Remember back in the day, when mom would pack up the Wagon Queen Family Truckster for an exciting one-day back to school shopping blitz? First stop was Caldor to get you a new pair of Cal-Stars, but you wanted to go check out Pac-Man on the store’s Atari 2600, and not to be seen shopping, of course, with your mom?
Back to school shopping wasn’t cool when you were a kid… and apparently it wasn’t too cool in July. Back to school sales seemed to be slumping, and the season seemed to be taking on a new life a la the traditional holiday shopping season. Back to school shopping doesn’t need to start on August 1, although Walmart says that’s when parents’ minds shift into high gear.
Or maybe that’s when all the tax free weeks start?
Here’s a look at this weeks’ news, commentary and events that shaped the direct-to-customer world… and more.
Marketing
Zmags says 49 percent of retail marketers indicate that content is the most critical factor in getting consumer attention… Macy’s is getting its drink on, and partnering to launch a line of private-label wines… SLI Systems says ecommerce search queries are up 41% year-over-year…
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Ecommerce
Here’s the top 10 list of U.S. cities for online fraud, according to ThreatMetrix… ClannelAdvisor revealed the results of its 2015 Online Retail Survey of more than 200 U.S. and U.K. retailers and branded manufacturers… No surprised that the majority of the respondents are having success with Amazon… Fanatics is using SiteSpect’s Origin Experiments to test site aesthetics such as headlines and font color, and site features and functionality such as on-site search and checkout flow… Tractor Design’s ecommerce site is getting a complete overhaul…
Shipping and delivery
Macy’s is partnering with Deliv to expand its same-day-delivery campaign to nine cities and metro areas… Meanwhile, Deliv also announced it has expanded service to 17 markets covering more than 100 cities and five time zones…
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Cross-border
China fashion ecommerce platform Moonbasa will officially launch a U.S. brand mall, providing a portal for U.S. fashion brands to access Chinese consumers… Bitpay has recently announced several partnerships with payments companies from around the globe… Alibaba Group Holding Ltd has signed exclusive partnerships with more than 20 apparel brands including Zara and Timberland… Newegg, announced the establishment of its Canada Global Seller Program… QVC France, which launched online at QVC.fr with 46 brands in June, began its video programming distribution on August 1, and plans to offer nearly 300 international and French brands by the end of 2015…
Financials
For its fiscal year, Boot Barn’s net sales increased 16.4% to $96.0 million, and same store sales, which include ecommerce sales, increased 5.6%…Keurig Green Mountain’s net sales are down 5%, and they can blame Canada: Sales in the Canada segment declined 14% on a reported basis… Ralph Lauren’s net revenues declined 5% for the quarter. But its retail sales did rise 3%… Central Garden & Pet Company saw a net sales increase of 3%… Kate Spade & Co.’s second quarter direct-to-consumer comparable sales growth was 10%, and 12% excluding ecommerce… Vitamin Shoppe, Inc.’s second quarter revenue increased 5.3%, but its ecommerce comparable sales were down 6.0%…