蘑菇AV

They're closing a fulfillment center, they're closing a ton of stores. We all heard about that earlier this month. And more importantly, so this is back to they're doing something interesting when it comes to the investor world. It is the first time in a very long time that I have heard Macy's is now actually open to going private.

Warehouse inventory levels remain a significant hurdle for many retailers: While there鈥檚 progress, only 36% of supply chain managers expect inventories to return to normal this year.

UK food price inflation is hitting record highs鈥攂ut grocery sales are flat. Faced with rising bills, consumers are changing shopping habits to keep spending in check.

鈥淲e used to talk about 鈥榦mnichannel鈥� and we should just be talking about 鈥榗ommerce.鈥欌�� That鈥檚 according to our analyst Suzy Davidkhanian, speaking on our 鈥淏ehind the Numbers: Reimagining Retail鈥� podcast.

Walmart+ increased the money it spent on advertising by 87% between January and September 2023 as compared with the same time period in 2022, per MediaRadar.

According to Marketplace Pulse, earlier this year reported that Amazon is now taking more than 50% of seller revenues, and that's a combination of their take rate and fees for fulfillment and advertising, and it's up from about 40% five years ago.

Deal-seeking by consumers, heavy discounting from retailers, and a longer holiday shopping season drove an uptick in returns during the 2022 holiday season. Retailers will need to plan their promotional calendars carefully to manage returns in 2023.

Many retailers launched paid memberships over the past three years. For the most part, they were intended to increase revenues and build loyalty during the pandemic-driven ecommerce boom. But the slowdown in revenue growth indicates that consumers are only willing to spend so much on retail subscriptions, particularly amid economic uncertainty.

Third-party grocery intermediaries lost share to grocer platforms in 2023, securing 15.2% of US digital grocery sales in Q4, down from 18.3% in Q1, according to December 2023 data from Incisiv and Wynshop.

Push notification trends highlight industry differences: Retail and media excel with tailored strategies, while travel struggles with lower engagement.

Instacart expands offsite retail media capabilities with YouTube partnership: The retailer鈥檚 first-party data will power shoppable ads for CPG brands

Ad spending growth is tapering off, but major changes are coming to the market, including the deprecation of third-party identifiers, a new era in TV ad measurement, and growing use of AI in advertising.

On today鈥檚 podcast episode, we discuss how AI is shaping internet search, what social commerce will look like in two years鈥�, how hotels are planning for shifting travelers expectations, a new approach to combating retail theft, the origins of London, and more. Tune in to the discussion with Senior Director of Podcasts and host Marcus Johnson, Vice President of Content Suzy Davidkhanian, Principal Analyst Bill Fisher, and Senior Analyst Carina Perkins.

On today's podcast episode, we discuss whether GenAI is just a solution in search of a problem to fix, how the video streaming world has shifted already this year, how significant of an ad battleground the back seat of a cab can be, how fast people need things delivered, what the most popular pets in America are, and more. Tune in to the discussion with our analyst Blake Droesch and vice presidents of content Suzy Davidkhanian and Paul Verna.

Over one-third (38%) of US adults have decreased their impulse spending this year, up from 14% in 2022, per a study commissioned by Slickdeals and conducted by OnePoll. As we enter the holiday season, there are still a few ways retailers can encourage impulse purchases, from experimenting with shoppable media and putting seasonal products front and center to anticipating the last-minute needs of customers picking up orders in-store.

Domino鈥檚 will soon list its menus on Uber Eats and Postmates: The pizza company sees the apps as a means to drive incremental revenues.

To build loyalty, brands first need to establish a foundation of trust by delivering on the basics. From there, brands can use subscription programs to ramp up purchase frequency and social media to engage with brand advocates. But to keep customers coming back, brands need to be constantly optimizing. Here鈥檚 some advice from executives at DoorDash and Taco Bell on how to build brand loyalty and what it takes to retain a loyal customer base.

On today's podcast episode, we discuss whether X (formerly Twitter) can recover from its latest debacle, if folks will start buying cars on Amazon, whether ad-free social networks are inevitable, companies potentially ruining "buy one, get one free" deals, United Airlines weighing using passenger data to target ads on planes, how people feel about tipping in the US, and more. Tune in to the discussion with our vice president of Briefings Stephanie Taglianetti and analysts Ross Benes and Bill Fisher.

With the start of Q4, the holiday season is officially here. That means holiday returns will be piling up soon.