On day one of the Glossy E-Commerce Summit in Miami, Florida, attendees from brands including Fabletics, H&M and Kendra Scott spoke onstage about their strategies for flourishing in the digital space.
Later in the day, the brand executives in attendance were invited to a Town Hall for a frank and open discussion about the biggest challenges they’re facing. Below, a recap of the conversations around two major challenges, including how executives are tackling them.
Challenge: The never-ending need for content
Content is king in customer acquisition and activation, attendees said. Brand executives said the need for more content is always high. But, at the same time, many brands are cutting back on their ad spending in response to circumstances like tariffs.
So how do brands do more with less? One idea mentioned was to make more efficient use of the in-house team. Multiple attendees said they’ve been using their own team members to create in-house content, often off the cuff and with little preparation or production value. One attendee, the co-founder of a wellness brand, hosted a livestream with his mother, a nutritionist, and fielded nutrition questions from viewers.
An executive from a large multi-brand fashion company said she was proud to have been featured in one of her company’s recent campaigns.
“I’ve worked here for 10 years, and I was really honored to be a part of our Pride campaign,” she said. “We joked on the shoot that you know it’s a lean year when they’re asking us to be a part of it. But it also made me feel really valued and trusted. And in terms of employee retention, it makes people feel really connected to the brand if they can be a part of the marketing.”
Another attendee from a wellness brand called employee advocacy “one of the most powerful things we do.” Conversion from employee posts on LinkedIn has grown 611% this year.
“We give our people things they’re excited to share, and it’s been amazing to see stars rising from within the company,” she said.
The same attendee said her brand invested in its own content studio — a rented residence — where its team can film content with creators. The investment is paying off this year as the brand prepares to sponsor a major sports event.
“Now, when we’re bringing athletes in to shoot content with us, we can invite them into this space,” she said. “It’s a gamechanger. We don’t have to use one of our stores and tell the store team, ‘Hey, can you not work for a day so we can film in the store?’”
Challenge: The unexpected impacts of tariffs
Of course, tariffs came up repeatedly in the brand challenges-based Town Hall discussion. Brand executives shared common experiences, like being caught off guard by the speed at which the tariffs hit. And they shared effective strategies for combating tariff concerns — one founder said her brand has simply tacked $5 onto its usual $10 shipping charge to make up for new tariff costs, and sales have gone unaffected.
In addition, executives talked about the unexpected tariff-related challenges they’re now facing and the solutions they’re considering.
A C-suite executive at a direct-to-consumer swimwear brand said the company has long produced 100% of its styles in China. As such, when the tariffs were announced, it began exploring new partnerships with suppliers in countries including Colombia and El Salvador, and factories in Vietnam and Cambodia. But one problem, she said, was that the brand’s customers have come to rely on its consistency, achieved by working with a single fabric manufacturer. “To change manufacturers, we would lose that trust,” she said. “We would have to rebuild from scratch, and that takes time.”
Other results could include different customers getting slightly different products when ordering the same thing — this would impact reviews, customer support and more.
At the same time, the company came to realize that the higher labor costs in other manufacturing hubs would equate to the tariff costs on goods made in China. In turn, the company has decided to continue weighing options, rather than rushing to make big changes.
Another founder, of a decades-old intimates brand, said her company raised its prices as a result of tariffs by nearly 20%, as of Sunday of this week.
“Our department store partners didn’t bat an eye when we told them about it, but they’re having a hard time processing the changes within their computer and tagging systems,” she said.
She added, “I think price tags will have to go because pricing today is too dynamic. … We can’t have associates tagging and retagging all the time.”
Speaking of department stores, an executive noted their rocky road ahead.
“The wholesalers are going to get crunched,” she said. “Everyone’s having to raise their prices, and, like, Macy’s doesn’t have more cash. … Will they carry less inventory? Close doors? It will be interesting over the next few months to see where they cut back.”
