Global ecommerce and digital marketing leader in consumer goods
Here's a look at some of my favorites in various digital and online categories. As a rule, I'm excluding Amazon to keep it interesting. These sites and brands are great for benchmarking, a constant task for anyone in ecommerce.
Favorite brands
Content
YETI makes drinkware and coolers, a seemingly simple set of goods. And yet I'm hooked on the brand. I wouldn't consider myself in its hook & bullet demographic, but I can't stop opening YETI's emails and browsing its site. Any time I want to benchmark on any branded element online, my first stop is always YETI.com.
It's not only the quality of the content but also the breadth. YETI has films, podcasts, a weekly Spotify playlist (I believe inspired by the pandemic), lifestyle apparel, and I know the brand won't stop there.
Most important, YETI's content is always contextually relevant - David Meerman Scott would be proud.
Values
Yes, Patagonia is so very well known and is the easy answer to any brand question. BUT, please hear me out. Many companies state their mission and values and non-profits that they support. None wave their values in front of all of their consumers as boldly or as confidently as Patagonia does.
With such a diverse customer base given its size, Patagonia is sure to alienate a large portion of its consumers with many of the messages it places front and center on its website. It's the boldness in Patagonia's messaging that captures me, and, for that, I have to give it my utmost respect.
Packaging
Unboxing and packaging are becoming an important and noticeable part of the ecommerce experience for online shoppers.
Consumers are thinking about waste more with regard to sustainability. Packaging is also often the first tangible experience a consumer may have with a brand once the item has arrived.
Traeger Grills sends a very large and extremely heavy grill when you order one of its grills from its website. With all that bulk, the company does a phenomenal job of securely packing the contents while minimizing waste. In fact, the main box turns into a designed playhouse if you have willing participants in your household!
Runner up: The Farmer's Dog holds a special place in my branded/online heart for both its commitment to dogs as well as its sustainable packaging. My daughter loves running water over the corn based packaging that helps keep the dog food contents cold in transit. Genius!
Favorite ecommerce UX
Options
Consumers want options. We hear that message all the time. And B&H Photo delivers on that consumer desire...demand.
The site offers both a very clear checkout process with green check marks that affirm my choices and entries as I move through checkout as well as options.
The shipping options stand out the most to me. There are several (dare I say almost too many) shipping choices with detailed information on each one, namely the most important details: delivery date.
Human element
Yes, Etsy itself is a great ecommerce marketplace, but this vote is for all the amazing shops on Etsy that show up all the big brands who have tons of resources.
Etsy store owners often add the extra human touch to their orders because they care. Brands who do the same create a buying cycle with invaluable consumer loyalty.
It's the thank you notes, hand-signed cards, extra ribbon, special packaging from the Etsy stores that remind you that you're a person buying from another person and not from a robot.