Happy Tuesday.✌️ Welcome to the 16th edition of our weekly newsletter!

🍂 Love it or hate it, Black Friday/Cyber Monday marketing started a month ago. We’ll continue to provide various holiday marketing insights until the ball drops in Times Square and we can finally go on a diet. 🤣 

Let’s get into the latest trends, strategies, and insights to help you stay on top of the retail fashion game. All in a 5-minute weekly read. If you haven’t already, Sign up here to continue to stay in the know.

In this week’s edition:

• 🌊 Insights to apply to your marketing strategy for BFCM and beyond

• 📈 How to Fight Back Against Serial Returners

• 😀 Crafting an Instagram Bio for Your Boutique

• ➕ Tips, trends, & tidbits

🎯 Quick Hits

• Instagram Unveils 9 New Features

  • Our Take: Broadcast Channels is a fun and unique way for boutiques to engage with their customers by sharing launches, big announcements, and company news.

• Serial Returners and Refund Fraudsters: How Brands are Fighting Back With Data Insight

  • Key Takeaways: Data analytics plays a crucial role in identifying returns fraud.

  • Enforcing a clear returns policy is vital for protecting retailers from fraudulent returns.

• 4 Ways to Prepare Your Email and SMS Marketing for the Holidays

Latest Finds From LA Fashion Insider

Deep Dive 🌊

Klaviyo, the email marketing platform, released their annual consumer spending report to aide businesses with their Black Friday/Cyber Monday marketing. You can read the full report here, but I parsed it down for your skimming pleasure.

- 🛒 Consumers are currently shopping about equally in-store and online, despite a preference for online shopping.

- 🏬 In-store shoppers value the ability to touch products and immediate availability, while online shoppers prioritize convenience.

- 📧 Nearly half of consumers prefer email as their preferred method of brand marketing.

- 💲 Older consumers are more likely to prefer in-store shopping and are influenced by promotions and competitive prices.

- 💰 Gen Zs and millennials are less hesitant to shop online and have a more optimistic economic outlook.

- 🛍️ Consumers plan to primarily shop online for the upcoming holiday season.

- 💸 Younger consumers, particularly Gen Zs, are more willing to increase spending on non-essentials.

- 💄 The "lipstick effect" is observed in a minority of consumers, with beauty services and makeup being popular choices during economic uncertainty.

- 🛍️ Gen Zs and millennials are more likely to spend on small luxuries or non-essentials.

- 📊 Customer segmentation and targeted marketing can be effective strategies to reach different consumer groups.

- 🛒 The merging of physical and digital shopping experiences, such as BOPIS (Buy-Online-Pickup-In-Store), can enhance customer satisfaction and reach diverse customer preferences.

- 🛍️ The top reasons consumers shop in-store include the ability to see and touch products, immediate product availability, and exclusive in-store promotions or discounts.

- 📈 In-store promotions and immediate product selection become more important as consumers get older.

- 💻 Convenience is the primary reason consumers shop online, with competitive prices being more important to older generations.

- 📧 Email is the most preferred form of brand marketing among consumers, with generational differences in preferences.

- 🎁 Consumers plan to shop primarily online in the months leading up to the holidays, with holiday spending likely to remain similar to previous years.

- 🛒 Boomers+ are more likely to shop in-store for the holidays, while younger generations plan to shop more online.

“Brainstorm ideas that combine channels. Examples include using online sign-up forms to collect RSVPs to in-store holiday events and gain more subscribers; leveraging loyalty programs to purchase in-store and online to gain more points; handing out coupons at in-store check-out for deals shoppers can redeem online; and sending segmented emails to both online and
 in-store purchasers to increase total shopping across channels.”

—McKenzie Hibler, director of ecommerce marketing, Groove Commerce

- 💰 Consumers spend an average of $745 each holiday season, with spending increasing as consumers get older.

- 🎁 Those planning to increase holiday spending do so primarily due to inflation or purchasing more gifts, while those planning to decrease spending do so by buying fewer gifts.

- 👥 "Dupes" (products of similar quality from lesser-known brands) are considered by 40% of consumers as affordable alternatives for gifts.

- ⏰ Timing matters for holiday shopping, with most people doing their shopping in the months leading up to the holidays, and online deal days becoming popular.

- 💸 Brands should consider price-conscious consumers and offer bundles to appeal to the spend-apprehensive audience.

- 💼 Businesses should focus on executing the basics, updating pop-ups for holiday campaigns, and considering retention strategies for returning customers during the holiday season.

- 📈 Brands should differentiate themselves by emphasizing their unique value proposition and lead with their "why" in marketing messages.

🤖 AI Fashion Style of the Week 🤖 

Each week, our resident AI expert generates a fashion design with the help of AI. If enough people like it, we may just make it.

Crafting an Instagram Bio for Your Boutique That Resonates w/ Your Customers.

• Express Boutique’s Personality: Use emojis and descriptive language to showcase your boutique's unique style and fashion expertise.

• Engage Through Visuals: Balance creativity with professionalism in your bio’s font and emoji choices, ensuring readability.

• Foster Community with Hashtags: Create a branded hashtag to build brand recognition and encourage customer engagement.

• Showcase Authenticity: Utilize user-generated content to provide social proof and celebrate customer diversity.

• Clearly State Your Fashion Philosophy: Use your bio to articulate your boutique's mission and guide customers on their fashion journey.

• Provide Strategic Information: Enhance user experience by including contact details, location, and links to promotions or other social media profiles.

• Build Credibility: Highlight any unique offerings, accolades, or fashion expertise of your boutique.

Take a look below to see how our awesome client, Judith March, totally nails it with their Bio.

SHARING IS CARING

Introduce us to your team and empower them with the knowledge to elevate your boutique business.

Delve into the latest fashion trends, discover valuable insights, and elevate your boutique without spending a penny.

👇️ Your fashion-forward future awaits!👇️

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