Walmart, Nordstrom and others look to YouTube stars to woo millennials and Gen Z
Walmart, the world's biggest retailer, is counting on a 6-year-old YouTube star to draw in gaggles of other pint-sized shoppers clamoring for bubble pets, T-shirts and capsules full of lime-green slime.
On Monday, the store chain will debut Ryan's World, a toy and T-shirt line created by the first-grader whose YouTube channel, Ryan ToysReview, gets roughly 950 million views a month.
Among kids, "clearly what's emerged in the last few years is they’re watching an influencer like Ryan on YouTube, and he's their authority,'' says Anne Marie Kehoe, Walmart's vice president and divisional merchandise manager of toys. That's "why we thought this was something to really move fast on.''
At a time when traditional retailers are struggling to woo shoppers, established brands and chains such as Walmart, Nordstrom and Target are increasingly collaborating with social media stars to create collections, build buzz and get real-time feedback on what shoppers think is – and isn't – cool.
"They're not just going with a big celebrity face anymore,'' says Priyanka Dayal, senior content marketing manager for Celebrity Intelligence, which connects businesses to social media influencers and celebrities. "We're seeing that retailers are adopting new tactics to reach out to the younger generation.''
Starting this fall, Nordstrom will carry a new clothing line created by Arielle Charnas, the popular lifestyle influencer behind the Something Navy blog who is checking with her million-plus followers to fine-tune details ranging from fabrics to colors.
Target looked for input from Gen Z trendsetters for its clothing line, Art Class, which launched last year. And Kohl's works with wellness influencers through the site mindbodygreen.
The growing clout of influencers is on vivid display through the growth of Beautycon, which showcases the latest in beauty products and trends. Since its first meeting five years ago when a group of YouTube personalities gathered to trade favorite products and beauty tips, Beautycon has grown to include events in New York and London as well as Los Angeles.
This year's two-day gathering in California, which featured a chat between CEO Moj Mahdara and social media queen Kim Kardashian, was Beautycon's largest. Some 500 influencers took part among the 32,000 attendees, and more than 200 brands were represented, Beautycon spokeswoman Emily Taylor says.
"Now is the first time ever that your next-door neighbor could have a million followers on Instagram,'' says Justin Kline, founder of Markerly, an influencer research company that acts as a matchmaker for brands and social media trendsetters. "It’s opened up this whole new world of people who have access to this huge following ... which is really great for brands because it allows them to harness all this clout.''
Initially, it was mostly smaller brands, eager to make their mark in the world of e-commerce, that tended to turn to personalities on YouTube and Instagram for attention.
But old-school retailers are also recognizing that when it comes to connecting with Generations Y and Z, whose household spending is in the billions of dollars, a recommendation from someone they relate to can have far more sway than that of an actor or pop star.
More Money: YouTuber Liza Koshy gets her own series
Research conducted in 2016 by influencer marketing firm Collective Bias, which is now owned by tech company Inmar, found 30 percent of shoppers were more inclined to buy a product endorsed by a blogger they viewed as a peer than a celebrity. And among those 18 to 34 years old, 70 percent preferred the noncelebrity. Additionally, nearly six out of 10 shoppers had taken a social media or blog review into account while browsing in a store.
"Someone who is a teacher ... is looking for what other teachers have in their classrooms,'' says Allison Stone, consumer markets manager with consultancy PwC. "This is their lifestyle, what they do every day. It comes from pure experience, and it feels more authentic.''
The legions of kids who click onto Ryan ToysReview are able to have what amounts to a virtual play date with its namesake, tagging along as he treks through Legoland Japan, meets Sponge Bob and tries out assorted toys and activities. Last year, Ryan--whose family will not share his last name – was the youngest on Forbes' list of the highest-paid YouTube personalities, generating an estimated $11 million in 2017.
Now, starting in August, kids will have a chance to buy toys and T-shirts that Ryan picked or helped design. It's the first time that a child YouTube star has created their own line of clothing and toys, Walmart says.
Comentarios
Publicar un comentario