The Facebook + TikTok 'Partnership'. God Help Us All.

COMMERCE: Why Consumers Are on Retailers' Naughty List (Again)

Image: Canva

And here we thought supply chain problems and shipping delays were going to be the most stressful parts of this year’s holiday season for businesses... 

According to a new survey from CBRE and Optoro, retailers will be getting Scrooged big time this year in terms of holiday gift returns. 

With more e-commerce sales, comes more returns. The report predicts that consumers could return up to $66.7 billion in purchases, up 45.6% over the past five years, and two out of three will return at least one gift.

The problem for retailers is that returns are often free for customers, because just like free shipping, consumers expect free returns.

How much does a return cost a retailer? According to the report:

• It is estimated that on average, it costs $33 or 66% of the price of a $50 item for retailers to process a return— up from 59% from last year. 

• Transportation, processing, discounting, and liquidation losses contribute to high returns costs.

What products cost the most to return?

• Electronics can be 15 times greater than those for other product segments due to size, testing, refurbishing, and online-sales platform fees.

Image: CBRE

Additionally, the report indicates that warehouse space could be a problem for retailers. Space is in high demand as sales and returns are up, but availability is limited.

Here’s what businesses can do to manage returns more effectively:

• Allow consumers to return items in-store, if possible.

• Provide consumers with better information prior to purchase, including sizes, dimensions, videos, and virtual try-ons.

• Some retailers allow customers to keep or donate unwanted items rather than return them, depending on the price.

• Develop a process that automatically routes returns to the next most profitable channel.

MEDIA BUYING: Snapchat's Study Says... (drumroll) Snapchat is Great! 

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Attention consumer packaged-goods advertisers: A new analysis shows that running ads on Snapchat could be highly effective.

The company commissioned Nielsen to conduct a series of studies. 

Quoting the report:

Given that only five advertisers were included, it's not a huge set of comparative data. However, the insights from the study provide a better understanding of how Snap ads contribute to CPG sales. 

Here are the results from the analysis:

• Snap Ads earned double the return on investment compared to total media, social, and digital benchmarks.

• The company showed 1.7x the return on ad sales compared to television advertising

• Augmented reality Lenses were one of the most effective advertising formats in the Personal Care and Beauty category, in part because they provide an experiential element that other forms of advertising don't.

Again, this is a study that Snapchat itself bought and paid for — so, if there were any lower-than-average results, you can safely assume they wouldn't be reporting it. But, some interesting numbers nonetheless.

Images: Snap

CONTENT MARKETING: TikTok Adds a Facebook-Owned Feature

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I never thought I'd say this sentence — but here we go: TikTok has partnered with Facebook. (Sort of.)

TikTok today announced a new set of video editing features, including new features in Green Screen, one-tap video enhancements, and so on.

But the big one: Animated GIFs from the GIPHY library. That's a library that Meta owns.

Quoting the announcement:

• In partnership with GIPHY, users can now select from a library of GIFs to apply as their background when they use the Green Screen creative effect. 

• The new Visual Enhancement button will improve exposure, low-light, and color correction instantly. By using this option, you will be able to improve the look of your clips without having to make manual edits.

New musical and animal voice effects

• With the latest update, people can make any sound or voice from their videos sound like an animal or musical instrument. 

High-Quality Uploading

• Another big one for marketers… in “select countries,” TikTok is rolling out the option to upload videos in up to 1080p HD.

Images: TikTok

PLATFORMS: Gigi Hadid’s Vodka Pasta Anyone?

Image: Virtual Dining Concepts

With new video tools from TikTok comes… a new kitchen?

You heard correctly, the platform is preparing to get into the restaurant business.

"TikTok Kitchen" will launch in the new year as a delivery-only restaurant partnered with Virtual Dining Concepts. These will be so-called ghost kitchens, where real restaurants essentially have a side-hustle, preparing the food of another brand.

Quoting Virtual Dining:

Many of you might be scratching your head right now... thinking, why? 

Well, this campaign is more of a marketing strategy than an attempt by the platform to break into the restaurant industry. Taking advantage of viral food trends on the app makes sense since it could potentially increase brand awareness of both the company and the creators of the app.

If you do any advertising for restaurants, this could be a unique marketing opportunity. Restaurant owners can apply to add a "TikTok Kitchen'' to their existing kitchens at tiktokdelivered.com. 

PLATFORMS: Finally (Some Of) You Can Embed Instagram Profiles

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Instagram is launching a new feature called "Profile Embed".

The feature will allow users to embed a miniature version of their profile into websites, blogs, and portfolios. 

Embedding Instagram posts into a page is nothing new, but now you can show off more of an overview of your Instagram profile. This feature is currently only being rolled out in the U.S.

The company also announced a new end-of-year "Playback" IG Stories time capsule feature, which could be a great content idea for brands to wrap up for the year.

You can select up to 10 stories from your Stories Archive, to customize and share with your audience.

Today in Digital Marketing is produced byengageQ digital on the traditional territories of theSnuneymuxw first nation onVancouver Island. Scripting and promotional support by Steph Gunn. Podcast music licensing bySource Audio. Our podcast theme composerMark Blevis is that first scoop of coffee out of the bag — you know, the one you give a good long sniff of, and think to yourself, damn I like coffee.