TikTok Provides Promising Opportunity For Retailers - 9/19/19

From the Simplr studios in San Francisco, this is your weekly briefing.

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With your E-Commerce Retail Briefing for today, Thursday, September 19, 2019, I'm Vincent Phamvan.

TikTok’s rise to the scene has been a hot topic. The platform’s younger demographic and lack of ad clutter could be the perfect advertising solution for brands ahead of the holidays.

First, here are some retail headlines.

Shopify Allowing Hemp and Hemp-Derived CBD Products

With the CBD market expected to be a $22 billion industry by 2022, the third largest U.S. ecommerce platform is now providing opportunities for CBD merchants. Shopify announced they now allow hemp and hemp-derived CBD products to be sold on its platform. According to a press release, Shopify is rolling out new features that will help merchants sell hemp and hemp-derived CBD products online and in physical stores where it’s legally allowed. A statement from the COO said that Shopify has unmatched experience in emerging industries, and has the resources to assist merchants with their success in the fast growing CBD market.

Casper Selling CBD Gummies

Mattress startup, Casper, is launching a new line of CBD gummies to help people sleep. The new product comes after Casper partnered with Plus. The CBD gummies are called PLUS sleep and contain twenty-five milligrams of CBD and one milligram of melatonin. Philip Krim, the mattress startups co-founder and CEO, said quote “We think this is a clear step forward to help the world sleep better. We’re really proud of this partnership,” end quote.

Walmart Bringing Back "Scoop" Brand

In a blog post, Walmart announced they were bringing the Scoop brand back as a private apparel line. According to Walmart’s e-commerce head of fashion, the brand has its name on more than 100 products with prices ranging from $15 dollars to $65 dollars. Scoop branded items are currently available online and will be found in Walmart stores early next year.

TikTok Provides Promising Opportunity For Retailers

TikTok is a rising social media platform that could be key for retailers as they try to reach younger audiences ahead of the holidays. TikTok popped up on the scene fairly quickly, garnering more than one billion app downloads worldwide in the first seven months after its debut. The platform was able to leverage young consumer’s interest with mobile video by making it easy for them to craft their own videos with user friendly tools. Though still fairly new and untested, the new platform holds a lot of promise for marketers. Major brands like RalphLauren, Uniqlo, and the NFL have all recently jumped on board to test TikTok’s ads. Even retailer, American Eagle, just launched their first TikTok campaign to reach teens through a hashtag challenge, brand takeover, and beta test of a video ad that directs users to an external site to make a purchase. While it’s still too early to pinpoint the exact size of TikTok’s opportunity, it’s clear that marketers are interested.

Part of the appeal for marketers is since the platform is still establishing itself, it hasn’t been overrun with marketing messages. Lack of competition for user attention helped watchmaker Larsson and Jennings generate 1.8 million views last summer. With different creative ad formats and the platform continuing to work on functionality as they establish themselves as a top choice for social advertising, TikTok could be the perfect solution for brands who want to create awareness with a younger demographic before the holidays.

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Thanks for listening to the latest episode of the E-Commerce Retail Briefing. Don't forget, Simplr can help you scale up your customer service with 24/7 support. Find out more at Simplr.ai. Until next time.