Weekend reading: 20th August

Are you ready for the kids to be going back to school yet? The good news is, we’ve nearly made it, there’s just a few weeks left before the children head to their classrooms. There’s still a bit of time to make back to school sales, so be sure to log into the home page and source our back to school range today if you don’t already have those type of products in your inventory.

This week on the reads, we’re thinking about #dormdecor, highlighting concerns about potential product shortages through the holiday season, being cautious about product subscription, reminding you of the importance of choosing the right sales channels for your business, and wondering if Amazon department stores might be a fixture on UK high streets in the near future.

The latest from us

As always, we’ve been busy bringing new suppliers to the platform, and through the last few weeks we’ve brought one of the UK’s biggest suppliers of mirrors on board, a supplier of eco-friendly, compostable disposable food containers, and another fantastic supplier of home and garden goods. Sign into the platform and search for GB010101, GB010104, and GB010098 to see the products available.

We released a new platform demo video (narrated by our very own Lukas who many of you will know!) on our YouTube channel recently – so if you’re talking about Avasam with a colleague or friend, and want an easy way to explain it, this will definitely help! While you’re there, be sure to like the videos you find useful, and subscribe to avasamsocial, so you’ll see all our videos on the channel.

The weekend reads

Post-results day, students are thinking about heading to their digs for the year, and as with almost everything these days, that means a new TikTok trend. Hashtags around dorms and décor for halls of residences are currently trending, and with billions set to be spent on new gear, this presents plenty of opportunities for retailers. We’ve made it easy to add inventory to your sales channels – log into the platform and click on the Back to University card on the homepage to take your pick, or source all of the products we’ve curated for you.

There are fears about a perfect storm creating product shortages and higher prices through the holiday season this year, as pressures on the global supply chains build. Read more about the potential issues here, and if you’re wondering how you can mitigate those pressures for your business and aren’t sourcing from Avasam suppliers yet – well, now is the time to get signed up and sourcing!

Product subscription has never been hotter in the UK, and many retailers may feel this is the key to guaranteed monthly income. However, new research has revealed that UK consumers aren’t loyal – with over 98% cancelling their subscription within 12 months of subscribing. For retailers, this means that although subscription services can be a part of your business model, it isn’t something you should necessarily count on.

We’ve talked about choosing your sales channels carefully plenty of times before on the blog, and while UK sellers might make more than £2.5 billion every month on Amazon, there are plenty of reasons you might decide not to sell on Amazon. If some of the reasons in this post resonate with you, and you’re considering alternative marketplaces, we highly recommend our partners OnBuy and Wish (and you can get a special offer with reduced fees on Wish for up to 3 months when you click here).

Talking of Amazon… As you’ll know if you’ve been reading our blog for a while, we’re keeping a close watch on the high street. There’s so much potential, and in latest developments, it seems that Amazon might be looking to disrupt high street retail even further by moving into department store space. While it seems that they’re looking at California and Ohio at the moment, with so much empty retail space available in the UK, it can surely only be a matter of time before customers are visiting Amazon department stores where Arcadia brands and Debenhams once stood.

Dates for your diary

Thinking about your marketing? The Future of Retail Marketing 2021 event is being held on 15th September. Designed for those in senior and mid management marketing roles, this event will cover customer experience, customer service and much, much more.

ChannelAdvisor Connect is a virtual event taking place on 14th and 15th September, and will be sharing expertise, excellence and innovation that will help you to prepare for the busy times ahead in Quarter Four.

eBay Open UK is taking place between 28th and 30th September, and is a hybrid online and in-person event that will feature live Q&A sessions, strategy insights and developments from eBay and their partners. Find out more about the event here.