💵 Billions.

Consumers spent billions last holiday season. But when it comes to impressive numbers Instagram beat Tik Tok. January 13, 2022 [Read in browser]( [logo] [sponsor]( Hello Thursday! As we draw close to the weekend, nothing gets us more excited than a night out where we can stuff our faces. And what better place for a quick fix than Chick-fil-A! Speaking of which, they’ve been America’s top-rated fast-food restaurant for seven years now. Do you think they’ll take home the crown again this year? E-COMMERCE $204 billion This is how much U.S. consumers spent during the holiday season (November 1 to December 31), [according to Adobe](. Not just a guess: The data comes from Adobe Analytics, which tracks 100 million SKUs and more than a trillion visits to U.S. retail sites. According to Adobe’s (non-braggy) statement, their Analytics product tracks more data than “any other technology company or research organization.” BNPL on the rise: According to the analysis, the buy-now-pay-later industry grew double-digits this year. In numbers, revenue increased 27% year-over-year, and the average order value was $224, with 3 items in the shopping cart. Desktop is where the action is: Despite 43% of online sales coming from smartphones, most people still shop primarily on good ol’ desktops and laptops. Shopping began earlier: Consumers spread their shopping outside of Black Friday and Cyber Monday. Holiday shopping began a few weeks before Thanksgiving as a matter of fact. The weeks following Cyber Monday also saw a rise in orders by 5.6% compared to last year. SOCIAL MEDIA Instagram > TikTok [article-image] We've grown accustomed to seeing TikTok dominate app charts lately. Not this time. Instagram was the most downloaded app worldwide in Q4 2021, according to [Sensor Tower's Q4 2021 report](. TikTok came in second. A fluke? This was just the second quarter in the past two years where TikTok was not the leader in worldwide downloads. Zoom was the last app to surpass TikTok in worldwide downloads in Q2 2020, according to Sensor Tower. So maybe Q4 2021 was just Instagram’s lucky break. SPONSORED BY CAMPAIGN MONITOR Here’s how to create a pixel-perfect signup form [article-image]( Want to know the secret of a high-converting signup form? It’s not rocket science, just make sure you follow best practices. [Here’s what we mean](, with image examples for inspiration. - Have a clear goal for your form. Not all signups are for the same thing… - Keep the branding consistent even in the forms. - Less is more. Quite literally, the less information you need in a form, the more conversions you will get. So stick to the strictly necessary or collect more info after the form is submitted. - Mobile friendly. Maybe the most important tip. If it’s not good on mobile screens, it’s just a bad form. We have a nice gift for you, courtesy of Campaign Monitor, the email software that powers this newsletter. You can create awesome signup forms for free with no code, [by using their free tool here.]( Customize fields, headlines, subheadings, links, and of course, styling. Within a few minutes you will have a signup form that follows all the best practices. [Bookmark this for all your signup form designs.]( MARKETING 12 graphic design trends for 2022 that you can use in your marketing visuals [article-image] Design trends are not relevant just for designers. As a marketer, you create ads, landing pages, emails, and more. So, these [12 design trends from the 99designs blog are worth checking out.]( Our favorites that we think would fit well for most marketers are: 90s nostalgia - Maybe it’s because we’re nostalgic about the 90s, or maybe we just like high contrast, vivid colors, and 90s pop culture references. Parametric patterns - There’s just something about parametric patterns that catch the eye. They sometimes remind us of our high school math classes (just less daunting). Extreme bubble design - OK, this is probably because of vivid colors again but can you blame us? Rounded shapes, or rather bubble shapes make this design style perfect for something that should convey friendliness. Now, these design trends are not just for ads… Actually, ads are one of the last places you might see them. But it doesn’t mean they can’t be useful and inspiring to make your next ads stand out. It’s one thing to describe it in words but another to actually see it. Check out the ocean of examples [in this full article](, and let us know which trends are your favorite! SPONSORED BY 800º GO This robotic pizzeria is taking over America’s favorite food and you can be an investor [article-image]( With Piestro and 800 Degrees Pizza joining forces to create [800º GO](, the restaurant industry now has a scalable, more compact, and high-quality way to create a delicious pizza. [800º GO]( can create a tasty fresh artisanal pizza in just 3 minutes, and only takes ~40 square feet of space. There’s growing demand for fresh food in the $660B US restaurant industry. On-demand food delivery is likely to go over $45B in the US by 2026. [Invest in the pizza revolution of the future.]( THE CREW'S INSIGHTS Tips for your SMS creatives in e-commerce [article-image] One of the brands we’ve analyzed earlier is Snow, an oral care brand with $100M in sales. Something they do much more than your average brand is SMS marketing, and we wanted to share the main tips with you. 1. Actually use SMS marketing! This channel is almost certainly underutilized and the first most important tip we can give is to actually use it! Not enough stores do it but it will become a must in the next 12 months. 2. Don’t just repeat emails in fewer characters. SMS is its own channel. You can combine it with important announcements and product launches but don’t just add the subject line from the email with a link. [Take an example from Snow](. This SMS is nicely built for their launch and features a dedicated sales page (not just your generic product page). 3. Tweak the frequency. Snow does about 2-3 messages a week, which might be too much for some people. Once a month can be too little and once a day is probably more than needed. But somewhere in between is a sweet spot for your audience. 4. Use the right images. Add images with purpose, with the intent to strongly support your text. Compare [this example]( from Snow with this better thought-through [example here](. ROUNDING UP THE STACK [MARKETING](: If you want to pick from the top 5% of marketers out there, there’s one platform where you should look to hire, and it’s called MarketerHire. eBay, Forbes, Netflix, Whole30, HelloFresh, and thousands more use MarketerHire to build competitor-crushing teams. [Check them out.](* [GOOGLE](: Use Google’s Disavow tool like a machete not like a fine-tooth comb, according to the search company. [E-COMMERCE](: Here’s another set of neat e-commerce statistics and trends for 2022. [SEO](: Using expired domains still works in some niches, according to this analysis. [GOOGLE](: Do you have a new Google Business Profile? You may see a 7-day waiting period before you can use all features. *This is a sponsored post. BRAIN TEASER I make two people out of one. What am I? You can find the [solution here](. FROM THE CREW Making $2.2k/month profit by selling bathrobes, bath wraps, and hair wraps on Amazon. [article-image] If you win our [US$25,000 business giveaway](, here’s another option you could choose. [Flippa has listed this Amazon FBA]( store that has made an average of $1,102 profit per month by selling Turkish Towel products from October 20 to September 21 (and over $2,000 per month in August 2021 and September 2021). Highlights of this business include high profitability, good customer retention, high-quality products, and the potential to grow and make more money in the long run. [See more details here.]( To enter the giveaway, you have to share your unique referral link, and get at least one referral – [grab it here.]( You have until February 4th, 2021 to get at least one successful referral. Each referral equals one entry. [CLICK TO SHARE]( Or copy your referral link: [ [poolside-logo] POOLSIDE CHAT Canon: "Please cheat on us" [article-image] We all know the drill. When you buy a printer you’re being encouraged to use cartridges by the same company. But now we have chip shortages. The printing industry doesn't have a problem producing printers (yet), but it has a problem producing chip cartridges. The solution? Encourage “cheating” by using third-party printers without cartridges. [Canon has been doing just that](, instructing customers on how to circumvent its own safeguards against third-party cartridges lacking chips. The cartridge chips in Canon printers can detect when toner levels are running low. As a result, these third-party chips will not issue this warning, which, according to the company's support, is not the end of the world. Now, if only Apple could do something similar with some of their products… [SUBSCRIBE]( | [INSIGHTS]( | [ADVERTISE]( You are receiving this email because you want to know what is going on in digital marketing. If you aren't thrilled about our emails, reply and let us know why. Or you can unsubscribe from all daily updates by clicking [here.]( Our postal address: Spectrum IT Solutions GmbH, Canettistraße 1/Top0107, 1100 Wien, Austria