Hey Friends,
The Holiday shopping season is in full swing. According to Adobe Analytics, Consumers spent a record $9.8 billion on online sales on Back Friday, which marks a 7.5% increase over the year prior, and are expected to spend an additional $12 billion on Cyber Monday - a feat that would make it the largest online shopping day ever recorded. Shopper visits rose 4.6% compared to a year ago -- a rate nearly double the average overall increase in foot traffic so far this year. Shoppers weren’t bashful when it came to mobile purchases either, as $5.3 billion of the online sales came from mobile shopping.
During the holiday season, consumers are utilizing various financial management tools, such as split payments and flexible spending programs, to control their expenses. According to a PYMNTS Intelligence study in collaboration with Splitit, holiday shoppers using deferred payment methods spent approximately $150 more than those who did not. The widespread adoption of installment plans for retail products spans across generations, offering individuals the opportunity to access products they might otherwise be unable to afford or to better manage their cash flow. The study reveals that six out of 10 consumers, on average, used some form of pay-later plan for retail purchases in the past 12 months. Millennials are the most likely to embrace this financing option (72%), while baby boomers and seniors, with more stable financial situations, are less inclined (46%). The report also highlights that baby boomers prefer credit card plans for retail purchases due to convenience and low costs, while Generation Z leans towards buy now, pay later (BNPL) options. Millennials and Generation X exhibit a mix of preferences, utilizing various providers and solutions for installment plans.
Buybuy Baby is making a comeback and opening new stores once again after bankruptcy of former parent Bed Bath & Beyond. According to CEO Pete Daleidan, Buybuy Baby believes that it can provide customers with valuable in-person shopping experiences that will enable it to fight off the online retailers and allow it’s shoppers to make better buying decisions from an in-person experience.
Kohl’s President and Chief Operating Officer Dave Alves has left the company, after about seven months in the role. According to sources, his responsibilities will be redistributed among the department store’s other executives. Alves had previously held leadership positions at Bealls Retail Group, TJX Canada and TJX Europe, Hudson’s Bay and Sterling Shoes.
REI Co-op workers with the Retail, Wholesale and Department Store Union filed 80 nationwide unfair labor practice complaints against the outdoor retailer for bad-faith bargaining practices. The complaints claim that REI has retaliated against pro-union workers, restructured jobs and changed working conditions without input from the unions, as well as stalled bargaining with unions that won elections at the stores.
While San Francisco continues to battle it’s organized theft problem, the city is set to combat retail theft during holiday shopping season with $17 million grant from the state of California. San Francisco police plan to expand their retail theft enforcement strategies during the holiday shopping season thanks in part to a multi-million-dollar state grant, according to Mayor London Breed. The funding helps pay for officers' overtime while running targeted retail theft operations, which Breed says will "significantly increase" during the next three years. The money is also being used to buy and install 400 automated license plate readers to cover 100 intersections throughout the city.
In some sporting news…..the Minnesota Timberwolves, Minnesota Lynx and Fanatics, a global digital sports platform and leading provider of licensed sports merchandise, announced an exclusive, long-term partnership that sees the company become both teams’ end-to-end retail partner. As part of these deals, Fanatics will take over the official e-commerce business for both teams, and also operate the in-venue retail touchpoints on gamedays at Target Center.
And to close out with some real-estate news…..New York’s Fifth Avenue Retains its Top Ranking as the World’s Most Expensive Retail Destination. Cushman & Wakefield (NYSE: CWK) today released its 33rd edition of Main Streets Across the World, examining retail rental rates in prime locations in cities around the world.
New York’s Fifth Avenue retains its top ranking as the world’s most expensive retail destination, despite recording flat rental growth year-over-year (YOY).
Milan’s Via Montenapoleone jumped a spot into second, displacing Hong Kong’s Tsim Sha Tsui, which placed third in 2023.
New Bond Street in London and the Avenues des Champs-Élysées in Paris retained fourth and fifth positions, respectively
The biggest mover was Istiklal Street in Istanbul, up from 31st to 20th position, as rampant inflation caused rents to more than double over the past year.