GlobalData Retail

While Walmart still lags Amazon by a long way in overall ecommerce, there can be no doubt that Walmart’s efforts to ramp up its online business are nothing short of impressive. Walmart’s marketplace is a case in point. Walmart has worked hard to bring more sellers on board and is now both deepening the assortment and expanding the range of services it offers to businesses. If a lot of this looks familiar it is because, to some extent, what Walmart is mirroring Amazon. Two of the categories Walmart is now focusing on – premium beauty and resale – are areas that Amazon has recently addressed. It makes sense: both are fast-growing parts of the market and that makes them interesting and worthwhile. Behind the scenes, Walmart is also opening up its marketplace services, such as logistics, to businesses that don’t sell via Walmart. Again, this is a very similar strategy to that used by Amazon to increase the efficiency of its network and to drive some incremental revenue. The strides Walmart is taking are paying dividends. Its ecommerce growth is impressive, and it is taking market share. One of the customer challenges, however, is getting online shoppers to switch from Amazon to Walmart. With high customer satisfaction scores, a very sticky ecosystem through Prime, and plenty of inertia in the desire to switch, it will be hard for Walmart to lure customers away from Amazon in significant numbers.  I spoke with Modern Retail about the latest developments at Walmart. Link to article in the comments. #retail #retailnews #marketplaces #ecommerce #online #digital

Here are some interesting stories from the world of retail for Wednesday, August 28: 🚚 Walmart is extending its competition with Amazon deeper into the logistics arena by opening its fulfillment services to merchants who want to fill orders from customers on platforms outside the retailer’s own marketplace. 🏬 Nordstrom on Tuesday posted earnings that blew past Wall Street’s expectations, indicating the department store is making strides in its efforts to cut costs and boost efficiencies. 📚 Leonard Riggio, who transformed the publishing industry by building Barnes & Noble, Inc. into the country’s most powerful bookseller before his company was overtaken by the rise of Amazon, has died at age 83. 👖 Shares of PVH Corp. fell nearly 8% in the extended session Tuesday after the parent company of Calvin Klein and Tommy Hilfiger said that its business environment in the all-important Asia Pacific region has faced challenges. 💰 Big Lots has agreed to pay retention bonuses to keep four top executives on board as the retailer navigates through an ongoing period of operational and financial uncertainty. The amounts total $5.2 million. 📈 American consumers felt more confident in August as their outlook for the future improved. The Conference Board said Tuesday that its consumer confidence index rose to 103.3 in August from 101.9 in July. 👟 Foot Locker's second-largest shareholder has trimmed its stake by more than 9%, just days before the athletic shoe and apparel retailer is set to report second-fiscal-quarter results. 🥫 Shrinkflation is far less common than consumers realize: across consumer goods and services, only a small number of items measured by the Bureau of Labor Statistics experience downsizing each year. 🎃 Spirit Halloween is going bigger than ever this year. The seasonal retailer will open a record-breaking 1,525 locations this year in the United States and Canada. 🍕 Pizza Hut is offering a special pizza box that turns into a miniature table with an order of a large regular-priced pizza. It is aimed at people moving into new homes and the cities where it is offered are the top moving destinations. 💵 Three major retailers — Dollar General, Dollar Tree Stores, and Kroger — charge consumers more than $90 million annually via cash-back fees charged to access their own funds at a register. 🚴🏽♀️ Peloton co-founder John Foley revealed he nearly lost all his money after leaving the exercise equipment company in 2022. Since his exit, Foley has turned his efforts into starting New York-based home décor company Ernesta. 🥖 Subway’s $6.99 footlong sandwich deal has sparked a revolt from the chain’s biggest franchise group — which has raised concerns the discount will spark losses for cash-strapped restaurateurs. 🧵 At a time when AI is dominating headlines, apparel box e-retailer Stitch Fix has rebooted its customer experience model by emphasizing its human stylists. #retail #retailnews #economy #DailyRetailNews

Here are some interesting stories from the world of retail for Wednesday, August 28: 🚚 Walmart is extending its competition with Amazon deeper into the logistics arena by opening its fulfillment services to merchants who want to fill orders from customers on platforms outside the retailer’s own marketplace. 🏬 Nordstrom on Tuesday posted earnings that blew past Wall Street’s expectations, indicating the department store is making strides in its efforts to cut costs and boost efficiencies. 📚 Leonard Riggio, who transformed the publishing industry by building Barnes & Noble, Inc. into the country’s most powerful bookseller before his company was overtaken by the rise of Amazon, has died at age 83. 👖 Shares of PVH Corp. fell nearly 8% in the extended session Tuesday after the parent company of Calvin Klein and Tommy Hilfiger said that its business environment in the all-important Asia Pacific region has faced challenges. 💰 Big Lots has agreed to pay retention bonuses to keep four top executives on board as the retailer navigates through an ongoing period of operational and financial uncertainty. The amounts total $5.2 million. 📈 American consumers felt more confident in August as their outlook for the future improved. The Conference Board said Tuesday that its consumer confidence index rose to 103.3 in August from 101.9 in July. 👟 Foot Locker's second-largest shareholder has trimmed its stake by more than 9%, just days before the athletic shoe and apparel retailer is set to report second-fiscal-quarter results. 🥫 Shrinkflation is far less common than consumers realize: across consumer goods and services, only a small number of items measured by the Bureau of Labor Statistics experience downsizing each year. 🎃 Spirit Halloween is going bigger than ever this year. The seasonal retailer will open a record-breaking 1,525 locations this year in the United States and Canada. 🍕 Pizza Hut is offering a special pizza box that turns into a miniature table with an order of a large regular-priced pizza. It is aimed at people moving into new homes and the cities where it is offered are the top moving destinations. 💵 Three major retailers — Dollar General, Dollar Tree Stores, and Kroger — charge consumers more than $90 million annually via cash-back fees charged to access their own funds at a register. 🚴🏽♀️ Peloton co-founder John Foley revealed he nearly lost all his money after leaving the exercise equipment company in 2022. Since his exit, Foley has turned his efforts into starting New York-based home décor company Ernesta. 🥖 Subway’s $6.99 footlong sandwich deal has sparked a revolt from the chain’s biggest franchise group — which has raised concerns the discount will spark losses for cash-strapped restaurateurs. 🧵 At a time when AI is dominating headlines, apparel box e-retailer Stitch Fix has rebooted its customer experience model by emphasizing its human stylists. #retail #retailnews #economy #DailyRetailNews

While Walmart still lags Amazon by a long way in overall ecommerce, there can be no doubt that Walmart’s efforts to ramp up its online business are nothing short of impressive. Walmart’s marketplace is a case in point. Walmart has worked hard to bring more sellers on board and is now both deepening the assortment and expanding the range of services it offers to businesses. If a lot of this looks familiar it is because, to some extent, what Walmart is mirroring Amazon. Two of the categories Walmart is now focusing on – premium beauty and resale – are areas that Amazon has recently addressed. It makes sense: both are fast-growing parts of the market and that makes them interesting and worthwhile. Behind the scenes, Walmart is also opening up its marketplace services, such as logistics, to businesses that don’t sell via Walmart. Again, this is a very similar strategy to that used by Amazon to increase the efficiency of its network and to drive some incremental revenue. The strides Walmart is taking are paying dividends. Its ecommerce growth is impressive, and it is taking market share. One of the customer challenges, however, is getting online shoppers to switch from Amazon to Walmart. With high customer satisfaction scores, a very sticky ecosystem through Prime, and plenty of inertia in the desire to switch, it will be hard for Walmart to lure customers away from Amazon in significant numbers.  I spoke with Modern Retail about the latest developments at Walmart. Link to article in the comments. #retail #retailnews #marketplaces #ecommerce #online #digital

Here are some interesting stories from the world of retail for Wednesday, August 28: 🚚 Walmart is extending its competition with Amazon deeper into the logistics arena by opening its fulfillment services to merchants who want to fill orders from customers on platforms outside the retailer’s own marketplace. 🏬 Nordstrom on Tuesday posted earnings that blew past Wall Street’s expectations, indicating the department store is making strides in its efforts to cut costs and boost efficiencies. 📚 Leonard Riggio, who transformed the publishing industry by building Barnes & Noble, Inc. into the country’s most powerful bookseller before his company was overtaken by the rise of Amazon, has died at age 83. 👖 Shares of PVH Corp. fell nearly 8% in the extended session Tuesday after the parent company of Calvin Klein and Tommy Hilfiger said that its business environment in the all-important Asia Pacific region has faced challenges. 💰 Big Lots has agreed to pay retention bonuses to keep four top executives on board as the retailer navigates through an ongoing period of operational and financial uncertainty. The amounts total $5.2 million. 📈 American consumers felt more confident in August as their outlook for the future improved. The Conference Board said Tuesday that its consumer confidence index rose to 103.3 in August from 101.9 in July. 👟 Foot Locker's second-largest shareholder has trimmed its stake by more than 9%, just days before the athletic shoe and apparel retailer is set to report second-fiscal-quarter results. 🥫 Shrinkflation is far less common than consumers realize: across consumer goods and services, only a small number of items measured by the Bureau of Labor Statistics experience downsizing each year. 🎃 Spirit Halloween is going bigger than ever this year. The seasonal retailer will open a record-breaking 1,525 locations this year in the United States and Canada. 🍕 Pizza Hut is offering a special pizza box that turns into a miniature table with an order of a large regular-priced pizza. It is aimed at people moving into new homes and the cities where it is offered are the top moving destinations. 💵 Three major retailers — Dollar General, Dollar Tree Stores, and Kroger — charge consumers more than $90 million annually via cash-back fees charged to access their own funds at a register. 🚴🏽♀️ Peloton co-founder John Foley revealed he nearly lost all his money after leaving the exercise equipment company in 2022. Since his exit, Foley has turned his efforts into starting New York-based home décor company Ernesta. 🥖 Subway’s $6.99 footlong sandwich deal has sparked a revolt from the chain’s biggest franchise group — which has raised concerns the discount will spark losses for cash-strapped restaurateurs. 🧵 At a time when AI is dominating headlines, apparel box e-retailer Stitch Fix has rebooted its customer experience model by emphasizing its human stylists. #retail #retailnews #economy #DailyRetailNews

The idea of shop-in-shops is nothing new. However, we’ve heard a lot about the concept over recent years and a number of new partnerships have sprung up. Whether teaming up actually works depends on a lot of factors. The first comes down to rationale. In some cases, especially with department stores, there is a sense that some shop-in-shop ideas spring from a desperate desire to find ways of using excess store space. This isn’t a great primary reason for forming a partnership. Good shop-in-shop concepts should add value. They should offer something that the host retailer doesn’t already provide. Sephora in Kohl’s is a great example of this because, before it came along, Kohl’s own beauty offer was lackluster.  However, the lesson from Kohl’s – which is a master at trying to use other brands to aid its own ailing core business – is that a good shop-in-shop cannot save a bad host retailer. This also applies to JCPenney, which had Sephora, before Kohl’s did. What happened there is Sephora helped to drive foot traffic through the doors of JCP, but very few customers coming in for beauty even bothered to browse the rest of the store, let alone buy things. Shop-in-shops work best when it’s a partnership of equals, when there is a degree of complementarity between the propositions, and when both brands work closely together to make the concept work. Target and Ulta are a good example of this. Ulta helped Target stretch into the premium beauty space and Target helped Ulta to expand its audience, especially to younger shoppers. Neither brand is reliant on the other for success: their deal is merely the icing on two already robust cakes. #retail #retailnews #shopinshop #departmentstores #brands __ Pictures are: one of the first Sephora outlets to open in Kohl's, plus a shot of what the rest of the store looked like; one of the first Ulta concepts to open in Target; an M&S shop-in-shop in Central Department Store in Bangkok, Thailand; and Sephora in JCP (doesn't that branding look dated?!)

Can influencer-founded beauty brands still go the distance? The truth is that a high follower count does not always translate into commercial success. On the plus side, influencer founded brands are often fast-growing and have captured the imagination of consumers. They can do terrific volumes in a very short space of time. Awareness can be very high without a huge amount of marketing effort, because of the impact of influencers. The danger with influencer founded brands is that they can be based around short term popularity and trends that can easily fade. There also needs to be deep authenticity. Where this is not the case the product and brand image can feel too manufactured. Consumers pick up on that very quickly, and then fail to see what value the brand adds or what problem it solves. It was great to chat with Vogue Business about influencer founded brands and the opportunities and pitfalls. Link to article by Louise Whitbread in the comments. #retail #retailnews #beauty #brands #influencers #socialmedia

Can influencer-founded beauty brands still go the distance? The truth is that a high follower count does not always translate into commercial success. On the plus side, influencer founded brands are often fast-growing and have captured the imagination of consumers. They can do terrific volumes in a very short space of time. Awareness can be very high without a huge amount of marketing effort, because of the impact of influencers. The danger with influencer founded brands is that they can be based around short term popularity and trends that can easily fade. There also needs to be deep authenticity. Where this is not the case the product and brand image can feel too manufactured. Consumers pick up on that very quickly, and then fail to see what value the brand adds or what problem it solves. It was great to chat with Vogue Business about influencer founded brands and the opportunities and pitfalls. Link to article by Louise Whitbread in the comments. #retail #retailnews #beauty #brands #influencers #socialmedia