Retail insights from ecommerce market intelligence analysts and experts.
New data out of the UK has shown that fashion store closings for 2018 are higher than the previous year, and new store openings have slowed significantly. In the US, notable brands like Sears, Victoria’s Secret and Mattress Firm are also feeling the brick & mortar retail squeeze, as shoppers increasingly choose to buy online. As the competition moves online, brands are having to deal with some tough questions. How are they coping?
Two big names in the world of traditional retail and e-commerce were linked in recent news. Kroger announced a partnership with Chinese internet giant Alibaba, specifically to open an online storefront on Alibaba’s platform for international brands, Tmall Global. This first move into overseas sales is part of grocer’s online retail push. We’ll look at what this means for each company, and for the ecommerce landscape in general – and what can we learn from other organizations in this space?
The new Walmart/Microsoft deal was the most important event in retail last month, consequently stealing the show from Amazon Prime Day. While Amazon started as a tech company and then grew into a hybrid online/brick & mortar store model, Walmart had everything to catch up on when it came to technology, digital transformation, and innovation. Microsoft is the strongest partner to close these gaps and lead the way to Walmart’s ecommerce innovation projects.
Dive a bit deeper into Amazon Prime Day to pick out the winners, losers, and interesting stories that this year’s retail bonanza generated.
There is a lot of data out there, but if it’s not used correctly, it is not really a competitive advantage. Decision making for retailers and CPGs has changed tremendously as the amount of data available and the processing power of computers has increased. We’ll look at the factors contributing to this change, as well as insights into what this means on a practical level and what the future may hold.
The online retail landscape is expanding across borders, with partnerships and acquisitions designed to strategically outmaneuver the competition. One of the areas that has been most active is deliveries, particularly grocery deliveries.
The continuing battle between ecommerce heavyweights Amazon and Walmart has focused primarily on their maneuvering in their home country, the United States. While this campaign continues to rage, this conflict is being played out globally, and the new frontier that pitches these 2 heavyweights against each other is the world’s biggest democracy: India.
One of the biggest challenges for Consumer Packaged Goods (CPG) companies, is how to tap into impulse buying in an e-commerce environment. In traditional retail, this has been a key driver of CPG sales, and brands invest significant amounts into merchandising product placement, especially next to the cashier to grab on the way out.
How is traditional retail fairing, particularly in the face of the e-Tail explosion? Is there a future, who is struggling, and who is doing well…and what insights can be gained for both traditional retailers and ecommerce e-tailers, as we look ahead to the rest of 2018 – and beyond?
March 23, 2018, marked the start of what’s been called “the biggest, if saddest, Toys ‘R Us sale ever”. It’s the closing-down sale of a brand that has a special place in every kid’s heart, as it liquidates all its stores, roughly 700 of them in the US including Babies ‘R Us locations.
Apparel, as a category, has been a key driver of retail sales for decades. But with major changes being experienced in the industry, many are wondering what the future holds.
Toys ‘R Us has come crashing down, as irresistible – and arguably inevitable – forces brought the household name to the edge of oblivion. What caused this? How can companies guard against this? What impact does this have on companies both online and off?
When it comes to e-commerce, there’s no doubt that Amazon is king – at least for now. They are so big, so influential, that what they do impacts the entire market. More than this, people follow Jeff Bezos’ company because they have continued to make successful moves into new areas, identifying new opportunities and new markets, and even creating some of these markets themselves.
