In the midst of posting another blockbuster quarter, Amazon dropped the bombshell news that founder and CEO Jeff Bezos is stepping out of the top role in Q3 to become executive chairman. He will be replaced as CEO by AWS head Andy Jassy. Bezos started the $1.6 trillion company as a bookseller on the nascent internet in 1994.
It seems nearly all workers in retail had their job roles expanded in 2020 as the pandemic forced thousands of stores to close even more rapidly as ecommerce exploded, creating demand in new areas as the industry drastically reset, a new survey found. Despite a difficult year, there was a good deal of optimism about 2021.
Holiday retail sales in retail were up higher than expected, according to the National Retail Federation, exceeding expectations by increasing 8.3% to $789.4 billion, as shoppers seeking normalcy used what was left of stimulus funds and unused travel and leisure to purchase holiday gifts. Online and non-store sales were up a brisk 23%.
Thrasio, the most successful practitioner of the Amazon rollup model by creating economies of scale and supercharging growth, has raised $500 million, pushing it over the $1B mark in less than two years. It plans to pursue bigger targets, expand product development and go into other channels and international markets.
Loves Furniture, a Michigan startup that went into business in 2020 just as the pandemic was emerging, has filed for bankruptcy protection as bills piled up and inventory, fulfillment and logistics issues hamstrung its operations. The company claims that fulfillment issues caused by Penske, its contract logistics provider, led to the troubles.
As 2020 comes to a close, it’s time to reflect back on a wild and crazy year in retail, to paraphrase the Festrunk brothers from Saturday Night Live. COVID-19 came in like a wrecking ball in February and March, causing widespread shutdowns that hit retail especially hard, leading to hockey-stick growth in ecommerce.
You may have read somewhere that 2020 was an extremely disruptive year in every aspect of the retail industry. Ecommerce, already on a rapid trajectory, took off into the stratosphere as consumer flocked online. To take a look into what we can expect in 2021, four experts offer their views and some bold predictions.
As public health concerns have consumers engaging in more online ordering and a down economy impacts spending, typical habits are out the door. In this holiday shopping season like no other, the way retailers address these trends will determine whether consumers return over the long run. It’s all about data-driven engagement.
Whether we see a reduction of the pandemic in 2021 (hold breath here), the retail landscape has been forever changed and omnichannel is locked in. How will retailers continue to adapt in a very challenging environment? We talked to Dave Cesaro, executive director of client strategy at Valassis, to get his thoughts on what to expect.
It’s been a wild year for retailers. The homestretch of 2020 finds most of them hoping to over-perform and make up for time and money lost to the COVID-19 crisis. Do American consumers have enough left in the tank (and the bank account) to provide a much-needed boost? Let’s examine that question by looking back to October.