🔮 Twenty Trendy Three: (Modern) Retail Edition
Modern Retail has published their list of predictions for 2023, in their traditional In/Out style.
Most look like common sense adaptations to the current reality (which means that the “Out” list could be a big risk/reward opportunity if that’s your cup of tea), but here are the ones that jumped out at me:
- Walmart over Target - guessing this is deals and digital winning the day, with an emphasis on savings*
- Cyber Week over Cyber Monday and Holiday shopping in October over Holiday shopping in November - both show the extended and earlier shopping seasons are here to stay and the longer timelines are likely a sign of more deal hunting, patience over pouncing
- Podcasts over Substacks - time to rethink my distribution model?
- SMS over Email - we trying to kill email again? SMS is getting a lot of hype for high engagement rates, seems to be operating as the new double opt-in list
- Affiliate over Earned Media - why try to catch the eye of a New York Times reporter when you can shoot for a Wirecutter list?
Another trend Modern Retail reported on separately is the evolution of DTC sites.
Executives at direct-to-consumer startups say they are now putting more resources into redesigning their homepages, blogs and FAQ sidebars to guide customers along the shopping journey. They’re providing more details about ingredients and product differentiation, alongside educational videos and blog posts in the hopes of raising conversion rates.
This is, in part, because branching out to more sales channels means:
there is more pressure to offer something exclusive to their DTC customers, whether it’s a product, service or storytelling.
The takeaways are:
- Be mobile first, and maybe copy from social app mechanics
- Educate and inform
*Speaking of deals, another Chinese app is hot like hansel in the US, but this time it’s coupons instead of content. The app is Temu, a marketplace selling (mostly) unbranded Chinese products for crazy low prices. Shipping isn’t Prime fast, but fast enough to signal a potential shift to cost over convenience.