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Health and wellness: Dick鈥檚 Sporting Goods had a strong Q4鈥攚ith same-store sales growing 5.3% YoY, according to StreetAccount鈥攅ven as overall sporting goods sales declined 1.0% last year, per our forecast. The retailer likely benefited from associating itself with wellness, so shoppers viewed products as necessary rather than discretionary. Listen to the full podcast.

The sale marks Walmart鈥檚 latest retreat from D2C ecommerce, after divesting outdoor retailer Moosejaw to Dick鈥檚 Sporting Goods in late February. Walmart recalibrates: Bonobos was part of a wave of D2C acquisitions Walmart made to grow its ecommerce business and push back against Amazon dominance.

This includes refocusing on its core products and customers to grow loyalty and lifetime value while slowing its brick-and-mortar expansion in favor of expanding wholesale revenues via partnerships with retailers such as Dick鈥檚 Sporting Goods, Nordstrom, and REI. The big takeaway: There are multiple paths to growth and what works for one DNVB brand may not work for another.

In addition, purely discretionary categories like recreational and sporting goods, hobbies, gifts and crafts, electronics, and furniture and home furnishings have seen some positive momentum recently. July sales events could be just the thing consumers need to splurge on some discretionary items.

This year will bring declining or minimal online sales growth for home improvement (-1.0%), large appliances (1.1%), computers (1.4%), and sporting goods (1.9%). Meanwhile, in-store performance will lag even more, and a recovery in sales momentum will take years to realize. What are the implications? Ecommerce is being reshaped by growth in essential categories.

Whether because of anti-theft measures, increasing retail vacancies, or an uninspiring assortment of goods, the consensus is that in-store shopping is no fun anymore. While some retailers, like Dick鈥檚 Sporting Goods, are using flashy experiences such as climbing walls and multisport cages to bring customers back in-store, it doesn鈥檛 have to be that complicated, said Chernofsky.

Home and garden had the highest OR with 41.6%, followed by sporting goods and apparel and accessories (41.3%), food and beverage (40.9%), specialty goods (40.6%), toys and hobbies (40.5%), and jewelry (40.2%). Automotive, electronics, hardware and home improvement, health and beauty, mass merchant, and office supplies were all just below 40%.

Best-selling categories during the Cyber Five included toys, jewelry, sporting goods, apparel, and books (all great for gifting), as well as big-ticket items like electronics, computers, appliances.

Electronics (up 391%) and computers (372%) also saw strong demand, along with sporting goods, appliances, books, and jewelry. Curbside pickup was used less this year than last, while mobile shopping increased. What it means: Consumers are spending鈥攁nd that鈥檚 a good sign.

The everything store: In an effort to expand its customer base, DoorDash has recently brought on several nongrocery partners, including Dick鈥檚 Sporting Goods and Sephora. 鈥嬧�嬧�淲e want to bring consumers all the best of their neighborhoods to their doorstep,鈥� he said. 鈥淎nd that starts with bringing every business on Main Street online.

Affirm鈥檚 biggest drop came in the sporting goods and outdoor category, which plummeted 48% YoY. This is largely due to Peloton鈥檚 interminable volume slide. The firm was once Affirm鈥檚 largest partner but 鈥渨ill now be less than 1% of GMV going forward,鈥� CFO Michael Linford said on the earnings call. Overall, Affirm had trouble keeping up with fiscal 2022鈥檚 rapid growth.

Filling in the gap: Like other sneaker brands, On has been a beneficiary of Nike鈥檚 decision to pull back on wholesale in favor of direct sales as retailers like Foot Locker and Dick鈥檚 Sporting Goods broaden their brand assortment.

Discounts for appliances are expected to peak later this week, while promotions for sporting goods will be at their lowest levels in the beginning of December. Meanwhile, Target will continue to hold week-long holiday deals for the rest of the year as it tries to convince penny-pinching shoppers to boost discretionary spending.

Motor vehicle and parts dealer sales; furniture sales; electronics and appliance sales; building material and garden equipment sales; food and beverage sales; health and personal care sales; gasoline sales; clothing and clothing accessories sales; sporting goods, hobby, book and physical music sales; general merchandise sales; miscellaneous sales; nonstore sales (i.e., pure-play ecommerce platform sales

In 2022, Peloton and Rent the Runway announced partnerships with Amazon, while Allbirds developed wholesale relationships with retailers such as Dick鈥檚 Sporting Goods-owned Public Lands and REI. D2Cs can leverage the size of more mature retailers to increase brand awareness, attract new customers, and become even more accessible to current ones.

DoorDash is using its retail partnerships with non-food players like Dick鈥檚 Sporting Goods, Victoria鈥檚 Secret, and Lush Cosmetics to expand its customer base. For DoorDash, this strategy seems to be working. The company said revenues grew 39.8% YoY in Q1, noting orders from convenience stores and groceries grew faster than other deliveries in the US.

So far, so good, as revenues for the quarter ending February 28, 2023 were up 14% YoY. But the sportswear brand may need to return to its wholesale roots to stay successful, said Wolff. 鈥淒espite Nike鈥檚 recent focus on D2C, the company is rebuilding its relationship with retail partners like Foot Locker and Dick鈥檚 Sporting Goods, which could signal a larger shift back to wholesale,鈥� said Wolff.

Peloton recently inked deals with Dick鈥檚 Sporting Goods and Amazon, and Allbirds continues to add wholesale partners, including Nordstrom last summer. Increase scope. Focusing only on the core product or originally intended consumer is no longer viable. Wayfair is courting the pro consumer for repeat business with higher basket sizes. And BaubleBar is launching Minibar, a kids鈥� line.

鈥淒espite Nike鈥檚 recent focus on D2C [direct-to-consumer], the company is rebuilding its relationship with retail partners like Foot Locker and Dick鈥檚 Sporting Goods, which could signal a larger shift back to wholesale,鈥� said Wolff. Better together: We鈥檙e not the only ones noticing the brand power of Tiffany & Co.

Motor vehicle and parts dealer sales; furniture sales; electronics and appliance sales; building material and garden equipment sales; food and beverage sales; health and personal care sales; gasoline sales; clothing and clothing accessories sales; sporting goods, hobby, book, and physical music sales; general merchandise sales; miscellaneous sales; nonstore sales (i.e., pure-play ecommerce platform sales

Categories outside of apparel will explore resale in the coming months, following in the footsteps of Ikea and Dick鈥檚 Sporting Goods. As the resale market heats up, so will the potential for mergers and acquisitions. And it鈥檚 already started. South Korean tech company Naver will acquire recommerce marketplace Poshmark for $1.2 billion.

Motor vehicle and parts dealer sales; furniture sales; electronics and appliance sales; building material and garden equipment sales; food and beverage sales; health and personal care sales; gasoline sales; clothing and clothing accessories sales; sporting goods, hobby, book, and physical music sales; general merchandise sales; miscellaneous sales; nonstore sales (i.e., pure-play ecommerce platform sales

But in some categories鈥攍ike sporting goods, hobby, books, music, and video; computer and consumer electronics; and apparel and accessories鈥攊t鈥檒l account for almost half of sales and be a primary ad channel for advertisers. Advertiser Activism Gains Momentum. Advertisers hold publishers to account.