eCommerce | In Your Head

click and eat

June 17, 2013 | By Shannon Kelly

Being on the road for business and locating food trucks isn't always easy. That's why we were delighted to hear about a new website that provides a searchable database and ordering system for local food trucks instead of hunting down twitter handles.

{video: Fast Company}

FoodtoEat.com works with independent food trucks and restaurants in New York to connect hungry and click-savvy patrons with convenient options. Once a customer makes a payment through the online, a ticket is printed using a GPRS device within the food truck with the order details. The website only charges the business $0.10 per order, rather than the 10-18%.

{Source: Fast Company}

Tags: food trucks, food, tech, eCommerce, nyc, SmartCommerce, GlobalLocality

news bites: February 2013

February 13, 2013 | By Shannon Kelly

FOOD x FASHION

Supermodel Karlie Kloss and Superchef Christina Tosi of Momofuku Milk Bar have teamed up with American Express to gift 31,500 of Karlie Kookies in various NYC locations today, February 13th {Trendland}. Available online here.

FASHION

Nicholas Kirkwood has teamed up with UK department store Selfridges to launch a new shoe line inspired by the new film "Oz The Great And Powerful," {Vogue UK}
According to the ForeSee Mobile Satisfaction Index: Holiday Retail Edition, nearly 70% of survey respondents engaged in "showrooming"— using a mobile phone while in a retail store during the 2012 holiday season — and most of those consumers (62%) accessed that store's site or app. {PR Newswire}

FOOD

Preserving and fermentation will be featured in the upcoming issue of David Chang and McSweeney's quarterly journal, Lucky Peach. {Eater}
Nestlé is launching a new digital scanning system in the UK, designed to provide customers with smartphone access to nutritional information. {Food Manufacture}

CULTURE

Greta Garbo's wardrobe and extensive couture collection is the subject of a new exhibition opening in London at Belmacz Gallery. {Vogue}

Tags: fashion, food, showrooming, sweets, limited time offer, QR codes, holiday, art, couture, london, nyc, mobile, eCommerce

quarterlies we love

January 29, 2013 | By Shannon Kelly

In a world continuous choice, the ultimate indulgence now is not having to choose.

The subscription model is being reborn thanks to online tastemakers and well-edited quarterly collections straight from the curated popup retail playbook. This new form of eCommerce outlines a defined theme without allowing the purchases to know the what products are contained within in their shipments until they open each mailing. By preserving the element of surprise, quarterlies are quickly immerging as a decisive and eccentric component of eCommerce.

Here are two examples, appropriately named Quarterly and Svbscription, to give you an idea of how lifestyle, storytelling, and limited-time-offerings aim to reshape they way we think of experiential shopping.

{Photo: Quarterly Co. by Coolhunting}

Quarterly Co. wants to connect shoppers with original content and hand-selected items from influential contributors. The offerings and themes range from items for your kitchen and table (by Amanda Hesser & Merrill Stubbs of Food 52) to design objects with problem solving combinations (by Josh Rubin & Evan Orensten of Coolhunting) and range from $25-$100, per mailing, every three months.

Per the website:

"Each product will reflect on the person who selected it, and help inform your understanding of them. So maybe you’ll get the same kind of notebook that your favorite author used to plot her recent bestseller. Or maybe it’s the tea a musician was drinking while he penned a famous track. Or perhaps it’s a secret family cold remedy an artist used while working on a masterpiece. The point is, every object—while uniquely brilliant in its function—will also have a story, and through that story take on new meaning."

Our Quarterly - #BVH01

To best experience the ideals outlined by Quarterly, we subscribed to contributor Joel Johnson’s theme (above). Each of his mailings will be inspired by his late grandmother, Bessie Vivian Hildebrand, and we're incredibly touched by how the first shipment (called #BVH01 to correspond with a twitter hashtag) gave new meaning to common kitchen products with a simple series of memories.

Svbscription is a luxury quarterly service targeting a male clientele. Every three months, members receive a new parcel with a unique them of curated products and experiences that intersect design, culture, technology, apparel, and entertainment. The cost of one box is $330 and a yearly subscription is $1150.

The latest theme explores and reconstructs the notion of the collection for the modern man with enough vagueness to leave the potential subscriber baffled. Below are photos and a description from "V4 – The Collector’s Edition".

{Photo: Svbscription}

Either casually, formally or unconsciously, collecting is an act we perform throughout our lives, culminating in the ownership of prized objects, rare finds, precious discoveries and vast archives of everything from magazines to memories. Yet in a world where we suffer from the the [SIC] tyranny of abundance, overwhelmed by choice and selection, those things we do select to fill our bookshelves and minds say more about ourselves than they would have said for our fathers and grandfathers. No gentlemen — in this modern age it is no longer enough to be simply gifted with a sense of good taste. Without the right training and tools, any man can fall from the heights of refined collector to the annals of verbosity, over-consumption and dare we say, hoarding."

While most shoppers might be turned off by this type of merchandising, it's obvious from the previous versions — all of which are sold out — that the concept connects with an affluent customer willing to spend $330 on a lifestyle sans actual product photos.

Tags: luxury, menswear, men, curate, housewares, LifeStoryLabeling, limited time offer, food, trends, merchandising, packaging, fashion, popup retail, retail, eCommerce

spa jeans

January 17, 2013 | By Shannon Kelly

{Photo: Wrangler}

Wrangler is launching the first pair of moisturizing jeans exclusively on ASOS. The skinny-fit jeans incorporate skincare ingredients to protect legs from denim's dehydrating effect with natural oils and butters. They come in three finishes: Aloe Vera, Olive Extract, and Smooth Legs, which aims to prevent cellulite.

According to The Telegraph, the style was "clinically tested by the Institut Adriant in France, where after four weeks of wearing the jeans for eight hours a day, five days a week over six weeks, 69 percent of the panel claimed that the appearance of their thighs had improved."

The "Spa Jean" effect reportedly lasts for four to six washes but, a reload spray can be applied after each wash "to continue to reap the jeans' beauty benefits". The jeans cosmetic effects will last for around 67-95 wears, according to Wrangler.

In the realm of crazy fashion and/or beauty gimmicks — this invention might take the cake.

[UPDATE 2.29.13: The spa jeans have sold out in less than day on ASOS.com]

Tags: womenswear, fashion, beauty, london, eCommerce, coming soon

have a mobile black Friday

November 20, 2012 | By Shannon Kelly

According to a recent report by the Future of Retail Alliance (FORA), an online community advocating the broader use of technology by brick-and-mortar retailers, many stores are embracing the showrooming trend for Black Friday and hope that shopping apps like ShopSavvy will influence more than 40 million smartphone and tablet users this holiday season.

"Consumers have been empowered by shopping apps. They've been armed with more product knowledge than the clerks in most retail stores have. Retailers used to be threatened by this; now, they are finding ways to capitalize on it — such as through aggressive price-matching, as well as ship-to-store and other omnichannel strategies. That's the big difference between Black Friday 2011 and Black Friday 2012," said Alexander Muse, founder of FORA and ShopSavvy.

"In the past, traditional retailers have been scared to death of Amazon, which has aggressively encouraged shoppers to showroom in stores and then buy online. FORA was created in part to show retailers how they can better compete with Amazon by embracing technology," Muse said. "The fact is, our studies show that, when comparison shopping, Amazon has the lowest price only 6 percent of the time. That means they don't have the lowest price the other 94 percent. Why do you think Amazon is scrambling to develop a brick-and-mortar strategy? Retailers are in a much better position to compete with Amazon than they think."

This is hardly the death of Black Friday but, as founder of the No. 1 shopping app in the United States with 40 million downloads, Mr Muse does have some creditability. And it's hard to dismiss other studies, like this one from Harris Interactive on behalf of Digitas, that find that shopping via smartphones and tablets will nearly double from 2011 on Mobile Thursday — the day before Black Friday.

As we suggested in our previous post, Harnessing the Showrooming Trend, smartphones and tablets might take shopping beyond the boundaries of four walls, but familiarity with a brand is also a key influencer. We are glad to hear that retailers are embracing Smart Commerce strategies to reach this massive audience when the iron is hot.

{Source: PR Newswire / FORA}

Tags: retail, eCommerce, mobile, SmartCommerce, trends, shopping

sleight of mouse

October 9, 2012 | By Shannon Kelly

During our recent roadtrip down the coast, we became a victim of deceptive and misleading photography on a hotel website that promised – “remodeled spa-like accommodations.”

In the interest of full disclosure, there was a note located on the landing page specifically calling out the differences between the reservation system and the website.

"Our online booking system does not reflect the changes we have made to most of our bungalows and suites. Please contact our front desk with any questions and to learn more about our accommodations."

Hotel name and location have been withheld. We’re not in the business of reviewing hotels and, in this instance, simply want to present our readers with learnings, sentiments, and strategies across a broad range of topics.

The uses of photography have long been a subject of dissatisfaction in marketing and communication. We’ve all seen overly photoshopped models in magazines, and purchased products that seem to shrink in the mail. Ten years ago, the directive to only use real foods in photography was groundbreaking (yes- some stylists used to use shortening as a substitution for ice cream or used Elmer’s glue for milk).

In light of this hotel experience, we’d like to add one more bullet to the Art Direction 2.0 basics outlined by guest blogger, Julie Ashkenazi, last month. Please be sure that your online presentation is consistent with the real product. And don’t relaunch your website with new images when the packaging or product are not up to par.

Tags: marketing, advertising, eCommerce, hospitality

key ingredients: digital marketing

October 3, 2012 | By Julie Ashkenazi

A common misconception is that simply by having a website, sales will roll in — and in spades. Regrettably, this is not the case, and some brands, especially those small and new, have learned this the hard way.

Launching a website and ignoring online marketing is like opening a business and not telling anyone about it. You wouldn’t launch a new product, retail venture, or even hold a press event without strategic planning. Digital marketing requires the same consideration, and brands are missing incredible opportunities by not implementing strategies for online growth and development. However, many are unsure what they need, what to expect, and whether or not they can afford it.

A typical digital marketing campaign involves a combination of email, search, and social marketing, all of which require the collaborative efforts of a team of writers, designers, developers, marketers and analysts. Though positioning, aesthetic, and budgets are diverse — the same rules apply. Marketing initiatives must be cohesive, strategic, and aligned in order to be successful.

If you’re a smaller company with a limited marketing budget, social media is an excellent platform to build brand awareness and grow your online community. However, a bona fide social media campaign involves more than merely having a Facebook page or a Twitter account. It takes time and commitment and requires ongoing interaction with your community. It’s essential to provide a dialogue that includes unique, relevant content and not a constant stream of product or sale announcements. This is important not only from an engagement perspective, but also from a branding perspective, because if you continually discount your products in order to drive web sales, you’re at risk of brand erosion.

If you’re going to take a DIY approach to social marketing, make sure to avoid these common mistakes:

Syncing your social media channels.
While it might be a timesaver, each platform has a different audience and therefore the messaging should be tailored differently.
Not interacting with your followers.
Social media is the new customer service. As your online presence grows, expect to receive feedback, comments and even complaints from your fans — and always respond promptly.
Sending Auto Direct Message’s to your Twitter followers.
In his article, Augie Ray explains that not only do people dislike Auto DMs, they think less of those who send them and are quite likely to unfollow the senders or even report them as spam.

Adding a blog to your website is another great and affordable way to expand your online presence and provide customers with a more intimate understanding of your brand. It allows you the opportunity to speak more in depth about products, ingredients, causes, and lifestyle topics that are relevant to your customer and — similar to social media platforms — gives them a chance to interact with your company. Additionally, since blog content is crawled by search engines, it’s likely that your website’s organic search results will improve as you continue to develop your blog.

As your brand awareness grows, hopefully your email subscriber list grows along with it. Once you have a fairly robust email list, you might want to consider launching an email marketing campaign to promote new product launches and special offers. However, take the time to familiarize yourself with email regulations before launching a campaign to ensure you are compliant with all regulations, including the CAN-SPAM Act, in order to prevent blacklisting and guarantee deliverability.

If budget permits, you might also want to consider launching a paid search campaign, however this tends to be one of the more expensive options and typically requires a fairly significant budget in order to be competitive. However, when used in combination with SEO and targeted landing pages, paid search can be a powerful marketing tool, providing immediate, measurable results.

As with any marketing initiative, traditional or digital, it’s important to do your research before embarking on new endeavors — and that includes giving your online marketing plan the consideration it deserves for your business to succeed.

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Julie Ashkenazi is the co-founder of Medium— a strategic eCommerce and online marketing studio dedicated building unique, compelling and successful brands with cohesive design aesthetics and analytics. Connect with her on Twitter or LinkedIn.

Tags: marketing, branding, social networks, new media, eCommerce, customer service, SmartCommerce

art direction 2.0

September 20, 2012 | By Julie Ashkenazi

{photo: Julie Ashkenazi via Instagram}

They might not be as glamorous as their A-List colleagues, but art directors are the unsung heroes of the awards season. And although I’m not, as they say in LA, “in the industry,” the contributions and efforts of art directors in our industry warrant a little acknowledgement of their own.

By its very definition, art direction is somewhat vague, so it's no wonder most people don't understand it. Often confused with designers, art directors are responsible for creating concepts and unifying the overall visual — the look and feel of a brand — including the color palette, type treatment and photography. One of the biggest differences between an art director and a graphic designer is that, in addition to creating compelling designs, an art director must also make the product or brand engaging in order to generate consumer interest.

It’s obvious there’s a strong art director behind every successful print campaign, but spend five minutes online and it’s clear that many brands overlook the importance of art direction on the web. Granted, there are design limitations on the web that don’t exist in print, but it’s important to maintain a digital presence that’s visually consistent with your overall brand experience. And it’s equally important to integrate eMarketing best practices into your online presentation to ensure your website is both branded and easy to shop from.

Online Art Direction Basics:

Whether you are working with commissioned or stock photography, all images should be consistent in terms of lighting, mood, and overall presentation.
All photography needs to support the brand positioning and copy.
Be consistent with the lighting, angles, and reflections of product photography.
Select a color palette that works for all of your online needs and don’t deviate from it.
Identify type specs, establish hierarchy rules, and apply them to copy accordingly.
Establish a smart balance of text and graphic text in order to create a presentation that’s both branded and SEO-friendly.
Don’t overuse your brand identity typeface.
Don’t overuse branding and/or graphic elements.

Similar to print advertising, it’s important to keep your communication goals and objectives in mind at all times and to use it as the foundation for your visual approach. And most importantly, never forget to put yourself in the position of your audience—after all, they’re the customer.

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Tags: marketing, advertising, new media, branding, color, eCommerce, campaigns, design

harnessing the showrooming trend

August 22, 2012 | By Shannon Kelly

Showrooming — conducting price comparisons on a mobile device while in-store and then leaving the store to complete a purchase online — is a trend we’d love to dismiss. Unfortunately, according to a new study, this shift in consumer behavior is likely here to stay.

According to new research from GroupM, 45% of customers shopping in-store at brick and mortar locations will walk out and complete their purchase online for a discount as low as 2.5%. This number jumps to 60% of shoppers who will leave and purchase a product online for a savings of 5%. When discovering an online discount of 20%, only 13% of shoppers stay to complete their purchase in-store.

The study, “Showrooming & The Price Of Keeping Buyers In-Store,” takes close look at the influencers of showrooming to identify a tipping point for 1000 shoppers given many hypothetical scenarios for 10 products with varying price points across multiple retail categories.

“Consumers have shifted their path to purchase to include the store as a step, but not necessarily the final step; and this will likely continue to increase over time. Brands need to think about how showrooming can be used to their advantage to navigate would-be buyers to a checkout location, be it in-store or online,” said GroupM Next CEO Chris Copeland. “Showrooming is a label for a massive consumer behavior shift brought about by the ease of access to information on a mobile device. Brands that sit on either side, be it as the physical store or the online merchant, have multiple opportunities with this consumer change.”

Less than 10% of purchasers surveyed chose to complete their purchase in-store, regardless of a discount offered — which is hardly reassuring for retailers. Fortunately, the study found evidence that customer service plays a key role in in-store purchase behavior. Customers who interact with an associate were 12.5% more likely to shop at the brick and mortar location.

“Finding only a small price difference elsewhere using a mobile device is enough to entice a shopper to leave the store and buy online. By employing strategies to reach this massive audience segment, brands can significantly bolster their sales at the register or take advantage of their showrooming and effectively get the sale via a branded app or online property,” noted GroupM Next Director of Research Patrick Monteleone, Ph.D.

The typical showroomer profile, according to the report, includes females who are younger in age and make online purchases frequently. Alternately, “marginal showroomers” — a secondary group who are sensitive to price but can be influenced to remain in the store — are more than 90% male; have an average age of 52; have a median annual income of $60,000; and almost universally (98%) hold some college or higher education. These customers are also seasoned online shoppers: 55% buy online once a month, while 21% buy one a week, and 11% more than once a week.

As online brands creep into offline spaces with pop-ups and partnerships, it’s evident that a retailers counterstrategy should include technology to promote eCommerce within offline spaces to build loyalty across all categories. It's easy to look at these statistics and assume that showrooming is a consumer electronics problem but the behavior is far reaching. In May we posted about the impact of affluent males adopting a multi-channel approach to researching and buying online.

Having an eCommerce site or shopping app is not enough when shoppers are searching for the best price. Retailers should be capturing the 43.7% of shoppers surveyed, who use a mobile to shop while in-store, with a cohesive strategy that communicates ease of use, loyalty benefits, and a price guarantee. Mobile might take shopping beyond the boundaries of four walls — but familiarity with a brand is also a key influencer.

{source: Businesswire}

Tags: retail, shopping, showrooming, sale, consumer behavior, new media, eCommerce, trends, SmartCommerce

introducing: the digital flagship

July 26, 2012 | By Shannon Kelly

These words are poised to redefine luxury eCommerce.

"Digital Flagship"

We've never seen it in print before but we're betting that digital strategists, advertising executives, art directors, and marketers will take note quickly. "Digital Flagship" elevates the shopping experience from the basic portal for retail locations and collections to something worldly and complete. It denotes premium positioning while remaining approachable.

More importantly, the phrase confirms Gucci's investment in eCommerce as more than a channel strategy. It's the solution.

[Update 7.30.12]

A number of our friends on twitter have been quick to point out that the term dates back to 2010 but it is important to note that brands, editors, and PR agencies positioning eCommerce as "digital flagship" is very different than using the term within an advertisement. The term is not new to internal communication but still relevant from consumer point-of-view.

For example, Burberry has long been at the forefront of messaging their website as a digital flagship but the eCommerce messaging remains "store". In contrast, the new online messaging on Gucci.com is consistent with the advertisement and redefining the category from a consumers perspective.

{Editors note: please forgive the photo quality — the magazine got wet in transit.}

{source: Vogue.uk, August 2012}

Tags: marketing, advertising, branding, eCommerce, fashion, trend projections, SmartCommerce