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The TL;DR:

• Let’s Chat D2C: Sustainable Shopping—is it a fad, or do consumers actually care and put their money where their mouth is?

• What I’m Thinking about this Week: How to extract maximum value when sponsoring your first industry conference.

• The D2Z Podcast: In this week’s episode, I sat down with Joe Chura, Founder & CEO of Go Brewing, to discuss how personal experiences can shape business ideas and the journey from concept to successful brand.

• App Updates & Highlights: ChargeFlow, the leading Chargeback management platform for eCommerce, trusted by thousands of brands, is offering $10,000 in free managed Chargebacks until the end of the year.

• Upcoming Events: For the first time in a while… nothing!

Escaping AI POC purgatory: Techniques for enterprise AI engineers

Many companies struggle to move generative AI from experimentation to production.

Join us Oct. 29 at 9am PT. Sam Julien, Writer's Director of Developer Relations, will share practical strategies to overcome enterprise AI engineering challenges using a full-stack approach.

Topics include:

• Managing project scope

• Improving accuracy with domain-specific models & graph-based RAG

• Navigating AI application development

• Can’t make it live? Register anyway and we’ll send you the recording.

Register now

Let’s Chat D2C - Sustainable Shopping: Is it a Fad or Do Consumers Actually Care and Put Their Money Where Their Mouth Is?

Consumers SAY they are increasingly interested in sustainable ecommerce, and businesses are responding with eco-friendly practices, carbon-neutral options, and transparency about their environmental impact.

But, just because shoppers express a preference for sustainable options, doesn’t mean they don’t prioritize price and convenience in practice.

Here’s how ecommerce brands can bridge this gap and meet sustainability demands effectively, as well as some key tools like Shopify Planet and EcoCart to help achieve these goals.

First, Some Stats

• Sustainability Gap in Purchases: While 73% of consumers say they’re willing to buy sustainable products, only about 29% actually do, with price and availability cited as the two biggest barriers to purchase (GreenPrint, 2021).

• Willingness to Pay More: Among those who buy sustainable products, 57% are willing to pay at least 10% more for sustainable options, indicating that competitive pricing is a key factor in converting eco-conscious intent into purchases (Statista, 2023).

• Repeat Purchases: According to a study by Nielsen, 73% of Millennials and 66% of global consumers are more likely to stay loyal to brands that practice sustainability (Nielsen, 2022).

• Eco-Friendly Product Demand: As of 2023, products marketed as sustainable now account for 16% of the ecommerce market share in categories like apparel, skincare, and home goods, demonstrating a steady rise in consumer demand (NielsenIQ, 2023).

Understanding the Demand for Sustainable Ecommerce

• Consumers Want Sustainable Options: Many ecommerce shoppers (especially Gen Z and Millennials) are vocal about prioritizing eco-friendly products. They’re looking for brands with a commitment to sustainability, such as carbon-neutral shipping, minimal packaging, and ethical sourcing.

• Generational Preferences: According to a study by First Insight, 73% of Gen Z consumers are willing to pay more for sustainable products, followed by Millennials at 68%, Gen X at 55%, and Baby Boomers at 42% (First Insight, 2021).

• Challenges in Conversion: However, there’s a “sustainability gap” in ecommerce, where interest doesn’t always translate to sales. Often, sustainable products are more expensive, making price-sensitive consumers hesitant. That said, conversion rates increase if sustainable options are offered at competitive prices and are easy to find.

Making Sustainable Shopping Accessible with Technology

Leveraging technology can simplify sustainability efforts and make it easier for customers to shop with a clear conscience. Here are some tools that can make sustainability more accessible:

Shopify Planet: This Shopify app makes it easy for businesses to provide carbon-neutral shipping by automatically calculating emissions for every order. Shopify Planet then neutralizes those emissions by funding carbon removal projects, such as reforestation or renewable energy initiatives. It’s a seamless way to integrate sustainability without altering logistics workflows and gives customers confidence that their purchase is eco-conscious.

• Shopify reported that 60% of its merchants’ emissions are generated from shipping. With Shopify Planet, these emissions are automatically calculated and offset, offering carbon-neutral shipping for merchants and reducing the environmental footprint (Shopify, 2023).

EcoCart: EcoCart provides a customizable carbon-offset solution at checkout. With EcoCart, shoppers can choose to make their order carbon neutral, contributing to verified offset projects. The tool is transparent, showing customers the exact impact of their contribution, boosting credibility, and encouraging repeat purchases. You can also create segments in Klaviyo or your ESP to target customers who chose to use Ecocart, allowing you to know and target those who do actually care about their carbon footprint.

• EcoCart data shows that ecommerce stores offering carbon offset options at checkout see about 10-15% of customers opting in to offset their order’s emissions (EcoCart, 2023).

Optimizing Product Discovery for Sustainable Items

Clear Labeling and Filters: On ecommerce sites, brands can create specific categories or filters for sustainable products. Customers can easily identify and select “eco-friendly,” “organic,” or “recycled material” products.

Sustainable Product Badges: Tools like Badge Master for Shopify help add customizable icons to highlight eco-friendly products.

Transparent Environmental Impact at Checkout

Carbon Emissions Display: EcoCart and Shopify Planet both allow brands to display carbon emissions data and offsets directly at checkout. When customers understand the environmental impact of their purchase—and see it being offset—they’re more likely to feel positive about their decision and develop loyalty to your brand.

Add-On Offset Options: By offering carbon offsets as an optional checkout add-on, customers can choose to offset their order’s carbon footprint with a click.

Pricing Strategies for Sustainable Products

Strategic Product Positioning: Premium sustainable products can often justify a slightly higher price due to their eco-friendly materials or processes.

Bundling Options: Create sustainable bundles or subscription models that offer customers discounts for committing to eco-friendly products over time.

Eco-Friendly Packaging

Even if your product isn’t necessarily “eco-friendly” you can still invest in environmentally friendly packaging and highlight this on your website and in your packages.

Product Return Reduction to Minimize Waste

ReturnLogic and Loop Returns: ReturnLogic and Loop Returns offer data-driven insights and return automation that help prevent waste from unnecessary returns. These tools encourage exchanges rather than returns, keeping products out of the landfill and reducing the carbon footprint associated with reverse logistics.

Size and Fit Predictors: Apps like Fit Finder provide accurate sizing recommendations, reducing the likelihood of returns due to incorrect fit. Lowering returns helps reduce emissions and packaging waste, contributing to a more sustainable ecommerce model.

Certifications and Labels

Certifications and Labels: Display certifications like Fair Trade, FSC, or organic badges to reassure customers about your commitment to sustainability.

Educating Customers on Your Sustainability Initiatives

• Dedicated Sustainability Pages: Many brands create dedicated pages that outline their environmental impact, sourcing practices, and sustainability goals.

• Storytelling Through Social Media and Email: Use email marketing tools like Klaviyo to share stories about your sustainability journey, introducing customers to the faces, processes, and initiatives behind your brand. Highlighting the real impact of their purchases can increase customer buy-in and repeat purchases.

What I’m Thinking About This Week - How to Extract Maximum Value when Sponsoring Your First Industry Conference

How SCALIS Drove Leads and Built Brand Presence as a Sponsor at the OneRec Recruiting Operations Conference

Last Thursday and Friday, SCALIS debuted as a sponsor at our first industry event: the OneRec Recruiting Operations Conference. As both a sponsor and speaker, and with a dedicated booth space, we had an incredible opportunity to showcase our end-to-end AI hiring platform, engage directly with recruiting professionals, and establish SCALIS as a trusted name in recruitment innovation. Here’s what we found most effective in driving engagement and generating leads from this two-day experience.

Pre-Event Outreach and Networking to Set the Stage

Preparation is key to maximizing engagement at an event, so we started by building awareness around our OneRec presence in advance.

Social Media Teasers: Through LinkedIn, we posted about key industry challenges we would address at the event, sparking interest from those looking to tackle similar issues in recruiting. We used the event hashtag to reach broader audiences who were tracking the conference updates.

Speaker Lineup: I personally contacted every other speaker at the conference (easily found on the website), asking them to connect via a quick Zoom before or to grab a 10-15-minute time slot at the conference.

Attendee List: You can also expand your pre-event outreach to every attendee. As a sponsor, you’ll typically receive an attendee list before the conference.

Booth Strategy: Making SCALIS Stand Out

At the OneRec Conference, our booth was a hub for personalized demonstrations and conversations about SCALIS’s innovative hiring solutions.

Interactive Demos and Screenshots: The SCALIS booth featured an interactive display showcasing our AI-powered hiring platform, which allowed attendees to see firsthand how we streamline recruiting operations. This drew in those intrigued by practical AI applications in hiring.

Utilizing QR Codes for Lead Capture: To capture leads smoothly, we used QR codes that linked attendees to book a demo. In exchange, we collected emails and identified high-interest contacts for immediate follow-up.

Useful Branded Swag: Offering useful, memorable swag, such as high-quality notebooks and travel mugs, helped attendees remember SCALIS after the event, creating subtle reminders of our brand as they returned to work.

Speaking Engagement: Establishing Authority and Driving Booth Traffic

Speaking at the conference allowed us to introduce SCALIS to a captive audience while addressing core industry challenges.

Educational Focus, Not a Sales Pitch: Rather than promoting SCALIS directly, our two talks centered around practical tips on improving recruitment efficiency through AI. We shared real-world examples of recruitment automation’s impact, which resonated with attendees and positioned us as a solutions-focused partner. My favorite is the classic “Shameless plug, but SCALIS addresses and helps with this particular problem” that you’re discussing in your panel or during your talk.

Clear CTA to Visit Our Booth: We invited attendees to our booth for personalized insights and a demo of our product, which created a steady stream of booth traffic after the presentation and prompted meaningful conversations.

VIP Dinner for Key Prospects

Hosting a small, informal dinner was a powerful way to build rapport with select high-potential prospects.

Exclusive Invitations to Targeted Attendees: We carefully selected decision-makers and industry leaders from the attendee list and extended personal dinner invitations. This gathering allowed us to foster deeper connections and gather insights into their business needs in a relaxed setting. We did not have current customers at the conference, but one of my favorite hacks is bringing existing customers to your prospect dinner — they’ll sell for you and prospects trust them much more than you.

Facilitating High-Value Conversations: During dinner, we shared case studies and examples of how SCALIS is impacting similar companies, providing a more personal, high-value touchpoint with key industry players.

Real-Time Social Media Engagement

We maximized our reach by sharing updates and photos from the conference in real time.

Event Hashtags and Live Updates: Posting on LinkedIn and Twitter with the event hashtag helped us reach attendees following along online. We shared takeaways from our talk, demo highlights, and key booth moments, drawing additional attention to SCALIS.

Stories from the Booth: We also posted quick stories about booth interactions, such as testimonials or questions that came up frequently. This helped us stay top-of-mind with remote followers and encouraged in-person attendees to drop by the booth.

Effective Post-Event Follow-Up to Nurture Leads

After the event, our focus shifted to nurturing our generated leads and converting interest into actionable connections.

Personalized Follow-Up Emails: Every lead received a personalized email thanking them for visiting our booth or attending our session. We provided additional resources, insights, or demo scheduling options.

Tracking and Analyzing Event ROI

With our first industry sponsorship under our belt, we are focused on analyzing ROI and improving for future events.

Engagement Metrics from the Booth and Talk: To gauge the event's direct impact, we measured the number of booth interactions, talk attendees, and leads captured.

Evaluating Lead Quality: We analyzed each lead’s relevance to ensure we focus on quality over quantity in our follow-up efforts. We’ll refine future sponsorship strategies by tracking conversion rates to increase our impact further.

Conclusion

The OneRec Conference proved to be an invaluable platform for SCALIS to engage with the recruitment industry. By combining a thoughtful booth presence, interactive speaking session, and strategic post-event follow-up, SCALIS was able to maximize lead generation and position itself as a leader in AI-powered hiring solutions.

Sponsoring industry events is a powerful way to build credibility, drive brand visibility, and connect with potential clients on a deeper level. With each sponsorship, we aim to refine our approach and optimize lead-generation tactics, setting SCALIS up for continued growth.

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This Week’s The D2Z Podcast

#127 – Identifying and Building a Business Around a Personal Need

🎧 Listen Now 🎧

In this week’s episode, I sat down with Joe Chura, Founder & CEO of Go Brewing, to discuss how personal experiences can shape business ideas and the journey from concept to successful brand. Specifically, we explored the following:

💡 Recognizing unmet personal needs as business opportunities

📈 Steps to validate and scale a business idea

🧠 Overcoming early challenges in product development and marketing

🔑 Balancing passion with business acumen for sustainable growth

🚀 Lessons learned from turning a personal problem into a market solution

App Updates & Highlights - Chargeflow

Your BFCM marketing strategy is set, but what about your revenue recovery strategy?

According to Mastercard, eCommerce fraud spiked by 35% during last year's BFCM period.

Chargeflow, the leading Chargeback management platform for eCommerce, trusted by thousands of brands, is offering $10,000 in free managed Chargebacks until the end of the year.

Whether you've just heard about Chargeflow or you're already familiar with it, now's the best time to onboard it If you like the service, you can keep using it. You'll only pay for chargebacks they successfully recover for you.

If you don't find it useful, you can easily uninstall it with just one click. There's no risk in trying it out.

Upcoming Events

For the first time in a while… nothing!