From FedEx to airlines, companies are starting to lose their pricing power
Consumers may be regaining power in the marketplace
It’s a shift from the recent years when consumers spent at a breakneck pace — and at high prices — lifting corporate revenues to new records. But faced with weakening demand, more price-sensitive consumers, easing inflation and better supply, some sectors are now forced to find profit growth without the tailwind of price hikes.
Societal gradient descent toward that long-rumored “new normal”
The current state of shipping & returns:
Returns totaled $743B in 2023; reach 14.5% of sales
Online sales have a higher return rate, with 17.6% or $247 billion of merchandise purchased online returned
&
about 81% of merchants are now charging their customers a fee for at least some form of returns.
&
Free shipping is more important to shoppers than same-day delivery
Three-fourths of U.S. online consumers said free shipping is among the most important criteria they consider when deciding where to shop online
Beware viral trends:
It seems people spent the last few days of 2023 encouraging their followers to get to know them better. Or, according to one cyber-security expert, helping potential hackers access their information.
_via Business Insider
Black Sheep Thinking: Aim For "No"
My goal for you this year is to hear “no” more.
Sounds weird, right?
Here’s why…
If your aren’t getting reeled back in a bit, you’re not pushing far enough.
If you aren’t getting told “no,” you're not pushing far enough.
Our job (whether we’re agency or an internal marketer) is not just to give the client what they want, but to give them the version they didn’t know they wanted. To elevate their wants to a higher level of execution.
If we are being curious marketers then we have a vision for where things are going. What direction platforms are evolving in. What users are expecting and engaging with. And we need to pull our clients down those paths.
Brands have comfort zones. We need to find the edges and stretch them.