Retail & Merchandising

AI pricing is broken, and everyone knows it. Orb just analyzed 66 AI companies and found something interesting: 𝟗𝟐% 𝐡𝐚𝐯𝐞 𝐚𝐥𝐫𝐞𝐚𝐝𝐲 𝐝𝐢𝐭𝐜𝐡𝐞𝐝 𝐬𝐢𝐧𝐠𝐥𝐞-𝐦𝐨𝐝𝐞𝐥 𝐩𝐫𝐢𝐜𝐢𝐧𝐠. Quietly, completely, across the board. Why? Because usage is unpredictable, infra costs are high, and old SaaS pricing just doesn’t cut it anymore. We’re not pricing features anymore. We’re pricing intelligence. Some insights from the report: ◾𝐇𝐲𝐛𝐫𝐢𝐝 𝐩𝐫𝐢𝐜𝐢𝐧𝐠 𝐢𝐬 𝐭𝐡𝐞 𝐧𝐞𝐰 𝐬𝐭𝐚𝐧𝐝𝐚𝐫𝐝 – 92% blend subscription, usage, freemium, and tiers in one structure ◾𝐓𝐡𝐞 𝐦𝐨𝐬𝐭 𝐜𝐨𝐦𝐦𝐨𝐧 𝐜𝐨𝐦𝐛𝐨? Subscription + usage + freemium + tiered plans ◾𝐏𝐞𝐫-𝐬𝐞𝐚𝐭 𝐢𝐬𝐧’𝐭 𝐝𝐞𝐚𝐝, 𝐛𝐮𝐭 𝐢𝐭’𝐬 𝐧𝐞𝐯𝐞𝐫 𝐚𝐥𝐨𝐧𝐞 – 85% of companies using SaaS pricing now pair it with usage-based pricing ◾𝟏𝟐% 𝐫𝐮𝐧 𝐦𝐮𝐥𝐭𝐢𝐩𝐥𝐞 𝐦𝐨𝐝𝐞𝐥𝐬 𝐢𝐧 𝐩𝐚𝐫𝐚𝐥𝐥𝐞𝐥 – often segmenting between business and individual users … This shift is more than cosmetic. It reflects a deeper reality: AI products don’t fit cleanly into legacy monetization models. They need pricing systems that scale with usage, support experimentation, and reflect actual value delivered. If you’re building in AI, your pricing strategy isn’t just a detail, it’s a growth lever. 📊Full report https://lnkd.in/g-R3_cwU It’ll reshape how you think about monetizing AI.

"Is $20/month too much for our product?" Instead of guessing, we used the Van Westendorp method to find our pricing sweet spot. 4 questions revealed exactly what users would pay (and we haven't touched our pricing since). Here's the framework any founder can steal: 1. Send a survey to actual users, not prospects We surveyed people already using Gamma. They understood the real value of our product, not hypothetical value. Too many founders survey their waitlist or randomly select people who have never used their product. That's like asking someone who's never driven about car prices. 2. Ask these 4 specific questions - At what price would this be too expensive for you to consider it? - At what price is it expensive but still delivering value? - At what price does it feel like a bargain? - At what price is it so cheap you'd question if it's reliable? These create bookends for perceived value. You're mapping the entire spectrum of price psychology, not just asking "what would you pay?" 3. Plot the responses and find where the lines intersect Graph responses from lots of users. Where "too expensive" and "too cheap" lines cross: that's your acceptable range. Where "expensive but fair" meets "bargain": this is your optimal price point. 4. Test within the range, don't just pick the middle The intersection gives you a range, not a number. We ran pricing experiments within that range to see actual conversion rates. A survey shows willingness to pay; testing reveals actual behavior. 5. Lean towards generous (especially for product-led growth) We chose to be more generous with AI usage than our "optimal" price suggested. Word-of-mouth growth matters more than maximizing initial revenue. Not everything shows up in the numbers. 6. Lock it in and stop tinkering Once you find the sweet spot through data, stick with it. We haven't changed pricing in 2 years. Every month debating pricing is a month not improving product. Remember: pricing is a signal, not just a number (Image: First Principles)

One image just disrupted a £22 billion fashion empire more effectively than a thousand sustainability reports. 🔥 This isn't an official SHEIN campaign gone wrong. It's artist Emanuele Morelli's AI creation—a haunting visualisation showing what fast fashion's "affordability" really costs us. The image speaks volumes: a SHEIN billboard where the model's flowing dress transforms into a cascade of textile waste. Art communicating what statistics alone cannot. 5 uncomfortable truths this image forces us to confront: 1. The scale of fashion waste is staggering → 92 million tonnes of textile waste produced annually  → The equivalent of one rubbish lorry of textiles dumped every second  → Most fast fashion items designed to be worn fewer than 10 times 2. The business model depends on our amnesia → Constantly changing trends keep us buying  → Ultra-low prices remove financial friction  → Digital marketing creates artificial scarcity and FOMO  → We're trained to forget yesterday's purchases 3. The true cost isn't on the price tag → Environmental damage from production chemicals  → Microplastics shedding into water systems  → Supply chain ethics compromised for speed and cost  → Communities near production sites bearing health consequences 4. Our definition of "affordable" is broken → When clothing is cheaper than a coffee, someone else is paying  → True cost spread across communities, environments, and future generations  → Psychological cost of constant consumption never factored in 5. Solutions exist but require systemic change → Circular fashion models gaining traction  → Rental and resale markets growing rapidly  → Consumer awareness rising but needs to translate to behaviour While SHEIN isn't the only culprit in the fast fashion ecosystem, Morelli's artwork throws a spotlight on an uncomfortable reality we've normalised. What we wear reflects our values more than our taste. What is your wardrobe saying about yours? Image: Emanuele Morelli ♻️ Found this helpful? Repost to share with your network.  ⚡ Want more content like this? Hit follow Maya Moufarek.

Brad Pitt’s new F1 film is a masterclass in how brands can show up in culture. A $300 million budget. Real F1 tracks. And luxury brands fighting to sponsor a team that doesn’t even exist. It’s entertainment, sport and marketing all blending together... and it’s re-writing the playbook for how brands embed themselves into culture. Here’s what makes it stand out: • A fictional F1 team, APXGP, filmed during real Grand Prix weekends. • Brad Pitt, trained in a modified F2 car, driving alongside actual F1 drivers. • Lewis Hamilton co-producing to capture the authentic essence of the racing world. • Real brands like Mercedes-Benz AG, SharkNinja, IWC Schaffhausen and Tommy Hilfiger actively sponsoring a fictional team. • Actual drivers, including Max Verstappen and Carlos Sainz, making cameo appearances. • All set for release in cinemas June 2025, followed by streaming on Apple TV+. This isn’t just clever product placement, it’s narrative integration at its best. Real brands woven into a fictional story, filmed in real-time at actual events. And it’s a glimpse of where brand marketing is heading. The film isn’t even out yet, and here we are talking about the brands already. That’s how you build long-term equity. This is the new standard in marketing: • Culture first, commerce second. • Stories over traditional advertising. • Integration, not interruption. If your brand isn’t part of the stories people care about, good luck buying their attention. Learn from this. Build worlds people want to be part of. Create stories they’d miss if they disappeared. And find ways to turn up in that culture and be part of the narrative. Rather than looking for ways to interrupt them.

Cold digital interactions will destroy your D2C brand. Your beauty product is at risk of failing if you don’t address this. Industry is rooted in enhancing self-image and boosting confidence, goals that are inherently emotional. While online shopping is undeniably convenient, it often comes at the expense of personal interaction. This is especially problematic in the beauty sector, where purchasing decisions are often influenced by sensory experiences, personalized recommendations, and emotional connections. +64% consumers believe brands are losing touch with customer experience. +85% higher sales achieved by brands that emotionally engage. +68% women & 56% men choose beauty products based on how they make them feel. >>Online emotional challenges << →Lack of personalization in online transactions. E-commerce lacks the personal engagement of in-store shopping, such as trying products and consulting with beauty experts. →Absence of sensory experiences. Customers are unable to explore key sensory elements like texture, scent, and application when shopping online. →Overwhelming variety. The sheer number of options online can confuse customers and lead to decision fatigue without proper guidance. >>Strategies to build emotional connections<< →Transform brick and mortar stores into immersive experiences. Redefine your physical stores as experiential hubs where customers can enjoy personalized consultations, interactive product trials, and even beauty treatments. +30% boost in sales is seen in flagship stores that offer immersive experiences. →Retail as entertainment, retailtainment. Host creative pop-up shops, in-store events, and experiential retail activations to engage customers emotionally with unique deco, exclusive product offerings, and hands-on activities. +70% of beauty consumers value in-store experiences over online alternatives. →Leverage influencer trust. Partner with influencers who bring authenticity to your brand by sharing personal stories, reviews, and tutorials. Their relatability and trustworthiness create stronger emotional ties with consumers. +49% customers rely on influencer recommendations for beauty product purchases. →Build community through social media. Use social media to foster continuous engagement through live Q&A sessions, interactive content, user-generated campaigns, and community forums. +72% of beauty consumers discover products through social media. To finish. Despite the challenges of the digital era, the industry is finding ways to close the emotional gap with creative solutions like flagship experiences, influencer collaborations, virtual consultations, and community-driven marketing. Check out my curated collection of visuals to spark your next big idea. Featured brands: Benefit Glossier Kylie Cosmetics Marc Jacobs Molecula Miu Miu Nina Ricci Laneige Rhode #BeautyBusiness #EmotionalConnection #SocialBeauty #ExperientialRetail #InfluencerMarketing

At airtel, I ran an iPhone giveaway marketing campaign three times, and to my surprise, none of them performed. Logically, you’d think offering a prize as attractive as an iPhone, especially during the launch period, would drive massive engagement. The assumption is that everyone would rush to participate, download your app, engage with the campaign, and complete the required actions. But what actually happened was the opposite. Engagement was shockingly, embarrassingly low. In contrast, campaigns that offered much smaller rewards—like a ₹1,000 or ₹500 voucher, or even just a free mobile recharge—generated higher participation rates, more app downloads, and greater overall engagement. But why does this happen? This outcome can be largely attributed to consumer psychology. When the reward seems too large or unattainable, people instinctively doubt their chances of winning. The concept of *perceived probability* comes into play here. When the prize is something as high-value as an iPhone, people immediately think, "What are the odds that I’ll actually win?" This skepticism causes them to disengage and not even bother trying, as they don't see the reward as realistically achievable. On the other hand, smaller, more attainable rewards feel within reach. A ₹1,000 voucher or a free recharge doesn’t carry the same sense of improbability. People feel like they have a real shot at winning something smaller, which encourages them to take the necessary actions, leading to better campaign results. In essence, psychology plays a far more critical role in shaping consumer behavior than we give it credit for.

From the department-of-mythbusting: our Just Walk Out technology is not going anywhere but to even more locations worldwide. Let's walk through what's really going on here... If you want to optimize any experience, a great place to start is with the biggest, most egregious, inefficient part of that experience. For physical shopping - you don't have to look much further than waiting in line for a checkout. It's boring, and it's a waste of time for both the shopper, and the store. So when we started to look at how to improve physical shopping - we started with the question: how do we take out the line? This is a hard problem - but it led to inventions like Just Walk Out (an AI and sensor fusion system for checkout-free shopping), Amazon Dash Cart (where you scan items as you place them into your cart), and Amazon One (our palm-based payments and identity). These technologies are complementary, and serve a very different purpose depending on these store and shopping task: 🚶 Just Walk Out is great for really quick, "mission driven" shopping - like small-format convenience stores for snacks, drinks, and so on. You know what you want, and you don't want a lot. Enter. Grab. Just walk out. Even with relatively few items sold per visit, we have already sold over 18 million items in Just Walk Out stores, and there are now more than 140 third-party locations with Just Walk Out technology in the U.S., UK, Australia, and Canada. The response from shoppers to Just Walk Out in small-format stores has been so strong that we will launch more small-format third-party Just Walk Out stores in 2024 than any year prior, more than doubling the number of third-party stores with the technology this year. 🛒 In larger grocery stores, where customers are making a big weekly trip and buy a greater number of items, customers so far prefer Amazon Dash Cart. Dash Cart serves as a shopping companion that travels through the store with a customer, helping them locate items with an on-cart screen featuring maps and navigation, and receive personalized shopping experiences, all while tracking their savings and spending in real time. ✋ Regardless of the size or format of the store, shoppers tell us they like the security and convenience of Amazon One. Amazon One is in 500+ Whole Foods stores, other Amazon stores, and 150 third-party locations like stadiums, airports, fitness centers, and more. Just Walk Out, Dash Cart, and Amazon One - together - let us remove these pesky lines in more places than we could in isolation. They are complements to one another - like The Beatles. Stronger than the sum of their parts. So don't believe the headlines. Just Walk Out isn't going anywhere, except into more locations, in more countries, to help more shoppers, and more businesses. Now back to your regular scheduled programming... :)

🚨Amazon has built a really cool new ad tech to monetise Prime videos, but it’s not what you would have thought! 🚨 To appreciate this new ad tech we need to go back in time and look at some history. We would have all watched on movies and tv shows where products have been strategically placed to drive brand awareness and recall. The hit show Stranger Things had about a 140 brands featured in the 4th season with some estimates sizing it to $27million in brand placement value. And this is just one season of one show. As more and more people are disengaging with intercepting ads, brands and media producers are trying innovative ways to gets brands in front of eyeballs without being skipped. Now if a studio had to integrate with brands, it requires for them to coordinate before hand with the brands and figure out where to strategically place the products and shoot the content. Enter Amazon’s Virtual Product Placement Technology. Virtual product placement is an emerging technology that inserts a digitally rendered product, billboard, or logo into a movie or TV series after it has been filmed. Amazon collaborates closely with content creators when determining placement locations and available product categories for each participating title. All decisions are made in line with the artistic vision for each movie or series, with a shared goal that placements will not interfere with the story or affect the viewer’s enjoyment. Brands are expected to spend upwards of $125bn by 2026 on video ads, so it’s a pretty huge market they are going after. Stats also show that 63% of viewers say they feel the urge to buy a product when they see it featured in a TV show with GenZ leading the pack. In a specific case study, Bubly a sparkling water brand saw a 18.1% lift in aided recall, 6.8% lift in brand favourability, 16.5% lift in purchase. This ad format becomes even more powerful when you combine it with Amazons e-commerce marketplace where marketeers can do full funnel advertisements all the way from awareness to purchase. Secondly, with post production virtual product placement, the same product placement could be bid by different brands for e.g the scene having bubly could very well also have any other canned drink which ever fit into the category. I must say this is by far one of the most impressive ad tech I have come across in recent times and Amazon is truly Priming us to purchase.

Replenishment isn’t a side feature, it’s a force multiplier. This is a big mistake. We’ve seen replenishment flows outperform promos and win-back emails combined. They convert better every time with the right timing and zero customer effort. Brands overspend on ads to win new customers, then forget to win them again. They need to predict exactly when a customer needs to repurchase and trigger the message at the perfect moment. Not too soon, not too late. Just right. ++ 𝗪𝗵𝘆 𝗖𝘂𝘀𝘁𝗼𝗺𝗲𝗿𝘀 𝗗𝗼𝗻’𝘁 𝗥𝗲𝗼𝗿𝗱𝗲𝗿 – 𝗔𝗻𝗱 𝗛𝗼𝘄 𝘁𝗼 𝗙𝗶𝘅 𝗜𝘁 ++  𝗧𝗵𝗲𝘆 𝗙𝗼𝗿𝗴𝗲𝘁 ✅ Fix: Replenit’s AI triggers proactive reminders across channels exactly when customers are likely to run out, via the brand's own marketing automation vendors, without any migration. 𝗣𝗼𝗼𝗿 𝗧𝗶𝗺𝗶𝗻𝗴 𝗼𝗿 𝗖𝗵𝗮𝗻𝗻𝗲𝗹 ✅ Fix: Multichannel orchestration (SMS, push, email) with personalized timing based on consumption behavior. 𝗡𝗼 𝗖𝗹𝗲𝗮𝗿 𝗜𝗻𝗰𝗲𝗻𝘁𝗶𝘃𝗲 ✅ Fix: Smart upsell bundles, urgency messages (“running low?”), and loyalty integration improve reorder ROI.   • Food & Beverage, pet food and treats, wellness & beauty products hold the highest repeat purchase potential, being very high due to frequent, perishable-driven consumption patterns. • Online groceries and FMCG rank high in habitual/impulsive behavior, presenting a strong fit for mobile push and SMS-driven replenishment campaigns. Brands like Glosel turned a leaky bucket into a revenue engine with Replenit’s AI-powered multichannel replenishment flows. 🚀 53.75% more automation revenue 🛒 +28% higher AOV 📲 100% of the Multichannel approach, email, SMS & Push channel revenue -12X Higher Engagement Rate Why does it work? Because Replenit activates timely, no-effort reorders across email, SMS, push, and more. Most brands forget to remind customers. ++ 𝟯 𝗧𝗮𝗰𝘁𝗶𝗰𝗮𝗹 𝗥𝗲𝗰𝗼𝗺𝗺𝗲𝗻𝗱𝗮𝘁𝗶𝗼𝗻𝘀 𝗳𝗼𝗿 𝗥𝗲𝘁𝗮𝗶𝗹𝗲𝗿𝘀 ++ 1️⃣ Make Replenishment an Always-On Growth Engine Don’t treat it as a postscript. Integrate replenishment flows as a core revenue pillar in your retention strategy. 2️⃣ Automate Across Channels With Smart Triggers Use AI-powered solutions to trigger SMS, email, and push notifications based on usage cycles, not guesswork. 3️⃣ Track and Optimize With First-Party Data Loops Leverage Replenit’s dashboards to identify top retention products, run experiments on timing, and iterate continuously. 𝗧𝗼 𝗮𝗰𝗰𝗲𝘀𝘀 𝗮𝗹𝗹 𝗼𝘂𝗿 𝗶𝗻𝘀𝗶𝗴𝗵𝘁𝘀 𝗳𝗼𝗹𝗹𝗼𝘄 ecommert® 𝗮𝗻𝗱 𝗷𝗼𝗶𝗻 𝟭𝟰,𝟮𝟬𝟬+ 𝗖𝗣𝗚, 𝗿𝗲𝘁𝗮𝗶𝗹, 𝗮𝗻𝗱 𝗠𝗮𝗿𝗧𝗲𝗰𝗵 𝗲𝘅𝗲𝗰𝘂𝘁𝗶𝘃𝗲𝘀 𝘄𝗵𝗼 𝘀𝘂𝗯𝘀𝗰𝗿𝗶𝗯𝗲𝗱 𝘁𝗼 𝗲𝗰𝗼𝗺𝗺𝗲𝗿𝘁® : 𝗖𝗣𝗚 𝗗𝗶𝗴𝗶𝘁𝗮𝗹 𝗚𝗿𝗼𝘄𝘁𝗵 𝗻𝗲𝘄𝘀𝗹𝗲𝘁𝘁𝗲𝗿. About ecommert We partner with CPG businesses and leading technology companies of all sizes to accelerate growth through AI-driven digital commerce solutions. #CPG #ecommerce #Replenishment #AI #FMCG

With most Q2 results in, we’re getting a picture of retail performance. 🔄 A bit like in Uno, the reverse card is being played. Some retailers that have been performing badly are starting to see declines bottom out or are moving into modest growth (think Best Buy, Target, Foot Locker, Peloton, Victoria’s Secret, Gap). 📉 In contrast, some of the traditional star performers are struggling to keep up the fast pace and are seeing a slowdown (think Lululemon, Ulta, Dollar General). 💰 Are economic dynamics playing a role here? Partly. But strategy and competitive forces remain critical. Ulta has more competition, so too does Lululemon which failed to inspire with its womenswear in Q2. Target has recently invested a lot in price and value. Foot Locker, Victoria’s Secret and Gap all have turnaround programs. 🤔 On this front, don’t always buy the narratives retailers spin. Dollar General blames its weaker numbers on pressures on its customers. There is truth in this, but it has been true for a long time. The issue now is that inflation is not flattering the growth as much and there is more price competition in grocery. Oh, and some stores are terrible and are preventing sales and repeat visits.  🖼️ The long-term picture remains vital because quarterly results fluctuate and create noise. An example is Nordstrom, which has 3.4% growth this quarter, versus Dillard’s which has a 4.9% decline. Look at the Q2 numbers compared to 2019, and Dillard’s has grown sales by 4.4% while Nordstrom’s sales have grown by just 0.2%. A long term view is sometimes a better signal of the health of the business model. 🏡 Home related categories remain very pressured. A lot of this is linked to the more sluggish housing market: moving is an important driver of demand. Some bigger ticket purchases are financed, so high interest rates play a role too. ↔️ The market remains polarized with a balance of winners and losers. Out of the selection in the graph below, 17 retailers are in growth and 18 are in decline. 🐌 Growth rates have, generally, deteriorated since Q1. From the retailers shown below, 21 have lower growth rates than in Q1, 14 have higher growth rates. The average, overall growth rate has dropped by a modest 0.5 percentage points since Q1. So no recession, but some modest slowdown. #retail #retailnews #earnings #consumer #economy #shopping