This self-portrayal of the holiday shopping season in retail will be trending

The Internet and the huge marketplaces like Amazon
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, eBay, and Walmart.com have become powerful engines for sourcing goods quickly, efficiently, and cheaply. At the same time, they fall short when it comes to deep learning about a specific product.

Similarly, most of today’s department stores and specialty retailers that were once the bastions of product expertise and service are underpowered. Consumers who crave in-depth product information and meaningful recommendations are increasingly turning to smaller, specialized niche retailers online and offline.

Passions drive “solution-based” retail

In fact, with the exodus from mid-tier mass retail over the past decade, the smaller, well-positioned, niche players have grown and prospered. The passions and desires of people for self-expression are in the foreground. Once again, the best retailers are effectively mining them. From culinary to craft, fitness to farming, great bread to great beards, our passions have nurtured and powered a whole range of niche brands and retailers. This has become a growth driver for tens of thousands of Shopify merchants and direct-to-consumer (DTC) retail brands, both online and offline.

One of the key differentiators between many traditional, old-line retailers and well-positioned niche retailers is that it is the latter “solution-oriented.“This means that they don’t just offer products, but focus on how those products connect with customers while fulfilling customers’ specific needs, wants and aspirations. This approach is authentic and creates trust in the retailer and the brand. It’s also key to building customer lifetime value and a “tribal-like” following. Furthermore, this sums up the new consumer mantra, “I want what I want.” Today’s customer is looking for retail experiences that fulfill that desire.

Tribes, Trends and Passion Plays

With Seth Godin TedTalk, “The Tribes We Lead,” he emphasizes that even a small group of loyal followers will take you to that next level. Since the idea created isn’t for everyone, it’s for the true believers (zealous brand advocates) who want to effect the change your idea (or product) offers.

Tribes are like-minded people bound by similar passions and ideas. Consumers love being part of a tribe because they can talk to other people with similar interests, gain knowledge, share experiences, and make recommendations about a product. social media has fueled a “tribal-like” following around people, brands and retailers.

Niche brands are well positioned to build tribes. Whether a retailer is launching an online brand or is an established Shopify merchant, it’s important to know how to tap into their consumers’ “tribal passions.” It can provide valuable feedback to improve customer experience.

Know your niche

The website The niche guru announces the benefits of niche retail on Shopify. They say, “A niche online business is focused on selling a narrow range of products – the more niche specific the better.” They offered a list of the “Top Ten Shopify Niches of 2022”:

1. beard products
2. Minimalist jewelry
3. Eco-friendly products
4. pet products
5. Home office equipment
6. travel accessories
7. Mobile gaming accessories
8. Security cameras for home
9. coffee accessories
10. Backpacks for women

Looking at the list, it’s easy to understand the “tribal” nature of the consumers being served. I also found it particularly interesting that all ten products invite you to do so solution-oriented instead of product related Sale. They open the door to building relationships with “brand advocates” and become trusted advisors through their category expertise. This type of personalization is both appreciated and expected by Gen Y and Gen Z consumers. In addition, customers are willing to pay extra for personalization.

Push meets pull marketing

The success of any online, offline or unified commerce retailer requires adherence to two core marketing principles. This includes decisions between organic and paid strategies, between push and pull marketing. This can be complex, time consuming and expensive.

In push marketing, or “outbound marketing,” the retailer focuses on getting the brand or business to the customer. It’s more intentional, proactive, and aggressive, designed to drive traffic and generate sales. Conversely, pull marketing or “inbound marketing” involves the natural accumulation of traffic, building mechanisms and/or content uniquely suited to the retailer’s audiences. Essentially rent she come to She. This is the point where the split between Shopify merchants and MyRegistry.com can have a huge multiplying effect, especially around the holidays.

Personalization recipe

MyRegistry.com is the largest provider of gift registration software for retailers in the United States and Canada. Designed specifically for anyone running an e-commerce business, it gives e-retailers the tools to create complete transparency about an individual’s wants and needs. Now Shopify.com sellers can easily join the MyRegistry.com gift registry network Installing customizable software adding universal gift registration functionality to their website. This makes for a unique pairing and potential gift-giving game changer.

By being tied to the retailer’s Shopify storefront as well as to each individual project page, the MyRegistry.com Gift List and Gift Listing connects the retailer’s push marketing efforts with a dynamic and organic pull strategy. This has the ability to bring back Shopify.com merchant’s best customers and brand ambassadors to repeatedly update their gift list. It also motivates them to share lists with friends and family throughout the year. It’s a social media accelerator.

I want what I want for the holidays

Once loaded, Shopify customers can create a gift list, search for enrollments from friends and family, and manage their own enrollment. Additionally, each retailer’s product page will also have an “Add to Gift List” button. The Shopify merchants also get a dashboard that they can use to track sign-ups.

Now every Shopify.com merchant can answer the question of what he or she wishes for the holidays, occasion, and milestone. It’s the most powerful way to connect with the retailer’s “tribal brand advocates” while facilitating the transition from push marketing to pull marketing while bridging the “gift gap”. This creates a strong new parity between even the most specialized niche Shopify merchants and the largest gift registry retailers. Happy Holidays Buy and Sell!