Juphy’s Weekly E-Commerce News Express – 08-12 July 2024
Ceyda Duz
Welcome to this week’s essential guide to the latest e-commerce and AI news. Get ready as we spotlight Etsy’s innovative, creative standards, 2024 beauty industry trends, and exciting product updates from Captive8, e.l.f. Beauty, and HyperFinity. Stay ahead with the hottest topics, the latest retail trends, online shopping insights, and advancements in retail AI. Keep reading to stay informed!
Etsy Introduces New Creativity Standards
As online marketplaces increase and new global players like Temu and Shein strengthen the competition, Etsy is taking strategic steps to distinguish its platform. The marketplace recently announced new policies that aim to refine the quality and authenticity of products sold on the platform. Through these new policies and criteria that products must meet, Etsy emphasizes its commitment to originality and human creativity.
New Etsy Policies
The updated policies are mainly intended to clarify, not change, what is allowed on Etsy. The new Creativity Standards are designed to support Etsy’s position as a marketplace for original items from real people.
The updated standards specify that all products listed on Etsy must be:
- Made by a seller
- Designed by a seller
- Sourced by a seller
- Handpicked by a seller
In addition, Etsy will add detailed item labels to its listing pages to reflect these standards, such as the details about which shop made it, designed it, sourced it, and handpicked it.
These labels aim to provide clearer information to buyers about the origin and authenticity of each product, enhancing trust and transparency on the platform.
Emphasizing Originality and Human Creativity
One of the driving forces behind the policy updates is Etsy’s motivation to “keep commerce human”. With new and updated policies, Etsy emphasizes the importance of the human creators behind each product. Etsy’s new policies do not introduce new prohibitions but rather clarify existing ones. The focus is on ensuring that the marketplace remains a hub for unique, handmade, and creatively designed products. The new standards aim to better define human creators’ roles and contributions to online marketplaces.
Overall, Etsy’s new Creativity Standards are a strategic move to enhance the platform’s authenticity, transparency, and appeal and ensure that it remains a destination for unique and handmade products.
Beauty Industry Trends in 2024
As consumer spending tightens this summer, the “lipstick effect” is making a strong comeback. This term describes the tendency for consumers to indulge in small luxuries during economic downturns. Despite moderated consumer confidence, there is a clear focus on value and well-being. The lipstick effect now extends beyond just lipstick, strengthened by digital savviness and consumer awareness.
The beauty industry remains cost-efficient and continues to open up new categories. Leading brands are experiencing significant growth in 2024, with online sales expected to rise from 16% in 2022 to 23% by the end of 2024. Social shopping channels, driven by influencers on platforms like YouTube and TikTok, now account for a substantial portion of business.
The U.S. economy remains active, indicating continued expansion. Despite economic challenges, consumer behavior is strong, but there is a significant shift towards value and essential purchases. Consumers are increasingly focused on finding the lowest prices and prioritizing essential items.
The beauty sector has seen increased store visits for four of the first six months of 2024. Ulta Beauty leads the market with about 8% increase in visits in June compared to last year. Efforts to attract a diverse customer base, product innovations, and strategic partnerships, such as in-store collaborations, have successfully increased visit frequency and brand awareness.
While beauty has remained strong, the lipstick effect is expected to persist. The holiday selling period, starting in October and accounting for 30-40% of annual beauty sales, is anticipated to positively impact the beauty sector. Younger consumers and social shopping channels are projected to drive strong beauty sales in the fourth quarter.
Captiv8 Integrates with TikTok Shop
Captiv8, an influencer marketing platform for enterprise brands, has expanded its partnership with TikTok to integrate with TikTok Shop. This integration into Captiv8’s Commerce Suite improves its social commerce capabilities, reinforcing efforts to advance the creator economy and maximize creators’ earning potential. The collaboration follows the recent launch of Captiv8’s Brand-Exclusive Storefronts, further positioning Captiv8 as a pivotal player in the growing social commerce landscape.
e.l.f. Beauty to Sell Physical Items on Roblox
e.l.f. Beauty is testing real-world commerce within the Roblox virtual universe powered by Walmart. The company has created a virtual kiosk in its e.l.f. UP! experience on Roblox, allowing U.S. visitors to purchase exclusive limited-edition physical products. This initiative marks e.l.f. Beauty’s venture into combining virtual experiences with real goods, leveraging partnerships with Egen for cloud development and Supersocial for metaverse services.
HyperFinity’s AI-Powered Pricing for Retailers
HyperFinity, a decision intelligence platform for retailers, has introduced an AI-powered pricing product. This new tool offers data and insights in an easy-to-understand format, moving away from traditional spreadsheets. Retailers can model commercial scenarios based on price changes to understand their margin impact and generate AI-driven actions for every product in their range.
Empower Your Social Commerce with Juphy AI
In the fast-paced world of social commerce, establishing a strong online presence is key to staying competitive. However, only a presence isn’t enough – leveraging social media as a sales channel can be your ace in the hole for increasing sales and creating a loyal customer base. Meet Juphy AI, your secret weapon for boosting social commerce sales effortlessly.
With Juphy AI, integrating a ChatGPT-powered shopping assistant into your Shopify store and Instagram is as simple as a one-click setup that takes under a minute. From there, Juphy AI becomes your 24/7 sales associate, handling DMs, educating and guiding followers to the perfect product, and seamlessly directing them to your website for conversions. Don’t miss out on maximizing your social media sales potential. Get started with Juphy AI today and watch your sales maximize. Try Juphy AI now: juphy.com
Key Takeaways
Etsy’s New Creativity Standards: Etsy has rolled out new policies to ensure products are made, designed, sourced, or handpicked by sellers, reinforcing authenticity and human creativity. These standards aim to maintain Etsy’s reputation as a marketplace for unique, handmade items.
Beauty Industry Trends in 2024: Despite economic uncertainty, the beauty industry thrives due to the “lipstick effect.” Online sales are expected to rise from 16% in 2022 to 23% by 2024, driven by social shopping and influencers on YouTube and TikTok.
Captiv8 Integrates with TikTok Shop: Influencer marketing platform Captiv8 has partnered with TikTok to integrate TikTok Shop, enhancing social commerce capabilities and supporting the creator economy. This integration aims to boost creators’ earning potential through improved social commerce tools.
e.l.f. Beauty to Sell Physical Items on Roblox: e.l.f. Beauty is exploring real-world commerce within Roblox, offering exclusive physical products through a virtual kiosk. This initiative combines virtual experiences with real goods, marking e.l.f. Beauty’s innovative venture into captivating commerce.
HyperFinity’s AI-Powered Pricing for Retailers: HyperFinity has launched an AI-powered pricing product for retailers, providing data and insights in a user-friendly format. This tool helps retailers model commercial scenarios based on price changes and generate AI-driven actions to optimize pricing strategies.