Omnichannel experience
Welcome to Incubateme’s newsletter, curated by Alice Zhang.
Follow us on social! Instagram: @joinincubateme, Twitter: @incubateme
Dear all,
Happy Spring! Hope you have made some time enjoying the outdoor spring blossoms, and are on your way back to the office, the school, as well as the shops!
Today we share an article from McKinsey talking about the ominichannel shopping experience in 2030; and feature a healthy cookie dough business which started with drops in Instagram but now the products are distributed through retail stores. Ominchannel is becoming the talk of the town and we hope to shed more light on what and how to do it successfully with a series of content underway.
We are also excited to announce that we are launching a pilot Forecasting and Budgeting service for micro-entrepreneurs, with the goal to enable every small business do proper financial planning. Please read below for more details!
🌟 Announce the pilot launch of Forecasting and Budgeting service. Book a free consultation here!
A good forecast and budget will not only get you access to capital, but also guide your business activities on both the top line and bottom line. Over the past year a number of founders asked me to help them develop their pro forma financial statements, given my financing and fund raising background. Realizing this is a universal need, I have compiled an offer and please check the details out HERE and SCHEDULE A CALL to figure out if this is right for you! - Alice
Omnichannel experience in 2030
Omnichannel retail builds upon multichannel retail but has a completely different focus. Instead of placing the brand at the center, the customer is the central figure. The goal is to give the customer a seamless experience across all selling platforms.
An omnichannel brand will track customer activity on Facebook, Instagram, and their Amazon store to offer personalized suggestions via mobile notifications, or offer a personalized customer service experience.
and we share a McKinsey article where four partners talked about shopping experience in their minds in 2030:
The ‘phygital’ shopping experience
Eric Hazan: We are entering the world of “phygital”—physical and digital at the same time, where there is not a physical world or digital world in retail, but rather a completely connected one.
Praveen Adhi: Traffic in stores is almost certainly going to be down permanently. As you see the shift to e-commerce, whether it’s five, ten, or 15 points, some portion of your customers are not coming back in the store or not coming back at the same frequency they used to. So being able to maximize the value of each trip is going to be incredibly important.
Kelsey Robinson: For a customer walking into a store in 2030, I think it will feel really integrated—meaning, affirmations from social media or friends and family who aren’t even near me will somehow be integrated into that store.
Sajal Kohli: A lot of the resource investment—both human capital and capital expenditure in dollars—needs to shift away from opening new brick-and-mortar stores and toward putting it into technology.
A store designed just for you
Kelsey Robinson: I think in 2030, shopping will feel incredibly personalized. It’ll feel like the sales associates in that store know me as well as a close friend or maybe as well as a personal stylist.
Sajal Kohli: As soon as I go in, they’ll know exactly when I was there last and, therefore, what my replenishment needs would be. And all [the store] will do is a confirmation of, “Here’s what must be out at home. Should we just reorder it for you?” But that’s not the main reason I would go to the store, because I could do that off my mobile device, right? The reason I would go in is because they would actually draw me in by saying, “New products, new brands, just for you, customized, personalized. Come have a look.”
Eric Hazan: If you don’t invest in analytics, if you don’t invest in personalization, the barriers to entry that others will build will be too high.
Praveen Adhi: There are companies out there that are personalizing the sounds you hear in the store and the scents that you smell. They’re personalizing what the associates know about you to help you find the right product more quickly. You’re going to see digital mannequins that quickly change what they’re wearing based on who you are and what you might be holding in your hand. You’ll see a lot more in-store experiences to help you engage with the product, touch and feel it, and get to know it. But when you go to buy the product, you might not just be grabbing it off the floor and walking out the door like you do today. It might be coming out of the back room, it might meet you in your car, or it might meet you at home.
Kelsey Robinson: I also think personalized fulfillment is a 2030 concept that might even come earlier: How do I, as Kelsey, want to have my products delivered, and how does a retailer actually know that in advance and get them more quickly to the exact door or location, either through their own channels or through partner channels?
Sustainability, community, fun
Eric Hazan: In certain countries—say, a few countries in Europe—almost one-fourth of consumers would basically change stores if they didn’t think that the products they have in front of them were sustainable. The preoccupation with and focus on hygiene, organic products, and sustainability are much more important than before. So it’s another layer of complexity for retailers.
Kelsey Robinson: Is a store just about a transaction? Or is it a place where I can offer community and experiences that are aligned with my brand—everything from a fitness class to meeting local talent or local bands?
Praveen Adhi: As customers get used to shopping online, what’s going to make them come to the store? How do you think about driving engagement with the brand, driving product knowledge, making it a fun experience, and removing all the friction in that experience?
Sajal Kohli: You’ve got to think about: What are the different axes of creating experience? What is your value proposition going to be? What will be the basis of your differentiation that will be the real reason why consumers will be loyal to you versus not?
Kelsey Robinson: Don’t try to win on every single element of the consumer experience. Pick the couple of areas where your brand can really stand out
Mckinsey.com
Partner offering: check out this founders fellowship program!
🌱 In today's world, the x-factor for being a successful founder is who you have around you. The Day One Fellowship is a 10-week program designed specifically for the earliest stage founders to tap into a community of talented peers, mentors with deep expertise, and investors who are leaning in to help you succeed. LEARN MORE AND APPLY TODAY!
Featured business: Deux
Company URL: https://www.eatdeux.com/
Founder: Sabeena Ladha and Scout Brisson
Founded Year: 2020
Business is about: healthy cookie dough
🍪 Tell us about yourself, your company, and how you got it started.
Scout and Sabeena met at a venture capital firm in LA and kind of always knew we'd start a company together. Separately, Sabeena had a background in big food CPG at PepsiCo and Scout is a plant-based baker (outside of her day job) and fought through an eating disorder in college. We were both craving comfort and health, which are often at odds, when Covid hit we concepted the idea of DEUX - a delicious way & functional way to get added vitamins & supplements. We took the silicon valley approach of testing PMF and launched in <4 months (see more about that below!) and have seen tremendous growth and reception thus far.
🍪 How did you acquire your first batch of customers?
It's actually a super scrappy / fun story. We took a page out of fashion's book and launched "drops" on Instagram before our branding and website were complete. We seeded our product with a few super kind & generous influencers, and would drop a limited quantity of jars on Instagram at a set time. People would then have to DM us their address and Venmo us to place an order. It sounds kind of insane but it not only created buzz but showed we had product / market fit pretty early on, without branding, without a website, and without a "final" product.
🍪 Did your business pivot in the pandemic? Or, how did your business start during this time?
Our business started during the pandemic. The idea actually stemmed from a mutual interest of ours - hedonistic health. Scout and I are obsessed with wellness (both mind & body) and really get pleasure from it. Starting a healthy but delicious food company that is e-commerce forward (which most are not) during Covid is scary, but also makes a lot of sense. People are shopping more online, especially for food & beverage, they are looking for comfort, but they are also looking for health.
🍪 What is your plan for the future? What trends do you foresee for your industry?
Our platform of "hedonistic health" will continue as we launch additional products. Our plan is to make a splash in retail grocery (we're currently in Erewhon stores in LA) and continue to launch nostalgic, delicious products but with our enhanced, healthy spin. A key trend we see, primarily with younger consumers, is that diet culture is out and holistic health is in. We're strong proponents of body positivity and overall wellness instead of counting calories, and consumers are shifting that way. With consumers as the champions of this, companies will be forced to shift in the next several years.
🍪 Any other lessons/advice you’d like to share with other fellow entrepreneurs?
The highs are high and the lows are super low. On the surface everything looks easier and better than it might actually be - so do NOT compare yourself. Trying to be even-keeled throughout the journey and having a co-founder to cry / get excited / celebrate / sulk with has been incredible for our mental health. Highly recommend also choosing a co-founder wisely. :)
🍪 Any requests for help from our community?
We'd love to chat with any experts in retail grocery or DTC fulfillment. Also experts on influencer / celebrity marketing and investing, which has been working well for us that we want to double down on.
You made it to the end !
🥇Stay in touch. Follow us on Instagram: @joinincubateme, Twitter: @incubateme, or email us at joinincubateme@gmail.com