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BRIEF (🔓): Some say that there is a wall in the headquarters of one of the most important eCommerce companies in the world with a placard that says, “Death to Agencies.”
It doesn’t matter if it actually exists or not; the sentiment is real and it’s not exclusive to that particular company. It’s a catch-all for what’s become a greater cultural critique of the traditional agency: bloated, slow, expensive, and increasingly irrelevant in an era defined by agility and efficiency. And honestly, I think there is a place for that philosophy.
Agencies have classically profited from the inefficiencies of others-companies needing outside expertise to fill in the gaps in technical skill, creative output, or strategic planning. While many of today’s top (and / or acquired) agency upstarts scaled with Shopify’s meteoric rise, fueled by venture-backed direct-to-consumer brands, today’s landscape looks very different. The most interesting conversations I have aren’t with agencies fighting for relevance with a new DTC darling but with international retailers looking to establish a foothold in the U.S. market or domestic players trying to localize operations thousands of miles away. Or retailers who require more from their agencies than development or paid media, alone.
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Insider: Waste is beginning to resonate with the average consumer.
What that looks like on the ground is stores filled to the brim as boxes pile up. At Robyn's Dollar Tree stores, they can't call the distribution center and ask it to stop shipping, either, as everything continues to accumulate if they don't have time to put it away. "The truck is going to show up whether you have room for it or not," she said.
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National Post: The direct line from elite marketing and massive waste.
We produce about 400 million tonnes of plastic waste globally each year, according to the United Nations Environment Programme. We also make 92 million tonnes of textile waste annually, per the World Economic Forum. And, in 2022, we produced an estimated 62 million tonnes of waste globally from electrical and electronic equipment (e-waste), says the World Health Organization.
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Freethink: That pesky "casual clothing made out of technical fabrics" problem.
As for where all these microplastics were coming from, Thompson’s team was right that many were once a part of larger pieces of plastic — polyester clothing and synthetic rubber tires proved to be particularly large sources of microplastics in the environment. The tiny plastic pellets which are used to create larger plastic products are a big contributor, too — at various points in the supply chain, they can slip into the environment.
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TFL: Addressing textile waste is the critical issue of the retail industry.
“While consumers and businesses have options to donate, repurpose, and repair used textiles in the U.S., the majority are discarded into municipal waste streams,” the Government Accountability Office says in a new report, which highlights issues about textile waste and textile recycling in the U.S.
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Sponsor Supported Data: In 2024, holiday retail sales in the United States were forecast to reach about 979.5 billion U.S. dollars. This figure was given as a conservative value; retail sales over the holiday season was projected to be between 979.5 billion U.S. dollars to 989 billion U.S. dollars in 2024. Holiday retail sales have risen substantially since the turn of the century, with holiday retail sales amounting to approximately 416 billion U.S. dollars back in 2002. Holiday retail sales are a fraction of total retail sales in the United States which were around seven trillion U.S. dollars in 2023.
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WSJ: Amazon shifted away from offline in the U.S. and Alibaba followed suit in China.
The move comes as Alibaba restructures its businesses to focus on e-commerce. The tech giant split itself into six divisions last year in the wake of a regulatory clampdown in China aimed at reining in the sector. Last month, the Hangzhou-based company merged its domestic and overseas e-commerce operations into one unit last month, reflecting a sharpened focus on its core online shopping business.
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CSA: Ohio Means infrastructure. Amazon, Google, and Intel for a total of $56 billion.
In addition, since first launching the AWS US East (Ohio) Region in 2016, Amazon says it has invested more than $10.3 billion in the state in cloud computing infrastructure, which has contributed an estimated $3.8 billion in GDP through 2023 and supports more than 4,700 jobs annually in the data center supply chain across Ohio.
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BOF: A little nugget about consumer preferences.
All cohorts of consumers, both older and younger, are increasingly valuing experiences over traditional asset accumulation. This is particularly true for the luxury consumer. We think about luxury travel, we’ve seen a lot of secular growth in those categories.
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It's Nice That: Brands leaned into bold risk-taking in 2024.
Brands have instead focused on reconnecting with their audiences and injecting spirit back into their marketing efforts. From tech companies embracing playful aesthetics, to gaming brands getting grounded and legacy brands making comebacks, this year has kept audiences on their toes.
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December Update, presented by Bold Metrics.
Shein vs. Fashion Nova: The Race for Fast Fashion Dominance
Shein solidifies its top position with a remarkable weighted measure of 167.8, leaving competitors like Fashion Nova trailing. While Shein’s growth metrics are unparalleled, Fashion Nova faces challenges, with stagnating Instagram growth and competition intensifying. This analysis will dive into Shein’s innovation-driven rise and Fashion Nova’s strategies to remain relevant amidst market saturation.
Incoming Brands: Good Ranchers, Huel, Drank AG1, 6666 Ranch, and Bandit Running
These companies are high-flying to some degree, with Good Ranchers' notable growth leading the way. In the "Would Rank" column, you will see where each company would be positioned on the existing DTC Power List.
The Fall and Rise of Glossier
Once a DNVB darling, Glossier's resurgence to 8th place with a weighted measure of 156.7 showcases its efforts to rebuild consumer trust and adapt to changing market dynamics. With new product lines and strategic paid traffic campaigns, the brand is finding its footing again. The analysis will explore how Glossier’s evolution reflects broader trends in beauty and eCommerce.
PrettyLittleThing’s Growth Reversal: What’s Next?
Ranked 5th but facing a 22.78% drop in Instagram growth, PrettyLittleThing’s position signals potential trouble. As competitors adapt, 2PM will be tracking what’s driving this slowdown.
This update's fastest growers:
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Salon: We all know that the TikTok ban is not happening.
TikTok, which has 170 million American users, says its departure could result in a loss of more than $1 billion in revenue for small businesses and as much as $300 million in earnings in one month for creators. A survey in March showed that most users would move to YouTube Shorts and Instagram Reels if TikTok leaves.
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Inc: So this likely means that Temu will continue to thrive as well.
The fact that Amazon’s app isn’t even in Apple’s top 10 downloads is telling, and suggests that in 2025 apps like Temu and Shein may again reign supreme, radically shifting the traditional online shopping ecosystem, and hitting the strategies of third-party retailers who’ve previously relied on Amazon’s systems.
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Shanghai Daily: Walmart leaned into becoming native to its key growth market.
The Chinese subsidiary of Walmart Inc. announced in a statement on its WeChat messenger app account that all its products are now available for delivery from all stores via the Meituan app. Walmart China said that it expects this new partnership to further grow its e-commerce business, which already represents almost half of its sales.
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Netflix’s documentary Buy Now! The Shopping Conspiracy came right on time in the run-up to Black Friday and Cyber Monday – a cultural phenomenon that epitomizes consumerism at its most extreme. As holiday sales are about to overwhelm people, the film deconstructed how multinational corporations engineer overconsumption that results in environmental and social devastation. The documentary’s release was a kind of reminder that this shopping frenzy is not just an economic event; it is also environmental and psychological, with effects reaching far beyond the holiday season.
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The defining art events of 2024. Air pollution in India linked to millions of deaths. The top 13 science stories of the year. Five star stays are on the rise. Like clockwork, eCommerce records shattered.
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