How Temu made an ass out of me
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A few months ago, we went to a tavern for dinner with friends who also had young children. While we tried to keep our kids busy with a Keno pencil and a napkin, our friends opted for the phone. You can decide who the better parent is. There may be no winners.
I watched their 11-year-old daughter immediately gravitate towards the Temu app. Over two hours, she browsed through every corner of the online store, adding everything from glitter pens to desk fans to sunscreen moisturiser to her basket. But at the end of the meal, she made no purchase. It was the world's largest window shopping experience. I was exhausted just watching.
This observation led me to stereotype the Temu customer as a young, online-centric shopper looking for cheap items to stretch their limited disposable income. That was, until this week when it was blown out of the water.
New Roy Morgan research report found that over 2 million Australians shop with Temu and Shein monthly. This equates to $2 billion of Australia's online sales. The research also revealed that David Jones shoppers were twice as likely to shop at Temu and three times more likely to shop at Shein than the average Australian. Roy Morgan's CEO, Michele Levine, suggested that these groups of shoppers could afford the risk associated with these retailers.
Mind. Blown. As were my assumptions.
It was a reminder to always challenge our “typical audiences”. Despite the wealth of data available in ecommerce, it's easy to generalize and label an audience. Assumptions are often subconscious.?
Two years ago, most assumed that only bored teens rebelling against their Instagram-using parents were on TikTok. Today, Gen X+ TikTokers are 2.3x more likely than other platform users to immediately buy something they discovered on the platform.
Similarly, the average Amazon customer in the US is a white Gen X woman living in the suburbs and earning around $60,000 per year. However, it's well-known that Amazon's customer base is vast and varied. Labelling an "average customer" can be more harmful than helpful.
This served as a valuable lesson for me to always challenge my assumptions about audiences if I truly want to unlock growth opportunities.
?Now, I'm looking forward to mixing up my lunch dates at business steak houses, vegan cafes, and my local RSL. I can't wait to see what I learn.
?Cheers?
Bushy
ECOMMERCE NEWS
?? Something funny is happening. The ABS announced that January seasonally adjusted sales were up 1.5% YOY to $4b—the biggest month since Oct 21. Likewise, the NAB Online Retail Index found that Jan 24 online sales were up 28% on Jan 23—the most significant jump since the pandemic. It’s not aligning with what I’m seeing and hearing in the market unless it is all funnelling into corporate retail.
?? Think you’ve got your SEO humming? Bam. Google core update incoming. The focus is on penalising duplicate and low-quality content. Or AI-driven content. Or ChatGPT content. Or Microsoft. You get it.
?? Congrats to the winners of last week’s All Star Power Retail Awards. Bunnings took out the #1 award in the same week they were announced Australia’s most trusted brand. Greedy. Good to see some lesser-recognised brands such as Penfolds, Rockmans and Electric Kicks picking up some gongs.
?? Same-day delivery is so 2023. This week, Walmart announced 30-minute delivery from 6am. I expect neurofin, nappies and coffee beans to top that list. Local delivery is becoming a real flex for US retailers such as Walmart and Target as they continue their battle against Amazon.
? What’s the ecommerce version of winning Powerball? A Kardashian promoting your product. And it happened this week for Naked Sundays with Khloe endorsing their SPF moisturizer to her 310m fans. Similar to this newsletter. The product sold out immediately - good timing given their recent launch into 1,000 US stores.
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EP #388: George Hartley Co-founder and CMO of Bluethumb
George shares how SoundCloud inspired him to start Australia's biggest art marketplaces with over 360,000 artworks - some which sell up to $100K.?
Co-founder and CTO of The Blue Space No relation at all to Bluethumb. It's a great coincidence. Just be thankful it's not called the Green Space given his turf laying experience.
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Nathan Bush is an Australian ecommerce coach and strategic advisor for Australian retail brands. Contact him to discuss your next project.