Welcome Friends,
This is the first installment of This Week in Retail and I’m thrilled you are here. I have been working on this in the background for quite some time, and I am excited to deliver it to you personally. Since everyone is new here, I wanted to outline the format of this newsletter so that you know what to expect moving forward.
This edition is available for free and premium subscribers.
Who’s this newsletter for? This newsletter is for anyone who is interested in the current trends and topics shaping the retail community.
What Will I Get? I will bring to you a list of curated topics that have made the most noise in the retail landscape from the week prior. These will be short, digestible briefs that can be easily read while having your morning coffee or in between calls. These topics will range from Technology, Finance, Trends, and Industry Updates.
So without further ado let’s get into it……..
This Week in Retail was a busy one. On the forefront of everyone’s mind was Amazon Prime Day 2023. Like year’s past this event was a 48 hour affair, aimed at onboarding additional shoppers to their Prime service. Full details of Amazon’s Prime Service can be found here
While competitors like Target and Walmart both offered incentives - Target Circle Week and Walmart+ Week – aimed at capturing the wave of deal-seeking shoppers, Prime Day reigned king.
Here’s what you should know
· $12.7B in sales – up 6% from the year prior
· Average order size increased $2 to $54
· 375 million total purchases
· Buy Now Pay later orders were up nearly 20% from the year prior and accounted for 6% of all Prime Day Orders
One notable difference was that smart phone sales on the app were up 42% year-over-year and drove 43.7% of all sales. Amazon has not confirmed if an additional Prime Event will be held later in the year, but Prime Day has generally been a good marker for peak holiday shopping projections.
NRF Nexus took place in Rancho Palos Verdes, CA this week, bringing together the brightest minds in retail marketing, tech and digital innovation. A full recap on NRF’s website can be found here
Here’s What you should know
· Retailers are making investments in AI and technology to drive real-time customer engagement.
· Technology is key – but the focus is always on customer experience – technology’s strongest impact is on the convenience it can add to the shopping experience
· Brand loyalty was amongst the top of everyone’s conversation - Personal experience and shopping personalization are the strongest influencers of brand loyalty
· In store is an extension of the mobile/digital space – Shoppers are coming to the store well versed on the product they are searching for but often need that tangible experience to validate any of their remaining concerns.
At the end of the day, the overarching theme is simple, shoppers are people. Understanding the data is insightful, but true success comes from understanding the person.
Workplace attire has often stayed relatively consistent and without disruption, but Target made headlines this week by updating it’s dress code. Employees are now allowed to wear capris, skirts or shorts mid-thighs or longer. Some employees are still excluded (those working in food service or property management), but as temperature sky-rocketed in several part of the US, this initiative puts focus on targets commitment to employee well-being.
Love it man!!