The cost of returns is estimated at $550 billion for 2020 and the number of online returns has more than doubled. In 2020, the pandemic accelerated online purchasing with non-physical store sales ending the year up an impressive 23 percent. However, higher ecommerce sales mean higher online returns. Returns fraud is another serious issue: cybercriminal activity and returns fraud are already costing states $1.5 billion in lost taxes and over 741,000 jobs per year, according to a report by Appriss Retail and the NRF. The growing shift to digital …
The New Chief Marketing Officer
The average age of a CMO is 52 for the consumer industry segment -- and the CMO position has the shortest tenure of all C-suite executives at 3.5 years. One could argue that struggling to master the dramatic shift in the digital marketplace and evolving consumer trends has made today's CMO position a revolving door. Over the next few years, I predict the average age of a CMO will drop at least 10 years based on the need for highly proficient digital skills, keen understanding of analytics, drastic change in key marketing performance metrics and …
Grey Is the New Black
An increasing number of major brick-and-mortar retailers-led by Walmart, Target, Best Buy, and The Home Depot-will not open their doors on Thanksgiving, giving employees the day off and pushing more spending to digital channels. What's more, fewer promotions have been targeted specifically for the day after Thanksgiving, today, traditionally known as Black Friday. Over the past few years, our ramped-up consumer culture has expanded Black Friday from a one-day, to a weekend-long, to a week-long event. However, in the year of pandemic, Black …
Coronavirus Shakes Up and Reshapes the Retail Ecosystem
The pandemic that took the U.S. retail market by storm in March changed how consumers shop and will have long-term effects on the retail industry. Some of these behavioral shifts were a long time coming for an industry that is not known to be agile and nimble. The industry had been put on notice for some time that the real CEO in charge is the consumer, and the nimbleness of the industry will be thoroughly tested through the holiday and into the next few years. With the benefit of hindsight, let's take a look at how retail has been reshaped …
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If You Can’t Join Them, Buy Them!
Walmart's bid (with Microsoft) to buy TikTok, the video-sharing social networking service, is a way for the juggernaut to continue to compete with Amazon. A few short years ago Walmart lagged behind in the digital space and was constantly outpaced by the innovation at Amazon in e-commerce, logistics and last-mile delivery. But much has changed in the last three years. When Walmart bought Jet.com in 2016, the goals for its e-commerce business were to consolidate leadership under Marc Lore, to shorten the learning curve for understanding the …
Don’t Be Fooled by Virtual Sizing Apps
Sizing and fit are top concerns for consumers shopping apparel. According to Shapeometry, in 2019 the apparel returns related to fit hit $60 billion, half of which were returns of online purchases. About 85 percent of apparel returns were due to fit issues. So, the premise of a digital personal avatar sounds great for shoppers, but the reality is that the supply chain cannot deliver to specific avatar sizes. Instead, brands match a personal avatar size to the closest size in the existing product range. Jason Wang, COO of Alvanon explains, …
Pandemic Planning Is No Panacea
Business continuity planning alone is not enough to survive a global pandemic. There is no amount of planning that could have prepared retailers for what has transpired over the past several months. This is especially true for retailers and brands which distribute exclusively in the U.S. where a significant percentage of revenue was abruptly cut off when stores closed. The coronavirus enveloped the country in one quick, fell swoop, especially disrupting retailers which began the year on a strong footing, building on solid performances from …
Hyper-Personalized & Preemptive Commerce
Five key trends for 2020 include Preemptive Distribution, Mobile Proliferation, Price and Product Personalization, Retailer Collaborations with Technology Companies and Associate Empowerment & Virtual Assistance. 1. Preemptive Distribution A key trend in the retail landscape, which is finally coming to fruition in a major way for 2020, is preemptive distribution. Retailers that outpace and outperform their peers exercise the 3P Distribution Model, delivering consistent value to their target market. This distribution model starts with …