Any Other Business: 29 April 2022

This week’s AOB looks at the latest e-commerce news from around the world including the personalization platform transforming customer experiences, and how color plays a key role in brand building.

Personalization is an important feature for brands wishing to attract customers – in fact, a study by McKinsey¹ found that 71% of shoppers expect businesses to deliver personalized interactions.

Amidst this, Jarvis ML², a “machine-learning-as-a-service” platform leverages brands’ data to help them personalize every customer journey. Its algorithms can identify sales and inventory patterns and then turn them into “actionable brand engagements, like marketing campaigns or personalized website experiences,” explains CEO Rakesh Yadav³.

A former senior staff engineer at Google, Rakesh founded Jarvis ML in 2021 after seeing a shift in consumer purchasing trends during the pandemic. “Online recommendation strategies are [now] mission critical for enterprises to adapt to this changing consumer paradigm,” he explains. “Giant tech companies like Amazon, Airbnb, Google and Facebook use machine learning to delight consumers and restrict the independence of the growth-stage and mid-market companies who end up being relegated to supplier or fulfilment roles in the tech giant ecosystems. Jarvis ML enables these companies to leverage data they already have to reduce the dependence on tech giants while scaling sustainably.”

The solution, which integrates with leading e-commerce platforms like Shopify and WooCommerce, helps brands predict the precise prices and products each individual customer is most likely to convert on, then deliver them customized recommendations accordingly. It also allows brands to create personalized marketing campaigns to drive more repeat sales.  

The company has just completed a successful seed round of fundraising which it will use to grow its R&D and sales and marketing teams.

What does it take to build a brand? Choosing the right name is a good start, but how about the color palette? New analysis by consumer insights agency Canvas8⁴ has explored the ways brands can connect with customers through “recognizable colorways” – highlighting Tiffany & Co.’s turquoise and Hermes’ orange as two examples of distinct brand colors giving people an immediate touchpoint for engagement.  

“Color can be used in a lot more ways than a logo can,” Emily Safian-Demers, editor at Wunderman Thompson Intelligence told the site⁵. “[It’s] much more easily translatable in all of these visually driven digital environments.” Time to consult the Pantone color chart!

As consumers become increasingly mindful of the environmental impact of shopping online, it’s no surprise that the often-criticized disposable-fashion industry is taking a hit.

In a survey by sustainable fashion platform, Unfolded⁶, 58% of UK consumers said they intend to stop buying “fast fashion” items in 2022⁷. 61% are planning to upcycle and reuse their clothes more instead. Furthermore, 62% said they will shop with brands who support or invest in good causes.

Whether you’re in the business of fashion, or something completely different, your customers will still be looking to your brand to demonstrate sustainable practices. From carbon offsetting to green packaging, these tips will get your started.

Looking to target online shoppers in Australia and New Zealand? Leading Open SaaS platform, BigCommerce⁸, has just released its latest ANZ State of Ecommerce Report⁹, detailing consumer trends in the countries.

Key takeaways from the report, which surveyed over 5,000 shoppers, include:

• Website speed and shipping cost transparency are the leading factors determining who they shop with
• 95% said free delivery would encourage them to shop with a brand again, whilst 92% said expensive shipping would deter them
• Credit cards are the leading payment method, making up 39% of respondents’ last online purchases, whilst 32% have used BNPL to make a payment in the last six months

Whichever market you’re planning to target next, our country guides are packed full of localized tips on how to appeal to consumers there – from what products they’re looking to buy from foreign brands, to their preferred payment methods.

Returns are one of the biggest headaches for online retailers – particularly those within the fashion sector. Recent consumer research by sizing app MySize¹⁰ has suggested that offering customers better sizing tools could be the answer.

According to the survey of shoppers across the UK, US, France, Germany and Italy, “sizing issues” are the reason 50% return clothing and footwear bought online¹¹. Yet, despite 46% saying they are more likely to buy clothing and shoes if they know they’ll fit, 71% said they haven’t come across online retailers that offer great sizing tools. As a result, many simply buy an item in multiple sizes to try on at home with the intention of returning those that don’t fit.

MySize seeks to be a solution to this. The company’s range of smart tech measuring tools – aimed at online retailers and end customers alike – allow people to virtually try on items before buying, with a more accurate fit.