TikTok Testing Virtual Influencers for Video Ads, Global E-commerce Sales Growth Report, and More.

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Topics we’ll cover today:

💠 Global E-commerce Sales Growth Report

💠 TikTok Testing Virtual Influencers for Video Ads

💠 Crafting Great Offers Using Your Data

Global E-commerce Sales Growth Report

Global e-commerce sales are forecast to hit $6.3 trillion in 2024. 🤯

Here are some numbers that tell the story of e-commerce sales worldwide.

If you own or work for an e-commerce brand, I think the #1 question you may have is:

"Is e-commerce growing in 2024?"

Luckily, the answer is yes.

In fact, many experts predict that e-commerce sales will grow by 8.8% due to the increasing digitalization of the world.

This growth is expected to be driven by the growing number of shoppers and businesses using digital channels to purchase goods and services.

What will be the top-selling categories worldwide?

Fashion and electronics are forecast as the top online shopping categories worldwide in 2024.

Expenditure in these categories is set to hit nearly $1.4 trillion.

What will be the top-selling categories in the US?

DIY and hardware ranks first in the US.

US consumers are expected to spend $185.2 billion on these products in 2024, which makes up 17.4% of the expected total e-commerce revenue in the US. 

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If you own or work for a DTC brand and need help growing and boosting profitability, feel free to book a discovery call with my team at BSR Digital and we'll see how we can help.

TikTok Testing Virtual Influencers for Video Ads

I'm not sure I like this one... 🧐

TikTok is exploring AI-driven virtual influencers to compete with human creators for ad deals.

These AI avatars can potentially present video ads based on scripts submitted by brands and TikTok Shop sellers.

How's this test working so far?

This is still in its testing phase, but results show AI avatars haven't boosted e-commerce sales as expected.

And it's why the new feature hasn’t been made available to marketers yet.

One thing to consider is that TikTok aims to integrate AI influencers to complement human creators, not replace them entirely.

There are concerns about the ethical implications and potential impact on real influencers' business.

Despite potential cost and time savings, brands should consider the lower sales and ethical issues.

TikTok has yet to comment on its plans regarding AI influencers.

My take:

I think everything evolves, and this will too.

That being said, we're all learning how to leverage AI - but some people just abuse it.

If you're a LinkedIn user, you'll understand what I mean.

I've seen a ton of AI-generated posts and comments lately - who benefits from doing that, honestly? It just doesn't work.

So, do I think these AI influencers have a shot?

I'm not sure. BUT...

I think initially they'd be used by brands without the capacity/resources/willingness to work with real ones.

But my main question still is...will people be "influenced" by an AI avatar?

I guess we'll find out soon...

Thoughts?

Crafting Great Offers Using Your Data

Have you ever wondered what's working for everyone else in the DTC space?

Luckily for you, there's a very recent report based on a survey of over 1,100 PPC specialists. And it's full of valuable insights for marketers and brands.

In this episode of The DTC Insider podcast, Brian Roisentul shares his takeaways from this thorough report.

We discussed:

👉 PPC Specialists' Priorities for 2024
👉 Goals for the Ad Campaigns in 2024
👉 Ad Platform Adoption and Spend
👉 Challenges With Multi-Channel Advertising
👉 Attribution-related challenges
👉 First-party data integration

🎧 Tune in to our latest episode: https://thedtcinsider.com/c/podcast

Want to check out more podcast episodes?

Here are some of the top-listened episodes:

💎 How Frost Buddy Went From $0 to $30M in Under 3 Years with Brock Mammoser

💎 Jon Loomer’s Take on the Evolution of Paid Ads and The Importance of Short-form Video with Jon Loomer

💎 Supplement Brand Bootstrapped $10,000 and Built It Into Sales of $30 Million in Three Years with Ronak Shah

💎 Give Up Your Stuff, Not Your Dream with Jules Weldon and Stacey Pierce

💎 LinkedIn's "Top E-Commerce Voice" Reveals The #1 Struggle for DTC Brands with Neal Goyal

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