Tipsheet: WM Zaps Towers | T. Supply +38.6% | Costco Warns | Wayfair +3 Sites
Walmart Is Pulling Plug on More Robots at Wall Street Journal. “…phasing out the hulking automated pickup towers that were erected in more than 1,500 stores to dispense online orders…“The customer told us they want one pickup spot, and they want that pickup spot to be outside,” said a Walmart spokeswoman.” WSJ subs. | Fox Business
Tractor Supply Q1 comp sales up 38.6% “…included an increase in comparable average transaction count and ticket of 21.0% and 17.6%, respectively. All geographic regions of the Company had positive comparable store sales growth of at least 30%.” Press release
First-time claims for unemployment insurance totaled 547,000 last week, below the 603,000 Dow Jones estimate at CNBC. Read more
Department stores are still Americans’ favorite place to buy shoes at CNBC. “37% of people said they’ve bought shoes on a department store retailer’s website since the start of the health crisis, while 33% said they’ve made a footwear purchase recently in a brick-and-mortar department store. Specialty footwear stores, like DSW and Foot Locker, came in second place, at 20%.” Read more
Costco warns customers about 13 online scams at Fox Business. “The company posted 13 screenshots of “prominent fraudulent emails, texts, and posts” that Costco says are currently circulating the internet.” Read more
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Supermarkets’ Revival Skips the Top Store-Brand Supplier at Wall Street Journal. “We had built this supply chain designed for tremendous efficiency but very low volatility,” TreeHouse Chief Executive Steve Oakland said in an interview. “When the pandemic hit, we had complexity meet volatility.” The company faces pressure from an activist investor…” WSJ subs.
Metro Q2 comp sales: Food up 5.5% / Pharmacy down 0.8% Press release
Supermarket Industry Rallies for Virtual ‘Day in Washington’ Fly-In at FMI. “More than 230 supermarket retailers and wholesalers from 143 companies and food industry state association executives from across the nation connected virtually today with members of Congress…” Press release
Wayfair to open three new Engineering sites in San Francisco, Austin and Toronto “The company plans to hire approximately 1,000 technologists…expanding its Engineering footprint to locations outside of its technology hubs in Boston and Berlin for the first time…” Press release
Piper Sandler 2021 Teen Survey “56% of teens cite Amazon as their No. 1 favorite e-com site…Ulta gained 700 bps share Y/Y as No. 1 beauty destination with 46% share…88% of teens own an iPhone…Snapchat is the favorite social media platform (31% share) followed by TikTok (30%) & Instagram (24%, down 700 bps Y/Y).” Read more
Walmart Contributes To Search Ad Spend Rise To $61.69B In 2020 at MediaPost. “For the first time, eMarketer broke out search advertising revenue at Walmart. The company grew its share in 2020, and will account for 1.1% of net search ad revenue this year.” Register to read
Overtime raises $80M from Jeff Bezos, Drake and others at Wall Street Journal. “Overtime Sports Inc., which targets younger fans on digital and social platforms, has raised $80 million in funding to pursue plans including the launch of its own high-school basketball league, the company said. The sports media and entertainment venture also hopes to tap the broader interest in nonfungible tokens and sports betting.” WSJ subs.
Tipsheet Extra
Queen Elizabeth II’s brand recognition higher than Kim Kardashian, Oprah Winfrey
Tesla offers a rare apology in China after an angry customer’s unruly protest
Target’s retail media group integrates the CitrusAd platform
Former Heisman Trophy winner partners with Dick’s Sporting Goods
Postal Service ‘elite police force’ monitors social media posts for potential threats
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