We watch trends to share them with our members and help them capture orders. Forbes shares 35 helpful e-commerce statistics and we picked out a few highlights for you below:
Key Statistics:
20.1% of retail purchases are expected to take place online in 2024.
By 2027, 23% of retail purchases are expected to take place online.
E-commerce sales are expected to grow 8.8% in 2024.
52% of online shoppers report shopping internationally.
A recent study conducted by Jungle Scout reports that many consumers prefer to support small and local businesses for their holiday shopping. 20% reported they will buy holiday gifts from indie stores, up from 10% last year. The report ranks independent retailers in 4th place for in-store shopping, surpassing Costco, Walgreen's Best Buy, Sam's Club, Macy's and Home Depot.
The article shares 53% of consumers bought online from independent stores on Small Business Saturday as reported by ...
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According to a recent RetailDive report, online and mobile purchases for Black Friday sales were the strongest, with smartphone sales leading at 54% of online sales. The article states consumers spent a record $9.8 billion online on Black Friday, according to data from Adobe Analytics. That’s up 7.5% from last year.
Industry experts forecast that consumer spending will be up 2-3% year over year. The National Retail Federation projects 3-4% year over year. Consumers are cautious about ...
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How restaurants, hotels, and tableware brands are using loyalty programs--and what indie stores can learn from this.
October 11, 2023
Perk-y
I recently read about a new loyalty program and wondered what we could learn from it. The founder of Eater and Resy, Ben Leventhal, has started Blackbird, a loyalty program service designed for indie restaurants, reports The New York Times (Read the article). Using the Blackbird app, a diner receives a perk for eating at a restaurant. The retailer sets tiers for which the user qualifies for the perk. For example, a restaurant, Nat’s on Bank in New York City, gives tier 1 customers ...
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Shop Local analyzed the websites for the top-20 selling brands in the tabletop and giftware industries. We assessed what discounts brands offer when one signs up for a newsletter.
Brand Study Findings:
Of the 20 brands, 5 (25%) offer a discount when one signs up for a newsletter.
For brands that offer a discount, the average discount is 15% off.
Some brands offer other promotions for signing up for a newsletter, including free shipping and a raffle entry.
Amazon's $25 free shipping minimum is being hiked up to $35.
In an attempt to better manage operational costs, Amazon has decided to raise its minimum order threshold by 33.33%. Non-Prime members will now need to spend more to qualify for the company's popular free shipping promotion. A likely goal of the company is to force more consumers to purchase the annual Prime membership costing consumers an additional $139 to bypass this higher threshold.
How a company's sales and growth can be affected by the message it conveys to customers.
July 18, 2023
Allbirds stock is down 95% since its November 2021 initial public offering. People may say the company launched the wrong products (did you buy one of their puffer jackets?) or tried to grow too quickly. I believe there is a larger reason: you can’t scale a company by leading with an environmental message—which is Allbirds’s pitch. Consumers rank saving the planet as one of their least pressing concerns when making a purchase. The leading factors consumers look for when ...
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How to access your built-in marketing tools via the Marketing Manager page.
July 12, 2023
Your Shop Local Store has a new feature: We've made it easier to view and manage your marketing tools. Your account includes several built-in tools and programs, which can now be quickly accessed through the new Marketing Manager page.
The Marketing Manager page displays the following promotions in a table:
Offer Free Shipping.
Display a "Thank you for shopping local" banner on the checkout pages.
Shop Local analyzed the websites for the top-40 selling brands in the tabletop and giftware industry. We assessed what promotions and discounts, such free shipping, brands offer. Shop Local did this because a product's price, which is impacted by discounts, is often the leading factor when shopping online. 70% of the brands surveyed by Shop Local offer free shipping.
*Free shipping only available to US retailers. Restrictions apply.
Valid Until July 28, 2023
We hope to see all of you at this week’s Atlanta Summer Market 2023 as we are celebrating Orrefors’ 125th anniversary this year and have launched a lot of great newness in the tabletop, giftware, home décor, entertainment, and ...
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Nice to see this sign at an indie store, The Art of Simple, in Seaside, Florida.
“You may not know this, but if you shop with Amazon.com, you are not supporting small local businesses. If you want Amazon to be the world’s only retailer, keep shopping online at Amazon.com.
If you enjoy shopping in our store, buy from us. We appreciate your support. Thank you.”
If I were asked, I’d recommend these tweaks to this:
I was happy to see Tableware Today magazine share our experiences and lessons regarding the power of free shipping.
You're invited to read the article below:
.........................
THE LAST WORD
FREE SHIPPING PAYS OFF
by JASON SOLAREK
Most indie stores don’t have the technical ability or people power to track pricing and offer discounts like free shipping. Indie stores need this information or they’ll be left behind. This information can make a difference: in ...
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Bridge analyzed the websites for the top-40 selling brands in the tabletop and giftware industry. We assessed what promotions and discounts, such free shipping, brands offer. Bridge did this because a product's price, which is impacted by discounts, is often the leading factor when shopping online. More than 67% of the brands surveyed by Bridge offer free shipping.
How having the right defaults makes decisions easier for clients and helps them be more successful.
January 27, 2023
When you look at your driver’s license, it lists if you’re an organ donor. Twenty years ago, only 20% of people were donors, but today 80% are—thereby saving millions of lives. Did people become more kind? No, the question on the application was changed from opt-in to opt-out. People signing up for or renewing a license are now by default enlisted in organ donation. Lesson: the right default answer in medical care can save millions of lives. Similarly, the right defaults ...
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More than 65% of brands surveyed by Bridge offer free shipping, while just 14% of indie stores do. Brands often charge just $118 to quality for free shipping, while stores charge $190 (a $72 difference). Where would you shop?
Bridge analyzed the websites for the top-40 selling brands in the tabletop and giftware industry. We assessed what promotions and discounts, such free shipping, brands offer. Bridge did this because a product's price, which is impacted by discounts, is often the leading ...
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Great news: I have created another special training video for retailers for the holiday season. In this video, I share three easy steps to help you promote free shipping to help increase your holiday sales.
My training covers:
Add free shipping to your account settings.
Add a banner promoting free shipping, sales and/or events.
Add a slide promoting free shipping, sales and/or events.
Offering free shipping will help you increase your sales opportunities because customers will look...
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When we talk about prices, there are two prices that are important:
The price that we charge clients.
The price our clients charge their customers.
We normally talk about the former, aka how our prices compare with other competitors, like Shopify or wholesale services like Faire.
Of increasing importance to us is what our retailers charge their customers. Walmart recently announced that it was taking brands to account and pressuring them to keep ...
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A customer emailed me today and told me that she only ordered from a store because it offered free shipping. She reviewed many stores, and skipped over those that did not offer free shipping. Her message to me:
..............
I live in Atlanta, GA. I noticed when I was trying to find this plate that several of the sites were using the same e-commerce platform. I noticed that some had free shipping and some did not. So of course, I went with the company that provided free ...
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Your Bridge now helps more customers learn about your free shipping offer. If your store offers free shipping, a blue banner will display at the bottom of a product's Results and Details pages.
Before this update, customers would have to view their shopping bag in order to view your store's free shipping offer.
In the example, we see a Juliska Berry & Thread Whitewash Dinner Plate.
At the bottom of the page, we see the blue free shipping banner displayed.