Ecommerce

Website traffic was a valuable metric correlated to growth. Now it may be a vanity metric, not correlated to growth. Search has been disrupted. Visits to your website are declining. So, marketers - what now? The search landscape was already shifting (I talked about this at INBOUND last year). Now, the change is accelerating dramatically: - AI Overviews appear in 43% of Google searches – when they do, organic CTR drops by nearly 35%. - Google’s AI Mode and audio AI overviews are coming – they will cause clicks to collapse further. - More buyers are using LLMs to find information, ChatGPT search in Europe grew 3.7x in six months. So, what should marketers do? And how can AI help? 1. Be everywhere and diversify your channels The days of relying solely on Google search are way over. You need to show up on YouTube, LinkedIn, Instagram, podcasts, and in niche communities. The good news? AI makes multi-channel, multi-format content creation scalable – even for small teams. 2. Be specific with context In the past, broad informational content was the way to rank in Google. Today, buyers expect results deeply relevant to them, whether they’re on Google, LLMs, or Reddit. You need specific content that reflects your expertise and resonates with your buyers. 3. Optimize for conversion, not clicks Traffic was once the lever you could pull. Now, conversion is where the opportunity lies. AI enables you to deliver personal messages that drive better conversion. Don’t ask, “How do we get more blog visits?” Ask, “How do we convert more prospects into customers across all channels?” The changes in search are sending shockwaves across marketing teams and media companies everywhere. The era of traffic-based marketing is ending. But a new era full of opportunity is just beginning. Super exciting times for marketers to reinvent the playbook!

Replenishment isn’t a side feature, it’s a force multiplier. This is a big mistake. We’ve seen replenishment flows outperform promos and win-back emails combined. They convert better every time with the right timing and zero customer effort. Brands overspend on ads to win new customers, then forget to win them again. They need to predict exactly when a customer needs to repurchase and trigger the message at the perfect moment. Not too soon, not too late. Just right. ++ 𝗪𝗵𝘆 𝗖𝘂𝘀𝘁𝗼𝗺𝗲𝗿𝘀 𝗗𝗼𝗻’𝘁 𝗥𝗲𝗼𝗿𝗱𝗲𝗿 – 𝗔𝗻𝗱 𝗛𝗼𝘄 𝘁𝗼 𝗙𝗶𝘅 𝗜𝘁 ++  𝗧𝗵𝗲𝘆 𝗙𝗼𝗿𝗴𝗲𝘁 ✅ Fix: Replenit’s AI triggers proactive reminders across channels exactly when customers are likely to run out, via the brand's own marketing automation vendors, without any migration. 𝗣𝗼𝗼𝗿 𝗧𝗶𝗺𝗶𝗻𝗴 𝗼𝗿 𝗖𝗵𝗮𝗻𝗻𝗲𝗹 ✅ Fix: Multichannel orchestration (SMS, push, email) with personalized timing based on consumption behavior. 𝗡𝗼 𝗖𝗹𝗲𝗮𝗿 𝗜𝗻𝗰𝗲𝗻𝘁𝗶𝘃𝗲 ✅ Fix: Smart upsell bundles, urgency messages (“running low?”), and loyalty integration improve reorder ROI.   • Food & Beverage, pet food and treats, wellness & beauty products hold the highest repeat purchase potential, being very high due to frequent, perishable-driven consumption patterns. • Online groceries and FMCG rank high in habitual/impulsive behavior, presenting a strong fit for mobile push and SMS-driven replenishment campaigns. Brands like Glosel turned a leaky bucket into a revenue engine with Replenit’s AI-powered multichannel replenishment flows. 🚀 53.75% more automation revenue 🛒 +28% higher AOV 📲 100% of the Multichannel approach, email, SMS & Push channel revenue -12X Higher Engagement Rate Why does it work? Because Replenit activates timely, no-effort reorders across email, SMS, push, and more. Most brands forget to remind customers. ++ 𝟯 𝗧𝗮𝗰𝘁𝗶𝗰𝗮𝗹 𝗥𝗲𝗰𝗼𝗺𝗺𝗲𝗻𝗱𝗮𝘁𝗶𝗼𝗻𝘀 𝗳𝗼𝗿 𝗥𝗲𝘁𝗮𝗶𝗹𝗲𝗿𝘀 ++ 1️⃣ Make Replenishment an Always-On Growth Engine Don’t treat it as a postscript. Integrate replenishment flows as a core revenue pillar in your retention strategy. 2️⃣ Automate Across Channels With Smart Triggers Use AI-powered solutions to trigger SMS, email, and push notifications based on usage cycles, not guesswork. 3️⃣ Track and Optimize With First-Party Data Loops Leverage Replenit’s dashboards to identify top retention products, run experiments on timing, and iterate continuously. 𝗧𝗼 𝗮𝗰𝗰𝗲𝘀𝘀 𝗮𝗹𝗹 𝗼𝘂𝗿 𝗶𝗻𝘀𝗶𝗴𝗵𝘁𝘀 𝗳𝗼𝗹𝗹𝗼𝘄 ecommert® 𝗮𝗻𝗱 𝗷𝗼𝗶𝗻 𝟭𝟰,𝟮𝟬𝟬+ 𝗖𝗣𝗚, 𝗿𝗲𝘁𝗮𝗶𝗹, 𝗮𝗻𝗱 𝗠𝗮𝗿𝗧𝗲𝗰𝗵 𝗲𝘅𝗲𝗰𝘂𝘁𝗶𝘃𝗲𝘀 𝘄𝗵𝗼 𝘀𝘂𝗯𝘀𝗰𝗿𝗶𝗯𝗲𝗱 𝘁𝗼 𝗲𝗰𝗼𝗺𝗺𝗲𝗿𝘁® : 𝗖𝗣𝗚 𝗗𝗶𝗴𝗶𝘁𝗮𝗹 𝗚𝗿𝗼𝘄𝘁𝗵 𝗻𝗲𝘄𝘀𝗹𝗲𝘁𝘁𝗲𝗿. About ecommert We partner with CPG businesses and leading technology companies of all sizes to accelerate growth through AI-driven digital commerce solutions. #CPG #ecommerce #Replenishment #AI #FMCG

Loyalty is failing. Gen Z & long-term commitment. 22% of Gen Z consumers consider themselves loyal to one brand is a clear warning for legacy loyalty strategies. Unlike previous generations, Gen Z doesn’t see brand loyalty as a long-term commitment, they’re loyal to moments, not just names. +43% increase in engagement and sales conversions among Gen Z Beauty brands offering "limited-edition drops" and collaborative experiences. +71% Gen Z say they would rather spend money on an experience than a product. >>Loyalty is FAILING, but why<< +Transactional systems feel outdated: Point-based rewards for repeat purchases don’t excite this audience. They expect more than discounts or free samples. +They’re brand-agnostic but experience-driven: Gen Z freely switches between brands if the experience, aesthetic, or values feel fresher or more aligned with their identity. +They buy into stories, not just products: They want to align with brands that represent something, social causes, cultural movements, or communities they relate to. >>DYNAMIC LOYALTY<< What’s this? as it name indicates its a system that rewards interaction, aligns with their values, and constantly evolves. And that is what your brand needs. → Create experience-driven loyalty programs: Offer early access to limited drops, invite-only events, or backstage content. Think like a fan club, not a punch card. +Example: A loyalty tier that unlocks tickets to a pop-up experience or an exclusive AR filter. →Let them co-create: Invite Gen Z customers to co-develop product ideas, designs, or campaign themes. Give them ownership in your brand’s creative journey. +Example: Voting on packaging designs or joining beta tester groups. →Align with their values: Sustainability, inclusivity, and social good aren’t nice-to-haves. they’re expectations. Use loyalty programs to reward actions too, like recycling, sharing causes, or supporting small creators. +Example: “Earn loyalty points by returning empties or attending a sustainability workshop.” →Deliver constant novelty: Rotate limited editions regularly. Use scarcity and surprise to create FOMO and buzz. +Gen Z doesn’t commit to a single brand, but they’ll keep returning if each visit feels fresh and share-worthy. →Go omnichannel but social-first. Should live across TikTok, Instagram, pop-ups, and web. Let them earn or unlock rewards through social engagement, not just purchases. +Example: A user gets exclusive content or perks for creating UGC with your brand. Bottom Line. Loyalty must be earned over and over through experience, relevance, and emotional connection. Think dynamic loyalty: a system that rewards interaction and go for it. Find my curated search of examples and get ready for your next HIT. Featured Brands: Balmain Benefit Chanel Charlotte tilbury Cerave Fennty L’Oreal OGX YSL #beautypackaging #beautybusiness #beautyprofessionals #experienceretail #luxuryexperiences #genz

Can a #socialmedia app originally launched as a 15-second amateur video platform, be the next big thing in #payments? Let’s take a look.   TikTok is the first Chinese app to have taken off in the west. Launched in 2016 as Douyin by ByteDance, it now has more than 1.5 billion monthly active users in 160 countries.   A few days ago, it became the first non-game app to reach $10bn in consumer spending and among just 5 apps to achieve this. The number could even be much higher as China is not included (Google is banned in China, but around 2/3 of smartphones use Android via hundreds of third-party app stores).   But where does this spending come from?   —     TikTok has created TikTok coins, a virtual currency within TikTok that users can buy and spend on gifts for creators on TikTok   —     The feature is called Tips and allows users to reward creators for their content   —     TikTok coins can be eventually converted to normal money (via PayPal or bank account), but with TikTok keeping a 50% commission!   —     Behind TikTok’s tipping feature is Stripe Connect, integrated in 2021   —     Stripe Connect is an API that enables embedded payments with Stripe dealing with all the back-office work needed (handling transactions, AML, KYC, etc)   Why is this important?   In-app purchases are a thing of video game apps. Non-video-game apps rely on subscriptions to make money. TikTok is the only app to have reverse-engineered this model via this reward set-up and makes billions of dollars without the need for subscriptions.   But this is not the only payments’ aspect in TikTok’s game.   On #ecommerce:   —     TikTok has launched in various geographies live shops on user profiles so that users can make direct purchases. In China, TikTok now generates most of its revenue from direct in-app sales and is rapidly taking away market share from e-com giants like JD and Alibaba   —     In Aug 2021 TikTok rolled out (US, UK) TikTok shop, which are digital e-shops directly integrated in the platform enabling merchants and creators to sell products directly to the TikTok community. The tool was powered by Shopify and let sellers make available product catalogs to TikTok so that they can be purchased then on Shopify   However, TikTok has as of late changed #strategy:   —     In Sep 23 it sunset the Shopify partnership and started pushing merchants to switch to its own e-commerce tool   —     TikTok’s parent company, ByteDance, has been working with JP Morgan to build a real-time payments infrastructure   TikTok is sitting on a massive opportunity: billions of dollars are moved every year on the platform. Phasing out all third-party providers and moving to an in-house payments set-up is already under way, with payment processing as a likely next step. TikTok will not be becoming a payments’ company, but it will be sourcing an ever-larger portion of its revenue via payments.   Opinions: my own, Graphic sources: data ai, Business Model Toolbox, FXC Intelligence

Back in 2007, Nobel Prize-winning psychologist Daniel Kahneman taught a private master class to tech founders including Larry Page and Jeff Bezos. The following year, Elon Musk joined. Among the topics: priming, where subtle cues shape our decisions without us realizing it. In that room, Musk pressed on subliminal versus explicit persuasion: “Does the hidden beat the obvious?” Kahneman's answer: "There are many situations in which subliminal effects are stronger than superliminal effects." Translation: Hidden influences shape behavior more than obvious ones. You can't resist what you don't notice. Later after that session, Bezos connected the dots: “You can choose your choice architect.” You either design the decision environment, or it designs you. Amazon designed theirs. One-click purchasing removes the pause where doubt lives. Every additional step is an exit ramp. They chose zero exits. Google designed theirs. That empty white homepage isn't minimal by accident. No portals, no distractions. Just one thought: search. Most companies let chaos choose. Cluttered onboarding. Buried CTAs. Friction everywhere. They're not architects. They're accidents. So how do you become the architect instead of the accident? 1. Choose your pricing architect: Sell your core product for $99/month. Then offer a bundle with two add-ons for $119. The bundle makes the core feel essential. 2. Choose your onboarding architect: When users first sign up, make their first action create immediate value - a report generated, first customer added, dashboard live. Success in 30 seconds primes confidence in everything that follows. In contrast, when you make the frame obvious, you lose it. Slap "Most Popular!" on everything and watch trust erode. The moment users detect manipulation, they create their own frame - one where you're untrustworthy. Kahneman warned Musk about this directly. Covert cues work precisely because they're not noticed. Priming is architecture, not decoration. By the time logic kicks in, the frame has already decided. Because you’re already an architect. The only question is whether you know what you're building.

Retail is dead. Foot traffic is down across the board. That’s the narrative we hear over and over being pushed in the media. Yet TALA - Grace Beverley’s brand born online - has opened their first physical store in Carnaby Street this weekend, to queues around Soho & a sell-out ticketed event. So rather than being dead, what if the role of brand retail has simply transformed? My take 👉 The store is no longer solely top of the funnel or entirely about discoverability. It’s the destination. The community hub. The clubhouse. It’s where content becomes tangible. Where brand world becomes real world. Where you walk through the door and it feels like stepping into their Instagram, their TikToks, their values. We’re not just talking racks and rails - there’s a coffee bar, photobooths, events, and experiences. This is community-led commerce. It’s a cultural space disguised as a high street shop. And I believe this is where we see the real revival of the high street - not as a retail destination, but as a brand world brought to life. A place to deepen connection with your community - ultimately strengthening the life time value of that customer. The blueprint is clear: Content captures. Community keeps. IRL deepens. TALA joins the ranks of Gymshark, Odd Muse and Glossier, Inc. - brands that built strong digital tribes before laying a single brick and now use their stores as destinations for the community to connect IRL. And in a world where discovery is unpredictable - spanning podcasts, group chats, TikToks and Substack - trying to funnel people in linearly is a lost cause. The smartest brands aren’t forcing a path. They’re showing up where their community already is & then inviting them in deeper. Retail isn’t dead. It’s reinventing itself & I'm so here for it. Calling it now - your favourite digital brand worlds will manifest in real life in the next 18 months whether through pop ups or permanent stores. Mark my words!

Lowe's is quadrupling down on creators but with a unique spin. The home improvement giant just launched a Creator Program that’s already attracted 17,000+ creators—from DIY niche stars like Chris Loves Julia to the king of YouTube himself, MrBeast Now the MrBeast partnership is a big time paid collaboration, where Lowe’s is becoming the exclusive building partner for Beast Games, providing all of the materials and labor to build BeastCity. But their broader creator program is not built around fixed fee paid partnerships, but rather a tiered system where creators can earn based on performance. Here are the deets… 👉 It’s an open invite system and doesn’t require creators to produce a certain amount of content or number of posts  👉 There’s no guarantee creators get paid; the program operates on a tier system 👉 Creators have the ability to make custom storefronts with recommended products, and receive a 20% cut of any sales generated 👉 All creators who are part of the program also get product samples, training resources and a range of opportunities to help grow their businesses.   👉 Creators who performs best will receive additional perks and incentives, like project funding, long-term sponsorships and exclusive access to events like the annual Lowe’s Creator Summit Lowe’s is just one of many brands exploring a performance based system, where creators can earn either through direct sales (affiliate) or for hitting benchmarks. The sales side of that equation is fairly straightforward, you sell product, you make money. The problem for many brands is that this requires creators to actually be able to make meaningful income to stay in it. And for many brands, that is not a realistic outcome, given most sales don’t happen with direct attribution (creators get no commission). Which is where the tiered system comes into play - it’s not just about sales, creators can earn by hitting benchmarks. That could be engagements, views, clicks, number of posts, etc. I anticipate a large number of brands will try to implement this tiered structure in the coming years. And my advice for them is this… 1️⃣ Spend real time stress testing what type of incentives make any sense for the creators, because just like affiliates if they can’t make real money they will abandon ship.  2️⃣ Don’t expect significant gains in year 1. You are investing for the future and year 1 is more about learnings than outcomes 3️⃣ If you are going to do it, really do it. One foot in and one foot out is a guarantee of failure. If this is something you are just adding on to your next influencer campaign with little thought then just don’t bother. I’m happy Lowe’s is going down this path, and the fact that they are spending huge dollars with big creators in tandem with the incentive programs shows that it’s not just about efficiencies in affiliate. They believe in building a long lasting community where the relationship is beneficial for them and the creators.

When growth on Amazon stalls after a certain scale, it is either a traffic problem or a conversion problem. If you are struggling to grow profitably on Amazon, just go back to basics, log into Brand Analytics, and look at 3 metrics to diagnose the problem 1.      Search Term Impression Share for High Volume Generic Searches : Amazon is a search led platform and in most categories upto 75% of searches are generic keywords( no wonder they are fast catching up with Google search in revenue). The biggest lever to grow is to have a high impression share( mix of organic and ads) on high volume generic keywords. If your impression share on high volume KWs don’t grow, overall growth is difficult. 2.      Branded Search Volumes for both Own Brand and Competition: This is often a function of activities done outside the platform. If branded search volumes don’t grow, the reliance on Ads driven glance views won’t come down and profitable growth will be difficult. Similarly if competition branded searches go up, you will find it extremely difficult to hold on to your market share 3.      Conversion Rates for all High Volume Keywords: Look at the conversion trends. If you are not able to maintain/improve conversions with increasing search term impressions share( provided it is increasing), you need to go back to the product pricing proposition. Maybe a competitor with a better proposition is taking market share. Maybe you have hit the ceiling of growth with the current product proposition and further growth will only come if you can introduce new propositions to appeal to a broader TG I am amazed at how much data Amazon shares so that businesses can diagnose problems correctly and take decisions. And equally amazed at how few leaders go deep, open the portals and read the reports that are available. If you are not doing it, start it today P.S. It doesn’t matter how busy I am, most Sundays I will open brand analytics, Amazon Pi and the ads platform and look at the metrics from the source itself. This is how one of the sample reports look like.

When Johnson & Johnson spun off Kenvue, many of the leaders who joined saw it as an opportunity to operate in a fast, agile, stand-alone environment. Now, as Kimberly-Clark acquires Kenvue for nearly $49B, I can’t help but wonder: what happens to that kind of talent next? People who thrive in a start-up-like culture: speed, ownership, experimentation - often find it hard to adjust to a slower, more structured, process-heavy organization. And Kimberly-Clark, while world-class in legacy and discipline, is not known for agility or fast-paced innovation. So the question becomes: will Kimberly-Clark recognize and leverage the entrepreneurial talent they’ve just inherited or will those people eventually walk away, frustrated by hierarchy and pace? In M&A, most of the headlines focus on synergies and cost savings. But cultural integration is where deals often succeed or fail. Especially in consumer goods, where people and creativity drive performance more than any spreadsheet ever will. Curious to hear from my FMCG network: how can established giants like Kimberly-Clark preserve the innovative DNA of the companies they acquire? #FMCG #Growth #Trending #Consumergrowth

Is ROAS the right metric for RMNs? Retail Media Networks (RMNs) have outgrown their early days when untapped demand meant every dollar spent was both high-ROAS and high-incrementality. Today, focusing solely on ROAS incentivizes behaviors that may appear efficient but harm long-term profitability and growth. Here’s how ROAS can be gamed—and why it’s problematic: 1️⃣ Over-spending on Retargeting or Brand Keywords. These tactics drive high ROAS but focus on customers who were likely to convert anyway, resulting in low incremental growth. 2️⃣ Discount-Driven Sales. Discounting boosts ROAS by generating short-term revenue but lowers margins, attracts low-LTV customers, and conditions buyers to expect promotions. 3️⃣ Cutting Spend on High-Incrementality Campaigns. Investing in new customer acquisition or brand building may have lower ROAS but drives long-term growth and quality customer cohorts. These behaviors lead to: ⛔️ Shrinking new customer cohorts. ⛔️ Increased reliance on discounts, reducing margins. ⛔️ Lower customer lifetime value (LTV) and diminished profitability over time. In essence, chasing ROAS at all costs leads to slower growth and declining margins—a losing combination for any business. Efficiency metrics like ROAS are necessary but must be balanced with an effectiveness metric that focuses on long-term outcomes. For example: ✅ 180-Day Contribution LTV: Measure the total revenue contribution from full-price customers acquired over six months. ✅ Incremental Revenue from Non-Brand Keywords: Track revenue generated from truly new demand sources. ROAS is an excellent efficiency metric but a poor north star. Striking the right balance between efficiency and effectiveness will ensure your business scales sustainably while maintaining margins. Keen to hear what other metrics are used for RMNs #advertising #media #tech