It Now Costs Much More To Acquire A New Customer (Mediapost.com)

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Last month, my colleague, Michelle Houston (EVP, Client Services, CohereOne), offered her insights on how direct-to-consumer retail brands are weathering an onslaught of storms originating in 2020 that continue to disrupt day-to-day operations. This month, I will focus on one specific disruption: Apple’s recent privacy changes. If you haven’t closely followed this story, here’s a quick refresher. Earlier this year, Apple updated its operating software to pack more punch from a privacy standpoint. In short, iPhone and iPad users can more deliberately select whether or not the applications (“apps”) on their devices (social media platforms and games, in particular) can share their data for marketing purposes. Apple device users now routinely encounter pop-ups within the apps prompting an answer as to whether the user wants to allow the app to “track your activity across other companies’ apps and websites.”

Tackling a global health crisis has looked different for different retailers. For United by Blue, an outdoor brand that sells through its own site as well as retail partners, it looked like holds on order shipments, followed by cancellations on those orders. It proved a tough position to effectively run a business. Mike Cangi, co-founder of United by Blue, said the company swiftly noticed that its peers were also struggling in the immediate aftermath of the pandemic, and thought there may be a solution in them all banding together. The result was a joint sales event between some 15 to 20 mission driven brands in April, dubbed "I Stand With Small," in an effort to drive traffic — and hopefully sales — to each other's businesses. "It was really just a joint marketing and sales tool for us to help get through what was a really tough time with a lot of uncertainty in April of this year," Cangi said. "And it was really successful." For the brands, it did what it was supposed to do: give them a lift at a much-needed time. But for consumers, it was also a plus, by introducing them to new brands that held similar values to the ones they already bought from, according to Cangi. After the initial sale's success, the companies started talking about working together again, and thus, the effort was renamed the Mission Brand Alliance and a website launched to showcase the brands in July. more at: https://www.retaildive.com/news/why-20-brands-are-sending-out-a-joint-holiday-catalog-this-season/591499/