#104 The Least boring Weekend Newsletter

July 09, 2022 • Estimated Reading Time: 10 minutes

Good Morning Readers!

Here’s to wishing for a successful day ahead!

The first Metaverse Expo, which will include all things tech and digital, will be held in Las Vegas from Friday through Sunday. TCG World, an online virtual gaming environment, and Jigsaw Puzzle International Convention will hold its first-ever convention at the very same time in a separate but connected area with Metaverse. They are the organizations behind the event. 

The convention will be jam-packed with activities, business speakers, and exhibitors addressing subjects including blockchain technology, artificial intelligence, and metaverse entrepreneurship. Ken Shamrock of the WWE Hall of Fame, Clipz, the creator of FaZeClan, and Agon Hare and Sonya Mulkeet, co-creators of the YouTube channel Project Nightfall are among the speakers. The event floor will be filled with luxury automobiles, racing gear, e-gaming trucks, and a DJ booth. Participants may also anticipate gaming celebrity tournaments, NFT gifts, and special announcements.

Almund’s newsletter will give you all kinds of tips for DTC brands and much more.

Alright, so let’s get right to it!

This newsletter is going to dive into:

🚀 Interview In The Metaverse b/w Lukaku & Inter President Zhang

🔊 Brand Perception Measure

🥇 Brand Of The Week - Home Depot

🎁 Brand Deals Of The Week

📕 Top Reads Of The Week

⚙️ Plenty Of Jobs Await You!

So, scroll down to THE VERY END & read up on what’s yet to come your way!

DTC X Metaverse

The metaverse is becoming an increasingly important part of the world of sports, especially football. From fun and engaging activities that people can partake in online to feel the spirit of the sport to being heavily involved in the championship—Metaverse is making it all possible. 

In fact, it's even becoming a part of some professional sports leagues like the National Football League (NFL), which recently announced that it will be using virtual reality to help players improve their skills during off-season workouts. The NFL says it will use VR headsets from tech company STRIVR to help out football players improve their performance in areas like tackling, blocking, catching passes, and more.

The Metaverse has already started taking over other forms of entertainment, moving swiftly on to interviews. This week during a gathering that took place in the Metaverse itself, the Italian media outlet spoke with Steven Zhang, the young owner of Inter. In a quick but interesting conversation, Zhang discussed how new technologies are impacting football and how they are helping to boost revenue and interact with fans.

"[We are] reaching consumers on a wider scale and with greater ability than we could ever have imagined in the past," Zhang said. "I'm sure that in 20 years' time when we talk about a club's revenue, ticket sales or TV rights will no longer be the main categories. There will be social media, metaverse, and merchandising, all completely digital.” 

What further solidifies his belief is the fact that they’re already seeing 10-20% of the club’s revenue coming in from digital mediums as stated above.

Buy Now, Pay Later Credit Liquidity for Payments in the DTC Industry

Shoutout to our guest writer for today, Nitish! Show them some love 📖

“Buy Now, Pay Later” – you’ve probably NEVER heard of this option while shopping online.

Well, until most recently.

Buy Now, Pay Later, or BNPL is a short-term financing plan that places flexibility in the hands of the customer — empowering them to make purchases instantly while paying for them at a future date. Which is, truly, a match made in heaven. 

With more than half of Americans found to be living paycheck to paycheck, firms that offer non-traditional payment offerings, like BNPL, have shown immense growth potential. In fact, the market is predicted to hit a whopping valuation of $3268.26 billion by 2030. Hope you’re buckled in, my venture capital friends 🚀

How does it work?

Let’s say you’re shopping for a Walnut Charcuterie Board Set worth a total of $100 online. Yes, they exist. Promise. And as you get to the online checkout, you’re presented with the pleasant opportunity to pay for the product in 4 interest-free payments of $25 each with a registered payment provider. Your eyes light up in excitement. Cha-ching! 💰

However, these payment options are ONLY offered after a soft credit check on the customer since they operate as separate entities from the ACTUAL retailers. 

Wait, what? 😯

Payment providers like Klarna, Clearpay, PayPal, Afterpay, and Paybright, among others that offer BNPL services, make money from the retailer and not the customer. Typically, they take a cut from any transactions they help the retailer make online. These “cuts” could range anywhere between 2% to 8%, similar to agreements made between traditional credit card companies and merchants.

Why does it work? 

If you don’t enjoy the idea of dropping $200 at once for a pair of Ray-bans, this one is for you. If you do enjoy it, however, this is definitely for you as you might learn a thing or two 🙌

Here are a few reasons why the BNPL business model works:

For customers:

  1. Flexibility: You can spread the cost of the product into smaller amounts over a short period of time, usually weeks or months.

  2. Level playing field: You don’t need a credit card to avail of “credit” services for smaller purchases anymore. All, while without having to worry about an extensive credit check.

For DTC brands:

  1. Increased conversions: Data shows that online brands that offer BNPL services have increased shopping cart conversions by almost 20-30% more.

  2. Boost in sales and average order values (AOV): Offering BNPL services influence customer behavior to boost overall sales and increases average ticket size by between 30% and 50%. 

Whether you’re a customer or a retailer, BNPL is the way to go. If you don’t — you’re probably going to be left behind. And we don’t want that for you. We’re hoping to equip you with the extra knowledge you need to set you up for success 👀

If you enjoyed this read, be sure to check out Nitish Menon’s blog here. There’s some fun stuff for all marketing buffs out there. And if you’re hoping to learn how to evaluate your online marketing performance, using important metrics like CAC, LTV, etc., click here (includes sample case studies and dashboards for measurement).

Brand Of The Week - Home Depot

To stay on-trend and in demand, Home Depot is putting together a Home Decor Line!

Home Depot is counting on home décor to become the first choice for clients wishing to redecorate their property. Home Depot has added kids' decor to its StyleWell home decor collection, signifying the company's intention to influence all facets of family life. 65 items in the collection are now available, including carefully chosen fabrics, soft goods, bedroom decor, & bathroom decor. The company's plans to diversify into the décor market first came to fruition in 2019 with the introduction of the StyleWell brand, a collection catered to younger consumers searching for modern and fashionable home goods. 

Home Depot is anticipating that introducing more high-end home decor goods would eventually help them draw in more consumers with the continued growth of the StyleWell line. That paired with the fact that the pandemic induced an increasing requirement in home decor is a great reason Home Depot is stepping up and expanding its range to match the demands. 

Brand Deals Of The Week

Get the additional discount on all your clothing items with the Nordstrom sale!

Save up to 200$ on the selected laptops with BestBuy.

Get a huge discount on Washing machine purchases at Walmart.  

Enjoy cookies with an excellent deal at Amazon to enjoy the weekend.

Get the latest phone at an additional discount at eBay today!

Top Reads Of The Week

For the union-friendly Biden, wage growth presents a challenge.

China's EV companies' shares are up as Beijing prepares additional assistance for the automotive industry.

Twitter fires staff, according to a claim that Elon Musk's takeover attempt is at risk.

Those who have placed bets on the Ethereum merger are "underwater."

In a tweet, Elon Musk seems to claim fatherhood for twins together with one of his employees.

IN NEED OF A JOB?  WE'VE GOT PLENTY AWAITING YOU!

Color & Print Manager- Outdoor voices

Data Analyst- Dollar Shave Club

CHOOSE SUCCESS below and have a great weekend! Get that D2C business runnin’.