This is issue no. 161 of 180. The last issue had a 📈46.81% open rate with 3.88% of you visiting this article on Wayfair's Q3 growth. Snapchat's Spectacles are already on eBay. Gillette launches a microsite on Shopify Plus to compete with Bevel, Harry's, and Dollar Shave Club.
ECOMMERCE: Those are outsize numbers given that Harry’s had a 2% share of the overall market for men’s razors last year in the U.S., according to Euromonitor. Jefferies analyst Kevin Grundy said Harry’s presence in Target represents a clear challenge to P&G. “Any time you have a supplier and they have some 75% of market share, it benefits you to kind of keep that supplier off balance,” Mr. Grundy said.
ECOMMERCE: Burberry today said digital sales and traffic grew in all regions following the launch of its redesigned website. Mobile accounted for more than 50% of digital traffic in the first half of its financial year, while digital revenue from third-party retailers grew and is now worth more than 50% of the digital sales generated in-house.
MEDIA: Today, we’re introducing a few new tools to help you make your story even more fun: Boomerang and mentions. We’re also starting to test links inside some stories. Boomerang lets you turn everyday moments into something fun and unexpected. Now you can easily take a Boomerang right inside Instagram. Swipe right from your feed to open the stories camera. A new format picker under the record button lets you select “Boomerang” mode.
RETAIL: Each Snapbot vending machine will have motion sensors that turn on its circular screen when someone steps into view. The screen will show footage of video recordings from the eyewear, which can record 10-second clips that sync with the Snapchat app. Three buttons that correspond to the three colors (coral, black, and teal) Spectacles sell in will let you virtually try on each color on the screen before you pay.
BRAND: Sales and marketing teams often spend more in-person time with customers than the engineers or product developers do. As a result, the best information about what the user needs may be coming from the people who know those users best: the marketers. Clayton Christensen, a Harvard Business School professor and author of many books on business and marketing:
INNOVATION: The Camo Out collection, which came from a collaborative effort between Mountain Dew’s Green Label and VFILES, includes a hat, Bluetooth jacket, solar-powered backpack and jackets and pants with built-in headphones. These products are not like tracking and sensor-bearing wearables, but instead are aimed at integrating media-based tech into wearable products.
BRAND: To look forward and make bold predictions about how brands will respond to the wave of disruptive technology, we need to look back and recognize the relationship we have developed with brands in our culture. What makes people tattoo brands on their bodies? Why did two adults attempt to name their child Nutella (stopped only by their government)?
BRAND: The winners of the third annual Lexus Short Films series are premiering at the Napa Valley Film Festival this week, and veteran producer Harvey Weinstein, whose studio the Weinstein Company partnered with the carmaker, sees it as a prime example of how brands should be embracing up-and-coming artists to impact and engage in culture.
ECOMMERCE: According to the Adobe Digital Insights report, online holiday sales will grow 11 percent over 2015, reaching $91.6 billion between November 1 and December 31. Sales on Black Friday are expected to increase over 11 percent and reach $3 billion while Cyber Monday sales will expand by 9.4 percent to $3.4 billion. The biggest growth rate will occur on Thanksgiving Day, with a 15.6 percent year-over-year increase.
ECOMMERCE: With a new year comes change. New retail trends. New consumer behavior and demands. New tools and technologies to incorporate. New opportunities. And with all that is new, retailers are forced to adapt to meet demand and stay ahead of the competition. To help retailers learn what to expect and how it may affect their business, we reached out to 10 retail experts and asked them: “What is your prediction for what will change in retail in 2017?”
Graphic of The Week: Gillette v. Bevel / Harry's / Dollar Shave, et. al.