While social media platforms like TikTok present CPG brands with an opportunity to engage potential customers with video content, when wedged between Gentleminions videos and “Chrissy Wake Up” remixes, sometimes actual shopper conversion can be difficult.

Entertainment-minded users scrolling through their For You pages don’t always have “intent to shop,” according to Kimiloluwa Fafowora, founder and CEO of startup Gander, which is working to instead bring video content straight to a brand’s e-comm site.

“While people are actively already considering your product, they get that extra nudge to get that extra layer of social proof that really drives them towards actually checking out,” Fafowora told Retail Brew.

Gander, which debuted last year and raised $4.2 million in a seed round last month, integrates short videos onto DTC sites to provide shoppers with demos or product info while they’re browsing—while providing brands a way to boost sales and conversion rates.

• In Q1 2022, Gander drove an 8x boost in conversion rates for shoppers who viewed brands’ videos, according to the company.

Coming into view: Gander has worked with brands like Good American and Black Opal, whose sites range from 10,000 to 3 million monthly visitors—and it’s seen the highest conversion with those in the 30,000+ range, Fafowora said.

Check out Gander’s unique shopper conversion strategy.—EC

Esprit, the Hong Kong-based clothing and accessories retailer, is on a mission to turn around its once-flailing business in Asia.

After shuttering its 56 outposts across the continent in 2020, the company is now giving the brand a facelift, shifting away from fast fashion and into sustainability, CEO William Pak told Bloomberg.

• Esprit has already cut its fashion collection cycles from 12 to just four per year alongside limited-edition collections—a strategy that’s helped yield the company a net income of $48.5 million (HK$381 million) in 2021—its first profit in five years.

The magic question: Can it work? It depends on if the company can stick to a few ground rules—starting with a “high level of transparency with their manufacturing partners, almost to the extent of their pay, sitting side by side at the table, making decisions with their manufacturing partners on things surrounding sustainability,” Michael Prendergast, managing director at Alvarez & Marsal Consumer Retail Group, told Retail Brew.

• He added that Esprit would also need to be upfront about the types of fabrics and chemicals in use alongside the labor practices across mills and factories. “No longer can you just ask the right questions, do an inspection with a factory, and then think that everything’s going to be okay,” he said. “You have to truly create very responsible partnerships with the vendors that you’re working with.”

Although the retailer opened a pop-up store in Seoul in April—with plans for another in Hong Kong next month—it will focus on e-comm, per Bloomberg. But as it forges its path to success, it’ll need to ensure sustainability remains a key part of its strategy. “Sustainability is no longer a ‘shiny object,’” Prendergast noted. “Sustainability has very quickly become a pillar of running a successful brand or retailer, really anywhere in the world, not just Asia.”—JS

Today’s top retail reads.

In the weeds: A look at the marijuana merchants of New York City’s Washington Square Park, a technically illegal business that’s becoming “increasingly tolerated” by the authorities. “We try to keep this very professional, seven days a week, as a business,” one seller said. “Because we all are trying to do something with this.” (Curbed)

Fruits of the union: Last year, California-based Genwa became the first Korean BBQ restaurant in the US to unionize, a move that could influence organizing efforts across other Korean-owned businesses, like supermarkets. (Los Angeles Times)

The factory of Gucci: Inside Gucci’s Florence, Italy factory, a space akin to an “operating room,” where artisans hand-sew and paint gowns, bags, and more. (60 Minutes)

Lights, camera, Brew: Morning Brew is on YouTube! Our shows cover the tech, trends, and companies you care about—and don’t worry, we’re not jargon people. Watch here.

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The numbers you need to know.

We all know consumers want the latest things and they want it fast, at least when it comes to fashion. But just how fast? Alvarez & Marsal, a consumer retail group, found out recently in its New Evolution of Fast Fashion report.

• The report, which surveyed ~500 consumers across the US in June, found that half of shoppers surveyed prefer to buy a fashion trend within the same week of discovering it.
• 40% of respondents 18 to 44 said they would compromise on brand loyalty in exchange for immediacy.

At all costs: The study which also looked into changing consumer demands, and shopping habits also found that ~50% shoppers bought the trends they were interested in online, while 35% went to a mall to find them. Still, regardless of where they found the items they wanted, 30% of them indulged in fast-fashion purchases at least once a week, while a whopping 65% bought multiple items per week.

Catch up on the Retail Brew stories you may have missed.

• Why office-chair maker All33 is moving its manufacturing to the US
• Some of the most notable union firsts in retail so far in 2022
• Bittersweet: Kellogg’s cereals just lost a regulatory fight in the UK