About This Webinar
This eStore Academy session brings together insights from Coty, Whirlpool, and eStore Media to tackle the complex challenge of identifying and prioritising e-commerce issues during unprecedented disruption. With COVID-19 creating seismic shifts in consumer behaviour and retail dynamics, this webinar provides practical frameworks for focusing efforts where they'll deliver maximum impact.
As brands navigate supply chain disruptions, changing consumer priorities, and accelerated digital adoption, understanding which problems to solve first becomes critical for survival and growth.
Key Insights
The COVID Category Disruption
Different product categories experienced wildly different trajectories during the pandemic:
Beauty Sector Shifts: Makeup searches plummeted whilst toilet paper searches exploded. However, nail products grew 4x as salons closed and consumers sought at-home alternatives. The concept of "above the mask" vs "below the mask" beauty emerged - mascara sales continued whilst lip products declined.
Retailer Prioritisation: Some retailers accelerated beauty e-commerce focus whilst others deprioritised the category entirely, creating uneven opportunities across the digital landscape.
Out-of-Stock Crisis: Normal 2% out-of-stock rates spiked to 74% during peak disruption, making marketing spend ineffective when directed to retailers who couldn't fulfil demand.
The Three-Pillar Recovery Framework
Coty's approach focused on fundamental execution excellence:
Daily Out-of-Stock Management: Real-time monitoring enabled traffic redirection to retailers who could fulfil demand, preventing wasted marketing investment.
Relentless Content Focus: Company-wide obsession with digital shelf optimisation drove content scores from 20% to over 70%, with visible acceleration during COVID months.
Hybrid Route Strategy: Direct-to-consumer capabilities through marketplaces provide backup channels when traditional retail relationships face disruption.
Whirlpool's Systematic Approach
A structured methodology for organising e-commerce priorities around three core metrics:
Revenue Formula: Visits × Conversion Rate × Average Order Value = Online Revenue. This framework helps identify whether problems lie in acquisition, conversion, or basket building.
The One Number System: Single score tracking availability, content implementation, ratings/reviews, and visibility enables granular SKU-level problem identification.
War Room Implementation: Daily then weekly digital shelf monitoring sessions with cross-functional teams ensure rapid response to emerging issues.
The Brand Disruption Opportunity
COVID created ideal conditions for market share shifts:
Consumer Openness: 69% of consumers tried new brands during COVID, with 45% willing to stick with new discoveries permanently.
Shopping Environment Changes: Online migration exposed consumers to brands they'd never seen in traditional retail, accelerating challenger brand opportunities.
Historical Precedent: Major economic disruptions historically birth successful brands - Disney and Converse both emerged from 1930s crisis conditions.
Category-Specific Acceleration Patterns
Not all categories experienced uniform growth:
Explosive Categories: Bicycles, home fitness equipment, puzzles, and home office furniture saw unprecedented demand spikes.
Declining Segments: Travel-related products, formal wear, and traditional beauty categories faced significant challenges.
Subcategory Variations: Even within successful categories, specific subsegments showed dramatically different performance patterns.
Essential Takeaways
- Monitor Product Availability Religiously: Out-of-stock rates became the primary determinant of marketing effectiveness - daily monitoring and rapid response prevent wasted spend
- Implement Cross-Functional War Rooms: COVID showed the value of daily/weekly alignment sessions bringing together digital, sales, marketing, and operations teams
- Focus on Content Quality: When stores closed, digital shelf became the only shelf - comprehensive content optimisation delivers measurable revenue growth
- Understand Your Revenue Formula: Clearly identify whether problems lie in traffic generation, conversion optimisation, or basket building to focus efforts effectively
- Prepare for Competitive Disruption: Challenger brands are using ideal trial conditions to attack established players - defend through superior execution and new customer acquisition
- Embrace Category-Specific Strategies: One-size-fits-all approaches fail when different product categories experience vastly different demand patterns
The brands that emerged stronger from COVID disruption were those that moved quickly to identify their specific challenges, implemented systematic monitoring processes, and maintained flexibility to adapt strategies as conditions evolved rapidly.
Guests
Marco Suurland
Head of E‑commerce Benelux, Coty
Katarzyna Arciszewska
Digital and E‑commerce Activation Manager, Whirlpool
Lukasz Stebelski
Head of B.D., eStoreBrands
Marc Baker
Founder, Tyde
