Direct-To-Consumer Trends

There are (still!) people who believe that pricing externalities, tweaking policies, and scaling green markets will somehow lead us to #sustainability. Yes, they argue, “we’ve only just begun” to factor in the true costs of consumption. And they highlight the rise of green tech, renewable energy, and eco-products as signs that we’re moving in the right direction. However. This narrative, however hopeful, is not only insufficient, it’s harmful. Because the core logic of our system (growth through consumption) remains untouched. And green consumerism is a contradiction in terms. A new article ( 👉 https://lnkd.in/eQXVVVcT) by Janne J Salovaara and Sophia Hagolani-Albov exposes this paradox sharply. They show how the consumption-driven sustainability agenda is riddled with contradictions and ultimately undermines the very transformation we need: 🔶 Green capitalism sustains the same growth-at-all-costs logic, just in new packaging. 🔶 Tree-planting campaigns ("buy x, plant a tree") turn planetary repair into a product feature, shifting focus away from structural change. 🔶 Offsetting schemes perpetuate the illusion that we can continue business-as-usual, as long as we offset our guilt. 🔶 Moral consumerism displaces responsibility from systems to individuals and flatters us into thinking our shopping carts are tools for justice. 🔶 Most “sustainable alternatives” are only marginally less harmful and still deeply embedded in extractivist, carbon-intensive infrastructures. 🔶 The economy is treated as equal to nature and society, when in reality, it is a subset of life on Earth. 🔶 Transformation is confused with transition, when what’s needed is not “less bad” practices, but a fundamental shift in how we live, produce, and relate. 🔶 The sustainability narrative is being co-opted, becoming more about preserving the system than transforming it. In short: sustainability isn’t a new market segment. It’s a call to redesign the system, starting with what (and why) we value.

You finish dinner. The card reader flashes “Payment Complete” and offers two options: text receipt or email receipt. No print option. If you want a record, you have to hand over your phone number or email. A reasonable person might believe the information they provide will be used just to deliver their receipt. But behind the sleek interface is an ecosystem optimized for businesses, not individuals. When you enter your contact information, it doesn’t just vanish after the receipt is sent. Rather, according to this payment platform’s unseen privacy policy, your data may be stored, linked to prior purchases, and used to “personalize your experience,” or “send you marketing communications.” It may be shared with service providers or partners. It may be retained even if you didn’t sign up for anything. None of this is visible in the moment, and that’s by design. The privacy policy isn’t on the screen. There isnt a simple explanation of what happens to your data or even a clear link to a privacy policy. And there’s no real choice. You either hand over your personal information or walk away with nothing. This is the new default: consumer tools designed for the seller’s benefit, not yours. We are witnessing the calculated erosion of our privacy rights through deliberate design. We need federal #privacy legislation in the United States. We shouldn’t have to trade the use of our personal information for a receipt. And we shouldn’t continue perpetuating the fiction that consumers have a real choice in the matter.

Vietnam’s live commerce boom is getting hard to ignore. 🎥🛒 Every month, Vietnam now sees around 2.5 million livestream sales sessions, with 50,000+ sellers joining the channel. 📈 And TikTok Shop is right at the center of it. Its GMV in Vietnam is projected to grow 93% in 2025, while its GMV share rises from 29% to 40%. That is a serious shift. Livestream shopping has moved far beyond entertainment. It is becoming one of Vietnam’s most powerful sales engines. The brand results are already showing: 🔶 Cookie: revenue up 10x after 4 months of livestreaming. 🔶 KIDO Group: revenue up 72% in Q3 2024, with nearly 100 livestreams/month. 🔶 L’Oréal: revenue up 152% during a TikTok Shop mega sale. Consumers are clearly watching too. 📌 77% watch livestreams at least once a week. 📌 68% stay for more than 30 minutes per session. Fashion, beauty, and personal care are leading the shopping basket. No surprise there. These are categories where seeing the product in action matters. The next phase will be less about one viral mega stream and more about repeatable trust, the right seller network, and stronger live-shopping habits. Brand owners in Vietnam: are you seeing measurable ROI from livestream commerce, or is the hype outpacing results? Source: YouNet ECI, Q&Me, Decision Lab, Vietnam News While information from Asia Circles is publicly accessible and derived from third-party sources, its verification and validity are not guaranteed. #ConsumerInsight #MarketInsight #VietnamMarket #LiveCommerce #TikTokShop 

I have managed over 500 influencer campaigns and grew Vavo Digital | Influencer Marketing to multiple 6 figures in the last 4 years.  Here are 15 key tips I would give anyone looking to run a successful influencer campaign (in no particular order): 1. Utilize Micro-Influencers Collaborate with micro-influencers who have a highly engaged niche audience for more authentic reach. 2. Create a Branded Hashtag Design a catchy, memorable hashtag to unify campaign posts across platforms. Example: #RedefineYourStyle for a fashion campaign. 3. Involve Influencers in Product Development Take influencers' input when designing or testing the product to make their endorsement more genuine. 4. Run an Influencer Challenge Create a fun, interactive challenge that encourages influencers and their followers to participate. Example: A fitness brand launching a 30-day workout challenge. 5. Utilize Instagram Stories Takeovers Have influencers take over your brand’s Instagram stories for a day to engage their followers. 6. Co-create content with Influencers Collaborate on content creation to blend both your brand and the influencer’s identity. Example: A beauty brand and a makeup artist co-producing tutorial videos. 7. Leverage Trending Topics Time your campaign with trending cultural or industry-related topics to stay relevant. 8. Exclusive Sneak Peeks Offer influencers early access to a product and allow them to give their audience exclusive sneak peeks. 9. Launch Teasers Get influencers to drop teaser posts to create buzz before the full campaign launch. 10. Collaborate with Multiple Influencers Bring together influencers from different niches for a cross-industry impact. 11. Interactive Q&A Sessions Host live Q&A sessions with influencers to engage followers in real time. 12. Influencer Gifting Send personalized gifts or product packages to influencers with a request for an authentic review. 13. Gamify the Campaign Introduce a game element, like a competition or leaderboard, that influencers can promote. 14. Highlight User-Generated Content Encourage followers of influencers to create their own content using your product, and feature the best ones. 15. Offer Influencer-Exclusive Discounts Provide influencers with unique discount codes to share with their followers. Virality isn't just about views. It's about creating a ripple effect of sharing, discussing, and remixing. Focus on sparking genuine emotions and connections. What's the most memorable viral campaign you've seen lately? #influencermarketing #socialmedia

I walked into Harvey Nichols this week and witnessed the new-age QVC in real time. Two live sellers were streaming Moncler on TikTok to viewers in Asia, right there on the shop floor. A steady stream of orders flowing in. Is this the future of luxury live streaming? Going live from inside the luxury store itself. Live selling on apps like TikTok and Whatnot is reshaping e-commerce and the top sellers are making five and six figures in a single livestream!! → Global live commerce was estimated at $𝟭𝟯𝟱–𝟭𝟱𝟬 𝗯𝗶𝗹𝗹𝗶𝗼𝗻 𝗶𝗻 𝟮𝟬𝟮𝟱, mostly driven by China but growing quickly in the US and Europe. → McKinsey projected it could reach 𝟮𝟬% 𝗼𝗳 𝗮𝗹𝗹 𝗲-𝗰𝗼𝗺𝗺𝗲𝗿𝗰𝗲 in some markets by 2026. → TikTok users are 𝟭.𝟰𝘅 𝗺𝗼𝗿𝗲 𝗹𝗶𝗸𝗲𝗹𝘆 to buy something they discover on the platform compared with other channels. And for luxury, this is where it gets interesting. People still trust physical retail for authenticity. They want to know the item is real, the provenance is real, the seller is real. At the same time, discovery has moved online and impulse buying is happening in the moment. Put those together and you get a new format: 𝗟𝗶𝘃𝗲 𝘃𝗶𝗱𝗲𝗼 + 𝗮 𝘁𝗿𝘂𝘀𝘁𝗲𝗱 𝘀𝘁𝗼𝗿𝗲 𝗯𝗮𝗰𝗸𝗱𝗿𝗼𝗽. You get the credibility of Harvey Nichols or Selfridges × the reach of TikTok audiences across Asia, the US and Europe. Standard live commerce already converts at 𝟯–𝟭𝟬𝘅 𝗻𝗼𝗿𝗺𝗮𝗹 𝗲-𝗰𝗼𝗺𝗺. Add the trust signals of a well-known retailer and the potential is obvious. For overseas audiences, it’s the appeal of shopping “live in London” without being anywhere near London. This is why platforms like Amazon Live, TikTok Shop and Whatnot are pushing so hard. And why sellers are becoming performers. TikTok Shop is actually a client of OK COOL, and the scale we’re seeing behind the scenes tells you exactly where this is heading 🚀 Feels like the start of something mega…. are you buying luxury live?

If live commerce isn’t in your 2025 strategy, you’re already losing market share. ✨ RM 3.8mil in GMV. 34.7mil product views. 60,406 items sold, in 30 days. The previous year, I did RM1.2mil in 30 days; this Yang Riang Raya campaign was a game-changer for us. We experimented, pushed boundaries, and most importantly, delivered results. 🚀 Here’s what made it work: 🎥 Trying Something New We uploaded pre-hype videos before the event and went full cinematic drama. Filming with cameras, crafting engaging storytelling, and negotiating prices live kept audiences hooked. We also filmed the videos with Dato Sri Siti Nurhaliza and Dato Sri Meer Habib, with views > 1mil each. 🌤️ Taking the Livestream Outdoors 99.9% of live-selling is done indoors on TikTok. The whole viewing experience are different for the viewers, the average viewing duration improved by 200%. Big thank you for Perbandanan Putrajaya, and Canon's team set up. 💸 Boosting with Ads Investing in ad boosting was another key factor in our success. By strategically running ads during the live sessions, we managed to attract more targeted audiences for the products we were selling. The result? A return on spend (ROS) of 5-10 times our ad investment. ⏰ Timing Matters We discovered that the sahur period (3am - 7am) and night hours (8pm-12am) were peak times for product demand, leading to higher engagement and sales. Knowing when your audience is most active can make a huge difference. 🤝 Brand Collaboration We also found that the brands that performed the best were those that actively supported us throughout the campaign. Brands that showed up, engaged with the process, and collaborated closely saw significantly better results. ⚡ Turning Viewers into Buyers—The FOMO Formula We didn’t just sell—we made people feel the rush of securing a deal before it was gone. Here’s how: 🔥 Build Anticipation Before the Drop – Instead of instantly adding products to the stream, we hyped them up. For example, before launching the viral Beg Kuning, we got viewers to comment “1” if they were ready. Only when we hit 100 comments then we release the link — but not before a suspenseful countdown! ⏳ Limited Quantity Sells – “Only 100 units available!” When people saw the stock count drop in real-time, it triggered instant action. No one wanted to be the one who missed out. 🎯 Educate, Then Convert – We made sure people fully understood the product before dropping the link. This meant that the moment it became available, they were ready to buy—no second-guessing, just instant conversion. 📊 Understanding Market Trends We sold what people wanted. By monitoring TikTok Shop rankings, product reviews, and audience sentiment, we identified the best Raya-related products and crafted strong narratives to make them irresistible. Is live-selling your next 8 months strategy? Let me know!

You really can’t beat a LIVE experience.     It only happens once...    And one time only.     Every day, you’re witnessing the story of life unfolding right in front of you. And having proof of that lived experience has now become social currency on social media.     But live events are bigger than clout. People can actually participate and make an impact on history simply by capturing and sharing what they experience on social media. And now we’re seeing the emergence of a new form of live commerce through social, particularly in live shopping. Home Shopping Network Inc. (Shop TV) is now on YouTube Live — Amazon, TikTok, and Meta all now have live shopping channels.     And I think we can learn a lot from Asia in terms of digital behaviors, because Asia has been leading on this for a while. So, over the years as they’ve been developing this form of live commerce, what behaviors and evolutionary patterns do we think will repeat in other parts of the world?     My view on it is, we’re seeing relatable people that know how to entertain, which gives consumers a layer of trust. Through these creators, brands can engage people through a live storytelling of the product. It strikes on that old advertising goal of creating a moment that brings people into an emotional space that triggers a reaction through impulse buying. I think that is driving a lot of it, but also the price point has to be reasonable.     In most cases, people aren’t buying big ticket items on live social media commerce. A lot of the time, they’re buying practical items they can utilize to make their lives easier. Since the price point isn’t so high and people are getting a product that benefits them in some way, the upside to the purchase outweighs the downside.     Add in the exclusivity of being the first in your friend group to get the latest hot product on the TikTok Shop. And when people like your product, each buyer then becomes a brand ambassador who can easily share it with their friends.     Beyond that, it also gives people the opportunity to support small business owners and creators they wouldn’t be able to find otherwise. And on the flip side, these platforms are game-changing tools that help creators and small business owners turn their passion into a profession by reaching new audiences.     If you’re a young business owner hoping to build their community, this is a great way to do it. Think of how big streamers have become in recent years. Start building that community now.    What do you think of live commerce on social media? Have you ever bought anything through TikTok or Instagram?    #SocialMedia #Entrepreneurship #DigitalMarketing #Marketing 

How to do a live product launch (from someone who just did one to nearly 15,000 people): I just spent the past 3 months of my life preparing to announce 7 products in a 21 minute stream… Here’s how we did it: 1. LOCK THE TIMELINE WITH PRODUCT & ENGINEERING I needed to know exactly what would be going live as part of the event, and they needed to know that we were counting on them to deliver. Every other decision (branding, scripting, studio space, marketing) sits on top of that date. 2. START A WAITLIST & BRAND IT SEXY This was one of my favourite parts, and I owe it all to our creative director and designers. They came up with a beautiful theme and design system to communicate "the future, in focus". Then we built a landing page for people to sign up and RSVP. 3. FIND THE SPACE & LOCK THE DATE We discovered a beautiful loft in Greenpoint and landed on a date in early May that worked with everyone’s schedules. 4. SCRIPTING (THE HARDEST PART) Writing a script about products and features that are still several months away from launching isn’t easy. And once the recording is complete, there’s no going back. 5. START MARKETING 10 WEEKS OUT We sent a steady stream of emails to our users to encourage them to join, kept a steady drip of social content running through the promotion period, and onboarded about a dozen beta users who got early access in exchange for promoting the event on their socials. I’ve also tied it into my own socials and newsletter as organically as I could for the past few months.  6. EVERYONE IS DISTRIBUTION The entire company updated their banners on their social profiles and added custom email footers encouraging recipients to RSVP. 7. EDITING For the past month we were trading emails nonstop with production companies: iterating creative direction, offering feedback, and making edits around the clock. The final version that aired on Thursday was almost unrecognizable from the first few cuts we received. BONUS: pushups to get the blood flowing before recording // It's been a long few months, but it’s genuinely the project I’m most proud of in my entire career. I wanted bigger and better this time around, and I think we delivered. I went into a lot more detail on the BTS in my newsletter if you want to read it btw: https://lnkd.in/eY84ywDb

$632,500 for making consumer privacy rights too difficult to exercise. That’s the fine Honda received from the California Privacy Protection Agency (CPPA). It’s a wake-up call for companies still treating privacy rights as a checkbox exercise. It’s also something I’ve seen repeatedly in privacy assessments - companies making it unreasonably difficult for consumers to exercise their privacy rights. Here are some areas regulators flagged: ❗ Requiring up to 8 fields of information just to opt out (excessive!) ❗ Creating a convoluted submission process for privacy rights requests ❗ Consumers had to directly confirm they authorized an agent to submit a request to opt out of sale/sharing or request to limit (illegal under CCPA) ❗ Failing to train employees handling privacy requests ❗ Ignoring Global Privacy Control (GPC) signals ❗ Creating multiple steps to opt out while enabling one-click opt ins ❗ Sharing data with vendors without proper documentation The lesson? Privacy rights must be PRACTICALLY accessible, not just technically available. Is your company vulnerable to similar issues? Ask: ✅ Can consumers opt out in 2 steps or fewer? ✅ Does your site recognize GPC signals? ✅ Do you have contracts with all vendors covering CCPA obligations? ✅ Is your team trained to process all types of privacy requests? ✅ Is opting out just as simple as opting in? I'm seeing regulators across states increasingly focus on the how, not just the what of privacy compliance. The days of hiding opt-out buttons or creating friction-filled privacy request processes are over. Make it easier for people to exercise their privacy rights. What's been your experience with consumer privacy rights implementations? Have you seen examples of companies doing this particularly well (or poorly)? Read more about the critical compliance areas companies should review in my latest article for the IAPP: https://lnkd.in/e4aH7Qna

Almost every startup founder I mentor asks the same question: How do we make influencer marketing actually work? It’s an evolving space, full of buzzwords, constant algorithm shifts, and formats that become stale overnight. Here’s my quick checklist from what’s worked across the brands I’ve led and the startups I’ve advised: 1) Start with the “why.” Are you using influencers to build brand awareness and relevance (long term objectives), amplify a campaign, or drive sales (short term objectives)? Your objective dictates everything from investment levels to creator selection, content strategy, to paid media amplification. 2) Measure what matters. Define which metrics should move as a result of influencer activity. For awareness, track site visits or a surge in brand searches; for relevance, focus on engagement and shift in sentiment; and for sales, look at add to cart or conversions. Brand lift studies are a good start, but don’t stop there. Build a full measurement framework. 3) Build social intelligence to fuel your creator strategy. Don’t just track brand mentions or sentiment on social. Analyze trending conversations, buzzwords, and creator themes. The Vaseline Verified campaign that won a Grand Prix this year is a great example of using social intelligence to spark creative ideas. 4) Avoid format fatigue with social fresh storytelling. GRWM (Get Ready With Me) videos owned beauty last year but quickly flatlined as more brands copied them. Experiment with episodic storytelling in social first series instead. Gen Z and Gen Alpha follow creators like they follow shows. Multiple exposures in the same content series with a loyal fan base earn brand recognition quicker than stand alone creator videos. 5) Go broad, not just big. Many nano and micro creators across different niches often outperform a few big names. Diversity drives discovery. 6) Frequency compounds. Working with the same creator across multiple drops builds trust faster than one off shoutouts. 7) Let creators lead. Campaigns that start from creators, not with them, scale better and feel more authentic. #ShotOniPhone is a great example, always fresh, always creator led. 8) 9) 10) Leaving the last three open, what would you add to this checklist?