Monday, September 11

🗣 Agency owners only, book a time to learn about my new project here

📰 TL;DR - The next phase of TikTok’s e-commerce plans has arrived in the US. Some users are now seeing a Shop tab that is filled with cheap goods made in China. This has been viewed as TikTok’s attempt to compete with the likes of Shein and Temu. The stuff here is apparently… nothing special. It’s cheap and cheerful but that’s about it. There also appears to be counterfeit goods already, like a $2.99 “Nike” sweatshirt. It has some of the same incentives to shop quickly like you’d see on Temu, like countdown clocks. Early thoughts are that if US lawmakers were already upset with TikTok, this isn’t going to help.

💡 Insight - My annoyance is that TikTok is embarking on this shop tab journey while at the same time trying to entice independent DTC brands to sign up for TikTok Shop. Realistically, is the platform ever going to prioritize promoting independent brands over its own Temu clone? I doubt it. I can’t help but think TikTok is cannibalizing itself but I’d also bet that given where it’s investing efforts, the shop tab will ultimately last longer than TikTok Shop.

➡️ You can read the article here...

(I'm not freaking out…are you? 😱)

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📰 TL;DR - Via Fraser Cottrell, here’s a quick playbook for CTAs. He pulled together what he says are the top 10 CTAs his team uses for DTC brands. He divided them into categories: direct CTAs, gifting CTAs, emotional CTAs, and scarcity CTAs. It all comes with a video where he gets a little more in-depth.

💡 Insight - There’s an art to CTAs and the longer you spend writing and testing them, the more you’ll find the ones most effective for you. But as a rule, CTAs should be short, sweet, and to the point. None of the examples here are particularly novel, but that’s because they work. If you’re having trouble with CTAs, this is a good place to start.

➡️ You can read the tweet here...

🛒 INSTACART - Some news for CPG brands — there’s a new Shopify app that provides access to Instacart ads. Read here.

👗 SALE - Another DTC has been bought up, this time it’s Reese Witherspoon’s Draper James. Read here.

💸 BANKRUPTCY - Benitago Group, which scoops up Amazon businesses, has filed for bankruptcy. Read here.

🥇 BANKRUPTCY - Read why some brands are looking to Gen Z Olympians as brand ambassadors.

🎅🏻 HO HO NO - The holiday season is looking better than last year, but there are still some factors keeping spending down. Read here.

📰 TL;DR - This survey of 2,000 shoppers found some interesting generational divides between shoppers. Gen Z are on average more omnichannel — they have more stops along the way to buying something. They’re also far more likely than boomers to use a brand’s shopping app. That also ties into how Gen Z wants a more personalized experience. Some of the stats lean more toward retail shopping, but the same philosophies apply to e-commerce, like Gen Z appreciating product recommendations based on past shopping history.

💡 Insight - I’ve been a bit bullish here about how having a standalone app can be a good idea — for the right brand, that is. Here’s more evidence that if your target shopper skews young, you’re more likely to get traction with an app. It shouldn’t be surprising that Boomers are less likely to be interested. Also notable here is that Gen Z is happier to do some spending this holiday season, but they’re also more likely to look for deals.

➡️ You can read the article here...