In: Retailing Tips|Last Updated:
Combatting Waste in the CPG Industry

As I drove home a few days ago, I noticed the amount of litter along the sides of the roadway. Cans, coffee cup lids, wrappers, and empty water bottles decorated the shoulder where flowers would have been more pleasing.

Who’s to blame for this waste? The consumers who throw it out of their car windows, certainly, but can we also point fingers at retailers and the CPG industry?

Sian Sutherland

And what’s this waste made up of? Plastic, primarily, although you’ll certainly find a few metal cans too. If plastic were a country, it would be the fifth biggest emitter of greenhouse gases, reports Sian Sutherland, co-founder of the campaign group A Plastic Planet, in the U.K. And it gets worse: plastic production is forecasted to triple by 2040, she recently stated in an interview with the BBC, and 40% of that is for packaging. 

And although consumers have become used to the convenience of plastic packing, it’s not their problem, Sutherland told RangeMe. “The only way to seriously impact it is to take decisions away from the consumer. The industry simply need[s] to sell them something better, something different. And governments need to mandate that they do so fast.”

What are

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In: Dropshipping|Last Updated:

The About Us page is one of the first and most important pages to build on an ecommerce website.

It’s a page that explains who you are, what you do, and what customers can expect from your brand.

For ecommerce businesses in particular, the About Us page should be anything but a placeholder. This critical section should be a place to answer pressing questions, a catch-all for recent highlights, and a space to explain company goals, mission, and overall impact.

Let’s explore 10 tips for constructing a successful About Us page, followed by some great examples from other websites in the ecommerce industry.

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10 tips for creating a successful ecommerce About Us page

The About Us page will be one of the most popular pages on your website. Besides curious visitors, the page will be visited by media professionals, leads, and potential brand partners. As such, it’s important to get it right. 

Following are some best practices for creating a unique About Us page.

1. Make it look and sound like your brand

The About Us page should reflect your brand’s personality. This means aligning all copy, images, and other …

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In: Retailing Tips|Last Updated:
Decoding Upcoming HFSS Regulations in the U.K.

Two for the price of one? Who can resist?

Consumers in England and Wales will soon be forced to resist, at least to some degree, with new legislation around food merchandising, starting in the coming months. The new rules will affect foods high in fat, salt, or sugar (HFSS) and are designed to thrust them less under the eye of shoppers and to not proffer them through special offers.

However, part of the new regulations have recently been pushed back. Here’s what we can expect to see:

October 2022: Retailers will no longer be allowed to place non-compliant foods (HFSS foods) in the most prominent places in their stores — such as endcaps and at checkouts — to boost sales. Small stores and specialty stores are exempt.

January 2024: It’s anticipated that retailers will no longer be allowed to offer Buy One, Get One offers and multi-buy deals on HFSS products. Commercials of these products will also be banned before 9 p.m. on TV; there will be a complete ban of paid-for advertisements for HFSS products online.

“This has the potential to be quite impactful given that products are put in those places for their sales impact,” says James Anstead, MD, …

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In: Dropshipping|Last Updated:
Checkout Process Optimization: 8 Tips to Increase Ecommerce Sales

Your online store’s checkout process can make or break your ecommerce business.

For shoppers, it indicates the experience your store can provide. If your checkout process aggravates them or doesn’t fulfill their needs, they might develop a negative perception of your business and buy from elsewhere.

The good news is there are several ways you can optimize the checkout process to gain more customers and more conversions. Check out the eight tips we’ve shared to get shoppers over the finish line.

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What is checkout process optimization? 

Checkout process optimization is a strategy an online retailer uses to improve their conversion rate. The aim is to reduce friction and instill trust in the checkout flow, encouraging more shoppers to complete a purchase (and not abandon their cart).  

Why is checkout process optimization important?

Your online store’s default checkout process likely isn’t optimized to offer the best experience. Research Institute Baymard reveals that the average cart abandonment rate for ecommerce stores is 69.8%, indicating that online retailers have a lot of work to do on the checkout front in order to drive more purchases. 

Checkout optimization can provide several …

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In: Retailing Tips|Last Updated:

Diversity is in-demand worldwide. This 2022 retail trend is welcome news for diverse suppliers looking for growth abroad. Right now, consumer packaged goods (CPG) companies are trying to manage the risk of tighter profit margins. Many diverse suppliers now seek new sales opportunities, especially as global e-commerce and digital advertising make it easier for them to sell anywhere. 

Let’s see what diversity looks like in international markets, including how market gaps give diverse suppliers new ways to satisfy underserved consumers and improve their top line.

What diversity looks like around the world

Globally, we’re seeing a rise in conscious consumerism, where consumers shop according to their values. For instance:

82% of shoppers want a brand’s values to align with their own;1 Silberstein, Nicole. Harris Poll: 82% of Consumers Want a Brand’s Values to Align with Their Own. Retail Touchpoints. April 27, 2022. 32% of global consumers will buy from brands that support social and political issues that align with their values; and2 Evans, Michelle. Three Ways The Future Retail Store Will Change. Forbes. December 1, 2021. 27% will boycott brands that do not.3 Evans, Michelle. Three Ways The Future Retail Store Will Change. Forbes. December 1, 2021. …
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In: Retailing Tips|Last Updated:
How Ulta Beauty Takes Product Innovation to the Next Level

The beauty enthusiast is at the heart of everything Ulta Beauty does. As a one-stop beauty destination with full-service salons in every store, the retailer provides guests with everything across the spectrum of categories and services. 

Its best-in-class loyalty program with high engagement – more than 90 percent of transactions come through it – and its large omni-channel footprint means guests can purchase products where, when, and how they want. 

And shoppers are purchasing products in record numbers. Net sales for Ulta Beauty increased 21 percent to $ 2.3 billion in its fiscal first quarter of 2022, up from $ 1.9 billion in the first quarter of 2021. Comparable sales were up 18 percent driven by a 10 percent increase in transactions and a 7.3 percent increase in average ticket.

RangeMe’s SVP of Retail, Wayne Bennett, caught up with Josie Ostrowski, Senior Manager, New Brand Partnerships at Ulta Beauty to discuss beauty trends and to unpack what the retailer looks for in the new brands it brings into its assortment.

RangeMe: What key product trends are you seeing in today’s marketplace?

Josie Ostrowski, Senior Manager, New Brand Partnerships at Ulta Beauty

Ostrowski: We’re really excited about the reintroduction of discovery and self-expression across the makeup and color spaces. Makeup is …

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