 Insight - The problem with punishing shoppers for returns, whether by withholding deals or charging fees, is that customers really don’t like that. Having this in your return policies may even deter shoppers from buying in the first place. That’s why other brands are going in the opposite direction and trying to incentivize shoppers to keep purchases with discounts on their next purchase. Which tactic do you think works better?

➡️ You can read the article here...

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🔥 TikTok determined to crack e-comm in the West

📰 TL;DR - According to this report from FT, TikTok is restructuring its e-commerce arm to beef up its efforts in the US and UK. TikTok Shop staff from Brazil are being relocated to these markets. They’re also delaying further expansion, signaling they want to get things right in the US and UK before branching out again. We also have some evidence that when shopping down work, at least in the UK, it’s due to regular videos with product links — not livestream shopping.

💡 Insight - There are a lot of juicy, but anonymous, tidbits in this report. Including that the full US Shop rollout is potentially in June. Apparently, they’ve had trouble getting small businesses on board. TikTok has denied any delay, but, well, where are the goods then? I’m wondering if going after local businesses was the mistake — I’m sure there are plenty of digitally native DTC brands that’d be down for TikTok Shop.

➡️You can read the article here...

😮 The next phase of personalization

📰 TL;DR - Personalization is a huge buzzword in e-comm and one of the advantages DTC has in particular. Women’s Wear Daily spoke to Rohan Deuskar, founder and chief executive officer of Stylitics, who had some interesting insights. The main one is that personalization is now more about understanding where shoppers are in the moment and the context of their shopping journey. And less about making up some categories and sticking shoppers in them.

To quote Rohan: “As individuals, our product preferences, price sensitivity, decision-making speed, return habits and various other factors are influenced by our mood, the season, specific events or occasions and many other variables.“

💡 Insight - If you’re wondering okay but how the answer lies in (what else) AI. It’s fair to say AI is going to change just about every aspect of e-commerce, and personalization is chief among them. With AI, you can better understand and predict customer’s habits in the moment. That’s the kind of tech and apps you should be on the lookout for.

➡️You can read the article here...

🛠️ Things worth checking out

 😎 TWITTER 2.0 - Instagram is supposedly working on a Twitter competitor. Given that Meta already has e-comm and ad tools, that’s very intriguing! Read here.

 🤑 BUZZFEED - BuzzFeed is launching its own e-commerce shop to tie in with its wellness vertical, Goodful. Word is it will have third-party brands. Read here.

👀 AMAZON - In the marketplace space? Here are five tips for selling on Amazon. Check it out here.

🗣️ GEN Z - What does Gen Z want from e-comm payments? Find out here.

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