Unilever is stockpiling ice cream for Brexit.
The eCommerce weekly top 3
As part of our ecommerce influencer series, we ask leading UK ecommerce and shipping leaders to share their top three news items of the week. This week is Seán Donnelly.
- The most important news story for me this week is the news that consumer giant, Unilever is stockpiling a few weeks’ worth of some of its ice cream brands such as Ben & Jerrys and Magnum amid uncertainty around Brexit. Unilever is not the only company stockpiling products before the UK leaves the EU. Major retailers, including Tesco, are stockpiling packet and tinned foods.
- The Drum published a nice piece examining ecommerce and marketing trends shaping China this year. Due to the size of the Chinese market and the work some of the big technology companies are doing there, such as WeChat, it provides some nice insights into what technology companies in the west may test or integrate into their products. I find it particularly interesting how WeChat can make use of WeChat Pay for deeper understanding and engagement.
- Elsewhere, Econsultancy published its best social media stories & campaigns from January 2019 today. What I found particularly interesting is that Facebook is reportedly interested in integrating the technical infrastructure of its three big messaging products – WhatsApp, Messenger and Instagram. While this brings its 2.6 billion users closer together, the potential move is likely intended to keep people within the Facebook ecosystem and away from competitors. The move raises questions about the privacy of users, particularly people who use WhatsApp for managing interactions with professional contacts and Messenger for friends.
About Sean
As a Senior Analyst at Econsultancy, Seán Donnelly advises clients via industry-leading research and briefings covering marketing, innovation and technology.
Before joining Econsultancy, Seán worked at Dublin City University (DCU) where he led the delivery of over 150 digital marketing, ecommerce and e-learning consulting projects with SMEs and international businesses.
He was also at the forefront of digital marketing training in Ireland. He led a digital outreach project called Techspectations, which delivered more than 15,000 seats of free digital marketing training through a syllabus of marketing workshops and boot camps attended by professional marketers and business owners.
Website: econsultancy.com/sean-donnelly/ | Twitter: @Seanog1982 | Linkedin: Profile