TLDR Marketing 2025-06-25

Buyers crave simpler shopping experiences and are tired of hitting digital dead ends. A new report by Bloomreach reveals that:

• 97% of shoppers who have used an AI shopping assistant find it helpful.
• Over 46% believe that an AI assistant would offer more honest advice about an outfit than a friend.
• Conversational shopping increases revenue per visit by 33% on average.

Learn how conversational AI is teaching people to shop like humans again — and what that means for your brand.

👉 Read key insights from the report or download the full version

Nearly 9 in 10 consumers expect free returns, and 47% have stopped shopping at a retailer due to an unfavorable return policy. Return experiences now shape purchase decisions, especially in fashion where over two-thirds of consumers returned clothing or footwear last year. Retailers face rising return costs, totaling $890 billion in 2024, driven by poor fit and consumer mistrust in product descriptions.

AI visitors view 1.2 fewer pages than search users and bounce at a rate 4.1% higher. Despite spending slightly more time on site, their sessions are narrower in depth, indicating more focused intent or faster drop-off. These patterns suggest AI users often arrive with specific goals or expectations that websites may not yet be optimized to meet.

Superpower built a 150,000-person waitlist in six months by prioritizing distribution before product. It used a strong brand foundation, viral referral mechanics, and shareable user-generated content like digital health cards to drive organic growth. Strategic acquisitions and creative product drops fueled PR and attention, while creators and employees became embedded brand advocates. One tweet drove 7,000 signups, and organic content consistently reached hundreds of thousands.

This tactic used a simple email to gather 24 customer stories without offering any incentives. Framed as a request to spotlight user wins, not collect content, it came from a well-known in-house expert with the subject line “Small favor”. The tone was conversational, and the typeform felt more like a dialogue than a form. This approach filled a refreshed story hub, generated weeks of social content, and even sparked a creative campaign. People are eager to help when they feel recognized.

SharkNinja grew net sales by 14.7% in Q1 by using a social-first strategy that combines influencer partnerships, social listening, and agile content creation. The brand's TurboBlade fan, featured in a lo-fi TikTok clip with over 32 million views, reflects its focus on consumer relatability over polish. Led by a dedicated in-house creative team and weekly “Obsessed with Winning” reviews, the company rapidly iterates on social feedback, turning viral interest into product enhancements like the Ninja Swirl. Influencers not only promote but also shape product direction, with early seeding and summits used to refine names, features, and launch plans.

Surfer analyzes top-performing pages and provides recommendations for keyword usage, structure, and internal links. Its features include an AI writing assistant, Auto-Optimize tools, and real-time SEO suggestions. The platform also offers a Content Audit tool that identifies the best opportunities within existing content, monitors ranking performance, and delivers weekly updates for quick SEO wins. Surfer's AI Tracker adds visibility into how content performs in AI-driven search and LLM platforms.

Fewer than 7% of websites are optimized to appear in ChatGPT and other AI search results, creating a huge opportunity for those who act quickly. This post includes a templated prompt that reviews content to identify missing elements like headings, FAQs, schema, tone, and internal links to make pages AI-answer-ready.

Marketers can increase consumer interest by using numbers that slightly exceed familiar boundaries. Across nine experiments with 2,081 participants, people were willing to pay 219.5% more for a watch limited to 1,001 units versus 1,000, and a book titled "1,001 Places" saw 33% more selections than "1,000 Places." The effect draws attention and increases desire but weakens with larger deviations or when paired with other persuasive tactics. It does not work for pricing or when used in combination with tactics like social proof.

Brands need to leverage culture and trends to produce timely content to stand out on social. They must also adapt above-the-line campaigns such as TV and out-of-home ads to match social platforms' native formats. Seamlessly integrating brand elements into engaging content without interrupting the user experience is crucial. Collaborating with creators who offer authentic storytelling and genuine social proof, rather than relying on traditional influencers, helps create a stronger impact.

Nearly 80% of smartphone users have disabled news notifications due to alert fatigue.

A structured 8-post system that attracts clients through authentic, strategic LinkedIn content over 4 weeks.

A screenshot that shows how MP Activewear is breaking through the noise on the SERP without any over-engineering.