Wednesday, October 4

#1 - 🔮 The future of commerce, according to customers

📰 TL;DR - You know better than most how e-commerce is constantly changing, especially over the last few years. This new data from PYMNTS Intelligence looks forward into the future, asking customers what shopping technologies they hope will become available. First up, 41% said they’d love to be able to take a photo of a product and have their phones automatically tell them where to buy it. Another 38% are interested in virtual experiences that allow them to see how a product will look in their home. Some other desires include smart mirrors, virtually trying on clothes, and your smartphone recognizing your commute and suggesting pick-up options along the way.

💡 Insight - Although shoppers definitely still have concerns about privacy and data, it’s exciting to see that they’re also enthused about the innovations the future of commerce can offer. What really stuck out to me is that one of these desires is already available — AR and VR. Think: virtually trying on a lipstick shade, or projecting a new sofa into a real space. What was once a technological hurdle is now relatively accessible. Shopify themes, for example, are designed to handle some of this by default. If you’re interested, start exploring options from Snapchat or even Shopify’s Experts platform to find partners who can make VR and AR happen for you.

➡️ You can read the article here...

#2 - 🚫 An ad-free TikTok may be coming soon

📰 TL;DR - It appears that TikTok is experimenting with offering an ad-free experience to users for a small monthly fee of $4.99. That’s based on a screenshot that’s going around and is presumed to be in USD. This comes as Meta appears to be getting ready to offer its own ad-free version in the EU (at least to start). Part of this is about getting around privacy regulations. Even X/Twitter is reportedly looking at a paid tier as well. Even if these experiments start in Europe, there’s reason to believe they could spread.

💡 Insight - This matters to you because I can only assume you’re dedicating ad dollars to Meta and TikTok. Although I’d bet most people will still opt to keep ads, this could become an issue. That’s why I think it’s important to underscore that you should also be building an organic presence on these platforms. Don’t just run ads — have a profile you feed content to and that’s worth following. On TikTok especially that means understanding the culture of the platform and playing into trends and inside jokes.

➡️ You can read the article here...

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

#3 - 📚 Landing pages 101

📰 TL;DR - Sometimes I think it’s nice to get back to basics, whether you’re new to the DTC world or just need a refresher. Today, it’s landing pages. It’s a term you’ll hear a lot on DTC Twitter, but what are they? Essentially they’re a dedicated page that customers will arrive at from a campaign, whether through email, social, or any sort of ad. Their purpose is to deliver a Call To Action, which in the DTC world is typically to buy a product. They’re useful because simply arriving on your homepage can be overwhelming — a landing page inspires specific action and can be tailored to specific audiences. This guide digs into everything else you need to know.

💡 Insight - Building landing pages is very much an art in the DTC world. There are people who are absolutely obsessed with them, as well as people who dedicate their careers to building them. If you search “DTC landing pages” on Twitter, you’ll see it’s a hot topic, including people who will send you a compilation of them in exchange for a follow/like/comment. My personal reminder to you is that landing pages shouldn’t be a set-it-and-forget-it thing. Each one is an experiment. A/B test. reiterate, edit, tweak, all of that. Have fun with them and follow the data.

➡️ You can read the article here...

#4 - 🛠️ Things worth checking out

☀️ FORECASTING - Here’s a guide from Search Engine Land on how to analyze search demand and forecast fashion trends.

🤖 AI - Practical Ecommerce put four image-to-text AI tools to the test. Read here.

📦 INVENTORY - Another practical guide here, this time for inventory turnover.

🤔 AMAZON - Ever wonder how product visibility works on Amazon? Read this.

💃🏽 TIKTOK - This Q&A dives into how to be successful on TikTok Shop.

#5 - 🛍️ How Gen Zers are shopping for the holidays

📰 TL;DR - So this piece frames the data as that half of Gen Zers will be going to the mall, but I see it as half will be going online. In fact, I’d bet those going to the mall will also shop online. What’s more interesting to me though is where shoppers are getting inspiration. Facebook is top at 35.8%, then YouTube at 24.1%, then TikTok at 23.4%, and lastly Pinterest at 16.2%. That’s overall, though. Shoppers 18 to 29 are mostly looking at Instagram and TikTok, while older shoppers prefer Facebook and Instagram.

💡 Insight - This is a very important reminder to you that with the holidays approaching, young shoppers in particular will basically be using social media like search engines to find gifts — both for others and to put on their own lists. My recommendation is to not forget that SEO matters on TikTok and Instagram. Sure, post some fun stuff, but also be posting product videos and images that are tagged and described in a way that will satisfy the search bar.

➡️ You can read the article here...