Morning Brew - ☕️ Pass

The year’s most overhyped retail trends.
Morning Brew December 17, 2021

Retail Brew

Route

Happy Friday. We know you still have holiday shopping to do (it can’t just be us, right?), so let’s get into it.

In today’s edition:

  • The year’s most overhyped retail trends
  • Retailers are good with gift cards
  • DTC brands see a slowdown

—Julia Gray, Jeena Sharma, Katishi Maake

TRENDS

Hype man

Image of TV with shopping ads and remote Francis Scialabba

In 2021, the retail industry took Covid-era conveniences and tried to make them fit into a post-vaccine world. Fifteen-minute grocery-delivery startups claimed supermarket trips are a thing of the past. Gamified commerce reasoned people only buy things when they’re scrolling TikTok or playing Candy Crush. And fashion houses jumped into the metaverse before consumers could google “What is NFT.”

So, which trends made a mark and which just made noise? To close out 2021, we spoke to a few analysts and insiders and got their opinions on the most bloated buzzwords of the year.

Live dreams

Livestream shopping is still getting its footing in America, but the fad has already made retailers and social media companies alike rethink their e-comm strategies. To name a few: Facebook introduced a live-shopping event series, Saks debuted holiday livestream shopping shows, and Albertsons partnered with a short-form video platform.

  • A slew of live-shopping platforms like Ntwrk and Supergreat, too, have popped up to compete in the space.

But livestream shopping, expected to be an $11 billion industry in the US by the end of 2021, hasn’t yet taken off here like it has in China. There are doubts it actually will.

Get real: “I don’t think we’ll ever be where China is with livestream shopping...[Our expectations will] settle in at something a little more reasonable,” eMarketer’s Andrew Lipsman told Retail Brew.

“People have compared livestream shopping to QVC, but QVC works because it’s on TV. With livestream, people have to lean in and really want to engage with it,” he continued. “So the question is, how many people really want to spend a significant amount of time watching these?”

Neil Saunders, managing director and retail analyst at GlobalData Retail, concurs: “Livestream shopping has become more important...but now that people can go into stores, [it’s] not quite as important. It was a stand-in.”

Screen time: Which brings us to our next trend…online shopping. Don’t look so shocked! We have our reasons.

Click here to read ’em—and see which other fads were way, way, way overhyped this year. And click here to cast your own vote.—JG

        

HOLIDAYS

Play your cards right

Gift cards in a store Jeff Greenberg/Getty Images

’Tis the week of holiday-shipping deadlines. Nordstrom and Saks Fifth Avenue, for two, marked December 16 as the last day shoppers could put in online orders to get their gifts by Christmas (without paying exorbitant shipping fees)—but there will always be procrastinators. Jam-packed stores are always an option. So are gift cards.

And they’re more popular than ever.

Gift cards ranked in the top three online categories this season (behind toys and video games), according to Adobe—sales increased 263% from November 1 to December 9, compared to September.

  • Shoppers plan to buy 15 gift cards on average during the holidays, a number up 50% from 2020 and 200% from 2019, per branded payment service Blackhawk.

Backed up: Not to blame everything on the supply chain, but in this case, it has played a role.

“The front-page coverage [of the] crisis has people defaulting to just giving gift cards,” Tyler Higgins, retail practice lead and managing director at AArete, told Retail Brew.

Cashing in: All those gift cards are A-okay by retailers. Not only are they a way to combat everything basically being out of stock, but gift cards can help draw in shoppers.

“This is great for them as they attract new customers,” Deborah Weinswig, CEO and founder of Coresight Research, told Retail Brew. “If the customer has a great experience, you might have had the cheapest customer acquisition cost ever.”

  • Those shoppers often spend more, too. A Blackhawk study found that 60% of consumers tend to shell out more $$ than what their gift cards are worth.

Click here to read more about why retailers are into gift cards.—JS

        

TOGETHER WITH ROUTE

Just Because the 90s Are Back…

Route

...doesn’t mean an e-commerce strategy from ’99—or even the one you’re using from last year—is gonna be any more effective. (Unless you’re giving away scrunchies with every order. Scrunchies might work.)

As we enter the new year, now’s the time to start thinking about better ways to engage your customers so you can drive growth and build brand loyalty.

Take a page from Route’s book. In fact, take all 17 pages in this free guide they built on modern customer engagement. It’s got the how, when, and where you should be engaging with customers—the info you need in order to scale better.

According to Route’s guide, a staggering 93% of customers want to hear from you—from the minute they make their purchase to the day they receive their order and beyond.

Take a moment to think about the scrunchies. In the meantime, download and read through Route’s guide here.

DTC

To be direct

Gif of Audrey Hepburn Giphy

That DTC shine might be wearing off.

This year, nearly six in 10 Americans bought at least one DTC product, according to Diffusion’s latest Direct-to-Consumer Purchase Intent Index. But going into 2022, only 65% expect to purchase something from a DTC brand, down from 79% heading into 2021—the first drop since Diffusion began surveying shoppers in 2018.

  • Nearly half (43%) of Americans don’t plan to shop from a DTC brand during the holidays.

What’s with the slowdown?

Ship-shop state: DTC brands “almost became synonymous” with fast (and free) shipping before the pandemic, explained Kate Ryan, Diffusion’s US managing director. Supply chains made that tough this year.

“Through no fault of their own, it’s been impossible to guarantee that kind of thing,” Ryan told us. “What I think consumers have wanted out of DTC was the original promise, and DTC brands just couldn’t deliver that in the way that they had hoped.”

  • Shoppers are leaning toward traditional big-box retailers, believing them to be more reliable amid the chaos, she added.

Looking ahead...Ryan isn’t necessarily alarmed by the slowing growth, but she does think there’s room for improvement. She called out customer service as a big focus for 2022.

“All of these brands are all still trying to get people in the door to meet that demand. Customer service is something that you’re going to see wholesale [innovation] on—what kind of technology and tools [that] help to do that,” Ryan said.—KM

        

WHAT ELSE IS BREWING

  • TikTok is teaming up with Virtual Dining Concepts for its own (delivery-only) restaurants.
  • Alibaba wants Lazada, its Southeast Asian arm, to hit $100 billion in gross merchandise value.
  • Affirm and Klarna are among the buy now, pay later platforms that the Consumer Financial Protection Bureau plans to look into.
  • McDonald’s former CEO will return more than $105 million in compensation after reaching a settlement with the fast-food giant.

TOGETHER WITH ROUTE

Route

Modern merchants sell for tomorrow. If you wanna really connect with your customers in 2022, you need to update your e-commerce strategy to reflect the times. Route’s Guide to Modern Customer Engagement breaks down the journey today’s shoppers take and how you can connect with them in meaningful ways. Download the guide for free here.

SWAPPING SKUS

Today’s top retail reads.

Tied together: In the aftermath of Virgil Abloh’s death, sales for his designs on sneaker-resale sites skyrocketed, raising questions about how the market can be manipulated when someone influential passes away. (The New York Times)

Fine print: From ginger-less ginger ale to vanilla ice cream with no vanilla, class action lawsuits against food and beverage makers are on the rise. Here’s why. (Food Dive)

Do the math: Retail-theft statistics are exaggerated. This breakdown explains why it’s actually a much smaller problem than the current narrative would have you believe. (Los Angeles Times)

FRIEND OR FAUX?

Three of the stories below are real...and one is most definitely not. Can you spot the fake?

  1. Kraft is offering home cooks a $20 reimbursement to not make cheesecake to help with cream-cheese shortages.
  2. Party City warned it might run out of balloons as early as next week, as people ready for New Year’s Eve celebrations.
  3. Uber Eats made its first-ever delivery to space, sending canned beef and boiled mackerel to the International Space Station.
  4. Lay’s released its own vodka for the holidays.

Keep reading for the answer.

SHARE THE BREW

You only need 2 more referrals to receive Morning Brew stickers.

Click here to get free swag.

Hit the button below to learn more and access your rewards hub.

Click to Share

Or copy & paste your referral link to others:
morningbrew.com/retail/r/?kid=303a04a9

FRIEND OR FAUX? ANSWER

We all remember the helium shortage from a few years back, but it looks like balloons are safe for the time being.

Written by Julia Gray, Jeena Sharma, and Katishi Maake

Was this email forwarded to you? Sign up here.

WANT MORE BREW?

Industry news, with a sense of humor →

  • HR Brew: analysis of the employee-employer relationship

Tips for smarter living →

Podcasts → Business Casual and Founder's Journal

YouTube

Accelerate Your Career →

  • MB/A: virtual 8-week program designed to broaden your skill set
ADVERTISE // CAREERS // SHOP // FAQ

Update your email preferences or unsubscribe here.
View our privacy policy here.

Copyright © 2021 Morning Brew. All rights reserved.
22 W 19th St, 8th Floor, New York, NY 10011

Older messages

☕ Credit score, for startups

Friday, December 17, 2021

Could a tool intended to reduce bias in startup investing make things worse? December 17, 2021 Emerging Tech Brew TOGETHER WITH TELUS International Happy Friday. The FTC has opened an in-depth probe

☕️ Hotspot NYC

Friday, December 17, 2021

Omicron + Delta tag team on the Big Apple... December 17, 2021 View Online | Sign Up | Shop Morning Brew TOGETHER WITH Braun Good morning. Yesterday we told you Santa wasn't real. Today, we regret

🙅 Not the boss of you

Thursday, December 16, 2021

The case against becoming a manager. December 16, 2021 | View Online | Sign Up Sidekick Logo TOGETHER WITH Braun Hello! Pantone has announced its 2022 color of the year, a blueish shade named “Very

☕️ YOLO

Thursday, December 16, 2021

The Fed announces a major pivot... December 16, 2021 View Online | Sign Up | Shop Morning Brew TOGETHER WITH Electric Good morning. Sorry to break the news, but Santa isn't real. Yep, he's just

☕ Electric bus

Wednesday, December 15, 2021

Why buy a new electric bus when you can convert a diesel one? December 15, 2021 Emerging Tech Brew TOGETHER WITH TELUS International Hello, hello. Charles Darwin's family microscope is going up for

You Might Also Like

Squeezed by African Coups, Biden Cozies Up to the World’s Worst Dictator

Thursday, March 28, 2024

Famous for its repression and torture, Teodoro Obiang's Equatorial Guinea got an aid delivery from US Special Operations forces. Most Read Elon Musk Fought Government Surveillance — While Profiting

Practically-A-Book Review: Rootclaim $100,000 Lab Leak Debate

Thursday, March 28, 2024

I watched 15 hours of COVID origins arguments so you don't have to - but you should! ͏ ͏ ͏ ͏ ͏ ͏ ͏ ͏ ͏ ͏ ͏ ͏ ͏ ͏ ͏ ͏ ͏ ͏ ͏ ͏ ͏ ͏ ͏ ͏ ͏ ͏ ͏ ͏ ͏ ͏ ͏ ͏ ͏ ͏ ͏ ͏ ͏ ͏ ͏ ͏ ͏ ͏ ͏ ͏ ͏ ͏ ͏ ͏ ͏ ͏ ͏ ͏ ͏ ͏ ͏ ͏

SIROTA’S SIGNALS: This Graph Explains The Discontent

Thursday, March 28, 2024

Plus, a nonprofit health care system secretly becomes a debt collector, regulators may help you find cheaper credit cards, and Big Tech's plan to keep preying on kids. SIROTA'S SIGNALS: This

Is Biden on track for defeat? The debate, explained.

Thursday, March 28, 2024

Plus: How happy are you? What will SBF's sentence be? And more. March 28, 2024 View in browser Good morning! If you've consumed any kind of news about the 2024 presidential election cycle

Boat Probe, Opening Day, and a Cadbury Raccoon

Thursday, March 28, 2024

Facts, without motives. ‌ ‌ ‌ ‌ ‌ ‌ ‌ ‌ ‌ ‌ ‌ ‌ ‌ ‌ ‌ ‌ ‌ ‌ ‌ ‌ ‌ ‌ ‌ ‌ ‌ ‌ ‌ ‌ ‌ ‌ ‌ ‌ ‌ ‌ ‌ ‌ ‌ ‌ ‌ ‌ ‌ ‌ ‌ ‌ ‌ ‌ ‌ ‌ ‌ ‌ ‌ ‌ ‌ ‌ ‌ ‌ ‌ ‌ ‌ ‌ ‌ ‌ ‌ ‌ ‌ ‌ ‌ ‌ ‌ ‌ ‌ ‌ ‌ ‌ ‌ ‌ ‌ ‌ ‌ ‌ ‌ ‌ ‌ ‌ ‌ ‌ ‌ ‌ ‌

These 50 companies have donated over $23 million to election deniers since January 6, 2021

Thursday, March 28, 2024

Donald Trump lost the 2020 election. Then, according to the report of the bipartisan January 6 Commission, Trump engaged in a "multi-part conspiracy to overturn the lawful results of the 2020

Numlock News: March 28, 2024 • Orcas, Visas, Dragons

Thursday, March 28, 2024

By Walt Hickey Visas As part of the budget signed into law on Saturday, $50 million has been allocated to the State Department to cut down on the passport backlog and reduce the long wait times for

☕️ Not so rational actors

Thursday, March 28, 2024

Robinhood is playing the long game with its new credit card... March 28, 2024 View Online | Sign Up | Shop Morning Brew PRESENTED BY Aura Health Good morning. It's Opening Day for Major League

What A Day: The promised Lands

Thursday, March 28, 2024

Alabama's first election since the state's IVF fiasco yielded a Democratic blowout. Wednesday, March 27, 2024 BY CROOKED MEDIA – Former Neil Gorsuch clerk and current Trumpist Mike Davis,

GeekWire Mid-Week Update

Thursday, March 28, 2024

Read the top tech stories so far this week from GeekWire GeekWire Mid-Week Update Top stories so far this week Love it or hate it, Tesla Cybertruck turns heads in Seattle as GeekWire test drives