Digital American Newsletter

Consumers think of Etsy as a go-to source for artisan gifts. Marketers should consider it a place to gather new product inspiration and get an early peek at emerging brands.

Etsy is spot on trend because it is all about small, local, artisan companies, not national brands or big retailers. In fact, their House Rules require that everything sold on the site is handmade (defined slightly more broadly than you might think), vintage or craft supplies.

There are all kinds of interesting gourmet food and high-end personal care brands on the site, including Ignite Bars, Sulu Organics oils and too many organic body care products to list.

Fresh exotic produce is also a big hit on Etsy, with multiple listings for mangosteens, dragon fruit, chayote and an array of mushrooms.

Etsy is popular and growing rapidly. Year-to-date sales are up roughly 20% vs year ago. In Q3 2019, the platform had 44 million active consumer buyers, a 19% increase vs 2018. About 40% of them, representing roughly 60% of sales dollars, are repeat buyers.

Sources: Eater.com 2019, Etsy 2019, Marketplace Pulse 2019, Motley Food 2019, Statista 2019

7 years ago, QR codes were the next big thing. 24 months later, they had all but disappeared. Now they’re back—with added convenience, more uses, and greater impact.

Here’s the latest on QR codes.

• iPhones and Androids now have built in QR code readers, which makes using the codes far simpler than in the past.
• Consumers are being exposed to QR codes organically via social media. Instagram, Snapchat, and Pinterest all use them.
• Walmart, Dunkin and Starbucks have QR codes in their very popular apps.
• Amazon Go leverages QR codes to speed checkout in its stores.
• In China, more payments are made via QR codes than in cash. The trend of paying via QR code is spreading from China to its trading partners.
• Using QR codes for payments enhances security, eliminating the need for retailers to store credit card data.
• US marketers are trying QR codes again and liking the results. Currently, Pepsi is running a “Gift it Forward” QR campaign and The Salvation Army is testing QR codes for Red Kettle donations.
• In the next 12 months, 11 million US households will scan QR codes.

 
Sources: Beaconstac 2019, Chargeback Gurus 2018 & 2019, GlobalWebIndex 2019

Now you can market on a neighborhood-by-neighborhood basis to consumers who are verified to live within your desired geography. You can also selectively target these householders by demographics and interests.

Nextdoor—the often-forgotten social network—makes it possible with the recent expansion of their ad offerings beyond realtors and "enterprise level companies" (read: really big budgets), to local brands and smaller budgets.

90% of US communities—a total of 236,000 neighborhoods—are active on Nextdoor. In contrast to Facebook and other social networks, the platform requires that users share their real name and provide verified proof of address to join. This eliminates fake accounts and bots, plus more seamlessly connects the real and virtual worlds.

Detractors say Nextdoor features too many posts about lost dogs, noisy neighbors and free zucchini. Other experts feel that it builds a strong, integrated physical and digital sense of community, the perfect backdrop for brands wanting to truly connect with consumers.

Sources: Adweek 2019, Digiday 2019, DMR 2019, EcommerceBytes 2019, Nextdoor 2019

Gen Z (born between 1995 and 2015) are more likely than Millennials and Gen Xers to shop at brick and mortar stores and enjoy it.

81% of those under 24 like to make purchases in-store. 60% of this generation have been to the mall in the past week, and virtually all made a purchase. 73% use real world stores to discover new products and 65% to try samples. What’s more, almost half of Gen Z believe they will shop more in stores next year, a stark contrast to Gen X and Boomer’s projections.

Why does Gen Z like brick and mortar retail? First, they see physical stores as an oasis where they can escape from digital and social media. Plus, they value getting their purchases instantly and avoiding the hassles of online returns.

The relationship between Gen Z and physical stores is not all rainbows and unicorns. Consumers under 24 have a strong preference for stores with highly curated selections. They have a very low tolerance for poor customer service, and are likely to respond by walking away and never returning.

Sources: AT Kearney 2019, Marketing Insider 2019, MarTech Advisor 2019, Oracle 2019, PYMNTS 2019

Consumers are annoyed with digital marketing. They are seeing too many ads in too many places. Plus, they find those ads overly aggressive, intrusive, and at times, downright creepy.

Americans feel strongly about specific formats. The majority don’t like pop-ups, ads that fill the entire screen, or marketing videos that play automatically—with or without audio. Ads for products they have already purchased are a special type of irritating.

It’s fascinating—and ironic— that in a recent survey, senior marketers revealed they feel almost the exact same way about digital ads they see when they are not in work mode.

While consumers are happy to tell marketers how to fix the problem—only have 2 ads maximum per page, stop interrupting shopping with pop-ups, etc.—they are also solving the problem themselves. Roughly 25% of Americans have installed ad blockers—38% on their PCs, 25% on mobiles, and 15% on tablets— and more are doing so every day.

People who block ads turn to other media for brand discovery. They are more likely than average to consult product review sites, social media personal posts, and brand websites to learn about new products.

Sources: Adweek 2018, eMarketer 2018 & 2019, GlobalWebIndex 2019, Search Engine Journal 2019