International Marketing News: Christmas To Be Safe From Supply Issues

This week, read about Christmas not having supply chain issues, walled garden ad spend and some Shopify news!

INTERNATIONAL MARKETING NEWS: CHRISTMAS SET TO BE SAFE FROM SUPPLY CHAIN ISSUES

This week in the international newsletter we see how important customer relationship management is, predictions that Christmas will not be affected by the supply chain limitations, Shopify expanding cross-border and US digital ad expenditure will surpass $200 billion.

Christmas SHopping Will Be Safe From Supply Chain Issues

According to Maersk CEO Soren Skou clients said that they were in good shape for the holiday season, but that the company was chartering more ships, keeping ports open longer, and building more facilities to mitigate risk.

Maersk, the world's largest shipping firm, handled nearly 20% of all shipping containers in Q3. Pre-tax profits increased fivefold to $5.9 billion. Skou also told the BBC that the present supply chain disruption was showing no signs of easing, as businesses attempted to restore inventories following the pandemic.

"The reality is that consumer demand is high, but our customers' inventories are low," he explained. Maersk has also stated that there is "limited visibility" as to when global supply chain limitations would be solved. Skou told Sky News: "The entire system has become one gigantic bottleneck."

Approximately 300 vessels, he added, were currently stuck outside major ports around the world. Nearly 80 people are waiting to reach the port in Los Angeles, with a "few" outside Felixstowe and others stranded in Chinese ports such as Shanghai and Ningbo.

According to the Telegraph, a shortage of lorry drivers and congestion at the UK's busiest container port has forced shipping companies to keep empty containers on a nearby field.

A former RAF airport in Eye, Suffolk, 30 miles from Felixstowe, has over 1,000 extra containers piled up.

One Negative Interaction Might Lead To A Disastrous Brand Break-Up

The core service delivery, such as a hotel room or the buying experience, is rarely the cause of a luxury brand's failure.

Yet, in many cases, it occurs as a result of seemingly minor elements that make a consumer feel undervalued. In the end, though, only the customer's perspective matters, not what the brand believes is right.

Luxury has a lot in common with a romantic relationship. When brands perform their job well, customers can't help but fall in love with them because they provide exceptional value. As a result, luxury buyers want the brand to pay them constant attention and affection. One negative interaction is enough to destroy trust, resulting in a typically irreversible brand break-up.

And these break-ups come at a high price. Customers who end their relationship with a business rarely "walk away," as they would with a romantic breakup. They depart angry, upset, and ready to communicate their feelings with others when they leave.

Unfortunately, brands are frequently unaware of the problem and hence unable to intervene. Inadequate processes, a lack of staff training, or simply poor, inflexible, and time-consuming service delivery are all reasons why luxury brands lose many of their best customers.

Luxury firms could avoid losing millions of dollars in revenue if they paid close attention to their customers' journey.

To prevent break-ups, brands must have contingency plans and procedures in place at crucial service delivery touchpoints. If not now, then in the future, failing to do so will most likely cost you your best customers. Many luxury brands make this serious mistake, therefore don't make the same mistake.

Shopify Attempting To Profit From The Expanding Cross-Border ecommerce Business

Merchants looking to maintain their eCommerce growth in 2022 are looking to international markets and cross-border trade, and platforms like Shopify are seeking to accommodate their needs.

Last month, the business unveiled Shopify Markets, a worldwide eCommerce centre for merchants, and added B2B functionality to the premium platform Shopify Plus. Shopify is well-positioned to benefit from businesses' desire to expand global, thanks to its high number of US-based merchants and growing foreign traffic.

• According to Modern Retail, 50% of Shopify's merchants are situated in the United States.
• Meanwhile, foreign visitors accounted for 27% of total retail visitation in July.

The platform's new cross-border commerce features are designed to help merchants overcome challenges such as language limitations and local legislation. Shopify Markets promises to help retailers overcome impediments to creating international storefronts by handling currency conversion, localization, and even localised SEO, reducing the burden on enterprises.

• Shopify grew in popularity during the pandemic, in part because of its message that it could help local mom-and-pop shops build storefronts.
• However, its cross-border commerce effort is aimed at larger businesses aiming to meet the growing demand from foreign customers or enter international B2B sales.

Google, Facebook And Amazon Will Account For 64% of All Digital Ad Spending In the US in 2021

This year, US digital ad expenditure will surpass $200 billion, representing a 38.3% increase over 2020. Google, Facebook, and Amazon will account for 64% of all digital ad spending in the United States this year, around the same as they did in 2020.

• Due to the stronger-than-expected performance of major digital ad businesses and significant increases in ad rates, this year's $211.20 billion in US ad expenditure represents a $20 billion gain above our previous prediction.
• During the epidemic, Google, Facebook, and Amazon saw a 1 percentage point increase in their market share from 63% in 2019. In 2023, we estimate Google to lose market share in digital advertising, Facebook to remain relatively constant, and Amazon to gain market share.
• Throughout eMarketer predictions, display will continue to acquire market share in the entire ad market. The share of search will be around the same this year as it was in 2020, before declining slightly until 2025.

That wraps up this International Newsletter from this week! If you would like Andrea and the team to support your brand's international success, then get in touch!