👎 Smokesperson

Viral "Smokesperson" campaign fails to deliver...

Author

Kyle Tully
January 24, 2024

Welcome to Morning Commerce!

Kyle here with another action-packed issue full of Shopify goodies:

  • New ways to search in 2024

  • Smokesperson fails to boost sales

  • Shopify to announce financial results

  • Why profitability feels SO hard in ecom

  • Thumbnail A/B testing coming to Youtube

— Kyle Tully

ACQUISITION

Smokesperson fails to boost sales

We reported on the brilliantly creative Smokeless campaign by Solo Stove back in November, well now the results are in… and they’re not good.

So bad, in fact, they’ve got a new President and Chief Executive Officer.

“Our fourth quarter results came in below expectations as we experienced softer-than-anticipated sales in our direct channel. While our unique marketing campaigns raised brand awareness of Solo Stove to an expanded and new audience of consumers, it did not lead to the sales lift that we had planned, which, combined with the increased marketing investments, negatively impacted our EBITDA. We believe there is a significant opportunity for us to build awareness and that these new campaigns will expand our reach and benefit our brands over the long term.”

Andrea Tarbox, interim CFO

This highlights the importance of ensuring influencers and brand ambassadors you work with are a good match for your audience and messaging. Seems they were a little off the mark with this one as Snoop failed to connect with outdoor enthusiasts, and Snoop’s exisiting audience are still focused on the other smoke.

CONVERSION

Thumbnail A/B testing coming to Youtube

Thumbnails can make or break a video on Youtube. In fact, most creators find it’s the single most important factor that determines the success of a video.

Smart creators have been using tools like Tubebuddy or manually split testing and optimising their thumbnails for a long time… but soon this functionality will be available to all.

Youtube’s thumbnail testing option will let you upload three different variations which it will run in a side by side A/B split test for two weeks before letting you pick the winner.

Early reports from people in the beta say it’s looking really good!

SEO

New ways to search in 2024

Google is introducing two big updates to search, including Circle to Search and an AI-powered multisearch experience.

Circle to Search makes searching on your Android device as simple as circling or highlighting text, images, or video with your finger. No need to leave the app you’re in.

And the new multisearch experience allows you to point your camera (or upload a photo) and ask a question using the Google app, and get AI-powered insights that go beyond simple visual matches.

Google is all-in on AI and plans to continue experimenting with gen AI and introducing helpful applications more broadly to search, so expect to see plenty more updates like this in 2024.

ENTREPRENEURSHIP

Why profitability feels SO hard in ecom

If you’re anything like me you probably fell asleep in Accounting 101 when they started talking about COGS, but turns out it’s actually kinda important. Whodathunkit?

COGS = Cost of Goods Sold.

In other words, the direct costs of producing the products you sell.

This includes materials, labour, and operating expenses directly required to produce each product.

Knowing your COGS helps you find profitability, fine-tune your profit margins, and determine which products and prices will give you the best returns.

It’s easy to fall into the trap of looking at the wholesale cost of your products and comparing that to your retail price and convincing yourself everything is hunky dory… when in fact you’re on a sinking ship and don’t even know it.

Definitely worth taking a few minutes to calculate your true COGS and get a handle on your numbers.

SHOPIFY NEWS

Shopify to announce financial results

Shopify will announce financial results for its fourth quarter and full-year 2023 on February 13, 2024.

Shopify's management team will host a conference call to discuss fourth-quarter results at 8:30 a.m. ET on Tuesday, February 13, 2024.

The conference call will be available via webcast on the investor relations section of Shopify's website at https://investors.shopify.com/news-and-events/.

An archived replay of the webcast will be available following the conclusion of the call.

One new Shopify update

INSPO OF THE WEEK

Earthy tones, vintage photo filters, retro packaging colours, and a trippy peace sign come together to give a positively groovy vibe to Bathing Culture. A great example of a simple Shopify site done well by getting the basics right.

How we can help…

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