💕 Barbie world

Welcome to Morning Commerce!

It’s a massive week in the world of Shopify, with the impending release of Shopify Editions Summer ‘23 just a few hours after this newsletter goes out.

You can check out the live stream here at 11am EDT / 1am AEST.

We’ll be publishing a special edition of Morning Commerce on Thursday covering all the important updates - stay tuned for that.

In the meantime, there’s plenty to get stuck into today:

• Klaviyo launches Reviews app

• Apple Maps making a comeback

• Trends in ecommerce image creation

• It’s Barbie’s world and we’re just living in it

• How to create a dynamic sizing chart with MetaObjects

— Kyle Tully

ACQUISITION

Global retailers cash in on Barbie movie craze

It seems spending $150 million dollars on marketing a movie does work.

Barbie has been quite literally everywhere the past few weeks, after their impressive marketing team (and budget) secured dozens of brand partnerships with everyone from Zara, H&M, Gap, and Crocs, to Mattel, Hyatt Hotels, Hilton, and Airbnb.

Interestingly, many of the collabs and marketing campaigns are targeted at adults and are designed to hit that nostalgia button that has proven so effective over the past few years.

Even brands without officially licensed merch are getting in the action, with pink-themed displays and Barbie-inspired products launching as fast as brands can get them on shelves.

Replicating this kind of result for your little Shopify store might seem like a grandiose goal. (Most of my clients have significantly less than $150 million for marketing.) But this type of blitzkrieg marketing works just as effectively when scaled down to the local or niche level.

In most markets, it only takes a few key influencers, newsletters, or publications to start talking about something for it to cause a stir 😉 

Fun fact: the Mattel Creations x FUNBOYLife Barbie collab runs on Shopify.

Apple Maps Gradually Winning Over Google Maps Users

If you have physical stores then it might be a good idea to make sure your Apple Maps listings are up-to-date and optimised.

Apple Maps underwent a complete overhaul in 2020 and it seems people are noticing. A new report from the Wall Street Journal (paywalled) suggests that Apple Maps is gradually winning over iPhone users.

While Apple Maps has always come pre-installed on iPhones, the vast majority of users have opted to download and use Google Maps… because let’s face it, for a long time it was the superior product.

But perhaps it’s time to dust off the app and give it another chance?

Head over to Apple Business Connect to help people find your business.

CONVERSION

Trends in ecommerce image creation

A new special report from Nfinite echoes what I’ve been screaming from the rooftops about for over 10 years… in ecommerce, your imagery is key.

When consumers can’t physically see, touch, smell, or taste your products in person, all they have to go on are your descriptions and your images. And a picture is worth a thousand words.

They surveyed more than 100 VP or C-level executives at large retail companies in marketing or e-commerce roles, and here’s what they found:

• 91% agree great product imagery has a clear positive impact across e-commerce performance metrics

• 89% agree images can elicit a powerful emotional response influencing the purchase decision

• Retailers typically create about 20 different images for each product

And when it comes to creating images:

• 73% use external agency photo shoots

• 69% repurpose images from suppliers

• 63% use freelance photographers

• 63% use user-generated content

• 57% use an in-house photo studio

• 36% use CGI

• With a full 86% using multiple types of resources.

Photos are expensive:

• 73% conduct photoshoots at least weekly

• 86% have a photoshoot budget of over $500,000

• 68% go over budget frequently or always

I didn’t see AI mentioned once in the report, but we might assume that CGI covers this. 87% of those surveyed believe “CGI and 3D image creation are necessary technologies to deliver on our product visualization strategy”.

How to reduce subscription churn

If you like to geek out on UX case studies with tons of screenshot examples of how to reduce subscription churn (I mean, who doesn’t?) then you’ll definitely want to check out this post.

It generally costs less to keep a customer than it does to replace them, so focusing on reducing churn should be one of your highest priorities if subscriptions are a part of your business.

Some ideas spawned from this case study:

1. Survey people so you know why they leave. This info is gold.

2. Provide a solution for each reason — plug the holes!

3. Let them pause, change, or upgrade/downgrade rather than cancel.

4. Don’t make people jump through hoops. You don’t like it and neither do your customers. Make it easy, but take the time to learn why so you can improve.

ENTREPRENEURSHIP

Don't lose your unreasonable sense of urgency

“Getting anything new off the ground usually requires a tremendous amount of urgency. It's hard to launch something from nothing into reality without being incredibly impatient for progress. Thus most founders begin 🎶Their Journey🎶 sprinting from one pressing problem to the next in rapid succession to achieve their lift off. But reaching escape velocity doesn't guarantee you'll keep going, unless you retain the propulsion from an unreasonable sense of urgency.”

— David Heinemeier Hansson

EMAIL MARKETING

Klaviyo Reviews launches

Email marketing platform Klaviyo released their Klaviyo Reviews app for Shopify, and if you’re already using Klaviyo for email then it makes a lot of sense to check it out.

It allows you to:

• Automate review requests with email and SMS flows

• Showcase top reviews in emails & on your website

• Build segments based on star rating & custom questions

• Reward reviewers with a unique coupon

• Import previous product reviews

It’s always been a bit of a pain to get your branding consistent when sending emails from different apps. Now your review emails can perfectly match your other brand emails.

Combine that with all your other customer data and the power of Klaviyo’s automation flows and the mind boggles at what you can build.

SHOPIFY NEWS

Create a dynamic sizing chart with MetaObjects in Shopify

MetaObjects were one of my favourite features released in Shopify’s last Winter Editions, but most people still have no idea how to use them. Or just how powerful they are.

In this 3-minute tutorial you’ll learn how to create a sizing chart that’s unique to each product, without touching a single line of code.

This is just one of a thousand ways you can use MetaObjects to customise your store without the help of a developer. (You can do some crazy stuff with the help of a dev too!)

Three new Shopify updates

• Decrease customer acquisition costs by up to 50% with Shopify Audiences - Shopify Audiences v2.0 sees merchants achieving up to 50% lower cost of acquisition on their paid ads.

• Custom pixels now shows previous saved versions

• Introducing new ways to optimize your marketing campaigns - You can now drill down into your marketing campaigns to get a granular view of your conversion funnel and identify your most effective marketing activities.

INSPO OF THE WEEK

Magda Butrym uses a dead simple but stunningly effective trick on their product page. A model walks on from off screen, models the dress like she is on a runway, then walks off screen again.

Check it out on desktop at full screen resolution, it’s a thing of beauty 😍

How we can help…

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