Black Friday looked good compared to an average day this year or even a year ago, but less so when compared to 2019. Online, sales were healthier, but just a 2.3% gain from 2021, Adobe said. Lululemon Athletica, American Eagle Outfitters and Victoria’s Secret were winners, and Gap, Banana Republic and Hollister were challenged.
Historically, the scarcity model of luxury brands has driven many to destroy surplus merchandise to maintain a certain image. Now, an image of sustainability has become the key priority, which means finding a purpose for excess inventory. Expanding your product inventory lifecycle in this way actually brings several core benefits.
A hedge fund which made millions with its stake in GameStop before the struggling retailer became a Reddit-fueled stock phenomenon has invested in Pitney Bowes, believing its assets are undervalued, and suggesting its ecommerce unit could be sold. Hestia Capital may put forward a former Stamps.com executive as a director.
Target brought bad news Wednesday, with Q3 earnings miss plus a warning about a softer Q4, as families make tough budget calls on essentials vs. nonessentials heading into the holidays while high inflation lingers, registering a 7.7% rate in October. The company is calling for a low single-digit decline in Q4 comparable sales, and an operating margin of 3%.
As Amazon stumbles, planning to lay off ten thousand workers, drastically scaling back its facilities plans and missing earnings forecasts, ascending rival TikTok is becoming more of a globally dominant behemoth, day by day. The latter reportedly began testing an in-app shopping feature with select U.S. retailers last week.
Walmart gave the retail sector a much-needed pre-peak season shot in the arm, especially following Amazon’s recent miss, posting better-than-expected Q3 sales and adjusted earnings, as its low-priced grocery business soared and ecommerce revenue grew 16%. Three billion of the loss was from a settlement of opioid litigation.
Singles Day, the prefab shopping holiday created by Alibaba in 2009, saw just 5% sales growth over 2021, experts polled by CNN estimated, compared to a 15.5% gain in 2021, as the inflation-fueled ecommerce slowdown and fresh COVID-19 lockdowns in China acted as a drag on results.
With Black Friday and Cyber Monday quickly approaching, retailers are gearing up, stocking inventory, hiring seasonal staff and even upping their cybersecurity. In this day and age, shoppers must be extremely careful when making purchases online, as bots are more sophisticated and damaging than ever before.
The anytime/anywhere/anyhow expectations of consumers today is increasingly upending the traditional sales funnel for brands, forcing them to think outside the box to best serve their customers. Brands and their shoppers need open systems, ecommerce platforms and services that support these omnichannel demands.
Walmart is offering half off on new sign-ups to its $98-a-year Walmart+ subscription program, an offer which expires today, in a bid to boost membership ahead of Cyber Weekend and the rush to the conclusion of the peak holiday season. The giant retailer is also throwing in access to early Black Friday deals starting Nov. 7.