Elle’s Edit: Brand Growth In The E-Commerce World

On today’s Elle’s Edit I am going to be sharing with you all a little more information that is all about brands! Brands play a role in our everyday life and everything that you touch is from a brand. It is insane!

For some background, I went to college and majored in Marketing and Management and during that time I took some really interesting classes which helped me better understand the consumer mindset and how they shop and perceive brands. My favorite class by far was Consumer Behavior and I learned so much during that class and was able to bring my knowledge to the real world once I graduated college. As I mentioned in my intro post, I have been in Corporate America for quite some time and all of my roles have been brand or consumer facing meaning I have spent a lot of time putting together planograms in a retail store, working with brands in terms of satisfying their customers, and working with development teams on innovation of new products in order to see some brand growth. It’s safe to say my brain is full of brand logos and data!

What I’ve learned over the past couple of years is when working for a brand is that it is SO important to satisfy your customer. Brands play a role in two categories of buying, an impulse buy or a store-driver buy. These two are very different from one another but are both equally important. When you think of a store-driver buy, this is a buy that are essentials, think toilet paper, laundry detergent, soap, etc. The essentials that we all need. We will purposely go to the store to buy these items because we need them. In this space, brands are competing with each other to gain market share and competitive advantage in order to see some brand growth. I won’t bore you by going into much detail on this but it is essential for brands to find ways to get additional space on the shelf, and make sure they are strategic about what scents, pack size, etc are the best for that store. This is when market research data is critical because it allows us to better understand what the consumer is buying and why they are buying it. It helps buyers in retail stores plan their assortment that bests satisfy their customer. Make sense? Okay now, impulse buys. We are all guilty of this. These are the things that you don’t have on your list and don’t cause you to drive to the store to buy them. These can be candles, anything for the home, the candy in the check out line, and even trendy apparel. These type of brands are competing for innovation. Something that catches the eye of the consumer. Not everyone needs a candle or a throw pillow every day so why do we buy them? We have sense of “needing” them to make our house feel like a home. For these types of buys, market research is just as important because the competition out there is fierce. There are so many different types of brands that all offer something unique so this causes the shelf to be more competitive. The market research data allows us to better understand consumer purchase behavior and trends in their purchasing which allow brands to dictate their strategy when creating the product.

Now, the world of e-commerce. As you know this world is becoming more and more digital. Amazon is the King and will stay the King for as long as we can guess. They have such a unique platform and that is why they are so successful. Brands are now having to compete on the online space while at the same time encouraging customers to come to the store. Let me tell you, it is rough out there. Not only for the retailer but also the brands too. When you think of the shelf in the store there is limited space and you have to prove to the retailer buyer why your products are deserving of more space but online you don’t have that problem. Amazon lets you put whatever item you want and how many of them. (Side note, it is way more complicated behind the scenes but I won’t get into that right now). Online brands are competing so much with each other because of this huge digital platform. I get lost on Amazon every single time I’m on there. What I learned about Amazon is that brands pay big bucks to be the first couple items on the page. For example, if you search throw pillow on Amazon, you will find hundreds of pages but what is on the first and second row of the first page, brands are paying a ton of money to Amazon to be there. They want the customer to click on that item and buy them. Didn’t know that, did ya? It is really intense that it works this way but brands have to do it to stay relevant and survive.  Brand growth is so important, and if you want to play with Amazon, you gotta pay. What I’ve learned especially over the last couple months is that e-commerce is not going anywhere, brands will just have to learn more about their consumer and how they can survive in such a fast, competitive, and demanding space.

I hope this information was helpful to you all and taught you a little bit about the business world! What is important to all of you, especially bloggers and influencers, is that brands are really interested in partnering with you if they envision your readers or engagers to be the perfect buyer of their product. As you know, social media is a huge platform for brands to advertise their product. They are finding it more and more effective to partner with bloggers and influencers to share their product and hope that their viewers check them out. Word of mouth is the cheapest advertising there is and brands rely heavily on YOU to share their message.

How have your purchase patterns changed? Are you a online or store buyer?

Thanks for reading Elle’s Edit. If you have any topics that you would like for me to discuss, feel free to email me at elle@itscasualblog.com. I would love to hear from you! xo