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Interlace Ventures managing partner Joseph Sartre spoke on the most recent episode of our Modern Retail Talk series about what headless commerce is and why he thinks it's going to be the future for online merchants -- especially now. Modern Retail Talk is our video series where we discuss the latest retail news, as well as dive into issues experts in the space are facing.
On the latest episode of our Modern Retail Talk series, we spoke with Forrester's Sucharita Kodali about what she's observing in this brand new climate. The pandemic, she said, "set the retail industry back about five years." The good news, however, is that "there should be a fairly decent rebound."
Skincare startup Topicals, which launched earlier this year, has said that it wants to market itself to the idiosyncrasies of Gen Z. With that, much of its content is posted on Twitter or TikTok, rather than Instagram. And its aesthetic and voice has been much more unvarnished rather than the preened tone many people expect from certain brands. On the most recent Modern Retail Talk, Topicals co-founders Olamide Olowe and Claudia Teng spoke about how the company has positioned itself and why it has attempted to rethink its overall brand messaging.
For this week’s Modern Retail Talk, Fly By Jing founder and CEO Jing Gao speaks about her trials and tribulations during the coronavirus. When quarantine in the U.S. first began, Gao said, “sales tripled overnight.” This was thanks to past work the company had been doing: "brand exposure, influencer seeding, paid ads." They all "paid dividends," she said.
For this weeks Modern Retail Talk, Lumi co-founder and CEO Jesse Genet discussed how she approaches the difficult issue of figuring out how to best package a product. Her company works with brands like Curology and Empathy Wines. The secret to good packaging, she said, involves a lot more than just finding a good-sized box and putting the item in it.
For the inaugural episode of our new and improved Modern Retail Talk series -- where we feature a new founder/retail expert every week to discuss a specific issue pertinent to the new reality we're all living in -- Modern Retail (digitally) sat down with co-founder and CEO Matt Alexander about how the company is strategizing its reopening, and what it's learned over the last few month.
United Sodas of America unveiled its line of 12 flavors of low-calorie soda last May, which came after two years of development. At the most recent Modern Retail+ Talk, co-founder and CEO Marisa Zupan said the compant surpassed forecast sales by 5x over the past month. “Learning about people’s behavior at their delivery preference was valuable during this period,” she said.
At this week's Modern Retail+ Talk Saucey founder and CEO Chris Vaughn spoke about how the company, which launched in 2014, has grown and evolved its philosophy on working with brands. In the early days, the platform tried to find any big name in alcohol that would work with it. Today, the service is available in 40 different markets around the United States and finds itself sometimes turning down campaigns.
Running a radical, mission-driven brand can be tricky. East Fork Pottery's Connie Matisse explained at this week's Modern Retail+ Talk the need to integrate values throughout business decision, and why "not everyone needs to be your customers." Consistently defining your company and what you stand for is integral in finding and retaining customers, she said.
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.
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.
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.
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.
Longevity in the coming year will require “re-imagining at home consumption,” said COO Brian Smith, with restaurants and hospitality down at the moment. Here are some takeaways about how the wine brand has strategized in this current economic climate.
"Focus on storytelling right now," said Higgins. “DTC is predicated on having a one-to-one interaction," with the customer that can't be emulated if there is a middleman.
Walmart has big plans to enter the fintech space. Although few retail companies offer financial services in the U.S., e-commerce companies in Asia -- including Alibaba, Rakuten, Shopee and others -- have made themselves into hubs not only for goods but also for everyday banking needs. These companies give out loans to customers, take bank deposits and facilitate transactions that are not directly related to e-commerce -- like paying for utility bills -- and they offer one possible path forward for U.S. retailers looking to add a financial services arm.
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