{"id":37693,"date":"2018-09-20T10:30:35","date_gmt":"2018-09-20T17:30:35","guid":{"rendered":"https:\/\/content26.com\/?p=37693"},"modified":"2018-11-02T14:58:55","modified_gmt":"2018-11-02T21:58:55","slug":"cleveland-summit-challenges-facing-modern-brands","status":"publish","type":"post","link":"https:\/\/987654321.space\/c26_dev\/blog\/cleveland-summit-challenges-facing-modern-brands\/","title":{"rendered":"Cleveland Research Ecommerce Summit Explores Challenges Facing \u201cModern Brands\u201d"},"content":{"rendered":"

More than 500 ecommerce leaders gathered in San Diego on September 13 for Cleveland Research Company’s<\/a>\u00a06th Annual eCommerce Summit. The conference focused on what Russ Dieringer, Executive Director of eCommerce at the Cleveland Research Company, described as the emergence of \u201cModern Commerce.\u201d<\/p>\n

According to Dieringer, \u201cModern Commerce\u201d blurs the lines between four distinct entities: brands, retailers, media providers, and advertisers.<\/p>\n

\u201cThe companies that are able to do all four effectively are going to have the biggest competitive advantage in retail,\u201d Dieringer noted in his keynote that kicked off the daylong event. \u201cAs they’ll be best positioned for Modern Commerce.\u201d<\/p>\n

How should modern brands approach ecommerce? Here are my 3 top takeaways from the daylong event.<\/p>\n

\"Cleveland<\/p>\n

 <\/p>\n

1.\u00a0 Brands Need to Examine Amazon Approach<\/strong><\/h2>\n

While the entire ecommerce sector saw healthy growth in 2018, Amazon continues to stand out, accounting for more than 50 cents of every $1 spent on ecommerce.<\/p>\n

\"Cleveland

Source: Cleveland Research estimates<\/em><\/p><\/div>\n

Dieringer said he expects Amazon to continue to strengthen its position and to continue to exert pressure on brands as it solidifies its margins and expands its private label options.<\/p>\n

A break-out session with ecommerce leaders from ShurTech, Spectrum Brands, Henkel, and Robert Bosch, discussed a recent trend towards a vendor\/seller \u201chybrid\u201d approach as brands have attempted to control Amazon inventory and price.<\/p>\n

Scott Sommers, Director of Ecommerce Strategy for consumer home and office product manufacturer ShurTech, said he is looking to \u201cbring back the voice of the consumer,\u201d when selling online. ShurTech has moved some products over to Seller Central, but are still using Amazon to fulfill those orders.<\/p>\n

In its 2018 eCommerce Team Benchmarks study, Cleveland Research found that an additional 50 percent of brands currently using Vendor Central are considering shifting at least some products over to Seller Central.<\/p>\n

\u201cMost of those currently doing it are just testing it on a small percentage of their portfolio, taking the approach of think big, but start small,\u201d Dieringer said.<\/p>\n

 <\/p>\n

2.\u00a0 Ecommerce Advertising Will Extend Beyond Amazon<\/strong><\/h2>\n
\"Russ

Russ Dieringer, Executive Director of Cleveland Research Company\u2019s eCommerce Council<\/em><\/p><\/div>\n

Brands indicate that they are planning to increase their investments in Amazon Advertising, particularly the area that was known, until earlier in September, as Amazon Marketing Services<\/a> (AMS).<\/p>\n

Amazon\u2019s ad revenue brought in an estimated $2.2 billion in the first quarter of 2018, but Amazon has ambitious plans to \u201cuse its wealth of data and analytics\u201d to grow this revenue, according to the New York Times<\/a>.<\/p>\n

While Amazon continues to extend its lead, brands would be unwise to ignore omnichannel opportunities, Dieringer noted. Forward-thinking brands now need to start looking at Kroger, Walmart, Home Depot and other ecommerce sites.<\/p>\n

Walmart and Home Depot have begun to push towards pay-per-click advertising revenue and other retailers are likely to follow suit. These ecommerce sites could generate $1 billion ad market over the next few years, Dieringer said.<\/p>\n

\u201cBrands reinvent how they operate every year,\u201d noted Michael Lagoni, the founder of Stackline, who presented a workshop session on Amazon analytics.<\/p>\n

3. \u00a0Modern Brands Focus on End Consumer<\/strong><\/h2>\n

Amazon recently disclosed that its B2B marketplace is on pace to reach $10 billion in sales, and according to CNBC<\/a>, some analysts believe that Amazon Business could become bigger than the consumer marketplace.<\/p>\n

Unilever Food Solutions<\/a>\u00a0serves the professional kitchen, targeting chefs and food and beverage managers with global brands such as Hellmann\u2019s, Knorr and Lipton. Unilever Food Solutions (UFS) made a decision early on to invest in Amazon Business, said Menno Van Der Eijk, Senior Manager of Digital & eCommerce for Unilever Food Solutions.<\/p>\n

\"Menno

Menno Van Der Eijk and Mark White discuss Amazon in a breakout session<\/em><\/p><\/div>\n

\u201cI knew we had to act fast,\u201d said Van Der Eijk, who moved to the US two years ago to ramp up the UFS ecommerce efforts in the United States and Canada. \u201cWe want to be the first, which means we invest significantly ahead of the curve.\u201d<\/p>\n

Like other brands, Unilever Food Solutions is acting beyond Amazon to wherever\u00a0customers shop, Van Der Eijk said. Today the Amazon business is relatively small, but we all know Amazon, Van Der Eijk noted.<\/p>\n

\u201cWhenever a chef finds a different way to purchase, we have to be there,\u201d Van Der Eijk noted in a breakout session with content26 co-founder Mark White. \u201cWe are listening to our chefs.\u201d<\/p>\n

The B2B ecommerce market is exciting because \u201cit\u2019s pioneering, it\u2019s a huge market, and we\u2019re only at the beginning,\u201d Van Der Eijk said.<\/p>\n

Takeaway<\/strong>: Brands Need to Think Big
\n<\/strong><\/h2>\n

At his keynote address, Cleveland Research\u2019s Russ Dieringer encouraged manufacturers to broaden their definition of a brand and a retailer to keep pace with the changing landscape. He also encouraged attendees to think beyond Amazon.<\/p>\n

This could mean thinking about how to sell on Google, Instagram, or Facebook. Amazon isn\u2019t going anywhere, Dieringer noted, but brands need to think about additional growth opportunities for the future.<\/p>\n","protected":false},"excerpt":{"rendered":"

More than 500 ecommerce leaders gathered in San Diego on September 13 for Cleveland Research Company’s\u00a06th Annual eCommerce Summit. The…<\/p>\n","protected":false},"author":21,"featured_media":37700,"comment_status":"closed","ping_status":"closed","sticky":false,"template":"","format":"standard","meta":[],"categories":[789,1462],"tags":[1403,1334,1401],"yoast_head":"\n\n\n\n\n\n\n\n\n\n\n\n\n\t\n\t\n\t\n\n\t\n\t\n\t\n