The Outsights: December 4, 2023
What Shopify did to DTC, BOGO offers with a catch, and Walmart is now producing rom-coms.
Hello, and welcome to The Outsights—Nebulab’s bi-weekly collection of the best reads, listens, and products from the world of retail, eCommerce, and DTC.
After BFCM, we can all get back to life as usual. This week, we’re talking about the commoditization of DTC, how brands are becoming smarter about their promotions and discounts, and Walmart’s recent experiment with blending content and commerce.
Let’s take a look!
Thought provokers
Memo: Shopify owns DTC. Spot on analysis (as always) by 2PM. The only thing I would add to this is that, while Shopify’s narrative has played a big part in the commoditization of commerce, the ultimate responsibility lies with the brands. You can do unique things, even on Shopify—as long as you have the creativity to think outside the box and the skillset to execute.
Nostalgia isn't enough. Ana Andjelic has a doctorate in sociology and is the Chief Brand Officer at Esprit—and before that, at Banana Republic. In this piece, she talks about the right way and the wrong way to revive a brand. Spoiler: if your whole strategy revolves around the good old times, you’re doing it wrong.
Goings-on
Why buy-one, get-one-free offers are more complicated than you remember. Most DTC brands don’t have the brand equity to pull off initiatives like these, but it’s interesting to see brands reach a middle-ground between not discounting at all and only discounting when it matters.
How Walmart’s shoppable rom-com bridges holiday content, commerce. You can watch the six-episode mini-series (micro-series?) on YouTube, Roku, and TikTok, and buy the products that appear in the scenes. This reminded me of 6666 Ranch—Yellowstone’s foray into commerce. We need more content-commerce hybrids in the world. Kudos to Walmart for being a pioneer.
Millions of luxury products now come with unique digital passports. Here’s what that means. DPPs are not just a regulatory matter: they can create new opportunities for brands to connect with consumers. It will be a while before we see widespread adoption, but this is an initiative I’m personally looking forward to (see my recent LinkedIn post for a longer analysis).
Tool of the week
accessiBe. A recent conversation reminded me that consumers are still suing brands over ADA, so here’s your gentle reminder to become (and stay) compliant if you haven’t done your homework yet. We’ve used accessiBe in the past, and it’s a great product—easy to install and easy to use.
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That’s it for today!
If you’ve come across any interesting articles, podcasts, or tools we should check out, you can email us at [email protected].
See you in two weeks! 👋