Archive for month: December, 2023

US retail sales grow 3.1% during holiday season – Mastercard report at Reuters. “The increase is lower than the 3.7% growth Mastercard forecast in September, and has slumped from last year’s 7.6% as higher interest rates and inflation pressured consumer spending…Ecommerce sales grew at a slower pace of 6.3% from last year’s 10.6%…apparel and restaurant categories rose 2.4% and 7.8%, respectively…while sales of electronics fell 0.4%.” Read more

Maersk to resume Red Sea voyages with Operation Prosperity Guardian in place at Fox News. “More details were expected to be released in the coming days, according to Maersk, adding it could very well revert to sending ships on other routes if conditions deteriorate.” Read more

…Hapag-Lloyd to decide on Wednesday about Red Sea routes at CNBC

Retailers Are Bracing for Their Postholiday Returns Hangover at WSJ. “Inmar Intelligence and its 300,000-square-foot warehouse is on the front lines of the business known as reverse logistics…Workers at the site, which sits in an Eastern Pennsylvania region filled with distribution centers that serve stores on the Eastern Seaboard, sift through as many as 950,000 goods a week from companies including fashion retailers, home-goods merchants, department-store chains and retail pharmacies.” WSJ subs.

U.S. home prices hit an all-time high in October, Case-Shiller says at MarketWatch. “The S&P CoreLogic Case-Shiller 20-city house price index rose a seasonally adjusted 0.6% in October compared to the previous month. Home prices in the 20 major U.S. metro markets were up 4.9% in the last 12 months ending in October.” Read more

The Title of ‘World’s Priciest Retail Rent’ Resides in America at WSJ. “Rents averaged $2,000 a square foot on upper Fifth Avenue over the past year, according to real-estate firm Cushman & Wakefield. That was about 13% higher than the world’s next-most-expensive shopping destination, Via Montenapoleone in Milan. New York City displaced Hong Kong last year to top the chart for the first time since 2017. Fifth Avenue’s rent prices are still below prepandemic levels, but store availability has fallen as retailers ranging from Abercrombie & Fitch to Citizen Watch have opened new locations.” WSJ subs.

Zulily transfers assets to professional liquidator as failed retailer unable to issue refunds at GeekWire

Amazon sellers say misleading AI product reviews threaten sales at Bloomberg via Seattle Times. “A summary of Penn tennis balls says some reviewers were disappointed with the product’s smell. The $4 three-ball sleeve has a 4.7-star rating based on more than 4,300 ratings but only seven reviews mention an odor…An eight-pack of Mason jars had 4.5 stars based on more than 3,000 ratings. The AI-generated summary says: “However, some customers have reported issues with rusting lids.” Shoppers must click deeper into the product to see that just 16 customers complained about rust.” Read more

Canadian month-on-month retail sales grew by 0.7% in October but most likely were flat in November at Reuters

How a 40-ounce cup turned Stanley into a $750 million a year business at CNBC. “I felt like I was signing a mortgage,” (Influencer) LeSueur tells CNBC Make It of her purchase order for 5,000 Quenchers…Those Quenchers, however, sold out within days. When (new CEO) Reilly took charge, he embraced The Buy Guide as partners…“My experience at Crocs told me that that kind of influencer opportunity was just the magic that Stanley might need,” he says. “And we were right.” Read more

Amazon’s new Echo Frames can’t touch the Ray-Ban Meta at TechCrunch

Subscription-based care moves beyond peddling birth control and helping with hair loss at AP. “This Netflix-like approach promises help for two common difficulties in the U.S.: access to health care and prescription refills. But it also stirs concern about care quality…Hims has topped 1.4 million subscribers this year. It expects to pull in at least $1.2 billion in annual sales by 2025.” Read more

Newegg Q3 net sales down 16% Press release

Costco rumored to be discontinuing sweet treat from food court at Fox News. “My brother (Costco employee) just told me they were getting rid of the churros at the food court and replacing them with cookies,” a user near the Goleta, Calif. warehouse said…”It is true. They have found a company to make the cookies, agreements are finalized. They will be showing up in early 2024, along with chocolate ice cream which will appear before summer,” (another) user wrote.” Read more

***Advertising inquiries, new product searches, comments, questions, hellos…contact Jason Long at jlong@eyeonretail.net

Target blamed theft and violence for 9 store closures. Crime is higher at locations it kept open nearby at CNBC. “I don’t want to use the word ‘stunt,’ because I don’t know exactly what went on in Minneapolis [where Target is based], but to me, it read like a stunt, looking to divert attention from the company’s lack of performance overall,” said Mark Cohen, a professor and director of retail studies at Columbia Business School…”They implied that the only reason they were closing the stores was because of theft. That may or may not be true. My guess is: Not true.” Read more

Holiday spending to be up big even as approval of Biden hits new low at CNBC. “Intended holiday spending per person jumped 31% to $1,300 this year, according to the CNBC All-America Economic Survey…Yet, 66% percent of Americans are negative about the current state of the economy and the outlook, a record for the 17 years of the survey.” Read more

Affirm to offer BNPL services at Walmart’s self-checkout kiosks at Reuters

Shippers mask positions, weigh options amid Red Sea attacks at Reuters. “A number of container ships are anchored in the Red Sea and others have turned off tracking systems as traders adjust routes…Major shippers including Hapag Lloyd, MSC and Maersk…have said they will be avoiding the Red Sea route and re-routing via southern Africa’s Cape of Good Hope.” Read more

…About 15% of world shipping traffic transits via the Suez Canal at Reuters. Read more

VF Corp says order fulfillment impacted by cybersecurity incident at Fox News. “The parent company behind popular brands like The North Face, Supreme and Vans said it experienced a cybersecurity incident that affected its online order fulfillment capabilities…Data was also taken, the clothing company said.” Read more

‘Thrifting’ Extends to Holiday Shopping Too at WSJ. “Roughly 17% of gifts this holiday season will be a resold item, according to software firm Salesforce…About 85% of American shoppers have bought or sold preowned items over the past year, nearly a third for the first time, according to online marketplace OfferUp’s Recommerce report. In apparel alone, some 10% of the global market will be secondhand by next year.” WSJ subs.

US single-family housing starts jump to more than 1-1/2-year high at Reuters. “Single-family housing starts…jumped 18.0% to a seasonally adjusted annual rate of 1.143 million units last month, the Commerce Department’s Census Bureau said. That was the highest level since April 2022.” Read more

Retailers are improving their delivery speeds at AP. “Jason Goldberg, the chief commerce strategy officer at the advertising giant Publicis, noted that Amazon has far more warehouse space and trucks than Walmart and Target. He said even if both Target and Walmart were to dramatically add more delivery hubs, they still wouldn’t be able to catch up with Amazon.” Read more

First building on Walmart’s new Bentonville campus opens Jan. 12 at Talk Business. “The fitness center will be the first amenity building to open on Walmart’s new home office campus since the project’s initial announcement in September 2017. A layout center was the first building Walmart opened on campus in February 2022. The construction project is a massive campus build that encompasses roughly 9 city blocks, 12 office buildings and 10 community buildings with outdoor and indoor areas of recreation.” Read more

Target is requiring hybrid employees to come back to the office in 2024, but only for four weeks a year at Fox 9. Read more

Amazon in talks to invest in Diamond Sports at Reuters via WSJ. “If an agreement is reached, Amazon’s Prime Video platform would eventually become the streaming home for Diamond’s games…Diamond, which has the local rights to about half the teams in Major League Baseball and the National Basketball Association and about a third of the National Hockey League teams, would continue operating its cable networks through its existing partnerships, according to the report.” 

The CEO of Ahold Delhaize thinks self-checkout is worth it despite theft: ‘Savings on labor costs are higher than the potential downsides’ at Fortune (subs. required) 

Richfield school board grants Best Buy’s request to lower property taxes at Star Tribune. “The city, schools and county have all approved ending a minimum-valuation agreement one year early as Best Buy says the Richfield headquarters has plummeted in value…The school district negotiated with Best Buy to get a one-time payment of $150,000 to the district.” Read more

Walmart CEO talks company values on Simon Sinek podcast at Arkansas Money & Politics. Read more

Walgreens names Weber Shandwick US PR AOR at MM+M. “WPP formerly served as WBA’s global marketing and communications AOR, but PRWeek understands the business has been split up among WBA’s brands. Walgreens confirmed it has hired Weber but declined additional comment.” Read more

Albertsons Companies Appoints Sarah Mensah and Lisa Gray to Board of Directors Press release

Feeling Festive? Your Instacart Shopper Is Probably More ‘Bah Humbug.’ at WSJ. “She’s learned that holiday orders with hefty cases of water or soda are a hard no because maneuvering them on a flatbed in a crowded store is nearly impossible. Some shoppers reject all orders from Walmart during the holidays. “It’s like bumper cars for carriages in there,” says a New Jersey-based shopper who runs Kim’s Side Money Plans, a YouTube channel dedicated to gig work.” WSJ subs.

Woody the talking Christmas tree delights and terrifies visitors at a Nova Scotia mall at Globe & Mail. Read more/Pics

Lawmakers call on U.S. regulator to thwart Kroger-Albertsons deal at Reuters. “Senators Elizabeth Warren, Mazie Hirono, Bernie Sanders and Cory Booker and representatives Summer Lee and Alexandria Ocasio-Cortez said in the letter that Kroger’s proposal to divest 413 stores to C&S Wholesale Grocers would not address harms to consumers, workers, and the grocery industry if the merger is allowed.” Read more

Inflation slowed to a 3.1% annual rate in November at CNBC. “Excluding volatile food and energy prices, core CPI increased 0.3% on the month and 4% from a year ago. Both numbers were in line with estimates and little changed from October.” Read more

Pharmacies share medical data with police without a warrant, inquiry finds at Washington Post. “…CVS Health, Kroger and Rite Aid, with a combined 60,000 locations nationwide — said they allow pharmacy staff members to hand over customers’ medical records in the store…Pharmacies’ records hold some of the most intimate details of their customers’ personal lives, including years-old medical conditions and the prescriptions they take for mental health and birth control.” Read more

CANADA – All grocers need to sign code of conduct if it is to succeed, Metro CEO tells MPs at Financial Post. “(Metro CEO) La Flèche told MPs at a House of Commons agriculture committee meeting on stabilizing food prices that Metro is willing to sign the code of conduct as it’s currently drafted. Last week, executives from Walmart Canada and Loblaw Cos. Ltd. told the committee that they can’t sign the code in its current form because they’re concerned the code will raise prices for consumers.” Read more

Dollar stores are killing some supermarkets. Could co-ops help cities fight back? at Fast Company. “The new store, called Goodness Gracious Grocery…is still in the early stages of launching: signing up members, fundraising, and creating a board…“It takes an average co-op about 6 to 10 years to come online,” Loftlin says. “When I found that out, I was crestfallen because we can’t wait. We cannot wait.” Read more

Casey’s Q2 inside same-store sales increased 2.9% Press release

Walmart CEO Doug McMillon speaks to University of Arkansas students at Talk Business. “There were 16 teams this semester in the McMillon Innovation Studio, which is outside of their classes…student teams worked on two projects for Sam’s Club and one for Walmart that focused on sustainability utilizing surplus cowhides…One of the Sam’s Club teams worked on an app to help the retailer reap the financial benefits from local events that bring outsiders to town.” Read more

‘I lost my money’ Scammers cashing in Meijer mPerks points at ABC 13 

Whole Foods CEO Interview at Progressive Grocer. “He just came right in, from the airport, I think, so casual,” the (Whole Foods) employee replied. “Just a down-to-earth, really good guy…Buechel’s leadership style — humble, open, leaning in — is part of what makes him the ideal person to take Whole Foods into its next evolution. He showcases the other facets of his authentic style…in an exclusive interview with PG…” Read more

Zulily holds ‘going-out-of-business sale’ at KIRO 7

…Zulily sues Amazon at GeekWire. “The suit…says Amazon’s specific campaign against Zulily began around 2019, when Zulily started displaying Amazon’s prices next to its own to show shoppers than its prices were lower. “But rather than compete on the merits, Amazon set out to ‘destroy’ Zulily instead, by coercing third-party retailers and wholesale suppliers to agree to ‘price parity,’ i.e., to artificially raise Zulily prices at or above Amazon’s, and to punish any sellers who cheated,” the Zulily suit says.” Read more

Hasbro laying off 1,100 employees at CNN

Macy’s Billion-Dollar Question: What’s More Valuable, Real Estate or the Business? at WSJ. “Neil Saunders, a managing director with research firm GlobalData, estimates that the real estate that Macy’s owns is worth about $6 billion, more than its market capitalization as of Friday of about $4.8 billion.” WSJ subs. 

Best Buy asks to lower HQ tax assessment by millions at KARE 11. “School District Superintendent Steven Unowski said…he would only sign off if he believed taxpayers were protected…He wants Best Buy to commit to a $150,000 payment to Richfield Schools to cover the burden.” Read more

A deadly delivery highlights ‘falsified’ heat records at USPS at Politico

The American Store Is Shrinking at WSJ. “Retailers signed leases averaging 3,200 square feet during the first three quarters of 2023, the smallest size since data firm CoStar Group began tracking this metric in 2006.” WSJ subs.

Fraudsters Bribed Amazon Employees in Refund Abuse Scheme at EcommerceBytes. “According to the complaint: “REKK uses sophisticated methods to obtain the refund, including socially engineering Amazon customer service, phishing Amazon employees, manipulating Amazon’s systems through unauthorized access, and bribing Amazon insiders to grant refunds.” Read more