Expert Advice

What draws the consumer to a D2C brand over traditional businesses? Two words: customer closeness. That is, the ability for organizations to feel directly connected to the users of their products or services -- understanding their motivations, lifestyles, opinions, and attitudes. Let's first explore...

Supply chain chaos has sellers and shoppers on edge, with no relief in sight anytime soon. To better understand how marketers should navigate this unusual holiday shopping season, we spoke with a variety of experts to get tips on what makes for successful holiday e-commerce marketing -- and why plan...

The holiday season is big business for e-commerce, but this year will be very different across every platform. Brands should focus on profitability over sales volume, because even though Amazon will again see record sales, the game has changed more so than any previous year. Let's examine why the ke...

The term "social commerce" is the trend du jour for marketers, yet there's confusion in many circles about what that really means. Some people equate social commerce with capital-I "Influencer" marketing. Others think of social commerce as the process of marketers reaching consumers directly via soc...

Are you looking for a way to reinvent the traditional vendor marketplace? Consider adding composable commerce to your bag of tricks. This marketing approach enables businesses to bring to their brands a distinct method to continuously optimize their customers' experiences.

This year's back-to-school season is a true "Back to School!" that's driving increased spending and demand for clothing, school supplies, computers, athletic equipment, and other products. To successfully navigate the chaos, shoppers will turn to reviews from their peers who have first-hand experien...

AfterShip Cofounder and CPO Andrew Chan is an advocate of post-purchase engagement to boost customer retention. He advises that ensuring a convenient experience after purchase -- from shipping, tracking, returns, and reviews -- helps retailers sell more to happy, repeat consumers. We spoke with Chan...

One of the fundamental choices that an e-commerce retailer must make is the platform they use to sell their goods and services, because it's not just a store -- it's a place to connect with customers and create a sense of the brand. We spoke with several e-commerce experts to get their take on how r...

With resale appealing to a growing share of consumers, chief among them Gen Z, more brands are jumping on the bandwagon. Levi's, Lululemon, and Nike all launched in-house resale programs over the last year. However, the rise of resale comes with many challenges for e-commerce brands and marketplaces...

By cutting out the middleman, brands can earn a higher margin and gain direct access to consumers and their data. For these reasons, leading brands such as Nike are aggressively making the shift to DTC, and other large retailers are following suit. However, many forget to take into account three imp...

"What's the real cost of getting everything delivered to your door? Small businesses and third-party sellers are getting killed," said Jason Boyce, CEO and founder of Avenue7Media." As consumers in a free country, we have to ask ourselves whether one company with the power of Amazon is good for Amer...

The most effective podcast advertising is delivered by the host. While this makes many marketers uneasy, the risk can pay off because the targets will listen and remember the message.

The economic implications of Covid-19 have been devastating for many sectors and individuals. As we head into the summer of 2021 anticipating that most places in the U.S. will be fully open for business, many industries are looking at what the post-Covid recovery will mean for them. For sales profes...

Everyone loves a deal, and e-commerce shoppers are no different. Coupons, discounts, and other offers can draw in new customers and build loyalty with existing ones. In fact, according to recent survey by Vericast, 83 percent of consumers bought at least one item in the last six months -- and 62 per...