E-commerce Groundhog Day: Has retail been running in circles since 2014?

Ten years ago, the ecommerce market was worth 1.3 trillion euros. 

Now, we are looking at a 5 trillion euro opportunity, divided between the describable (groceries, books, electronics) and the hard-to-describe items (fashion, furniture, home decor, etc.)

The gap is so big that half of the market falls into “hard-to-describe”.

Retailers have the products in stock, but shoppers can’t find them, and it’s been like this forever.

This problem has expanded beyond just finding products, into issues like high return rates and excess inventory.

Developing the technology to solve it is extremely expensive, so naturally, it’s limited mostly only to the big players (Google, Amazon, etc).

It’s no surprise that lately, we have seen so many “innovations” from AI to AR and the in-between to see what sticks. The retail tech industry is in a frenzy!

Nobody is coming up with something ACTUALLY new.

While there’s a broader opportunity out there to be addressed, with lower competition but higher stakes, where hard-to-describe becomes explicit and intuitive.

It’s called Miros , and that’s what brings me here today.

Today:

• Is the Apple Vision Pro the next ecommerce channel?
• How a Woman Changed Online Shopping Forever
• The one mind shift that makes you a better leader

Is the Apple Vision Pro the next ecommerce channel?

This year, Apple launched Apple Vision Pro, a.k.a the “iPhone Killer,” and many brands are already jumping into the bandwagon.

Wayfair, Lowe’s, and J. Crew are some of the first retailers to tap into this market.

Here’s what I find odd: only 34% of customers already use some form of AR, but 71% of people say they would shop more if AR options were available. 

It seems that the industry is falling for the shiny object syndrome instead of working on the real issues we face today. 

Let’s fix our websites first, shall we?

How a Woman Changed Online Shopping Forever?!

It's hard to believe it's been over a decade since FitsMe was built, launched, and sold to Rakuten (my previous fashion tech startup). For Rakuten, FitsMe solved problem of high return rates. 

For us, it was the cornerstone on which we built our ecommerce and retail expertise. But how did we get started?

It was Diana Saarva who created FitsMe's robotic mannequin technology and handled the company's operations. 

Recently recognized as one of the top women in tech by TechRound, Diana's leadership and dedication have changed the ecommerce industry forever. 

The one mind shift that makes you a better leader

Many leaders have serious trust issues.

They fall into the trap that taking care of something themselves will always be easier and faster; while it can do the trick, it results in exhausted leadership and overly dependent employees in the long term. 

Everyone is miserable, and rightly so!

How can leaders foster a culture of ownership? Building trust.

Trust is built when you spend time coaching instead of directing your people. Teach them, nurture them, train them. 

No coach would ever go into a field to replace an athlete. His place is on the sidelines, right? Just as no coach would let that same athlete go into the field unprepared.

Shifting your mindset from boss to coach will help your trust issues disappear.

10 years ago vs. today

The J.Crew virtual closet reminds me very much of FitsMe, and it’s a great feeling.

15 years in the ecommerce realm has taught me that, like fashion, things come and go, and they come back improved.

So whenever you see an idea of yours being improved by somebody else, just take heart that you’re on the right track.

My team and I at Miros are on a mission to provide every retailer in the world with the right technology to bring findability and buying conversions closer to that of a physical store, just like we are already doing for over 7 million users per month.

Know someone in retail who wants to 4x their conversions? Introduce us! We'd be glad to offer a free custom demo and showcase how Miros can help more of their shoppers buy what they love.

Until next week,

HH 🇪🇪