Ecommerce Strategy Insights

Ecommerce stores can learn a LOT from brick and mortar. 'Digital marketing' isn't really a thing anymore - it's just marketing. Software and the internet ate the world. The lines between physical and digital are blurring, if they still exist at all. And the best brands treat their ecommerce experience a lot like an IRL store. → Personalization: Just as a good retail salesperson in a physical store can help a first time shopper or remember a returning customer’s preferences, ecommerce platforms should leverage data to personalize the shopping experience. → Immersive experiences: Brick-and-mortar stores have the advantage of creating sensory-rich environments. Ecommerce stores can replicate this by investing in high-quality content, virtual try-ons and 360-degree product views. There used to be an excuse that your product is 'difficult to sell online', but it's been busted. If people buy sunglasses, mattresses, and cars online - then you can definitely find a way to make your product more immersive. → Trustworthy customer service: For many shoppers, a helpful store assistant can make or break a sale. Ecommerce stores should focus on excellent customer service through live chat, and responsive customer support that goes the extra mile. → Leverage Data for continuous improvement: Physical stores often use foot traffic and sales data to optimize store layouts and merchandise. Ecommerce stores should use website analytics to understand customer behavior, optimize the sales funnel, and refine the user journey. It’s a no-brainer for brands to gather heat maps and customer feedback to unlock valuable insights into improving the online shopping experience. → Omnichannel: Successful brands integrate their online, offline, and marketplace channels to create a cohesive shopping experience. Features like BOPIS, Buy with Prime, and seamless returns across channels can enhance customer convenience and satisfaction. → Community engagement: Brick-and-mortar stores often serve as community hubs, hosting events and fostering a sense of belonging. Ecommerce brands should build communities with their audience so customers can engage with each other, as well as with the brand directly. → Innovative tech stack: IRL stores are investing heavily into technology, from POS to loyalty and beyond. Your ecommerce experience should feel fresh, easy, and exciting if you’re going to stand out in a sea of competitors. Ensuring that promotions, loyalty programs, and customer data are unified across channels strengthens brand consistency. Anything I'm missing?

From the explosive growth phase of 2010 to 2018, when email marketing, mobile marketing, and app marketing were skyrocketing, to today in 2024, when the scene is utterly saturated with countless tools spanning every feature and price point imaginable. Here's a candid rundown of where we stand now, and how we're shifting our strategy to stay ahead and help scale with these changes 1. Setting the Stage: The current Ecommerce landscape - The focus was heavily on pouring immense budgets into customer acquisition. The return on investment has been diminishing as the market becomes more saturated. - Ecommerce owners & marketers are overwhelmed with an arsenal of tools, each promising the silver bullet for personalization campaigns and content but instead are siloed in their view and complicating the overall shopper lifecycle campaign execution. - Data from different tools don’t integrate, leading to a tedious manual process to piece insights together. - The more tools onboarded the more support is needed. And support for these platforms? Expensive ... adding more strain on resources. 2. Our Strategic Shift to help marketers - We're cutting down the unnecessary steps to conversion, making every shopper touchpoint frictionless and more direct. - We're transforming how traditional push messaging channels like email, sms, whatsapp and rcs function, turning them from mere touchpoints & redirects to powerful conversion tools. I’ll delve deeper into this transformation in separate posts. - Gone are the days of fragmented data. We're bringing all relevant data into a single, coherent source of truth that informs all our strategies. This means marketers can now make decisions faster and more accurately, aligning every strategy directly with real-time market dynamics. - Instead of juggling multiple tools, we centralized our platform into one robust stack that can handle marketing across all channels, effectively and at scale. Shopper is on the web, convert them there... they are on email, convert them in email..always convert in channel vs. a bounce off channel and brand...no distractions. - All necessary support now comes without additional cost, aligning with our ethos of providing value without nickel and diming our customers. TAKEAWAY Navigating the crowded MarTech space has been challenging. The array of tools available made digital marketing an overwhelming task, especially when trying to sync and compare data across different platforms. The smarter move? Embracing a unified platform that not only simplifies marketing efforts but also offers comprehensive insights—all under one roof. - This not only streamlines operations but significantly enhances our understanding of customer behaviors and campaign impacts. As we move forward, this consolidation will prove to be not just beneficial, but ESSENTIAL for staying competitive in a crowded market.

Thank you very much to the 8,200+ readers of the #ecommert newsletter and industry professionals. First-party data emerges as a vital asset for retailers, especially with the decline of third-party cookies. Most retailers, however, are not fully harnessing the potential of this data. In our conversations with our CPG clients and based on the research by leading institutions. I observe that there are four levers to improve the structured collection and utilization of first-party data: 📍Advanced loyalty programs  📍Personalized content and offers  📍Retail media solutions  📍Data monetization ++ My Observations ++ 📍Many #retailers have yet to structure and fully utilize first-party customer #data. But the race is heating up; there are so many investments in this field, I know for a fact from our ongoing projects. 📍Yes, innovative #loyalty programs and personalized content can drive significant engagement and revenue. Most CPGs are trying to cut the middlemen and build robust in-house platforms to capitalize on this trend fully rather than paying for the intermediaries and service providers. 📍This approach opens new profit opportunities with suppliers through retail media solutions and data monetization. I am working in this field personally. 📍The synergistic effect of these strategies creates a powerful financial impact. The measurement of this impact is another hot topic trending right now. ++ Where the Opportunity Lies for Retail & CPG ++ The Transformative Power of First-Party Data: In the face of the "cookie apocalypse" and the end of third-party cookies, first-party data emerges as a critical asset. Individually, each lever can drive revenue and profit, but collectively, they create a robust flywheel effect that significantly enhances financial performance. ++ Industry Examples from the US and Europe ++ (...) In summary, in the USA, retailers like Amazon, Costco, Target, and Walmart are leveraging first-party data to enhance their retail media strategies. In Europe, the UK and Germany stand out for their growth in RMNs, driven by high eCommerce penetration and advanced digital capabilities. Across the EMEA region, the focus is on leveraging first-party data through loyalty programs in response to strict data privacy laws and the decreasing availability of third-party data. ++ Addressing Shortcomings: Buy, Build or Collaborate ++ (...) When a retailer identifies areas of deficiency, they must choose the optimal approach to remedy these gaps: developing the required capabilities internally, acquiring an external entity possessing these capabilities, or engaging in a collaborative effort. Collaborations could be joint ventures, minority investments, or strategic alliances. Click the image below to read the full article. 👇 #ecommert for #ecommert #strategy, #digitalshelf and #retailmedia

If a house 🏠 is only as strong as it’s foundation, then your #ecommerce strategy is only as strong as your understanding of the keywords shoppers use to navigate your categories. There are 5 foundational questions every brand leader should be asking about keywords at all times to reverse engineer the right steps for growth: 1. “What keywords are people most searching for in my categories that represent the highest potential for us to increase our share of search?” = Category strategy 2. “What products in my portfolio can win these keywords organically if we improve the right content levers?” = #SEO strategy 3. “What keywords must we heavily use sponsored ads to win because our organic presence isn’t strong enough?” = Paid search strategy 4. “What high growth keywords are we not addressing at all with our current product assortment that don’t have strong competitors?” = Innovation / Aquisition strategy 5. “How do we continuously adapt all of the above to account for dynamic changes in keyword search behavior and differences across retailers and categories and how do we ensure our keyword bets are driving market share?” = #digitalshelf data strategy I’ve said this before but I believe the amount of time ⏳you spend understanding what keywords matter for your brands is proportional to your understanding of consumer needs and a strong predictor of growth. When’s the last time you did a true, holistic audit of your keyword strategy? 🔎

HOW Gap, Feather, Boxed, AND Walmart incubation arm think about pricing, planning and merchandising. 🌟 Exciting News! 🌟 I had the incredible opportunity to sit down 1:1 with the phenomenal Bellamy Grindl, a retail strategy powerhouse known for her transformative work with leading brands like Gap, Feather, Boxed, and within Walmart incubation arm. Our discussion uncovered invaluable insights into the art and science of pricing, merchandising, and strategic inventory management that are shaping the future of e-commerce. 🔍 Key Takeaways: Price Elasticity: Surprisingly, many brands overlook the power of price, especially with new products, actual prices and sales. Bellamy emphasizes the importance of not just benchmarking against competitors but truly understanding and leveraging the value your product brings to the table. The right price can significantly boost willingness to pay if the perceived value aligns. Overstock Strategies: Facing an overstock can be daunting; however, Bellamy outlines the necessity of balancing inventory holding costs with pricing strategies to quickly and efficiently clear excess stock without compromising too much on profitability. Assortment Rationalization: As brands grow, the temptation to continuously add new products can overshadow the effectiveness of existing ones. Bellamy advises focusing on the 'hero products' that drive 80% of sales and reevaluating underperformers for potential phase-out or markdown, enhancing overall sales velocity and conversion. 📈 Bellamy's insights are a testament to the strategic depth required in today's retail landscape, where every decision, from pricing to product assortment, must be data-driven and customer-centric. For brands looking to refine their approach to pricing and merchandising, these strategies are not just recommendations but necessities for sustainable growth and profitability. 🎧 Listen to the full clip for a deeper dive into Bellamy's expert strategies and how you can apply them to your brand for maximum impact. PD. full episode in the comments! #RetailStrategy #EcommerceSuccess #PricingStrategy #Merchandising #RetailInnovation Shopify Aument

A few nuggets of wisdom I've extracted from being in e-commerce for a decade. 1.    Crowdfunding isn't just for startups; it can validate and fund new products. 2.    SEO is a long game but costs less than paid advertising in the long run. 3.    Direct-to-consumer (D2C) channels give you more control and data. 4.    Sustainability isn't just ethical; it's increasingly a customer demand. 5.    E-commerce platforms have different fee structures; choose wisely. 6.    Building a brand is more sustainable than selling generic products. 7.    Inventory management software can save you from cash crunches. 8.    Test new markets with dropshipping before committing inventory. 9.    Diversification within your product line can capture more market. 10. Customer service excellence can set you apart from competitors. 11. Regularly review your expenses for any unnecessary outgoings. 12. Leverage business credit cards for short-term financing (wisely). 13. Social proof can drastically reduce customer acquisition costs. 14. Keep an eye on your competitors but focus on your customers. 15. Understand the cost of customer acquisition vs. lifetime value. 16. The right affiliate program can significantly boost your reach. 17. Email marketing has one of the highest ROIs in e-commerce. 18. User-generated content is both authentic and free marketing. 19. International expansion requires local market understanding. 20. Know your numbers: Gross Margin, Net Margin, EBITDA. 21. Keep learning; e-commerce trends are constantly evolving. 22. Influencer marketing should be authentic, not transactional. 23. Protect your cash flow by having a buffer for emergencies. 24. Scale at a pace that doesn't compromise your cash flow. 25. Leverage social media platforms for brand storytelling. 26. Invest in high-quality product images and descriptions. 27. Don't underestimate the power of a strong community. 28. Always be negotiating with suppliers for better terms. 29. Never stop optimizing your operations for efficiency. 30. Data privacy laws are tightening; ensure compliance. 31. Mobile optimization isn't optional in today's market. 32. Automation tools are an investment, not an expense. 33. Use failure as a learning opportunity, not a setback. 34. Customer reviews are gold; actively seek them out. 35. Cash flow is king. Prioritize it over profit on paper. 36. Retargeting campaigns are essential, not optional. 37. Outsource non-core activities to focus on growth. 38. Use analytics to drive decisions, not gut feelings. 39. A solid return policy can actually increase sales. 40. Diversify your sales channels to mitigate risks. 41. Packaging can be a powerful marketing tool. 42. Understand and optimize your sales funnel. Consider every piece of advice here as a starting point, not gospel. That doesn't mean these insights won't apply, but adaptation is key. If there's one common thread, it's this: EXPLORE YOUR OPTIONS. #ecommerce #amazon #strategy