BigSummit Explores Essential Strategies for Reaching Today's Consumers

In August 2024, we launched BigSummit, our flagship thought leadership conference designed to empower ecommerce leaders. Throughout the event, we hosted several presentations that allowed industry experts to share their knowledge and insights on the ecommerce landscape. 

During our Your Customer is Hiding in Plain Sight presentation, Rick Watson, CEO of RMW Commerce, explored key insights on meeting customers where they are and optimizing across multiple channels.

Here are some highlights and key takeaways from the panel that brands can use to elevate their ecommerce presence.

Expand your reach by embracing a multi-channel strategy

Rick Watson: “Optimizing your marketplace business is definitely something that you should always think about, and the reason is pretty simple: that's where your consumer is. Previously, the consumer had two choices in the past 20 years. Walk into a store or go to your website. Those were the two choices and the website was like the brand showcase. Even 15 years ago, DTC wasn't a thing. Commerce was still done in stores.

“The rise of marketplaces has given birth to a third place where consumers are experiencing your brand, and even the largest company in the world tried to hold back the tide of a marketplace for a long time and ultimately gave up — Nike. When it finally gets its act together next year, they will be back on Amazon like they should have been four years ago when they made that initial mistake not to have Nike shoes on Amazon.

“The idea is that more than half of your consumers use four, five, and six places to find you. They might see an influencer using your product. They're going to search on Amazon to see if you're there and how quickly they can get it. They'll go back to your site to learn a little bit more about your brand. 

“If you're in Nordstrom, Target, or Walmart — wherever you are — they can look at your product, try it on, and hold it. All these things are part of consideration. Not only consideration but awareness, too. If you're not in all these places and your competitors are, then you're at a disadvantage. So by expanding to three or more channels, as a brand, we uncovered that you can boost your order rates substantially.”

Key takeaway.

To thrive in today’s climate, brands must expand beyond physical stores and websites by embracing multi-channel strategies that include online marketplaces. With shoppers using a mix of platforms — like social media, Amazon, and big-box stores — it’s important to meet consumers where they are.

By expanding to three or more selling platforms, brands can increase visibility and drive more orders. Meeting customers across different touchpoints ensures businesses stay on their radar and boost their chances of converting shoppers.

Understand today’s industry challenges

Watson: “One major challenge brands face is identification — what channels to go on. This is actually somewhat the easy part. Everyone can go on the list and see, ‘Here are the top websites: Amazon, Walmart, Temu, SHEIN, TikTok.’ You at least know the names to talk to versus the names you haven't quite heard of, and that maybe should be further down your list.

“Connectivity is also something that has started to become more and more table stakes. Twenty years ago, it was a lot harder. Now, it's hard because there are so many channels that you need to use, and maintaining all those connections is hard. It's not because an individual channel by itself is hard now, except when it breaks your APIs.

“Next is assortment. And this is something that a lot of brands talk about in their four walls, but it's not really talked about in the industry as much. Meaning that you're not really blasting your product to every channel all the time. And the reason is pretty simple. As you get down to the next point — profitability — the profitability profile of your channel is very different based on whether that consumer knows you. Is it a new SKU you're launching, or is it an older SKU? Do you have to advertise it, or is it later and more mature in the lifecycle? Is it something that's on a marketplace and you need to take it off because it's hurting your profitability? All these things have to do with assortment.

“Profitability is another huge concern. I would say between 30% and 50% of revenue is taken up in expenses being on a marketplace, much less later in the lifecycle, as you have reviews, earned media, and credibility. Earlier on, if you're going to break into a category that is 60% paid listings on the front page and you're not spending at least 30% of your revenue in advertising, you might as well not launch the product. You're not going to show up.

“So advertising is a huge part of that, but also profitability. Amazon has made it harder and other channels have made it harder to become profitable. As a result, sellers really need to be on their Ps and Qs to understand the business. Once you're there, you can understand your profitability.

“Optimization takes a few different forms. First of all, it's getting noticed. Are you in all the places, the big tent-pole events in the year, the Prime Day, and the Deal Days that are coming up in October very soon? Also, are you showing on the first page? Are people clicking through? That's the first problem you need to solve. Then, you could solve the PDP problem, meaning your product detail page. Can people swipe through the imagery very easily? Do you have videos? Do you have infographics that show people not just the capabilities of your products but the features and benefits that make sense to the consumer in the context of their lives? And I think that is sometimes very different from an imagery point of view on a marketplace versus on your own website. All these things are part of optimization.”

Key takeaway.

Today’s brands face a range of challenges as they navigate a more complex marketplace. With the growing need to engage across multiple channels to reach modern shoppers, figuring out where to start can feel overwhelming. The key is for brands to know their audience. Understanding where consumers shop and how they like to engage can help businesses decide which channels to focus on and how to approach them.

Beyond picking the right channels, brands also need to manage their product assortment and profitability. Not every product belongs on every platform, so it's important to think about things like product lifecycle and profitability. Optimizing marketplace presence is also crucial. Making sure products are visible, participating in key events, and improving product detail pages with engaging visuals can help catch shoppers' attention and drive sales. By tackling these challenges strategically, brands can set themselves up for success.

Relieve consumer pain points

Watson: “I would say there are two types of people in the economy to listen to. Number one is the investors, who will probably be fine regardless. They have enough money to play every trend, but the consumer is different. In the United States, the cost of child care, the cost of healthcare, the cost of a home, and the cost of groceries all keep going up. There are only so many places to get that budget back and that budget has come back to brands. Big, premium brands are being traded down to cheaper brands. Cheaper brands are being traded down to even cheaper brands, like Temu.

“Home Depot had a lot of challenges this year, and the reason is even if interest rates come down some, are people taking out new debt for a home equity line of credit for a house they're not sure they're going to be in three years from now? They've been holding, and holding, and holding. Interest rates are still high. Their budget isn't moving, so will interest rates really help? I'm not sure. However, what is sure is that rising inflation has affected the spending of most consumers across all demographics. Worries about finances affected consumers across all demographics, and household income is a worry and not necessarily stable.

“These things are trends for brands. The merchant has similar but different challenges, but what this means is people are looking for more discounts, they're looking for good opening prices, and they're also shopping more on marketplaces as a result of this because they know they can get low prices and guarantees that they can't get other places and be sure that the product is going to show up on time for them.”

Key takeaway.

Rising costs and financial pressures are causing consumers to trade down from premium brands to more affordable options, affecting spending across the board. With higher expenses for things like child care, healthcare, and groceries, shoppers have less to spend on other purchases.

As a result, more people are looking for discounts and better prices and shopping on marketplaces where they know they can get deals and reliable delivery. For brands, it’s important to recognize these shifts and adjust by offering competitive pricing and a strong presence on marketplaces to stay relevant in a tough economic climate.

Harness the power of social commerce

Watson: “Social shopping is another trend. If you watched social shopping over the last 10 years, people thought it was going to come to the United States exactly the same way China was 10, 15 years ago with Tmall and Singles' Day and all those things. But when it came to the US, it really came to our kids through TikTok.

“Facebook is not going anywhere for a while. Nothing's going to threaten them. However, there is some asymmetric activity happening below the surface with social shopping that you should pay attention to, and I think that TikTok Shop is the best example of this. If you're not looking at it, if you're not experimenting with it, if you're not understanding what's happening there, if you're not experimenting with their influencer program — which is a built-in affiliate program on a social network to help facilitate commerce, the first I've ever seen of that in the industry — then you're not paying attention.

“There's something also asymmetric about TikTok that none of these other channels, Google, Meta, and Amazon, could take advantage of. TikTok is an entertainment platform. Amazon, Google, Meta — none of these folks will succeed in making an entertainment platform, so they're not going to disrupt TikTok. The only one who might disrupt TikTok is our fine congressmen and perhaps our current or future president. Whichever side they're on, they all seem to be against each other and for the same things, depending on what day you wake up in the news.

“But in terms of the consumer, I don't know, I'm just a simple guy, but there's so much money on TikTok, and so many people use it. Your kids, your grandparents, and so many consumers use it, and the government doesn't usually like to regulate things that people love. I don't know if you've noticed that. So betting against this trend going down and the other way is probably not the best bet because, just like when there's a big lawsuit in court, what usually happens in a month or two is you find out they settled for some large sum of money that allows them to stay in business, and that's my guess of what's going to happen here.

“So if you've been on the sidelines worrying about something like, "Oh, I don't want to waste all this money on my brand there." First of all, your consumers are there now. So, if you're wasting anything, you're the one standing on the burning platform while your competitors are testing a new channel. I would encourage you to think about it that way. Second, all those brand assets work fine on YouTube Shorts. What have you wasted? So, for me, it's more like nothing ventured, nothing gained, and that message should be for those still on the fence about TikTok shopping. I would say it's time to get off the fence.”

Key takeaway.

Social shopping, especially on TikTok, is picking up steam in the US, fueled by younger generations. While platforms like Facebook are still going strong, TikTok Shop offers brands new ways to connect with consumers through short-form video content and its influencer-driven affiliate program.

For brands hesitating to get involved, now is the time to jump in. Customers are already on TikTok, and experimenting with this channel could give businesses a competitive edge. Plus, they can easily repurpose existing TikTok content on channels like YouTube Shorts, so there’s little to lose. The bottom line: don’t sit on the sidelines — get involved in social shopping and explore what TikTok has to offer.

Adapt to margin compression

Watson: “The final trend is margin compression. To all the brands — I know there are a lot of agencies and software companies in the room, distributors, and manufacturers, but the brands as well — margin compression is a real thing. Margin compression comes from increased manufacturing costs, increased cost of people, increased cost of software, and the greater number of channels you need to connect to. All these things are super important and they're not going away anytime soon. 

“As a result, just like consumers are trading down from premium brands to maybe mid-brands like Target, then they're going down to Walmart, then to the Dollar Store, then Temu, well, merchants are doing the same thing. They're trading down, like that VP you had last year who is now the new director.

“So companies are adjusting big and small, with fewer people and fewer titles. They're also trading down software and service providers. That software you could afford three years ago, maybe it got too big for its britches and needs a challenger in the market. Those things make sense to pay attention to, but why does it matter to you as a merchant? Because it gives you leverage. A lot of these providers are running scared. If you're a merchant, having a software platform or provider with you who is a partner to you and understands your challenges is all you're looking for.

“I would say to one side in the room, know that you have leverage, but to the other side of the room and the software companies, know that the brands aren't looking for anything complicated. They're just looking for a partner that understands their situation. And by the way, you should understand their situation because this chart indicates that you're in the exact same situation.”

Key takeaway.

Margin compression is a growing challenge for brands, driven by rising costs in manufacturing, labor, software, and the need to manage multiple channels. This financial pressure is leading both consumers and businesses to "trade down," opting for more affordable options in products, services, and even staffing.

For brands, this creates an opportunity to leverage their position when negotiating with software and service providers. As companies scale back and seek cost-effective solutions, finding partners who understand these financial constraints and offer real value is critical.

The final word

With ecommerce constantly evolving, brands face a variety of challenges and new opportunities. Navigating these — whether it’s expanding across channels, adapting to social shopping, or managing rising costs — means staying flexible and strategic. Success depends on understanding consumer behaviors, taking advantage of the right platforms, and forming strong partnerships that help brands maintain profitability.

Check out the full presentation to get insights on how brands can optimize their marketplace strategy, drive growth, and stay competitive in today’s fast-moving landscape.