Many experts believe that much of the retail sphere will struggle in 2022 thanks to factors like inflation and labor shortages.
However, this may not be the case for beauty and wellness brands. Forbes reported that in-person retail will hold strong in 2022. In fact, the publisher shared that 85 percent of beauty product purchases continue to be made in-store, even in lower age groups like Gen Z and Millennials, who normally only do 60 percent of their shopping in brick-and-mortar stores.
For eCommerce beauty and health brands, B2B retail will continue to be an important part of reaching these important consumer groups in 2022 and beyond. OceanX is committed to helping online retailers expand into new channels and broader markets. Here’s how we make it happen.
In-Person Beauty and Wellness Retail in 2022
Since the second half of 2021, beauty and health retailers and big box stores that house these brands have witnessed a resurgence of foot traffic and in-person sales. In reaction, brands like Glossier are opening brick-and-mortar stores in larger markets like New York City, Los Angeles, and Seattle. But even smaller brands are expanding into new channels to connect with consumers who are looking to test—or at least see—products in the store before they buy them.
Romain Gaillard, founder and CEO of The Detox Market shared his thoughts on this phenomenon with Glossy. In months past, pandemic shopping meant “People coming into a store all wanted to specifically buy something. So, you had less traffic, but I would say 100% conversion.” Now, the situation has evolved, and shoppers are purchasing a little differently. It’s gone “From customers being super careful and not wanting to touch stuff to now, no one wants to wear a mask and they want to touch all the testers.”
What does this mean for eCommerce brands? Business-to-business (B2B) retail is going to be more important than ever as consumers search for the experience of shopping for luxury items like beauty and wellness products. Retail can be a critical asset for eCommerce brands—it can help build a new sales channel and reach entirely new audiences.
Support for Routing Guidelines, SLAs, and More
Working with other businesses presents new challenges for eCommerce brands. There are routing guidelines and service-level agreement (SLA) requirements to meet, which can tax some brands that may not be up to the challenge on their own.
Routing guides in particular can present a long list of rules about dock scheduling times, carrier requirements, certifications, labeling and packaging guidelines, and more. As Freightwaves shared, sometimes, “The list is almost endless.” These lists can also include stipulations for delays and changes in shipping demands.
As a devoted fulfillment provider, OceanX carefully reviews these SLAs and routing guides from each new retailer to gain an in-depth understanding of picking and packing requirements, labeling, routing for each new order, and any other stipulations set forth by retailers. Ahead of receiving or packing any new order, the OceanX team comes together to ensure that every party fully understands all requirements set forth by retailers.
Additionally, some of OceanX’s clients choose to sell their brands with smaller retailers who may not have set routing guidelines. For these situations, our team acts as a client ally, producing recommendations to standardize routing guidelines across the board for more efficient, affordable picking, packing, and shipping.
These guidelines give clients a better understanding of their product needs and order timing, as well as the materials and labor needed to send orders to these specialty retailers.
OceanX specializes in fulfillment in the beauty, health, and wellness spheres, and supports its clients’ B2B endeavors in a range of big box stores, specialty retailers, and other channels including:
- Ulta
- Sephora
- Target
- Nordstrom
- And over 100 other retailers that vary in size and scope
Also, OceanX ships out of three domestic fulfillment centers spread across the country for efficient shipping and fulfillment practices to a range of retailers.
An EDI Partnership to Support Multiple Retail Channels
OceanX constantly strives to improve the way that its clients can expand to new markets and sales channels. Most recently, this includes partnering with Logic Broker, an electronic data interchange (EDI) solution and API (application programming interface) tool. This makes it simpler for OceanX to route orders on behalf of its clients.
With this new EDI tool, OceanX’s clients have total visibility into what B2B orders are open, in process, and closed, and fulfills a myriad of reporting needs to continuously improve operations and grow sales.
Amazon Retail and Omnichannel eCommerce
It’s no secret that Amazon is the world’s largest online retailer. The eCommerce giant brought in $386.06 billion in revenue in 2020. Most importantly for eCommerce brands? Approximately 50 percent of all sales on the Amazon marketplace come from third-party sellers, and beauty, personal care, and wellness products are among the top ten categories sold on the platform.
OceanX supports both Fulfillment By Amazon (FBA) and Fulfillment By Merchant (FBM) operations from all of its fulfillment centers, as well as seller-fulfilled prime. Why does this matter? Just selling products on Amazon isn’t enough. Sixty-seven percent of consumers list Prime eligibility—and the accompanying free, two-day shipping—as a major deciding factor when choosing which products to buy. In other words, the majority of Amazon customers look for Prime-qualifying items when shopping via the marketplace.
There are all kinds of stipulations for retailers selling via Amazon if they want to keep their Prime Certification, including requirements like:
- Six-day-a-week pick up and delivery
- Two business day shipping
- Nationwide delivery coverage
- Compliance with Amazon’s cut-off order times and corresponding delivery windows
- Free shipping for all Amazon Prime members
As a committed 3PL partner, OceanX understands all the aspects of maintaining a seller’s Prime Badge, including fast, free shipping, and full reporting and visibility of client performance on the Amazon marketplace.
B2B Sales: What’s Next
There’s no question that 2022 will continue to bring changes to the retail space, both in-store and via eCommerce selling platforms like Amazon. OceanX is dedicated to keeping up with changes in consumer habits, as well as with routing requirements and more.
It is always our goal to see our clients succeed, and the B2B sphere is no exception. Whether it’s B2B, DTC (direct-to-consumer), or across eCommerce sales channels like Amazon, OceanX will continue to help clients refine their operations to provide efficient, sustainable, affordable fulfillment and memorable customer experiences. To learn more, contact us today!
