Pictured: early Instagram Checkout partner, Warby Parker
On Facebook and cutting out the middle man. Where Warby Parker goes, the industry follows. This is what Instagram executives are hoping for, at least. If you were to launch a challenger brand today, how would you do it? Facebook executives are making the bet that by 2020 and beyond, the commerce conversation will begin with them. And for prospective DTC owners, Instagram’s cozy relationship with Shopify’s integrations may soon be influencing the product marketers who are on the hunt for efficiency and scale.
The resale market dominates the athletic shoe industry. With the sneaker resale market tipping into the mainstream and Stadium Goods selling to Farfetch (for $250 million), the remaining competitors in the field are StockX and GOAT Group; it seems likely that the competition is bound to escalate between the two.
With the exception of a few larger volume sellers, Amazon is shifting away from the retailer model by limiting their wholesale partnerships to the most impactful partners. The rules of the consumer economy are changing faster than ever. Some of these changes have had dire consequences, especially for independent retailers and challenger brands. This week, Amazon announced that they have suspended an extraordinary number of lower volume sellers in the Direct Fulfillment (dropship) program. The Direct Fulfillment program allows vendors to dropship goods to their buyers. Additionally, some vendors stopped receiving purchase orders without explanation. And these aren’t vendors inconsequential revenue figures.
