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Over the past two months, digitally native startups have been some of the biggest beneficiaries of store closures. Part of this growth was due to the fact that shoppers had fewer options. Now, shoppers have more options as stores open back up in more states. The coming months will prove just how much of the growth direct-to-consumer brands experienced was a flash in the pan.
Brooklinen's marketing team explains why customer feedback is valuable during a crisis. Checking with the audience helped them modifying tone and content, target offline customers and make them comfortable with e-commerce, and leverage existing social media resources to further build customer loyalty.
Running different channels requires skills and discipline. Brand consistency is key, especially when many channels are involved internationally and across different touch points. Ask “what are the reasons to come to the site and why is the experience special?” said Ugly Drinks CEO Hugh Thomas.
Over the past year, Facebook hasn't been shy about its e-commerce ambitions. So, it didn't come entirely as a surprise on Tuesday when Facebook announced that it would be launching customizable online storefronts called Facebook Shops, as part of its quest to get customers to think of Facebook and Instagram as their go-to places to discover new products. Shopify is largely considered to be the go-to e-commerce provider from direct-to-consumer brands, and as such, stands to benefits the most right now from Facebook's aggressive e-commerce push.
CBD beverage brand Recess just launched a redesigned website, alongside some new revenue streams. The company now has subscriptions, a line of merchandise and a new ordering system for wholesale vendors. Its national expansion plans are starting to come into sharper focus.
People are sheltering in place and they're also adopting pets. As a result, pet food startups have seen a huge boom over the last few months. This tracks with other bigger players shutting their doors and seeing shipping delays. While things begin to normalize the question remains whether these new entrants will be able to keep momentum.
Now that companies have roughly two months of working remotely under their belts, all CEOs are grappling with if, and when, they should call employees back to the office. Many CEOs are trying to figure out exactly what that will look like. For some, it may mean getting a smaller space. For others, scrapping offices altogether.
Over the last three month, consumer behaviors have shifted -- and the strategies behind retail expansion have changed dramatically. At this week’s Modern Retail +Talk, Iris Nova’s founder and CEO Zak Normandin explained why the pandemic is a test for DTC brands that are hoping to maintain a brick and mortar presence.
From fitness and wellness, to snacks and lunches, employers are coming to terms with transitioning on-premise benefits to their teams virtually. To offset potential churn -- and even potentially add new clients -- some B-to-B players in charge of stocking startups’ kitchens and providing corporate gym memberships, are expanding what they offer to meet clients where they are. Here are some of the business changes brands have recently made.
Branch Basics normally signs up about 900 new customers a week. In March and April, that number sometimes jumped to 1,400. But Branch Basics isn't the only subscription startup that saw a bump in new subscribers over the past month or two. This uptick in new customers for subscription services correlates with stay-at-home orders being issued across the U.S.
California's soft store re-openings are being spearheaded by local businesses and smaller startups. The DTC brand Vuori, for example, is starting with curbside pickup but is already strategizing what re-opened stores will look like.
2020 was the year East Fork ceramics planned to become profitable. Now, that's likely no longer on the table, but the company is using a new model to better handle its balance sheet: pre-sales. Now, new product lines will all be for sale before they're manufactured, as a way to get capital in as early as possible.
Just because CAC is down, it doesn't mean aggressive marketing is right for everyone, said Mike Duda at this week's Modern Retail+ Talks. He explained what the new landscape means for DTC brands' future and how to think about longterm growth.
Direct-to-consumer startups have been thinking for weeks about how and when they want to re-open their stores. But as the time has come to re-open stores in some states, no one has any better idea of what the right path forward is than they did six weeks ago.
SmileDirectClub just got a new patent awarded pertaining to its orthodonture technology. The company now says it will use this patent to sue competitor Candid and have all of its retail locations shut down. It's the latest tactic the DTC teeth straightening brand has employed to regain positive business momentum.
As bot-driven fraud eats into budgets, marketers are placing a heightened focus on identifying the characteristics that account for authentic audience humanity.
Many retailers and companies rely on people testing out their products. But with social distancing in place and many stores closed, that gets much more difficult. For some, it may mean sampling is completely off the table. For others, it means introducing new operations and safeguards that were never thought of before.
Read MoreExclusively for Modern Retail+ members: Hear from Connie Matisse, Co-founder and CMO and Alex Matisse, Co-founder and CEO at East Fork Ceramics, on how to maintain brand loyalty during a time of tumult.
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