By some accounts, Instacart owns 50% of the online grocery market. With an IPO upcoming, I wanted to look back at how Instacart has gone from niche to necessity and question whether it can maintain this dominant position in a highly competitive, highly sought-after market post-COVID.
This week, President Biden announced we will have enough vaccinations for every American by the end of May. For the American people, this is fantastic news. For apparel retailers, it’s euphoric news that complicates an already extremely uncertain environment. In this edition of Point of Sale, we’ll take a look at apparel inventory management through the lens of Nordstrom’s recent woes.
There is no definitive end for this freight bull market in sight. Consumers continue to spend on goods, driving freight and diminishing already depleted inventories. Even if consumer spending diverged from its current trajectory (which I see as unlikely, especially given the additional stimulus, accelerating vaccine rollout and strong consumer balance sheet), the mass inventory restocking ahead will be sufficient to keep freight flowing from a consumer perspective.
There has been a consumer flight to reliability throughout COVID, and Walmart benefited from this shift as much as any retailer. But with the end of the pandemic now in sight and Americans poised for the reopening of services, Walmart is expecting growth to moderate considerably. Walmart announced plans to invest heavily in its supply chain, namely fulfillment capacity and automation, to front-run the deceleration and claw toward e-commerce profitability.
A former Jet.com co-founder is rethinking the way e-commerce orders are delivered — specifically, when orders are delivered and in what vessel they arrive at their destination. Nate Faust believes after 25 years of e-commerce, it’s time for a new way of imagining delivery.
The Container Store’s (NYSE: TCS) most recent earnings call details the reality of shifting to a greater mix of e-commerce sales at a time when transportation capacity is extremely tight.
Peloton is riding a wave for the history books right now. It has grown revenues by triple digits year-over-year for three consecutive quarters while building one of the most recognizable brands in not just fitness, but all consumer segments. If it should continue this meteoric rise, it must sort its supply chain issues before either the vaccines or competition prematurely puts out its flame.
Amazon so often does everything seemingly right, so it’s important to talk about its shortfalls. I’m confident Amazon will right the Whole Foods ship, but it’s clear the boat has been sailing against the wind since COVID hit.
We’ve long touted retail inventory restocking as a primary growth driver for the freight bull run, but apparel brands aren’t aligning with this thesis. Rather than reverting back to habitual overordering and year-end discounting, retailers are sticking with the conservative ordering tactics that helped them win the holiday season.
According to recent survey data from Bringg, same-day delivery will become a status quo offering from retailers in 2021. But is it the right move? Not for the vast majority of retailers. Here’s why:
Grocery is the only retail segment that has maintained (and even grown) its e-commerce penetration since peak levels in March, indicating the new normal is already here. The new normal is a much higher level of online demand, and grocers are getting wise about their fulfillment methods.
Retailers with physical footprints have been able to leverage new modes of fulfillment to pass increased costs associated with online delivery to consumers and their suppliers. But for digitally-native brands without access to physical stores, this could be painful should it become the new normal. If you ask FedEx, it already has.
The past 12 to 18 months have been nothing short of spectacular for Peloton. It has cemented itself as a prominent fitness brand with a base of fiercely loyal customers while growing revenues 233% yoy in Q3. But the company has outkicked its coverage and capped potential growth due to its supply chain constraints and lack of visibility.
Despite losing momentum sequentially for the last three months of the year, holiday sales grew 8.3% year-over-year. The surprising data is further evidence of the resilience of the American consumer, and the ability for retailers to influence how and when people shop.
The Trump Administration announced an import ban on all cotton and tomato products originating in China’s Xinjiang region citing evidence of forced labor. This ban is much bigger than just cotton and tomatoes. It is a call to action for all retailers to better understand their sourcing practices.
Recent analysis from Gartner shows retailers with more than 50% of revenue from the online channel have logistics costs as a percentage of sales that are almost double those of their store-focused counterparts.
This is an excerpt from Monday’s Point of Sale retail supply chain newsletter. The UK grocery supermarket sector was once highly oligopolistic, but in recent years, European brands have expanded in the UK and have created a much fiercer competitive landscape. There are 4 primary British supermarket chains dubbed ‘The Big Four’: Tesco, Sainsbury’s, ASDA, […]
Bed, Bath & Beyond reported EPS of less than half consensus estimates. CEO Mark Tritton pointed to tight shipping capacity and elevated freight costs for the miss. Get used to hearing this.
COVID induced demand for goods and spending in the home. How will spending behavior change when vaccines are widespread? Retail Analyst Andrew Cox believes consumer spending will be “A Tale of Two Halves”. See what he means:
Retail analyst Andrew Cox makes five predictions for retail supply chains in 2021. First and foremost: An inventory correction.
