We discuss digital shopping experiences, their experimental evolution, Instacart, CARLY brands, and more. 

The New DIY

• DIY used to have a connotation of poor quality or poor craftsmanship but today, it’s more indicative of participation.
• Online marketplaces are booming with consumers and creators having more meaningful connections with items that could otherwise be more easily purchased.
• Partnering with Gladly, we’ve created a new report: The New DIY: Creators, Crafts and Commerce.
• “There is a cycle of inspiration that leads to education online, that leads to participation, which ultimately shapes the purchases that a person makes, which leads them back to inspire others into that same virtuous cycle.” - Phillip Jackson

Digital Shopping Experiences

• Kendall Jenner just released a $23 toothpaste on StockX. StockX has pioneered a drop platform called DropX. StockX was part of our Nine by Nine report as a brand introducing a new type of luxury to a new consumer. Since our report, StockX has constantly been pushing into new categories.
• Farfetch is moving into experimental shopping: partnering with Bambuser, they’re doing a six month trial to create more entertainment-focused digital commerce experiences.
• Shopping online is less entertainment than shopping physically. Farfetch is piloting the change in online shopping to a more entertaining experience.
• Immerss does live video shopping and trunk shows - both live streaming and pre-recording content, making online shopping a more entertaining experience.
• Shoptalk was different this year, being online and being less content-driven: “To me, this was the most successful Shoptalk ever. Period. Hands down.” - Phillip Jackson

Instacart

• Instacart is launching a senior support service to help boomers (age 60+) create accounts and shop online.
• Instacart is pivoting to doing a lot more than just groceries. They are also mentioned in our Nine by Nine report for their help in closing the gap with everyday brands and Amazon Prime.
• There has been criticism of the bifurcation of the consumer during COVID-19 in which its been said that the upper class worked in their homes while the middle class became deliverers of consumer goods.
• Regardless of controversy, Instacart has made these delivery methods more available and accessible to everyone. Instacart has a lead over retailers’s own efforts in deliveries even if they are an intermediary for the experience.
• According to Instacart, there’s traffic of 2000 senior customers a day that specialists are spending 20% more account support time with on average.
• Seniors represent a major growth potential for online retailers because (according to eMarketer) 62% of baby boomers will make at least one online purchase this year.
• Aldi has made EBT available via Instacart. This is providing tech mobility and accessibility to those in different income classes.

CARLY Brands

• On media becoming commerce: “By nature of being a new psychographic, stuff that tries to address the psychographic isn’t always going to land.” - Brian Lange
• There’s a sense of self and importance of the self as a brand, which we refer to as the Existential Brand: “If you are a good brand that isn’t entirely self-focused, you actually create your identity through your community and your customers.” - Brian Lange
• Thredup is a brand that is true to the digital shopping paradigm of heightening the real life experience via eCommerce: “If you look at in-store thrift[ing], there’s a different person who’s dropping off stuff than the person who shops there… [Thredup] is making a marketplace that you can participate in on both ends of the spectrum.” - Phillip Jackson

Links

• Check out our new report with Gladly: The New DIY
• Check out our friends at Surge for your consumer research!
• Immerss’s Crunchbase profile
• Grocery Dive article: “Instacart has introduced 60K seniors to online grocery shopping in the past month”
• Future Commerce Insiders #058: “The Existential Brand Part 2”

 

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