March Three
This midweek Fix goes deeper on everything retail - DTC / DNVB/ O2O/ ecommerce etc. We aim to give everyone involved in this vibrant new economy insight and tips that help make your business grow. How are we doing? - hit reply.

Iconic Merchants - Leilas —the best groceries in London Lockdown? 

Challenger Brands
 
Like Web says, the interesting Merchants are challengers - and the main difference (and advantage) over the incumbents is the by any means necessary attitude.
 
A great example of a modern Merchant is JayZ, who got into the Champagne business after racist remarks by the owner of Cristal. The brand he invested in (and subsequently bought) is Armand de Brignac — sometimes called Ace of Spades — and LVMH have now bought a 50% share in the business. Great example of how Influencers can work.

Action? Can you classify your competitors by challengers vs incumbents?

Livestreaming
 
With its latest raise, Buy Now Pay Later pioneer Klarna is the second most valuable fintech firm globally. The $1billion raised is earmarked for acquisitions and the founder describes the market;
 
“We are in this trillion-dollar market called credit cards, retail banking and payments. Even if it’s this high valuation, we’re still a fraction of this industry. It’s really exciting because it’s not an industry that has put customers first.
 
They are deeply embedded in the Merchant world - their app has grown the services offered to help shoppers and retailers. It’s no surprise that they have partnered with another Swedish Tech Mafia brand Bambuser to offer Live Streaming
 
In a nice reversal of the usual, a Chinese survey looks at Livestreaming in Europe.

Action? How can you test livestreaming? Could you try it on Instagram to start?

Last Mile
 
So much happening in Grocery here. We covered the launch of Weezy, ASAP, WeBother and GetIr a month ago and looked at Zoom from Ocado. Now we see a European wave; Flink from Berlin, Crisp from the Netherlands and Rohlik from Prague have all raised money for expansion. 
 
No doubt all the VCs are watching the access of Instacart — prepping for an IPO with new board members and South Korean Coupang who are expected to raise $3bn at their IPO.
 
VC Michael Moritz, who has invested in Getir and sits of the board on Instacart, sums up the opportunity
 
“These markets are so large for grocery and convenience goods,”  “There will be different models, and there will be multiple winners.”
 
“I’m sure eventually it will consolidate,”  “But that’s part of the fun of the chase.”
 
Another US VC firm has gone deep on food delivery charges to better understand the economics - it’s an expensive business.

Action? How could you use all these new entrants? Distribution?

Retail Media
 
It's yet to reach food delivery but Retail knows that introducing advertising into a business model can inject a healthy new revenue stream.
 
We covered the Walmart focus on ads last week - with their CEO declaring 
 
Five years from now, we expect to be well within the top 10 advertising platforms in the US, ahead of big players like Hearst, Fox and Twitter.
 
A good Goldman Sachs report on the Merchant Media (PDF) model is equally bullish - seeing the potential for revenue of $15/20bn for retailers by 2025.
 
A new media income stream is emerging for retailers that we believe has the potential to prove to be a meaningful, and largely under-appreciated, offset to e-com costs while having reverberations (often negative) up the value chain and into CPG manufacturers and their legacy media partners.
 
WPP Agency Essence have a good piece on the Walmart partnership with TradeDesk, which gets into the wealth of data available
 
Whilst the really big players can develop a direct model, other Merchants will do better to partner to get access to the best tech and expertise. Google have a strong team focused on this area and this is a good summary of their approach (PDF). Criteo are focused here too and have a good guide to Retail Media.
 
I think this is a great model for all parties. The merchant earns more revenue and benefits from the sales driven by the ads. The brands benefit from a very efficient way to maximise sales through this retailer. And customers get useful ads that help them choose what to buy. What's not to like?
 
Customer Acquisition
 
We see more DTC advertisers moving money into Snap - often out of Facebook. And others are embracing Hulu and other newTV options.
 
Facebook have a new study on The Full Funnel approach - working with GroupM to dispel the myth that brand and performance are two completer separate things. The study shows that brand drives short term sales too. We know that every action a brand makes can have a brand effect and can drive action.

Action? How many platforms are you testing and learning on?

Plus+
 
Retail: Curation & the paradox of choice - Good read from Google
 
Shoppable ad formats: The pros and cons - Interesting summary from a Fix friend
 
Europe’s biggest grocer keeps US stores on its shopping list - FT on Ahold
 
Fast-food drive-thrus are getting smarter. Here's how - Interesting use of tech
 
Google on how Marketers are using AR to reinvent the digital store
 
Why some DTC brands are doubling efforts on Amazon
 
Everything on Amazon is an Ad
 
How Walmart is trying to reach Amazon seller

 First….I need to pick your brains with this survey. I am thinking of making some changes and wanted to better understand what people like and don't like right now. Won't take long. Thanks
 
And did you remember to complete my survey? — thanks