While scarcity has always been a tool used to drive desirability and prestige, inflation and supply chain issues have been changing consumers’ relationship to it. In this MCM CommerceChat podcast, Katie Thomas of the Kearney Consumer Institute, explains the changing nature of scarcity, and how to watch for the scarcity tipping point.
Standards body GS1 US has published a new guideline retailers can use to leverage its Electronic Product Code (EPC)-based RFID technology. It supports claims compliance and is designed to improve inventory accuracy and supply chain visibility. Jonathan Gregory, director of community engagement with GS1 US, explains.
E-grocery platform Farmstead is expanding into suburban markets with an offering tailored to the mass market. It targets the 70% of suburban consumers shopping mid-market grocers and have few delivery options. Co-founder and CEO Pradeep Elankumaran, talks about the business model, outsourcing of its tech stack and expansion plans.
Direct to consumer or DTC was hot as a firecracker a few years ago, as brands like Allbirds and Warby Parker flew high by bypassing the retail channel. Now the tide seems to be turning as several of these marquee DTC brands have stumbled. CNBC contributor Alex Kantrowitz helps us break it down in our MCM CommerceChat podcast.
Peel-off stacks, dedicated piles of 50 containers or more, are a great port congestion solution if you’re a mega shipper like Walmart, but less so if you’re an SMB. But now smaller players can have freight consolidated to create peel-off stacks. Bryn Heimbeck of Trade Tech talks about a pilot project at the port of Los Angeles/Long Beach.
Reminiscent of “The Matrix,” the metaverse is a fully immersive virtual world where people can interact and engage in gaming, concerts or live sports. Facebook rebranded to Meta, and brands from Victoria’s Secret to Gucci, to Louis Vuitton are staking a claim. Are we there yet? We explore this topic with Nexla CEO Saket Saurabh.
Abe Eshkenazi, CEO of the Association for Supply Chain Management (ASCM), said organizations need to take more of a long-term, systemic view vs. short-term fixes in response to a crisis. In this MCM podcast, Eshkenazi stresses the need for better visibility to read demand signals, and consideration of upstream/downstream effects. of efforts in any one node.
BNPL has caught on more broadly in other markets but it’s certainly poised to catch on here. Square’s pending $29b acquisition of Afterpay is certainly a major indicator, as are other deals. What is the significance of Square/Afterpay, and where is BNPL headed? Rob Galtman, a director at Fitch Ratings, gives us his take.
The last 18 months of lockdowns and restrictions have made it hard for consumers to shop at stores, eliminating the pleasure of leisurely, impulse buying, seeing a product or speaking with an associate. The answer to this problem may be livestreaming shopping. Is it the mall of the future? We talk to Jared Blank of VTEX to learn more.
