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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Many brands are growing their DTC (D2C) channels, but a recent report by BMO Capital Markets suggests they may be a shooting themselves in the foot--which their retailers may be happy to hear. The report shares that wholesale is more profitable overall than selling direct.
A few things have enabled brands to grow their DTC aspirations:
Selling to customers via the brand's own e-commerce website.
Tracking customers using social media and ad networks (aka surveillance,
Brands and retailers used to be friends. Now they're: 'frenemies.' Brands continue to use the power of e-commerce websites and social media to work around retailers, as evidenced in this news that Nike is no longer selling to Macy's.
Reports suggest that 50% of purchases start on Amazon.com, and Amazon wants to keep it this way. Yet, businesses and merchants increasingly want to sell their products via their own DTC (direct to consumer) site, retailers' websites, Facebook, Instagram, and more. Due to this, Shopify, which powers many DTC and retailer websites, is a growing thorn in Amazon's dominance of retail. Shopify reportedly helps power more than 30% of online U.S. retail sales.
I visited the New York’s Post website--to get my fill of New York gossip--and I was shown a massive advertisement from a leading tabletop brand. (I have covered the brand's logo with yellow rectangles for the privacy of the brand.) Before visiting the Post's site, I had visited this brand's website. The ads appear because the brand has hired some advertising platform to track me around the web, show me ads, and direct me back to its DTC (direct to consumer) site.
Are brands bypassing stores? A new survey says 'yes' they are: 40% of Americans shopped directly from a brand in the past year, according a Diffussion survey.
Shoppers are choosing to bypass stores because the brands are undercutting them on prices, and offering faster and cheaper shipping.
How are brands getting in front of customers? Answer: Facebook and Instagram. A shopper visits a retailer's website for brand X, then Facebook puts a tracking pixel on the shopper, and then ...
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March 13, 2019
March 13, 2019
Gartner shares that most consumers start their purchase for a brand by using search. Search beats e-mail and social, which makes sense. If you wanted to buy brand X, wouldn't you just go to Google and search for "X"? Of course.
Which then leads us to this point: how well does your business rank for your brands? If a customer Googles brands that you sell, such as X, Y, and Z, where do you rank in Google?
Nice to see Dartington featured in this month's Tableware Today.
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April 11, 2017
April 11, 2017
We have a Dartington shipment coming in soon!
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February 20, 2017
February 20, 2017
Happy President's Day from Glassworks! Come in and get your glass and crystal.
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February 5, 2017
February 5, 2017
Today I enjoyed meeting with shop owners and show exhibitors at NY Now.
Pictured: - Me and Mark Vaughn, owner of Domain XCIV in TX (http://domainxciv.bridgecatalog.com) - Orlando from Dartington with the vendor's best-selling item (a large wine glass). - Beatriz Ball booth (with a Bridge table tent). - Roseann Ferrer from Vista Alegre with the new bull pitcher.