#19 The Least Boring Weekly Newsletter

September 15, 2021 • Estimated Reading Time: 11 minutes

Good Morning readers!🌞

To start your day, we would first like to thank you for being a part of our community. We hope you have had a great week!

Recently, INSTAGRAM KICKED OFF IT'S 10+ DAYS OF LIVE SHOPPING, Selene Gomez and Kacey Musgraves were among the stars of the series.

The combination of exclusive products, and the opportunity to engage with celebrities, in real-time, will no doubt draw in big audiences, which will provide the perfect opportunity for Instagram to showcase its evolving eCommerce options ahead of the holiday rush. 

Click here to read more...

Almund's newsletter will let you in on all kinds of tips for D2C brands and much much more. 

Alright, so let's get right to it! 

This newsletter is going to dive into :

📜 Top reads for this week,

🌏 Mark Zuckerberg wants to make Facebook a "metaverse company"

👩🏻‍💻 Whats(h)app, social media? 

🗝️ How does a Direct To Consumer business give you a ticket to more opportunities? Why should you sell it?

⭐ BRAND of the week - Beauty Pie

🙎 What Do Consumers Want today?

👩🏻‍💼 Plenty of jobs awaiting you!

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

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TOP READS FOR THIS WEEK

🛒TurboTax maker Intuit to buy Mailchimp for about $12 billion in a data play

💰Misfits Market Closes $225M Series C-1 Funding Round

🤝Yotpo and Shopify Enter Multi-Year Platform Partnership

⭐Melanie and Cliff, Canva Co-Founders, have Pledged 30% of their Equity to Charity through Canva Foundation.

🎾Tennis superstar Naomi Osaka has entered the skincare business with her own line designed specifically for people with melanated skin

🌎 Torrid, brushing aside its competition, plans 25 new stores each year

👚Peloton launches private label apparel brand

🩳Solo Stove acquires Chubbies Shorts, rounding out new ‘Solo Brands’ portfolio

💰Mars Is Said to Acquire PrettyLitter for Under $1 Billion

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Working from home can be tedious at times, WE KNOW!

Beat the blues, Every Tuesday from 10:30 am to 12:30 pm EST, we work together virtually with members from the DTC community using the Pomodoro method. 

Will you be joining us for our next space? Make a reservation here, and we'll see you on the other side!

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WHAT’S COOKING, HUH?

What does "metaverse company" mean to the Facebook CEO? And what will the company look like if and when it reaches that point in its development?

Snow Crash, a science fiction classic by American novelist Neal Stephenson, introduced the concept in 1992. According to this theory, the internet is envisioned as an interactive 3D virtual living space where people can dip in and out and converse in real-time.

Though it's not clear who's most committed to this new vision, it appears to be Facebook. It is Zuckerberg's goal to turn Facebook into a metaverse company, where people can move between VR, AR, and even 2D devices using realistic avatars of themselves.

In addition to Facebook, Zuckerberg also owns the WhatsApp and Instagram platforms, as well as the VR headset maker Oculus. Facebook's social networking business model is currently dominated by advertising, but the move to become a metaverse company opens the door to new revenue streams.

While it's not a guarantee, users may be willing to pay for the enhanced interactivity that will be available in the metaverse, such as entering private areas or doing things like teleporting for longer periods of time.

Making it possible for people to connect virtually with their friends and family isn't just an idea, it's an economic necessity. Founder of Facebook, Mark Zuckerberg, created the first social media platform that became a global standard in the field of communication. The same trick is now being attempted in virtual reality.

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WHATS(h)APP, SOCIAL MEDIA?

Met Gala has created a huge buzz… It's no surprise that brands have jumped on board and come up with some of the best creatives yet. Here are a couple of them to watch out for!

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How does a Direct To Consumer (DTC) business give you a ticket to more opportunities? Why should you sell it?

Your parents probably told you at one point that you should either become a doctor, an engineer or look for other opportunities.

Your dream can be just one of many that exist in the world. When you choose to follow your own path, many opportunities open up for you. To begin with, building a DTC brand from the ground up requires a lot of hard work and a lot of entrepreneurship. 

CLICK BELOW TO READ MORE

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WHAT DO CONSUMERS WANT TODAY?

Forerunner conducted a survey in which more than 200 members of the Consumer Braintrust were asked what they thought best-in-class service meant to them.

80% of respondents always check the shipping and return policies before they purchase

60% of our respondents expected 30 days to return an item, and another 32% expected between 60 and 90 days to send back an unwanted product.

61% of brands are meeting the 30-day benchmark while just over 20% are offering more than 30 days.  

47% claimed they like to get in touch with brand representatives primarily via chat, followed by email at 22% and text at 18%.

89% of respondents expect to hear back right away.

65% of consumers consider the ability to purchase from a brand via “social media” as table stakes. 

A significant 60% of respondents expect a discount the first time they shop with a new brand. 

86% of consumers expect customer product reviews onsite. 

41% of consumers said their default payment method — of which credit, debit, PayPal, ApplePay, and Cash app were top options — was most frequently chosen out of “convenience.” 

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BRAND OF THE WEEK is…

After raising $100 million in a Series B financing round, luxury beauty buying club Beauty Pie has now raised $170 million.

The company touts itself as "Netflix for super-high quality products" and is the first buyers club in the beauty and wellness market. Sam's Club and Costco operate on a similar concept, but their emphasis is on beauty and health products rather than grocery and household goods.

Members pay a monthly fee of $15 or a yearly fee of $59. They also have a monthly spending limit and can purchase products at "deeply discounted, warehouse-style prices" compared to what they would sell for in traditional retail stores.

As direct-to-consumer shopping accelerated during the pandemic, Beauty Pie experienced "exponential growth," according to the company. It doubled the number of members in its fiscal year 2021. Because of the fierce competition, beauty brands have been on the lookout for capital to expand their reach. 

Wait It isn’t over yet Beauty Pie brand intends to expand both its online and physical presence in the future years, with "dozens of new stores" planned in the United States and beyond.

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In need of a  job? We've got plenty awaiting you!

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CHOOSE SUCCESS below and have a great week! 'Get that D2C business runnin'.

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