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The holidays are here and retailers are expecting big sales and hoping their infrastructure remains intact. For bigger brands, the fear of online downtime looms. Meanwhile, smaller businesses fear they don't have the correct fulfillment and logistics in place for the increase in demand. As a result, most businesses are trying their best to prepare for the impending storm.
At an industry event, executives from J.Crew and Hatch discussed why the decided to work together. J.Crew is big and Hatch is small, so they both had different intentions in mind. Put together, they highlight a growing tension brands face when trying to expand.
Direct mail has become an important part of many digital brand's marketing budgets. Now catalogs are having a moment too -- and companies are increasingly melding the digital data they have about customers with the larger pieces of mail they send to their homes.
Under Armour, like many other brands that have relied historically on wholesalers to sell its product, wants to generate more revenue from its own website and stores. But, its direct-to-consumer business has struggled for a couple of reasons. In order to right the ship, Under Armour is looking to open more full-price stores, continue to highlight the technical innovation in its apparel and performance wear, and build a new e-commerce platform.
As livestreaming shopping videos have become increasingly popular in China, they've also become critically important to brands' strategies for the biggest shopping holiday in the country, Alibaba's Singles Day. Overall, the number of merchants who incorporated livestreaming into their Singles Day campaign was up 200% compared to last year, according to Alibaba.
Walgreens is reportedly looking to go private, highlighting just how difficult it is for drug stores to remain relevant as a mix of big-box and online competitors encroach upon their retail business. Drug store chains like Walgreens and CVS generate a large portion of sales not only from medications, but also from sales of snacks, cleaning products, and other consumables -- often referred to as front store sales. But as customers are finding it more convenient and cheaper to buy these products from Amazon or other big-box chains like Target and Walmart, drug store chains have to give shoppers other reasons to buy more than just prescriptions from them.
The RealReal's latest earnings results showed the company still in the red, but growing revenue. Wall Street considered it an overall success. Most companies in the resale space are trying to grow quickly, and have yet to turn a profit. Despite that, investors continue to be interested in the space.
Retail leaders attended the Modern Retail Summit to discuss the biggest issues plaguing the industry. Topics included: customer acquisition, retaining talent, sale attribution and, of course, Amazon.
GrubHub's most recent earnings sent its stock price spiraling. The poor results and meager Q4 outlook point to a crowded restaurant delivery space. The 15-year-old company used to be the leader in the space and new entrants with slightly different business models are giving GrubHub a run for its money. The question remains whether any of these businesses are sustainable.
As Amazon's grocery ambitions grow, it's turning to familiar tactics to get a leg up, particularly in the delivery space, by trying to make its services as cheap and convenient as possible compared to competitors. Amazon's grocery delivery offerings are currently split between two different types of services, and compared to its biggest competitor, Walmart, it offers delivery for fresh produce in fewer U.S. cities
At this fall's Modern Retail Summit in Palm Springs, retailers came together and talked shop. They had some gripes about attribution and customer acquisition. Some had problems, others solutions. Put together you can see the changing retail landscape.
The retail wars continue on many fronts. While many companies are trying to capture more lower-income customers, the leading grocery and online retailers are also setting their sites on higher earners by offering more tailored and white glove services. For now, these experiments are small and isolated. But it's only the beginning.
Dollar stores have been around forever, but discount is seeing stronger growth than most other retail segments. This is because of changing consumer patterns, along with big businesses realizing they can grow cheaply by targeting customers looking for good value.
With the holiday shopping season-fast approaching, big-box retailers like Target and Walmart are trying to drum up publicity with the announcement of new shopping features and exclusive products to win over a greater share of toy shoppers.
Over the last week, there's been a bunch of movement in the online grocery space. Uber bought a grocery delivery service, and FreshDirect is reportedly considering selling itself. The overall space is in the midst of a big transition -- here's where all the players stand right now.
Target's long term plans to capitalize on its record sales year includes investing in its physical stores. In its fourth quarter earnings announcement, the big box retailer unveiled plans to spend $4 billion annually to modernize and automate its existing stores, along with opening new ones near college campuses and metro areas.
Read MoreAt the Modern Retail Summit LIVE, retail executives will come together virtually to discuss effective strategies for driving sales by building a loyal customer base both online and offline.
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