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Streaming and CTV have taken on new importance over the past year, both as people are watching more TV during the pandemic, and amidst an upheaval in digital marketing. As a result, DTC brands are speeding up their efforts to test out TV advertising, to break up their reliance on Facebook and Google.
When Walmart's chief marketing officer William White joined the company last May, America's largest retailer was in rapid response mode. During a video chat at the Modern Retail Summit last week, White spoke about how the company had to shift its marketing strategy during the coronavirus pandemic last year, as well as how his team is trying to make Walmart a "culturally and emotionally relevant brand.
E-commerce technology is the new gold rush. New data from CB Insights showcases just how hot the e-commerce space is. In the first quarter of 2021, funding for e-commerce startups hit $11.7 billion -- up from $2.8 billion in the first quarter of 2020 and $5.2 billion in the first quarter of 2019. It showcases an industry-wide realization: more VCs are investing in e-commerce startups and more businesses are adopting digital features to make their businesses omnichannel.
At last week's Modern Retail Summit, professionals came together and spoke about how they're thinking about some of the industry's most pertinent problems, like how to stand out on Amazon and preparing for a post-cookie landscape. Leaders from top brands described the trials and tribulations they faced over fireside chats, and attendees shared persistent thorns in their sides at break out working groups.
Businesses went into 2021 expecting in-person business events to become a part of the media and marketing calendars again. And while it looks like momentum for that won’t really begin building until the fall, there is momentum nonetheless, according to new Digiday Media Research.
Most people think Amazon's advertising revolves predominately around search. But the e-commerce giant's tentacles expand in many other directions. At Modern Retail's Amazon U event, we drilled down on video advertising. Here's our guide, featuring the top insights from the event.
Oatly wants to become the go-to alternative to dairy all around the world. In order to do so, the oat milk brand just filed to go public in the U.S. Oatly's rise has been rapid -- a Swedish company, Oatly Group AB only started selling its products in the U.S. in 2017. And last year, it had revenue of $421.4 million compared to just $204 million in 2019. What's fueled Oatly's rise is not only rapid international expansion, but also a bet on buzzy chains to help it gain brand awareness.
On Tuesday, Katrina Lake, announced that she would be stepping down as CEO in August. Replacing her is Elizabeth Spaulding, who joined Stitch Fix as president last January after spending 20-plus years at Bain & Company. Lake's resignation comes as Stitch Fix has been investing in giving customers more ways to buy and select clothes, which hints at what Stitch Fix's next phase of growth under Spaulding might look like.
Over half a dozen ad platforms -- including Bidstack, Frameplay, AdInMo and InMobi -- offer some version of an in-game ad service, and they are increasingly attracting the attention of major companies. In the past few months, Postmates, Burberry, Axe, Burger King, Asda and 7 Eleven have all run ads within video games like Off the Rails 3D and Gravity Zero -- suggesting that in-game advertising, while still very niche, is becoming a real consideration in retail marketing.
At Digiday Media’s “Amazon U: Amazon Beyond Search” event, industry insiders shared current best practices, case studies and tips on how to make Amazon work for your brand in 2021. This was the first of three events focusing on different parts of the Amazon ecosystem.
Two resale apps, Poshmark and ThredUp, have gone public within the past three months, and as a publicly-traded companies, now face more pressure to maintain revenue growth, namely expanding into new products and services. But, the biggest challenge standing in the way of these companies' expansion plans, analysts say, is in ensuring that people keep wanting to sell products through their sites.
The pandemic was tough on physical retail. With month after month of physical stores closed and brands shifting much of their attention to the rapidly growing e-commerce business, it seemed inevitable that brands would pull away from their brick-and-mortar investments. Glossy and Modern Retail research shows that, indeed, many brands dropped out of physical retail during the pandemic. However, brands are already planning to reinvest in physical retail as the market opens back up over the next six months.
We're now a year out since the pandemic first hit, and brands and retailers are beginning to make more concerted steps to grow their businesses. According to a recent Modern Retail and Glossy survey, 42% of brands are already spending more on advertising than they were during the past year. That is to say, companies are beginning to think about growth rather than survival.
Global e-commerce sales grew 27.6% year-over-year, an increase from the 20.2% growth seen in 2019. This isn't surprising -- people were stuck at home during a pandemic and most relied on the internet to buy their essentials. But for brands, this meant they needed to upgrade their digital offerings. And those investments are only going to increase. A recent survey from Modern Retail and Glossy highlights the changes that brands and retailers made over the last year.
Brands and retailers have had to get creative over the last year to survive the harsh reality of the pandemic, like pivoting to e-commerce and direct sales. But one strategy was particularly noteworthy: launching into new categories. According to a survey that Glossy and Modern Retail conducted of 98 brand and retailer employees, 57.3% of respondents said their employer launched new categories over the last year.
A California court just deemed Amazon liable for a faulty product sold by a third-party seller. The ruling, if nothing else, solidifies that Amazon has a real liability risk in California. “It’s going to carry a lot of weight in California,” one lawyer said.
Read MoreAt the Modern Retail Virtual Forum, we’ll bring together senior retail marketers to discuss the challenges they’re facing and the solutions they’re seeking in the era of smarter retail.
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