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Once the purview of startups and disruptor brands, direct-to-consumer (D2C) sales is now an integral part of many manufacturers’ sales strategies. But D2C business is not without its challenges. Last year, some brands also claimed to require a major technology overhaul if they wanted to secure their D2C strategies for the future. This report explores the progress brands have made in their D2C strategies over the past year. It contains insights from D2C leaders as well as benchmarking information regarding technology adoption, strategy deployment, and industry trends.

Marketers have long known the value of Creative in driving business outcomes. But concerns are rising over the long-term viability of investing in media optimization alone. Are they seeking solutions that will help them better connect their big ideas to compelling, audience-driving advertising campaigns? The overwhelming conclusion is “yes”—Creative is perceived as the next frontier to improve campaign performance. Technology is increasingly seen as an opportunity, and not the enemy, for Creative effectiveness in campaign performance. Technology solutions that align creative and media teams and combine capabilities to both enhance campaign agility and augment campaign intelligence will be heavily sought after.

When data flows freely through these relationships, multi-brand retailers and brand manufacturers can work together to create a cohesive experience for the shopper. However, achieving this can be a challenge without the right solutions or the processes necessary to apply data. This report explores how retailers and manufacturers are accessing first-party data and how successfully they are applying that data to solve supply chain challenges and create an ideal shopper experience. It will also examine how these types of organizations are using data platforms to support both in-store and digital shopping formats.

When consumers engage with an Ecommerce website, many of them go straight for the search bar to find the products they need. This is one of the most basic steps in the customer’s journey toward a purchase; but for the retailer, it is a crucial moment that could make or break the sale. This report explores how organizations in the Ecommerce space are currently using on-site search to deliver results for customers. Based on a survey of 200 retail leaders from the United States, Canada, Australia, and New Zealand, the report also outlines what steps organizations need to take in this space to optimize their search capabilities, engage in searchandising, and deliver AI-enhanced personalization at scale.

The retail industry is going through a period of rapid change brought on by changing consumer behavior, the accessibility of technology, and of course the COVID-19 pandemic. As a retail executive, you’ve had to quickly adapt to the changing retail landscape and we’re here to help. In our new eTail Innovation Briefing, we’re giving you an exclusive look at the major trends in retail so you can stay ahead of the curve.

The retail industry is going through a period of rapid change brought on by changing consumer behavior, the accessibility of technology, and of course the COVID-19 pandemic. As a retail executive, you’ve had to quickly adapt to the changing retail landscape and we’re here to help. In our new eTail Trends Report, we’re giving you an exclusive look at how major retailers such as Grove Collaborative, Dick’s Sporting Goods, Abercrombie & Fitch, AERIN, M. Gemi and Crocs are succeeding in 2022 (and how you can, too).

Ever since Danish carpenter, Ole Kirk Christiansen began making wooden toys in his tiny workshop in 1932 in Billund, the Lego Group has devoted itself to creating memorable experiences for children all over the world.  Lego has become famous for crafting imaginative and impactful ad campaigns, having a solid and engaging social media presence, and creating omnichannel experiences designed to delight young and old alike and draw generation after generation to its eponymous colored bricks.

COVID-19 has disrupted traditional channels and fundamentally changed shopper behavior, putting ecommerce front and center. Consumers have moved online and that’s where they’ll stay. If you’ve shifted customers into your ecommerce channel, that’s a good start. But it’s not the end game. Now you need to earn their loyalty by building a direct relationship and owning the customer experience. These five strategies will help you accelerate your direct-to-consumer (D2C) efforts and spark loyalty that outlasts the pandemic.

Retailers invest countless resources to prepare for the traditional holiday shopping season. But non-traditional holidays like Mother’s Day, tax-free holidays, and even ‘Amazon Prime Day’ are reshaping the retail timeline, pushing retailers to change their seasonal strategies. In this report, you will learn how eCommerce retailers are improving the way they understand seasonal and holiday events and sell in those contexts year-round. You will also learn how experimentation, personalization, and automation factor into eCommerce retailers’ seasonal sales strategies.

As consumers increase the frequency of their cross-border eCommerce purchases, global retailers must face down growing rates of international fraud; simplify fulfillment amidst the proliferation of cross-border fulfillment partners; and better market to local consumers—without disrupting privacy and other regulatory concerns. They must do all this while maintaining business continuity during an unprecedented time of global change and disruption. In this report, we explore how retailers are improving international eCommerce in the face of four major challenges, including fulfillment, payments, fraud, and email marketing.

A customer data platform (CDP) is another iteration in a long line of customer management technologies. It joins a thriving ecosystem of business intelligence software that is already well known to most B2C companies. But it is also a technology that some companies either haven’t adopted or are still attempting to leverage. In this report, you’ll learn how B2C companies in the U.S. and Canada are currently using customer data technology in their efforts to better understand their customers. You’ll also learn how companies are using their CDPs to improve their data management capabilities, their media strategies, their risk and compliance programs, and other initiatives.

Retailers must determine the best balance of their digital technologies—the right ‘tech formula’ for long-term retail success. But as customer expectations and digital fluencies evolve, retailers need a constant education about what’s working and what’s not in terms of digital customer experience (CX). The eTail Digital Playbook is your real-world guide for long-term digital success. In this report, we measure the adoption and success of new CX tools to identify which digital technologies are all hype and which are business-critical.

As more consumers than ever turn to marketplaces and shopping platforms, brand manufacturers must adapt in kind. Old strategies relied on wholesale retail and physical brand stores. In this report, we explore the current platform environment to determine how brands decide on which platforms to sell and advertise. Discover the strategies and expectations among B2C brand manufacturers for multichannel marketing, advertising, and sales.

For retailers, customer expectations are evolving as quickly as the technologies they must employ to meet them. As personalizing experiences and providing seamless connections between environments grow in importance, retailers must find superior ways to leverage data and produce lasting relationships with their customers. In this report, we explore the impact of data technologies on retailers’ ability to optimize customer experiences and design customer “communities” that facilitate consistently positive outcomes.

Fresh for 2019, this new mobile report will show you what your peers are up to in the hot field of mobile commerce. 

In our second briefing of 2019, you’ll learn more about what strategies major retailers are currently implementing in order to stay ahead of the competition.

Along with mid-summer heat comes the first thoughts towards a season that defines retail success. The holidays may be half a year away, but at eTail we know that savvy brands are already starting to think about their holiday campaigns. That's why we've created our annual Holiday Report, which you can access here! See which strategies your peers are using to make the holidays joyous for their brands. 

With Amazon’s stranglehold on the eCommerce market, other online brands are finding it increasingly difficult to compete. But there's an unlikely contender for the eCommerce crown - and it comes in the form of the world’s largest company by revenue, and king of the physical retail space: Walmart. 

In consumer markets, brand identity is a critical—and difficult to define—component of business success whose contributions to KPIs are becoming more quantifiable than ever before. In this report, we ask marketers and creatives critical questions about their approaches to strategy, channels, platforms, and design and how they contribute to a new era in brand decision making.

In this Director's Report, we discuss the top 8 industry challenges affecting all retail companies. We also cover how retailers can convert present challenges into opportunities for growth and development with forward-thinking strategies.

In our first briefing of 2019, we give a glimpse into how major retailers are finding new paths forward and positioning themselves for success.

In the retail ecommerce industry, the process of creating digital design assets can be time-consuming and costly. From idea conception to publishing, an interactive design faces many barriers to going live, including access to technical resources and creative compromise. This how-to guide will help you build a business case for investing in a no-code digital experience builder.

As ecommerce marketers, your time and resources are likely dedicated to the noble cause of building site traffic. From email campaigns, to social media, to SEO, to retargeting ads, all roads (hopefully) lead to your ecommerce site. This is the core goal of every marketing effort, to drive traffic to your site. Which is why there is nothing more frustrating than seeing only a fraction of that hard-earned traffic convert.You know what to do, but your CMS has real limitations that slow you down. What if there was a better way? A way to create immersive experiences that not only drive a higher return on acquisition campaigns, but also drive stronger brand loyalty. You can! Best of all, you can do it without being dependent on your CMS or development resources.

When it comes to the holidays, some things never change—but your customers’ expectations aren’t one of them. If your plans for holiday readiness haven’t changed much over the years, you may miss out on opportunities to increase year-over-year sales during the time you need them most. In The New Rules of Holiday Readiness, you have access to Industry experts as they share insights, strategies, and expectations for the holiday season. You’ll also enjoy our eTail East Holiday Checklist—the best gift a retailer could ask for.