2023... What a year that was!
As we head into the home straight and begin to wrap up 2023, today we want to take a look back over the last 12 months. This has been an extraordinary year for us – and it has laid the foundations for 2024 to be even stronger still.
So without further ado, here are Alvio’s highlights of 2023.
WooCommerce Launch
It seems so long ago now, but you may remember we started 2023 with a bang – in March we announced that Alvio was live on WooCommerce.
This new integration made it possible for Alvio partners on the Shopify platform to connect to WooCommerce stores, thus massively increasing the potential portfolio for Alvio users. It was a pretty groundbreaking move and we talked at the time about how Alvio’s WooCommerce integration increases opportunity for businesses.
Alvio changed overnight from being a Shopify app, to a true cross-platform solution. Between Shopify and WooCommerce, our users now have access to a potential pool of 6.8 million merchants and brands.
Partnerships
It has often been said that Alvio is like Tinder for brands. Partnerships are what it’s all about for us – bringing brands and suppliers together, to form dynamic new allegiances powered by Alvio. In 2023 we’ve seen some fantastic partnerships take off, and here are some recent pairings on the Alvio network:
Foudys x Art of Football x London Seaward FC x Munãgiso x Pukka Athletic
Over the course of 2023, Alvio has been growing an increasing presence in the sporting world. In the process, we’ve seen some beautiful partnerships develop between sportswear brands and sports clubs, with more on the horizon (more on that below).
Boom Kitchen x Kingfisher (KBE)
Home-cook spice kits combined with one of the world’s most exciting beverage exporters? These two brands fit together as well as a curry and a pint.
The Younger Years x Baby Shusher
The Younger Years is a luxury clothing brand for children, toddlers and babies. Baby Shusher makes sound devices that help put babies to restful sleep. Say no more!
Bright and colourful bobble hats seem like the perfect complement for Saint Piran’s aesthetic, combining everything you need to explore the great outdoors on two wheels.
2023 also saw the launch of N1 Fan Cave – the ultimate proof of the Alvio concept, a store powered entirely through Alvio partnerships and bringing together the very finest in merchandise and memorabilia. You can read more about N1 Fan Cave’s mission and launch in our report on the Man Cave Expo 2023.
The Alvio Knowledge Base
Over this year, we have also been developing the Alvio website into a veritable knowledge base as we’ve explored various themes connected to the platform through a series of weekly articles. Here are some of our 2024 highlights – and if you like what you’re seeing, be sure to subscribe to get future articles straight into your inbox!
Commerce Trends 2023
In January, Shopify released their comprehensive report on Commerce Trends for 2023. We went through that report with a tooth comb, digesting the stats and producing our own practical guide – showing how the Alvio model neatly addresses the challenges raised by the report, and makes Alvio the perfect tool for running a successful ecommerce business in 2023.
The result was a series of five articles, one answering each section of the Shopify report: focussing on Money, Marketing, Supply Chain, Retail and Ecommerce.
Alvio and the Environment
In 2023, Alvio doubled down on its commitment to the environment and sustainability. We talked more about our sustainability philosophy in Alvio’s Anti-Junk Promise and Our Anti-Prime Manifesto; and we celebrated Earth Day and World Car-Free Day with practical guides to doing greener business.
Alvio and New Tech Frontiers
We have also explored new tech frontiers over the course of 2023: in particular, with articles focussed on AI and Ecommerce, Ten Apps that are Revolutionising Ecommerce, and examining How the Metaverse is Shaping the Future of Ecommerce.
Black Friday
In the run up to Black Friday / Cyber Monday, Alvio founders Mike Harding and Luke Green put on their thinking caps, to share their best BFCM tips (and anecdotes) in The Alvio Guide to Black Friday… and we followed that with a guide to the very best ideas for Black Friday Gifts on the Alvio Network.
Brand Spotlights
Over the course of 2023, we also began taking a closer look at some of the brands on the Alvio network. We work with some fascinating people, and some truly innovative companies, so we launched a series of “Brand Spotlight” articles – where we interview our partners to find out what makes them tick, and what sets their brands apart.
These spotlight interviews have been so interesting for us, and we hope you’ve enjoyed them too! In case you missed them, check out the following in-depth profiles:
Brand Spotlight: Coral Eyewear
Brand Spotlight: Sporting Wine Club
Is there an Alvio partner you’d like to see in the spotlight next year? Just let us know!
We also turned to the wisdom of our partner brands to put together a motivational guide for World Entrepreneurs Day – featuring quotes from people like Steve Sampson (N1Fan Store), Warren Jesse (Squeeasy), Lucy Jeffrey (Bare Kind), Yves Boothe (Munãgiso), Matt (MattB Customs), and James Struthers (The Vault).
Do check out the article, this one’s a great read – but we also summed it up in just 3 key tips for business from our entrepreneurial partners:
- Be brave – make mistakes, but learn from them.
- Build a network of good people – friends and mentors.
- You are your own USP – so remember to tell your story.
Event Reports
There’s a reason why Alvio’s Ian Rabbidge was recently nominated for a “Networker of the Year” award. We love taking part in industry events! It's an opportunity to meet new brands, new tech and agency partners, and some of those meetings this year have led to fruitful new partnerships.
But more than that, we like to keep our fingers on the pulse. We like to know what's going down in ecommerce, what our friends and colleagues have cooking, and what they need from Alvio. Because we're not in sales – we're in the community-building business. Or as Alvio's Ian Rabbidge puts it:
There are plenty of reasons Why brands should collaborate. Alvio is simply the How.
This year, Ian and other members of the Alvio team have attended a number of exciting ecommerce socials up and down the country. Here are our reports on three of them:
Join the Spots – The Big Cat Sanctuary in Kent, 18 May.
Hosted by entrepreneur and business coach Steve Sampson, this year’s Join the Spots brought together some of the most interesting and innovative thinkers in tech and commerce, at a venue like no other.
Man Cave Expo – Birmingham NEC, 27-29 October.
Ian attended this unique annual expo event, showcasing the best in home entertainment and design. This year's expo also saw the launch of the Alvio-powered N1 Fan Cave.
eCom Collab Club London – Odeon Luxe in London, 29 November.
Created by Adam Pearce and Peter Gardner, the eCom Collab Club is a monthly gathering for ecommerce professionals: full of wit, wisdom, positivity and some excellent networking opportunities. Click the link to see Ian and Luke take to the stage for an Alvio Q&A at November's event!
Are you planning an event in 2024 that you’d like Ian or the Alvio team to attend? Pop us an invite – we’d love to come along.
Awards
We had big news to share last month – our team was nominated for two of eCom Collab Club’s highly-coveted FlameNCo awards... and we were thrilled to see Alvio win the award for Best New eCommerce Tech/App!
Jonas Sports Retail
Finally, we finished this year with the massive announcement that Alvio is partnering up with Jonas Sports Retail.
Jonas Sports offers an omni-channel solution for sports club retail teams, and this new partnership will now allow seamless integration between clubs and suppliers on the Alvio model.
Like our WooCommerce announcement back in the spring, this news has massive implications, and it shows how the Alvio model has the potential for incredible expansion: beyond being limited to any single ecommerce platform, Alvio can connect brands and stores from right across the industry for future-ready collaborative commerce.
You can learn more about how the Alvio x Jonas Sport model will look on our Jonas Sports Retail intro page.
Here’s to 2024!
And that just about wraps it up. Alvio has seen incredible growth in 2023, we’ve made new friends, we’ve built new connections and introductions between partners, and we’ve laid the foundation for exciting new expansion to come.
We want to thank all our friends and partners for being a part of this journey. We couldn’t have done it without you all!
And now bring on 2024. We’re ready for it.
