Hello Friends,
Some updates from our friends at the National Retail Federation - NRF Announces it’s Acquisition of Reverse Logistics Association. NRF President and CEO Matthew Shay said. “As consumer demand for sustainable offerings continues to increase, RLA’s reverse logistics expertise will help our members to ‘close the loop’ and accelerate the emergence of the circular economy.” Per the NRF, This acquisition will ensure that NRF’s members and the industry will continue to receive the most forward thinking, real world and actionable innovations, research and information to drive the evolution of the world’s supply chain.
Amazon announced this week it’s second Prime Day event of the Year. Prime Day starts October 10th and will give shoppers an opportunity to score big discounts to kick off the holiday shopping season. Walmart has stated it will hold “Holiday Week” specials to compete with Amazon.
On September 6th - National “Read a Book Day'“ - Books-A-Million introduced same and next-day delivery to customers across 231 locations nationwide. This monumental step was launched by partnering with Walmart GoLocal. Orders placed on booksamillion.com prior to 3pm are eligible for same day delivery, while orders placed after 3pm will be delivered the following day.
A couple of eBay stories from this week….
eBay plans to roll out an ai generative description tool that will generate product descriptions from a single image. Available in the eBay app for iOS to start, with the Android app to follow in the coming weeks, the tool can automatically write a title and description based on a photo, as well as information including a product release date, and suggest a category, subcategory, list price and shipping cost.
eBay is also introducing a new consignment service for luxury items. The service will initially only be available for designer handbags, with plans to expand it to jewelery and watches next year. The consignment partner will be responsible for every process, including photography and pricing
Crate & Barrel rolls out new strategic plan, dubbed “Bring it Home”, to improve inventory forecasting and make its supply chain more efficient by adopting automation, adding new talent and improving customer experience. The goal of “Bring It Home”is to improve forecasting, shorten delivery times and reduce carbon footprint – while also offering a more customizable customer experience based on preferences, such as in-store shopping or consultations. In the first phase, the company is looking to double its existing team in areas like tech and supply chain management to help create better demand forecasting.
American Eagle has also leverage AI to improve the burdened cost of inventory. The apparel retailer recently rolled out a new tool that executives say allows it to service demand while keeping leaner stocks. “Early results are showing quicker and more accurate placement with improved in-stock levels,” COO and EVP Michael Rempell said on the company’s Q2 earnings call. “This is allowing us to better service demand with lower inventory across the network.” According to supply chain dive, inventories at the apparel seller were down 7% to $637 million YoY during the quarter while its gross margin rate was up nearly 7 percentage points
And finally some seasonal retail news has began to circulate……
Target and Macy’s become some of the first retailers to announce seasonal hiring plans. Target plans to hire nearly 100,000 workers for the holidays, about the same as past years, while Macy’s is aiming to bring on about 38,000.
According to a recent report from Deloitte, Holiday retail sales are likely to increase between 3.5% and 4.6% in 2023, citing healthy income growth and employment.
Overall, Deloitte's retail and consumer products practice projects holiday sales will total $1.54 to $1.56 trillion during the November to January timeframe. In 2022, holiday sales grew by 7.6% in the same period.