📦 Online Shopping Returns are Costing Brands Millions

📰 Industry News

• ASOS will drop out of the list of Britain’s biggest retailers by 2027 as it gets overtaken by SHEIN and Zara owner Inditex. (Retail Week)

• EE wants to become the most ‘customer-focused’ brand in the UK. They plan to invest £6 million in the British high street over the next year by opening new 'experience' stores. (Retail Technology Innovation Hub)

• Debenhams has partnered with AI & AR beauty platform Revieve, to offer consumers personalised beauty advice online. (Retail Week)

• Crocs reaches a ‘record‘ annual revenue of nearly $4 billion, in early stages of opening 30 outlet locations this year. (Retail Dive)

• Elon Musk has hinted that he is exploring a partnership between X and Midjourney, with speculation suggesting integration of the app into X’s Grok chatbot. (readwrite)

📦 Return to Sender: The Rising Cost of Online Shopping Returns

In today's digital shopping spree, the UK's return parcels are stacking higher than ever, hitting over 4.1 billion in online clothing returns in 2022 alone.

With a projected increase of 16.7% by 2027, retailers are facing a growing dilemma: balancing customer satisfaction against a tide of returned goods that often end up in landfills, contributing to over 5 billion lbs of waste annually.

The knock-on effect on brands is huge, with ASOS finding that just 6% of shoppers were responsible for a £100m hit on business profits from returns.

Now, brands are taking action:

• Online giants like ASOS and SSENSE are cracking down on 'serial returners' by issuing lifetime shopping bans to those who return too much. This drastic measure highlights a broader struggle within e-commerce to manage operational costs without sacrificing the shopping experience.

• Brands like Zara and Boohoo are experimenting with return fees to deter unnecessary returns and cover lost expenses.

• Innovative solutions are being trialled by brands around the country, to reduce the root cause of returns: poor fit. For example, Marks & Spencer’s ‘True Fit’ tool lets shoppers enter their body shape, height, age, and other brands that fit them well. This helps them find the perfect item from M&S.

Brands are taking a hard-line approach by charging for returns or investing in technology, with the end goal being to create a better online shopping experience that is sustainable, efficient and cost-effective. More big names are expected to follow suit.

👑 King Charles lll Bank Notes Coming June 2024

The Bank of England has announced a significant update to the UK's currency, with King Charles III set to appear on banknotes from June 2024. This marks a historic transition in the representation of British currency following the passing of Queen Elizabeth II on 8th September 2022.

• The introduction of the new banknotes featuring King Charles III will commence on the 5th of June 2024, signalling a new era for the British monarchy's presence in national currency.

• Existing banknotes bearing the image of Queen Elizabeth II will remain legal tender and continue to circulate alongside the new notes, ensuring a seamless transition for the public and financial institutions.

• The design details of the new banknotes and the denominations that will initially feature King Charles III have been outlined, with a focus on maintaining the high security and aesthetic standards of British currency.

This change marks a significant moment in the country's history, marking the first change in the monarch's portrait on currency in several decades.

💻 How to Launch Your Shopify Store in a Day

Side hustles are something I get asked about a lot. In 2024, e-commerce is a very viable way to make money online.

Shopify offers a user-friendly platform that can help you go from concept to launch in just a day. Whether you're selling handmade goods, digital products, or sourcing from suppliers, this is how to get your Shopify store up and running efficiently.

Step 1: Sign Up and Choose Your Shopify Plan

• Action: go to Shopify's website, enter an email, click the "Start free trial" button, and follow the quick sign-up process.

• Tip: you don't need to choose a plan immediately, but take advantage of Shopify’s current temporary offer of a free trial followed by your first month for £1.

Step 2: Set Up Your Store

• Domain Name: choose and purchase a domain name through Shopify or a third-party provider. For Example, www.Mystore.com.

• Theme Selection: pick a theme from Shopify's theme store. Look for one that aligns with your brand and product offering.

• Customise Your Store: customise your theme settings, including colours, fonts and layout to match your brand.

Step 3: Add Products

• Product Details: add your products, including high-quality images, descriptions, prices, and inventory levels. Use the ‘Collections’ feature to show categories of similar products together.

Step 4: Set Up Payments and Shipping

• Payment Gateways: configure your preferred payment gateways. Shopify supports various options, including PayPal, Stripe, and Shopify Payments.

• Shipping Rates: set up your shipping rates and zones based on your delivery provider, package sizes and the locations you'll be shipping to.

Step 5: Legal and Administrative Pages

• Privacy, Terms of Service & Refund Policy: use Shopify's templates to create these essential legal documents.

• FAQs: develop an FAQ page to address common customer questions regarding shipping, returns, product usage, etc. Tell ChatGPT about what you sell and your store, it will create relevant FAQs in seconds.

Step 6: Launch Your Store

• Remove Password: ensure you remove the storefront password to make your site live.

• Check Everything: do a final run-through of your site to check for any errors or broken links.

Post-Launch Tips:

1. Set-up Google My Business: a quick and easy win for SEO. Google My Business will help customers find your store when shopping online.

2. SEO: 

   • use relevant internal links across your pages. This helps search engine crawlers navigate your store.

   • use compressed, webp images for faster page load speeds.

   • test your site speed on desktop and mobile using Google Page Speed Insights. See where your site fails and optimise.

3. Analytics: 

   • Set up Google Analytics to track your store's performance and make data-driven decisions.

   • Set up Google Search Console to view your organic rankings and keyword performance which your site competing for.

Congrats! You now have a fully functioning e-commerce store.

Remember, there’s no such thing as the perfect website. Study your analytics, refine your sales funnel and optimise your product listings.

🔎 TikTok is Rising as a Gen-Z Search Platform

TikTok is becoming a popular search engine, especially for Gen Z users. It is challenging Google's dominance. According to a recent survey by Adobe Express, TikTok is now the fourth most preferred search platform in 2024.

Here are the top 10 search platforms in 2024: 

Why is TikTok rising through the ranks?

• Shift in Search Preferences: TikTok is becoming increasingly popular as a search engine, with 40% of Americans using it for searches. Among Gen Z, 10% prefer TikTok over Google for their search needs, showing a significant shift away from traditional search engines.

• Integration into Google: Google is now including TikTok videos in its featured snippets and Search Generative Experience (SGE) to keep attracting younger audiences.

• Reasons for TikTok's Appeal: People are attracted to TikTok because it has interesting stories, shows content that is tailored to their interests, and gives them up-to-date information. It is now a popular place to get news and find out what's trending, and it even affects search results on other platforms like Google.

TikTok isn’t going to take the search engine top spot held by Google, but it’s emergence as a Gen-Z favoured search engine signifies a pivotal shift in the digital search landscape.

This trend reflects the need for brands to adapt their strategies to meet the evolving demands of younger, digitally-savvy audiences, which is shaping the future of online search and content consumption.t