Best Buy will give Mike Mohan a one-time $1 million cash payment -- equaling his 2020 base salary -- when he steps down as president-chief operating officer, effective July 1, said the company's 8-K filing Thursday at the SEC. Mohan also will qualify for unspecified “separation benefits” once he signs noncompete and confidentiality agreements when he leaves, it said. Best Buy has no plans to replace Mohan when he departs but will allocate his duties to other members of the "executive leadership team," it said. The company didn’t respond to questions about the circumstances of Mohan’s impending departure. Best Buy promoted then-Chief Merchandising Officer Mohan to president-COO when it tapped Chief Financial Officer Corie Barry to succeed Hubert Joly as CEO in June 2019.
The Amazon One biometric payment option, trialing in several Seattle-area Amazon-owned stores since September (see 2009290061), will be added to seven additional Whole Foods Market stores in Seattle over the coming months, blogged the company Wednesday. Seattle customers have been using the palm readers in Amazon’s Go, Go Grocery, Books, 4-star and Pop Up stores, with “thousands” signing up for the service, said Dilip Kumar, vice president-physical retail and technology. The Whole Foods Market at Madison Broadway in Seattle is the first of that chain’s stores to offer the contactless payment option at checkout. To use the service, customers sign up at an Amazon One kiosk or device in participating stores; enrollment takes less than a minute, Kumar said. After inserting their credit card, customers hover their palm over the reader and follow prompts to associate the credit card with the unique palm signature being created in real time by computer vision technology, he said. Customers who link their Amazon One ID with their Amazon account can automatically get their Prime member discount without having to scan that app separately. When a shopper holds her palm over the reader, the technology looks at multiple aspects of the palm and selects “the most distinct identifiers” to create the palm signature, said Amazon. The Amazon One device is protected by multiple security controls and doesn’t store palm images; instead, they’re encrypted and sent to a “highly secure area” in the cloud and are created there. Customers can un-enroll at an Amazon One device or via the online customer portal at one.amazon.com, it said; biometric information will be deleted after remaining transactions are completed. Amazon One is in discussions with third-party retailers about using the service but didn’t give details.
After a “disappointing February,” March retail sales grew 18% vs. March 2020 when the U.S. economy locked down due to COVID-19, the National Retail Federation reported Thursday. Commerce Department data released Thursday showed March retail and food service sales rose 9.8% from February and 27.7% year on year to $619.1 billion. Consumers are “clearly feeling the full effect of additional fiscal stimulus, gains in the job market and the reopening of the economy,” said NRF CEO Matthew Shay. Despite recent issues with vaccines, consumer confidence “remains high." March data shows “people are going out and spending and that in-store traffic has picked up,” said NRF Chief Economist Jack Kleinhenz, citing economic stimulus payments, an improved public health situation due to vaccines, and seasonal spending for Passover, Easter and spring break. “Even with some stimulus money going to savings, consumers’ finances are healthy, and they are willing to spend,” said Kleinhenz. Retail sales “supported by rigorous fiscal and monetary policy continue to be a bright spot in the economy and have provided momentum during this awful pandemic,” he said. Electronics and appliance stores were up 10.5% vs. February and 29.4% year on year.
A year since COVID-19 lockdowns began, U.S. retail sales grew 26.3% in March and 14% vs. March 2019, said a Mastercard spending report Thursday. Online sales soared 56.8% year on year and 85.9% vs. March 2019. Electronics sales rose 2.7% year on year and 10% vs. March 2019. Retail sales benefited from stimulus payments and broader reopening across the country, said the report. Sales in the first half of March increased 1.6% from a year ago, “when consumers were hitting the stores and stocking up in the face of the pandemic,” Mastercard said, while sales in the back half of the month rose 46.9% year on year. Grocery, at the top of the retail category during the pandemic, fell 20.4% in March but was up 7.5% vs. March 2019.
Best Buy began testing a membership program, Best Buy Beta, as a possible replacement for its Total Tech Support service, it said Wednesday. Tests of the $199 a year offering ($179 for Best Buy credit card holders) is underway in select markets. Members get exclusive pricing, unlimited Geek Squad technical support, up to two years of protection on most product purchases, free standard shipping and delivery, a 60-day extended return window, 10% off subscription services billed through Best Buy and free installation on most products and appliances. Enrollment also includes access to a members-only concierge service. The pilot is available at select stores in Iowa, Oklahoma and eastern Pennsylvania and will expand this month to select stores in Minnesota, North Carolina and Tennessee, when it will be available in about 60 stores, said the retailer. The $199 Total Tech Support service is still available to customers outside Best Buy Beta pilot markets, it said, and the My Best Buy points program continues to be available nationwide. Total Tech Support includes many computer and car services for no additional cost, 20% off repairs and advanced services, internet security software and 20% off Geek Squad service and AppleCare products. Total Tech Support customers also pay $49 for standard in-home services such as Wi-Fi-setup and TV mounting.
Applications are due April 30 for Walmart’s eighth-annual Open Call competition, in which entrepreneurs with products made, grown or assembled in the U.S. can vie for the opportunity to meet with Walmart buyers in virtual “pitch meetings” planned for June 30, said the retailer Tuesday. The one-on-one pitch meetings will kick off with an hourlong presentation from Walmart executives, it said.
February electronics and appliance store sales tumbled 6.7% year on year and slipped 1.9% from January, reported the National Retail Federation Tuesday. NRF CEO Matthew Shay termed overall retail sales -- down 3.4% from January but up 7.1% year on year -- a “minor speed bump on the road to post-pandemic recovery.” After a strong January, "we expected some payback in the form of lower figures in February,” said NRF Chief Economist Jack Kleinhenz. He downplayed the sequential decline, citing large year-over-year gains and sales “well above” pre-pandemic levels. February sales were affected by winter storms and the IRS' delay in releasing tax refunds, Kleinhenz noted. “With another round of stimulus checks being mailed right now, we expect another large boost in consumer spending over the next few months.” The month-to-month decline is “not a reflection of consumers’ willingness and ability to spend and drive the economy,” Shay said. Consumer confidence is at its highest level since March 2020, and NRF is optimistic that retail will help drive “a surge in spending, job growth and capital investment” in the second half as Americans are vaccinated and local economies reopen, he said. February retail sales fell in every category except groceries, which were unchanged from January, but sales were up year on year in most categories. NRF is forecasting 2021 retail sales will grow 6.5%-8.2% over 2020 to $4.3 trillion-$4.4 trillion.
Consumer electronics were among “a few of the stronger departments” that helped drive a 75% increase in Costco’s e-commerce sales for fiscal Q2, ended Feb, 24, said Chief Financial Officer Richard Galanti on a Thursday call. The company continues experiencing supply “pressures” in TVs and computers from “high consumer demand” and “chip and component shortages,” he said. Costco’s test of curbside pickup at three Albuquerque locations is “ongoing,” said Galanti. “The pilot is going well. Our members have responded to it, and basket size has actually surpassed our expectations.” Its curbside pickup focus remains on “how can we be more efficient in doing it and determining if this offering can become scalable,” he said. Costco previously resisted curbside pickup, though the practice had a big uptick in adoption among other large retailers during COVID-19 (see 2012110030).
U.S. online and in-store retail sales rose 4.6% year on year in February, reported Mastercard Thursday. Total retail sales in the electronics and appliances category fell 4.4% from February 2020, a spokesperson said. Online sales jumped 54.7%, and grocery spend grew 12.4%, with the three days before the Super Bowl having 30% growth. COVID-19 continued to affect restaurant spending, down 13.5%. Stimulus payments in early January appeared to boost consumer spending that month; through early February, impacts “have waned,” it said.
Walmart eliminated the $35 minimum order requirement for Express delivery, but kept the $10 fee, it said Monday, saying it was responding to customer feedback. Express delivery is offered in about 3,000 Walmart stores. Other no-contact fulfillment options -- curbside pickup, delivery from stores and Walmart+ deliveries -- retain a $35 purchase minimum, said the retailer. Store-to-home deliveries have a $7.95-$9.95 fee, and the Walmart+ annual membership fee is $98 annually or $12.95 monthly.