Awards // December 12, 2023 ■ 4 min read

Walmart, Whatnot, Dagne Dover and Dropit are winners of the 2023 Modern Retail Awards

This year’s Modern Retail Awards winners have taken omnichannel marketing to the next level, leveraged next-generation e-commerce technology and shown a continued focus on sustainable and ethically produced products.

The focus in 2023 was on adding cutting-edge advancements to online retail experiences and making integrations seamless, whether social commerce or other emerging channels.

For example, Walmart and Break the Love teamed up to secure the award for Best Brand Collaboration for their integrated pickleball partnership. The pair launched a multi-year relationship to make pickleball — the nation’s fastest-growing sport — more accessible by providing Walmart customers free nationwide court reservations. To help enrich the lives of everyday Americans in a post-pandemic world, Break the Love created proprietary technology to offer free courts to allow Walmart customers complimentary bookings by uploading in-store/digital receipts to the platform. By creating more opportunities, Break the Love and Walmart are making it easier for people to play a sport that has otherwise been less accessible.

The Best E-Commerce Experience award went to Whatnot this year, the largest livestream shopping platform in the U.S. The platform was designed to replicate the experience of in-person shopping at auctions, events, stores or conventions. Whatnot allows customers to interact with the community and the livestream hosts in real time. The shopping experience on the platform is also enriched by a range of unique features that set it apart from others, such as a tipping functionality for viewers to tip their favorite sellers or hosts, PSA grading services to give buyers peace of mind, direct messaging capabilities between users and more. By actively collaborating with sellers, Whatnot is developing exciting digital events that push boundaries and strengthen communities.

Founder of the Year went to Dagne Dover’s co-founders Melissa Mash, Deepa Gandhi and Jessy Dover. Dagne Dover is a leading performance bag brand recognized by editors and customers for best-in-class organized backpacks, diaper bags, travel bags and work bags. Within 12 months, the 36-person team executed five product launches with 196 new SKUs, including 11 new silhouettes — all made exclusively with recycled materials. The Dagne Dover founders sought to push material innovation, give back and expand the brand’s influence — and they succeeded on all fronts. Since 2018, the brand has committed to making every collection as close to 100% recycled as possible. This year, Dagne Dover launched an eco-friendly capsule and has reused over 13.5 million water bottles in their products. Additionally, the brand has supported 139 nonprofits through funds, mentorship and more.

Dropit’s AI-powered optimization technology for retail fulfillment earned the company a win for Best Fulfillment Strategy. Dropit’s solutions help retailers right-size inventory and reduce environmental impact to create a smarter, greener retail ecosystem. The Advanced Fulfillment solution was developed to help retailers leverage their data and store portfolio for improved fulfillment efficiency and overall inventory management. By combining real-time data and smart automation, this AI-powered fulfillment solution introduces a new era of optimized order fulfillment that supports inventory balance and overall brand performance.

Explore all the 2023 Modern Retail Awards winners below — including a quick rundown of the campaigns and insights into why they won and what marketing teams can learn from them. Download the complete guide here.