DTC643: TikTok’s Holiday Shopping Report 2024

Good morning,

PayPal is joining forces with Shopify to handle some of their debit and credit card transactions in the U.S.

As part of this deal, PayPal Wallet will now seamlessly integrate with Shopify Payments, offering even more flexibility for online sellers.

This collaboration aims to make it easier for businesses to manage orders, payouts, reporting, and chargebacks all in one place.

Learn more about this story in our News section below.

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Here’s what you’ll find in today’s DTC:

🎁 TikTok releases their Holiday Shopping report about all the latest trends and tactics to drive engagement in Q4.
🪮 We chat with Dosso Beauty founder Kadidja Dosso about the challenges of scaling a clean beauty brand.
❌ And…don’t make this costly ad mistake during the holiday season!

You’re reading this newsletter along with new subscribers from: Nant Health, 1-800 Packouts, and Pain Cakes. 👋

👀 Looking For Influencers for Q4 Content? Here’s How to Find Them Within 24 Hours

UGC video ads are high converters. Why? Because they’re FULL of social proof. ⭐

The demand for UGC in Q4 increases—Do you already have your influencer campaigns queued up?

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If not, start planning with Insense. With Insense, you can:

• Cut the manual outreach; creators that match your requirements apply directly to your campaigns.
• Start collaborations immediately and get UGC within 14 days.
• Run all types of collaborations with influencers to amplify your brand across the entire marketing funnel, including Affiliate, TikTok Shop, and Meta Whitelisted Ads, on top of UGC assets.
• Enjoy automated influencer contracts, automate payments, and receive content in perpetuity.

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Join 1,700+ major ecom brands, including Victoria Beckham Beauty, GoPure, and Solawave using Insense this BFCM. 📈

Book a free Q4 consultancy call and get a $200 platform bonus by September 20.

⭐ How Dosso Beauty is Tackling ‘Hair Deserts’ with Hypoallergenic Braiding Products

Today on the pod, we're joined by Kadidja Dosso, founder of Dosso Beauty—a brand offering hypoallergenic braiding hair products.

Kadidja shares her journey of turning a personal allergic reaction to braiding hair into a thriving business, tapping into an underserved market need.

She discusses the challenges of scaling a beauty brand, the importance of clean beauty in hair care, and her strategies for organic growth.

Kadidja explains: "One mistake we made was working with a 3PL too early on. A third-party logistics company is great, but it can also be expensive and burn through your cash quickly."

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In this podcast, we cover:

• ‍Market Gap Identification: How Kadidja leveraged her own experience and market research to identify a significant gap in hypoallergenic hair products.

• SEO Mastery for Organic Growth: The tactics Kadidja uses to drive traffic and sales through SEO without heavy reliance on paid ads.
• Scaling Challenges and Team Management: The complexities of scaling a DTC beauty brand and managing growth.

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👉 You can listen to the full episode with Kadidja here.

💰 Unwrap These Stats: Holiday Shopping Trends for Q4

'Tis almost the season of joyful discovery, and TikTok has ideas on how SMBs can get a head start on Q4 holiday planning.

Learn the ideal time to start promoting your holiday products or sales on the app and how adding TikTok into the customer shopping journey can result in more gift purchases across different product categories.

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The revealing stats:

• Ideal time to start a campaign: There is a 190% increase in #holidayshopping videos published from the week before Halloween to the week after Halloween in 2023.
• The top five content categories are Comedy, Cooking, Home & Garden, Fashion, and Family.
• Holiday hashtags to leverage: Celebration includes Christmas but also take advantage of hashtags to be included in the conversation for #Hanukkah, #Kwanzaa, and #NocheBuena.
• Don’t miss out on producing content the day of: Audiences are creating content leading up to the holidays but also producing content on the day of like showing off their decorating and baking skills #XmasBakingContest or highlights from travel.
• Shoppers are buying gifts for themselves too. 87% of TikTok users purchase gifts for themselves, 12% higher than other traditional platforms #GiftsForMe.
• Using TikTok in a customer’s holiday shopping journey increases gift purchases across different categories. E.g. 80% increase in travel, hair care and 30% in CPG food and beverage. 👇

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Three ways to drive engagement during the holidays:

1. Partner with TikTok Creators. Leverage top creators to create buzz around your holiday campaign and get maximum visibility for your brand.
2. Go LIVE during holidays to capture power users. This feature is a great way to get in front of more people. Host a product demo, a Q and A, or a fun interactive holiday-themed event and promote your offerings.
3. Hashtags help with engagement and interaction. Don’t forget to do your hashtag research and include a mix of general and specific hashtags to help reach your niche.

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The takeaway?

Start promoting your content on TikTok in mid-October for maximum exposure and use these tips to boost your holiday campaign so you can hit your Q4 target!

👉 93% of Shoppers Rely on Reviews Before Clicking 'Purchase'—Can You Afford to Mess Yours Up?‍

Think you’re perfect? Think again.

Most brands waste their reviews' precious impact—but Yotpo is here to help you save it. 🫡 🛟

In their easy-to-use guide, you’ll find out brands’ most common mistakes and the easy ways you can fix them.

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🔔 Raise a hand if any of these ring a bell (no judgment, Yotpo’s here to help):

• Favoring quantity vs. quality in review gathering
• Unpersonalized review requests
• Missed opportunities to analyze feedback
• And many more!

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With so many of your precious shoppers relying on reviews to seal the deal, you NEED this guide in hand. Gain insights, maximize your reviews’ impact, and grow your sales.

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Start reading today!

🌐 IN THE SOCIAL SPHERE

Don’t make this mistake during Q4, or it will cost you. Instead of running highest volume campaigns, use cost control campaigns instead.

This will ensure you don’t lose control of your ad spending while leveraging top-performing ads.

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🎉 CELEBRATE THIS!

🖍️ Sept 14: Coloring Day, Sober Day, Food is Medicine Day

💗 Sept 15: Wife Appreciation Day, World Afro Day, Online Learning Day

🥑 Sept 16: Play-Doh Day, Guacamole Day, World Barber Day

🪕 Sept 17: International Country Music Day, IT Professionals Day

🎒 Sept 18: School Backpack Awareness Day, Cheeseburger Day

🦜 Sept 19: Get Ready Day, Talk Like a Pirate Day, Punch Day

🍕 Sept 20: String Cheese Day, Pepperoni Pizza Day, Fried Rice Day, Queso Day

📥 Got a B2B Biz?

Join dozens of B2B companies finding demand-gen success through our niche community of 160k brand leaders and founders this year. Talk to our team to learn more.

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Have you heard our latest podcasts?

• 📧 AKNF 437: Mastering Email Marketing with Quadrant Framework
• 🐶 Ollie on The Role of Brand in Scaling a Pet Food Company
• 🦆 AKNF 435: Stocking the Pond and Planning for Q4
• 👟 How VKTRY Gear Achieved 240% Growth with Niche Marketing
• 🆚 AKNF 433: All In on Amazon v.s. Diversified DTC
• 🌪️ Cherene Aubert on Using the Tornado Effect to Scale ILIA Beauty
• 💡 AKNF 431: Develop Your Own Data-Backed Creative Strategy

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Don’t forget to rate the DTC Podcast on Apple (⭐️⭐️⭐️⭐️⭐️)

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DTC Newsletter is written by Rebecca Knight and Frances Du. Edited by Eric Dyck.

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