#108 The Least boring Weekend Newsletter

July 23, 2022 • Estimated Reading Time: 14 minutes

Good Morning Readers🌞

The weekend is almost here! Don't you want to do something exciting🤦‍♀? For when you've got the time to read something but nothing interesting is happening. Unlock Your Weekend Potential Now! 💪

While rapid delivery is a concept that has been around for many years, and while it has been used in the past to describe expedited shipping, it has recently been adopted by the e-commerce industry as a whole. GoPuff has put the brakes on its speedy delivery service after expanding rapidly over the previous several years and is attempting to correct its course in light of the increasingly difficult market conditions. The quick delivery startup said this week that there would be another round of layoffs in only four months. 

Additionally, it said that it was reducing the number of its U.S. fleet's little warehouses, which swiftly carry convenience goods to customers. The decision reflects a tighter investment environment that is less supportive of businesses that cannot demonstrate a short-term route to profitability.  GoPuff's difficulties appear to have further dimmed the prospects for an opportunity that startups, digital companies, and major merchants are all pursuing given that it is by far the leader in quick delivery. 

However, despite the fact that GoPuff and others face considerably rougher times ahead, insiders claimed that there is still a sizable market potential available for businesses to seize. They must modify their expectations while also evolving their business approach. GoPuff is one of the first companies to use rapid delivery as a strategy for their business. In just three years, the industry has grown from $5 billion to over $10 billion in annual sales. The market is expected to reach $20 billion by 2023 and $50 billion by 2035.

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:

🎮Create Your Custom Action Heroes With Hasbro Selfie Series

🚀The rise of Augmented Reality in E-Commerce

🥇 Brand Of The Week - Arrive

🎁 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!

Create Your Custom Action Heroes With Hasbro Selfie Series

You can now get a Hasbro action figure with your face on it because of the convergence of numerous technologies, including 3D printing, app development, and smartphone cameras. With the use of the Formlabs and Hasbro Selfie Series collaboration, consumers may download the Hasbro Pulse app, use their smartphone's camera to "scan" their face, and then upload the image to Hasbro's Formlabs-equipped print facility. Hasbro prints a rather accurate representation of your full head attaches it to the Star Wars, Marvel, GI Joe, Power Rangers, or Ghostbusters character of your choosing, and mails it to you.

Formlabs and Hasbro have really been working hard together for years on prototypes and this initiative is a continuation of previous efforts. A more accurate representation of faces, down to complexion and hair color, is now possible with smartphones thanks to augmented reality (AR) applications with three-dimensional depth sensors. Scaling the process has also helped to lower the price for fans by enhancing resin quality.

Although 3D printing, also known as additive manufacturing, has shown to be a quick and affordable method of producing working prototypes, there are still few consumer uses for it.

Sponsored Section

Are you interested in using data to personalize your marketing? You should try Apteo - They use your customer data + A.I. to help you create higher-performing campaigns that result in huge returns. They're also offering a money-back guarantee where they'll even pay you $500 if it doesn't work. Apteo is all about personalized marketing campaigns with auto-generated segments. 

OR

The rise of Augmented Reality in E-Commerce🛍

The fact that online shopping doesn't fit itself well with a rich visual product experience is one of the main problems with it. In a physical store, you can put clothes on, feel textures, and judge for yourself how big a couch seems in a room. Although those things aren't physically achievable in eCommerce, augmented reality (AR) applications provide a method to provide customers with deeper and more comprehensive information about your items - all from the comfort of their own homes. Retail and other advertisers are taking notice of the fact that augmented reality technology has been really starting to take hold. Let's examine some statistics to demonstrate this:

  • One AR research firm projects that advertising revenue could top $8 billion by the end of 2024.

  • 71% of consumers claim that if AR were adopted, they would shop more frequently.

  • Consumer preference for retailers offering AR experiences is 61% 

  • 40% of buyers claim they would pay more for a product with augmented reality customization options.

  • 67% of advertising companies claim to be using augmented reality more frequently.

  • By 2022, there will be 83.1 million US customers utilizing augmented reality on a monthly basis.

Using Augmented Reality for eCommerce has Various Advantages.

eCommerce business owners may gain a lot from this cutting-edge technology. The following are some wonderful advantages of AR in eCommerce in 2022.

📈Increase Customer Engagement - Integrating buyers with the product and brand via experiential marketing is among the most effective strategies to increase sales. In eCommerce, augmented reality enables customers to experience items in real-time. Users will be able to engage with the goods exactly as if they would in the real world. In order to aid users in making wise buying decisions, it offers real-time, interactive 3D models.

🛠Conceptual Product Design- Poor product experience is one of the biggest disadvantages of online purchasing or eCommerce. Buyers cannot touch or fully comprehend the thing they buy online, unlike in-person transactions. Online retailers may close this gap by utilizing augmented reality in eCommerce to create more immersive product experiences through 3D representations, virtual try-on, and interactive videos demo. Fusing the actual and virtual worlds on the live video stream can assist online store owners in creating more engaging product experiences. Users may choose their purchases more wisely as a result.

📉Lowering return rates- One of the most prevalent issues that might use a number of resources are a high return rate. 30% of consumers who had recently made purchases returned the things, according to a study. The issue, in this case, is that either the store owner cannot adequately describe the goods or the buyer cannot comprehend the thing. Implementing an AR shopping experience can close this gap, assist customers in experiencing the goods, and aid in proper product selection. By enabling clients to select the ideal product in accordance with their needs, augmented reality implementation in eCommerce may, therefore, drastically lower the return rates.

📊Increase in conversion rates- One of the significant advantages of augmented reality in online shopping is improved conversion rates. If users understand the product they want to buy, they are more likely to convert. By utilizing augmented reality in eCommerce, business owners can provide customers with a more captivating and engaging products and service experience, increasing conversion rates.

Here are some initiatives you can take if you've decided to adopt augmented reality in your business model.

🎯Clearly State Your Company Goals

What do you hope to accomplish? And how does it benefit your consumers? After responding to the first question, you should continue because the second question has the potential to transform your AR application from acceptable to outstanding. You must be clear on the goals you have for the user experience. Before diving into the technical components of your AR application, establish your vision and objectives. Choosing the methods and tools, you'll need to get there will be more straightforward once you understand where you're heading.

🛠Choose the Augmented Reality Tools You Want to Utilize

You may start targeting the tools you need to engage after you have a clear idea of what you want to accomplish. The following are the areas you should consider:

  • Type of licensing: If money is an issue, you might want to pick an AR platform that provides a free license. There are several AR solutions that provide simultaneously free and paid licenses. The free edition won't be as feature-rich as the full program, so keep that in mind.

  • Operating systems supported: If you want to create apps for a variety of OSs, ensure that the platform you select is compatible with each OS you intend to use.

  • Supporting devices: Check that the tool you select can handle the hardware for your app, whether you want to run your augmented reality app on mobile devices, PCs, or AR glasses.

  • Functionality: Make a thorough assessment of each platform to see if it offers the functionality you want. For instance, not all platforms enable geo-location. Therefore they won't help you if you're going to develop location-based AR software.

🥁Promote Your Innovative Tool

You'll want to spread the word about your tool now that you've worked so hard to create it. Here are some strategies for spreading awareness:

  • Make a demonstration video. Create how-to videos for your app that are both promotional and informative.

  • Specify instructions for the app. Give consumers clear instructions, so they know what to do to get the most out of your app.

  • Your information should be shareable. Allow consumers to tell their friends and social media presence about their AR experience.

Brand Of The Week - Arrive

As a service for renting outdoor equipment including tents, coolers, and sleeping bags, Arrive debuted in 2017. Due in part to the pandemic making camping more enticing, the firm experienced rapid growth in 2021, with a 300 percent year-over-year increase in the number of orders sent weekly. As a full-service reverse logistics platform, Arrive is now making a pivot to enable any brand or merchant to start rental and resale at scale. 

The sharing economy has been introduced to the fashion sector by businesses like CaaStle, but Arrive wants to expand it to shops in other industries, starting with the outdoor industry. Since Dick's Sporting Goods launched its new store chain, Public Lands, Arrive has developed circular commerce gear rental programs for both Eddie Bauer and Public Lands.

Brand Deals Of The Week

Bed linens from Danjor Linens, with 93,000 5-star reviews, are heavily discounted.

This weekend, Solo Stove is offering up to 45% off its well-liked, virtually smoke-free stoves.

At Bed Bath & Beyond, save up to 50% on patio furniture, umbrellas, and other outdoor necessities.

Benefit from discounts of up to $120 on a number of Dyson vacuums and air purifiers.

Horchow is offering up to 40% off of anything all weekend long.

Top Reads Of The Week

Officially, Karen Danudjaja declared their initial fundraising campaign complete. Strategic capital of $2.3M, with 40% of investors being female.

The value of Whatnot doubles to $3.7B as Livestream shopping becomes more popular in the US.

In its first few days, the world's first Louis XIII Cognac boutique in Harrods sold a $95,000 bottle.

supermarkets provide meal deals at a discount as the cost of living crisis worsens.

A fast-run mode and improved AI are included in the PS5 version of The Last of Us.

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

Sales Associate- Mondelez International

INTERNAL AUDIT MANAGER- Dollar General 

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