In the last decade, online shopping has gone from being almost non-existent to becoming a multibillion-dollar industry. Today’s buyers are also increasingly seeking shopping that is tailored to their preferences and delivered directly to their doors.
Over the next five years the percentage of consumers planning DTC purchases will grow to 60%, with the most dramatic change propelled by newcomers, Diffusion found. “Over the past few years, these DTC brands have turned the traditional retail marketplace on its head, ” said Kate Ryan, Managing Director of Diffusion U.S. in the report. “We’ve seen the rebirth and redesign of everything from mattresses to sofas to toothbrushes and razors.”
Understanding how people search helps businesses create a unique experience for them. By embracing these trends and preparing for them, retailers can look to 2020 as another positive opportunity to grow their online brands.
People shop and learn in a whole new way compared to just a few years ago, so marketers need to adapt or risk extinction.
Brian Halligan, founder & CEO of HubSpot
Casper.com
Launched in April 2014, the online mattress retailer called Casper is a billion-dollar company leading the charge of online retailers disrupting the industry. Their name does more than stick in the mind. It tells you very clearly that they are not like any other mattress company.
The name “Casper” has “nothing to do with” the friendly ghost, the inspiration came from the name of one of the co-founders’ old roommates. At the time, he was a six-foot-six German guy named Kasper, who slept on a twin mattress. Eventually, they went with Casper (with a C). The startup started off with CasperSleep.com and in 2014 they upgraded their domain name to the exact brand match Casper.com. In January 2020, Casper filed to go public.
Postmates.com
Postmates is an American company that offers local delivery of restaurant-prepared meals and other goods. The company was co-founded by Sam Street, Sean Plaice, and Bastian Lehmann in 2011. As of February 2019, Postmates operates in 2,940 U.S. cities.
According to Rewind & Capture, the most likely origin of the name, then, is two fold. Post refers to the postal aspect, while mates (British-English for friends) stands as a synonym for the peerdriven approach. The company acquired the exact brand match domain name Postmates.com in May 2011.
Glossier.com
For Glossier founder, Emily Weiss, the journey started in 2010, when she launched her blog, Into The Gloss, while working as a fashion assistant at Vogue. Her blog eventually served as a springboard for Glossier, her unicorn makeup and skincare company, founded in 2014.
The company was named after the biggest performer in the world. The name is very apropos, given that Glossier is primed to becoming the largest and most influential beauty brand for Millennials. Emily acquired the exact brand match domain name Glossier.com in July 2015.
BlueApron.com
Blue Apron is a New York-based startup that delivers millions of recipes and fresh ingredients to subscribers every month. It was founded in August 2012 by Matt Salzberg, Ilia Papas, and Matt Wadiak and it exclusively operates in the United States.
The name Blue Apron is an homage to chefs around the world who wear blue aprons while learning to cook, according to Blue Apron’s website. The company has secured the exact brand match domain name BlueApron.com from the outset.
Fun fact, up to 2007 the domain was owned by author Bart Thomson and used as a personal blog. It stopped existing around then and the domain was not in use up until it got acquired by the Blue Apron we know today.
OnePeloton.com
The brand name is Peloton, as you likely already know. You won’t find them on Peloton.com (that domain belongs to a software company) but nevertheless the company has earnt a name over the past decade. Peloton was founded in 2013 and was initially funded by a Kickstarter campaign. Their main products are a stationary bicycle and treadmill working on subscription basis, allowing users to participate in classes online from the comfort of their homes.
Peloton is one of the few companies who benefited from the lockdown measures during the COVID-19 pandemic. According to the estimate dated May 2020, its stock price increased by 36%, online searches for “Peloton” increased almost three times since the end of February, and quarterly sales jumped nearly 61% to $420.2 million (Wikipedia).
The fact that the brand Peloton hasn’t managed to secure the domain exactly matching their brand is by no means to say they don’t invest in domains, pretty much the opposite – to try and capture all possible traffic leaks they own over 13,000 domain names! Those include different product names and various ways to spell their brand name.
Everlane.com
Everlane was founded in 2010 with the mission to make clothing choices easy and ethical. They literally tell you everything about their products – from the sources of the materials to the final cost of their clothes and the markup the company takes. They also go a long way in educating their clients on supply chain, factories, employees. They started with menswear and later on expanded with fashion for women, accessories, shoes and bags.
The company has their exact match domain name Everlane.com and operates primarily online.
Thank you for reading this far. We hope the above will help you in the process of creating and growing a successful brand. See you in Part 9, where we will look at some blockchain and AI brands of the last decade.
How does your brand name match your company vision? What new horizons can a better name open? Get in touch if you feel your brand deserves a better name, we are always happy to help.
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