📦 Retailers are leaving UPS, Reddit for marketing, and your new dream job

Ecommerce Experiences is the weekly newsletter that combines need-to-know news, insights, and market research for ecommerce leaders who want to think smarter and thrive. If you enjoy this newsletter, send it to an industry friend. If you received this from a friend, you know what to do: Subscribe.

Hey, happy Friday!

Lots of good stuff this week, so we’ll be quick: 

Agile methodologies are good for refining a product but not defining a product.

Its short-term goals and iterative progress? Refine all the way. 

But it lacks the long-term product vision, broad planning, and strategic alignment required to define something new. 

Alright, off to it. ➡️

HOT PICKS 🔥

Amazon Responsible For Faulty Goods of 3rd-Party Sellers
In a landmark order, the US Consumer Product Safety Commission has said that Amazon, as a distributor, bears responsibility for the recall of faulty products. This is a major development in product liability in ecommerce, signaling a trend towards greater accountability for online marketplaces. It also means that businesses using such platforms may need to prepare to face stricter measures with robust compliance programs and supplier verification processes.
Full story | More | More

UPS Defends Higher Peak Surcharges This Holiday Season
Despite shippers already seeking lower-cost delivery options, UPS surcharges for the 2024 peak season will be pricier than in past years. With Thanksgiving falling on Nov. 28, there are fewer days for deliveries between Black Friday and Christmas, and UPS is expecting “the highest volume ever in our network” on Dec. 18. Check the full story for surcharge rates, but thanks to the early announcement, there’s still time to onboard alternatives or negotiate discounts.
Full story

$33 Million Available to Advance Smart Manufacturing
Interested in running a greener business? The Department of Energy is offering $33 million to fund smart manufacturing technologies to boost the clean energy transition. You can apply to receive funding to support the research and development of circular supply chains, tooling, and equipment for sustainable transportation, high-performance materials, and sustainable mining. The deadline for concept papers is Aug. 22, 2024, at 5 p.m. ET.
Full announcement

FEATURED ⭐

POV 🧠

Marketing Analytics Data Is Wrong. Can It Be Fixed?
Sorry if it hurts to hear, but 100% accuracy in your data is impossible. Instead, you should focus on usability, and this is how.
Full article

7 Things to Know About 1:1 Meetings to Be a Better Boss
If you have people under you, here’s how you can help everyone get the most out of your one-on-ones.
Full article

The Worst Outcome Is a Mediocre Success
This sounds like hustle and grind BS, but it’s actually a lesson in experimentation, learning, business growth, and never hedging your bets.
Full article

ADVICE ✍️

How I Tricked My Brain To Like Doing Hard Things
Your brain doesn’t hate you, but it does love dopamine enough not to care if too much hurts in the end. Consider a detox and a smarter reward system.
Full article

Does Your Company Need a Customer Advisory Board?
A CAB can be a direct line to customers for valuable feedback and a forum for testing product ideas and offerings… if handled well. Explore company-fit scenarios and best practices.
Full story

Emotional Design: Why It Matters in UX
You love the products you love because their design meets all 3 levels of your emotional processing (visceral, behavioral, and reflective ). Here’s what that means, exactly.
Full article

DATA 📈

The Consequences of Disabling Social Media Comments
How do people feel when brands and influencers limit their ability to comment? Turns out not well. Sometimes, having comments off is more damaging than viewers seeing negative ones.
Full study

Effect of Dynamic Promotion Displays on Purchase Intention
Researchers have found that static banners/displays work better for selling high-involvement purchases, while dynamic displays can only work well for low-involvement purchases.
Full study

Retailers Are Shifting on Costly Last-Mile Delivery
A recent survey found that FedEx and UPS are facing increased competition in last-mile delivery as retailers fight the cost of meeting delivery speed demands. Here’s how retailers are trying to make up the difference ($) and the providers they’re going with.
Full story

IDEAS 💡

The Definitive List of Startup Pivots
At the cross-section of interesting and inspiring is this table with the details behind 30+ startup pivots, including the original vs new idea, what inspired the change, the time to pivot, and more.
Full table

Reddit Is My Secret to Marketing Success: Here’s How
A detailed, non-fluffy explanation of how one PPC agency founder uses Reddit to gain new customers. Includes specific advice for choosing subreddits, commenting, and timelines.
Full article

Gen Z's Packaging Revolution: Reshaping Design
Tour 7 design trends that appeal to Gen Zers as they seek packaging that reflects their values, sparks joy, and makes a statement. (We checked, and it’s Gen Zer approved ✅)
Full article

TOOLS & TECH ⚙️

Fiserv plans to mine millions of transactions on its products to help merchants and financial institutions profit from its credit card and cash spending data. More

SurveyMonkey, known for online surveys, now offers a packaged suite of customer experience tools in a move to make CX initiatives more accessible. More

Apple Maps is now on the web as part of a public beta, so if your business has a physical location, here’s a reminder to ensure your Apple business profile is up to date. More | Update

Meta’s new AI Studio lets you create an AI version of yourself to chat with your Instagram followers on your behalf, but it’s up to you to keep it from going horribly wrong. More 

Perplexity is launching a program to share ad revenue with publishers and plans to start introducing ads for luxury consumer brands and B2B software in September. More

Yelp aims to help multi-location businesses and national advertisers generate and manage high-intent leads with updates like Request a Quote, Leads API, new ad formats, and more. More

Reddit launched Lead Generation Ads that allow Redditors to provide advertisers with key information without leaving the platform alongside a new integration with Zapier. More

TAKE A BREAK ⏸️

For the love of reading: A Goodreads list of the best books for book clubs by vote.

For the love of trends: Has pop culture become an oligopoly?

For the love of weird tests: How many cans of A to C SpaghettiOs would it take to write the Lord of the Rings trilogy?

For the love of data visualization: How many people are older and younger than you, given your age?

Dream job alert: What it’s like to be this hotel’s ‘Duckmaster.’ 🦆🦆🦆

That’s a wrap–

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And, of course, have a great weekend! ✌️