François Maingret

Tag: marketing (Page 1 of 3)

Should You Participate in Amazon Prime Days?

June 25, 2024 /

As we approach July, I bet your LinkedIn feed is packed with guides on how to prepare for Amazon Prime Days. “This is the biggest day of the year!” they say. “Make sure you have enough inventory” or “Here’s how to optimize your listings” they’ll advise. While there is often good advice in these posts, the authors assume you are participating in Prime Days. Many entrepreneurs selling on Amazon believe they MUST discount their products during these few days. But should they really?

In this post, I’ll argue that not every business benefits from participating in Prime Days. Low margins, product positioning, brand image, inventory issues—there are many factors impacting a business’s interest in flash sales. So, let’s explore when a business should NOT participate in this event.

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Ecommerce and Social Media are Fueling the Ultra-Fast-Fashion Machine – Can the Same Technologies Also Save Us From it?

April 5, 2024 /

In a previous article, I wrote about ultra-fast fashion, specifically on how France is trying to limit its impact on the environment with new regulations. We’ve seen how unsustainable fast fashion can be, with Americans tossing out a whopping 34 billion pounds of used clothes each year—that’s over 100 pounds per person!

What can be done about Shein? Let’s be realistic, Shein is the target of France’s proposed regulations. Bans or taxes sound good on paper, but they don’t completely eliminate the problem and tend to frustrate customers. Making local brands cheaper so they can compete with Shein (through new processes, innovation, or worse, lower taxes or subsidies) may help local economies, but this wouldn’t do much in terms of sustainability. Greenwashing and shaming customers isn’t ideal either, and won’t win any fans.

Are we stuck in a never-ending cycle of buying and trashing clothes, until we drown in used t-shirts? Thousands of new designs are released every day, and Shein sales are supercharged by influencers and social media. However, I believe we shouldn’t throw in the towel just yet. Ecommerce has come a long way in the last 20 years, and there are some impressive innovations that could help us shop smarter and more sustainably. So let’s see what our options are, and how some successful entrepreneurs are already addressing the fast-fashion problem by offering solid alternatives.

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Let’s Put Our Tinfoil Hats On and Explore the Potential Dark Side of Amazon’s Generative AI

March 17, 2024 /

Generative AI has been all the rage for a while now. How many marketers use Chat-GPT to generate engaging copy for their product pages? Here’s some major news for those who do: Amazon is launching generative AI features to help sellers create product listing content.

“Yay, even less work!” some might say. And yes, it will make life easier for some sellers. But I can see some potential negative consequences for third-party sellers. These new features could also be a very smart move from Amazon to gain market share on the global ecommerce sales, and help them compete with Temu and Shein.

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Customers Want Omnichannel Coupons : How Realistic is That?

March 5, 2024 /

Not too long ago, omnichannel was the center of attention in the ecommerce world, before AI and new sales channels became a thing. However, a solid omnichannel strategy is still important for retailers and is expected from shoppers who seek a consistent brand experience. According to a recent PYMNTS Intelligence study, 75% of U.S. shoppers expect digital coupons to be available for both in-store and online shopping.

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Forget Gen Z: Why Boomers are Obsessed with Shopping on Temu

February 8, 2024 /

When I first heard about Temu, my knee-jerk reaction was to think it would be a Shein for random items, from kitchenware to toys. I also thought the target audience would be similar, Gen Z, especially after I saw some young influencers showing off their “Temu hauls” on TikTok. 

Recent reports proved me wrong: Boomers placed on average 5.6 orders last year on Temu, while Gen Z only ordered 2.6 times.

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Rufus Unleashed: Amazon’s New AI Assistant and What It Means for Your Business

February 7, 2024 /

In the last couple of months, we’ve been hearing about AI all day, every day. Everyone and everything claims to be using AI these days. Marketing tools, dating assistants, deep fake scams, you name it. I think no one was surprised to hear about Rufus, the latest generative AI-powered shopping assistant, recently introduced by Amazon. 

My first reaction to this announcement wasn’t how this would help me as a consumer, but how this would impact my work as a marketer. We are still in the very early stages of this adventure, but we can already do some guesswork. Let’s quickly review the announcement, then try to imagine what the implications are for the millions of businesses selling on Amazon.

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Who is Your Target Customer?

January 27, 2024 /

I see the value proposition as the cornerstone of a successful business, something I often go back to when I discuss important business and e-commerce concepts. Another key part is marketing and how to communicate this value proposition to the world. However, I believe an often overlooked aspect is addressing the right target demographic.

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