Electric Thoughts in a Digital Era

Author: Hendrik

  • Who are the best marketplace investors?

    Over the last 18 months, this is one of the questions I keep hearing. “Who are the best marketplace investors?” I have been trying to answer for the previous three years. Various conversations both on and off the record – tells me that many are trying to get a clearer answer. Investment in anything – business, team, or even yourself is not easy, and the potential for it to go wrong is a reality.

    Investors from all across the globe are different

    Historical data only tells the story of the successes. Investors, in most cases, don’t talk about failure on their websites and only list exits and do not mention what failed. 

    Investors in marketplaces are not using coins but checks
    Source: Entrepreneur
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  • Local Commerce Remains an Unsolved Opportunity

    Over the past 18 months, the reality surrounding local e-commerce has become clear for me. The truth is the terms mean many things for many people, and it is an unsolved opportunity. COVID-19 is an accelerant for the commerce fire or misfires made by businesses of all sizes. Local commerce is helping consumers find products around them. 

    I have changed my mind and thoughts on this topic many many times. Yet it took to this past week for it to finally make sense. Let’s look at this topic in more detail and look at how the solution seems. As of 2020, I am no longer talking about e-commerce and retail as separate themes as we have moved past that. I refer to commerce as that is how we buy, whether in-store, online, or on-demand.

    Source: Doofinder
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  • Brands are Trees

    Since the beginning of 2020, a new phenomenon is happening. Large brands (think PepsiCo, Kraft Heinz, Nestle) are opening direct to consumer websites. The same brands remain committed to their wholesaling and retail partners. Why is DTC for these brands a big deal?

    If the small upstart disrupts the large incumbent its worth a lot of PR yet an incumbent can be nimble its panic. What is going on here?

    Source: Whisper
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  • Live-Streaming from [insert city name]

    Every few weeks, an article on the future of commerce makes an appearance in my research. The problem is that these articles are still referencing to retail and e-commerce. The future looks very different, as commerce needs to be entertaining and relevant. Live-Streaming is already active, and smart devices leveraging voice commerce seems distant.

    Live-Streaming is the social commerce element that will scale in all markets. Why? Consumers all have mobile phones. Creators and merchants are looking for shopping cart abandonment solution which communicates trust.

    Live-streaming on Taobao Live
    Source: Forbes
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  • Amazon Fashion Won’t Ever Be a Winner – Not Now or Anytime Soon

    Amazon, the dominant marketplace in North America has always wanted to be the everything store. Amazon Fashion, however, seems to a rudder-less business that is tone-deaf and looking to be a savior amidst COVID-19 horrific impact on the apparel sector.

    Amazon Fashion A Non-Premium Experience

    Source: Amazon India
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