It’s too late baby, yeah it’s too late
This is not another email about the issues with the supply chain. For that, you can read lit-trally (read with a Chris Traeger voice) anything else.
No. This week’s issue of The Senses will acknowledge the resignation that falls over you when you realize there’s nothing that you can do to affect Holiday 2021. It’s already sealed. If you watched the FX series Devs, you’ll know that we’re all on a predetermined path. In short: it’s too late, baby. Let’s look ahead.
Some things that may change our outlook for next year that should give you hope:
- The $3.5T infrastructure plan is crawling along in Congress, $50B of which commits spending to improve domestic manufacturing, and another $50B for improving domestic silicon chip production
- Covid numbers continue to fall across the U.S., international travel is freeing up, and tourism continues to pick up the pace
- You can’t run out of digital products, right? Digital gifting will boom this holiday including in-game captive currencies
- U.S. restaurant unemployment falls to 7.5%, and wages are ticking up
It’s not so bad. Holidays are always stressful, but don’t let the current media cycle in the industry fill you with too much fear. That feeling of resignation? It should impel you to put your energy and focus into Q1. So here’s a handy list of things you should do to set up your eCom strategy for 2022. Put your energy into these:
Don’t rewrite your sales and marketing plans now. You’ll create confusion in your teams by dramatically shifting priorities.
Do adapt to small changes as they take place during BFCM.
Don’t attend 16 Black Friday webinars.
Do attend our Thinkshop series on 2022 Budget Planning Season.
Don’t launch a bevy of marketing tests in the next 30 days.
Do plan those tests to go live after the holidays when highly motivated gifting buyers and deal seekers leave the funnel.
Don’t talk sh!t about your CFO or finance lead. They also don’t know how you got tasked with 38% growth next year.
Do seek out network connections with other eCom owners/operators to discuss where growth arbitrage opportunities may exist. DTC Fam Slack, Shopify Partners Slack, or Startup CPG are all great resources even if these aren’t your core technologies, industry, or verticals.
Stop worrying and enjoy the ride.
Start getting excited for the possibilities of a bright and prosperous New Year.
For more on digital gifting check out this week’s episode of Future Commerce Podcast, where we rewrite the script from Jingle All the Way as Ahnold attempts to buy an NFT. It’s worth a list.
Snap candidates.Snapchat is getting all political and adding a feature that will help users launch their own campaigns and run for office. GenZ is voting, but not many are running for office, and Snapchat is here to help.
Flat butts get a fair shake. Lee has officially patented jeans that “make the buttocks appear round and/or perky.” How? The power of the optical illusion. Hint: curved lines.
Overconsumption = Extinction. Attendees at the Louis Vuitton Fashion Show got the message loud and clear during Paris Fashion Week, after a climate activist marched down the catwalk holding up a banner bearing the phrase and posing for cameras before being escorted out.
Less meat for the king of burgers. Burger King is adding to their meatless game, after their plant-based Whopper was well accepted. The fast food chain is testing out Impossible Foods nuggets in a handful of markets.
Second hand surge. Gen Z is driving up thrift prices and leaving lower inventory in their wake. This social sharing, fashion-forward and sustainability focused age group is scouring thrift stores for new looks that haven’t yet been shared on their social media accounts, as well as selling them for marked up prices. And shoppers in lower income brackets are feeling it.
The great American “Everything Shortage.'' The pandemic has moved us into a new phase of shortages with bottlenecks at multiple points in the supply chain. We are having to wait more than we ever have in our post-microwave world. Consumers are demanding more while workers who provide goods are walking away from the workforce. The Delta variant is slowing down the supply chain coming from East Asia, and ports are overrun with goods trying to be imported and exported. Author Derek Thompson dives into this breakdown in his piece written for The Atlantic.
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