Best Buy CEO Corie Barry highlighted technology the retailer is using to improve the in-store shopping and delivery experiences for consumers on the company’s fiscal Q3 earnings call Tuesday. It’s using electronic sign labels to promote the Best Buy Totaltech membership program by using the digital labels to show member pricing for customers shopping in stores. Customers can also see from the labels if the product is in stock in that store, or at a nearby store, and when it can be delivered and installed, Barry said. Improvements in communication technology include an appointment tracker consumers can use to see on delivery day how many stops away the driver is from their home. The retailer has seen “significant customer engagement” from the feature, which is designed to help customers “feel confident and in control” throughout the purchase process, the executive said. In December, Best Buy is launching a new capability to address theft, using QR codes “for high-velocity products that are locked up, particularly in areas of high shrink,” she said. Instead of waiting for an associate to unlock the product, the customer will scan the QR code and go to checkout to pay and pick up the product, she said.
Target will no longer open its stores on Thanksgiving Day, cementing a trend in the making for several years (see 1711060051) when the retailer joined other big box merchants bowing to customer and employee pressure to reduce shopping hours and even close for the holiday, the Associated Press reported Monday. The report said a temporary Thanksgiving Day closure last year (see 2007270038) due to the COVID-19 pandemic would be the retailer's “new standard,” citing a memo to employees from Target CEO Brian Cornell. In 2017 (see 1711060051), Target opened stores at 6 p.m. on Thanksgiving, closed at midnight and reopened at 6 a.m. on Black Friday. The rise of online shopping has cut the pressure on stores to be open on holidays. Last year, Adobe tracked Thanksgiving Day online sales at over $5 billion, up 21.5% from 2019 (see 2101060049). Cyber Monday sales last year were $10.8 billion, an e-commerce record. Target didn't comment.
October retail sales -- excluding automobile dealers, gasoline stations and restaurants -- rose 10.8% from a year ago and 1.7% from September on early holiday shopping, said the National Retail Federation Tuesday. Electronics and appliance stores were up 3.8% month over month and 17.4% year on year. “Despite significant challenges including supply chain issues, labor shortages, rising inflation and [the Occupational Safety and Health Administration’s] impending employer vaccine mandate, retailers are continuing to safely serve consumers online and in stores,” said NRF CEO Matthew Shay. He urged consumers to continue to “shop early,” saying this holiday season will be “one for the record books.” October sales numbers show the retail industry’s “ongoing hardiness,” said NRF Chief Economist Jack Kleinhenz, noting the month included boosts from Halloween and early holiday shopping. November and December are the months consumers traditionally do most of their holiday shopping, “so much remains ahead of us,” Kleinhenz said, tempering comments with consumer concerns about rising prices and the pandemic. COVID-19 remains “a significant factor should there be an increase in coronavirus infections that could cause a pullback in spending,” he said. The NRF's full-year retail forecast is for growth of 10.5-13.5% vs. 2020 to $4.44 trillion-$4.56 trillion.
The National Retail Federation will hold a new event July 26-28 for senior leaders in retail marketing, technology, digital and innovation to collaborate and prepare for “the next wave of transformation," said the association Monday. NRF CEO Matthew Shay said it will bring together “the retail industry’s brightest minds” to discuss topics including privacy, payment ecosystems, diversity, live and instant commerce, automation technologies, AI and data hygiene. The event is in Rancho Palos Verdes, California.
Nearly half, 48%, of respondents to a global holiday shopping survey plan to do three-fourths of their shopping online, and 47% plan to shop from their smartphones, said Airship Thursday. The survey of 9,143 consumers was fielded in September with consumers in the U.S., U.K., France, Germany, Australia, Singapore and India. Some 53% of U.S. consumers said they would scan QR codes or smart shelf tags for additional information, such as incentives or to join a loyalty club, it said. Six in 10 planned to use the buy online pickup in store feature, 55% planned to use noncontact payment at checkout, 64% would use a retailer’s app to shop, and 70% said they would use loyalty cards or coupons stored on their phones. About 22% of boomers, 3% of Generation Z and millennials, will shop exclusively in stores during the holiday season, the report said.
With gift cards expected to be popular in a season threatened by supply chain-related out-of-stocks, Blackhawk Network launched multibrand card bundles and card expansion on its CashStar platform, it said Wednesday. The company cited the example of a “date night” bundle combining a restaurant gift card with an entertainment card. “Multi-brand gift cards will be one of the most popular gift card categories this holiday season,” said Jennifer Philo, Blackhawk general vice president-U.S. digital commerce and loyalty. The bundle option gives retailers a way to gain additional revenue and exposure to new customers, she said.
Walmart is offering a new bill-pay feature for “un- and under-banked customers,” it blogged Tuesday. Offered through the retailer's 4,700 stores, the InComm Payments’ VanillaDirect network allows customers to pay bills or fund a variety of prepaid accounts by scanning a barcode tied to their account either via a paper copy or on a mobile device at a customer service desk or money center. Customers complete the payment with cash, and funds are transferred electronically through a consolidated settlement. The VanillaDirect network includes more than 15,000 billers and account providers in sectors including utilities, telecommunication, tolling, banking, rental companies and insurance providers, Walmart said.
Customers ordering 70-inch TVs from Walmart this holiday will be able to get them for a premium via same-day delivery, blogged the retailer Thursday. “We’ve enabled delivery of oversized items from more than 2,800 stores to be delivered locally,” said Tom Ward, Walmart senior vice president-last mile. Customers pay $7.95-$9.95 for a one-time delivery and an additional $10 fee to get their order in two hours or less with Express delivery, Ward said; Walmart+ members just pay the Express fee. The retailer is expanding delivery windows this season via its Spark Driver app. The shopping and delivery feature gives service providers the option to shop and deliver customers’ orders, so “if existing delivery time frames are full, we can continue offering customers the delivery times they need,” he said. The retailer is extending delivery hours by two hours to 10 p.m. local time, allowing customers to place orders up to 6 p.m. for same-day or next-day deliveries, said the executive. U.S. Walmart stores will be closed Thanksgiving. Pickup and delivery from stores will operate as normal the day before Thanksgiving and will resume at noon local time the day after, he said.
Best Buy’s rejiggered loyalty program, now called Totaltech (see 2110050058), is poised to be a big hit, blogged Clarus Commerce Loyalty Content Specialist Jim Tierney Friday. Tierney cited the timing of the $199 program’s release, just before the holidays, noting 82% of consumers begin their holiday shopping in November or earlier. Clarus’ holiday shopping survey said 38% of consumers planned to buy CE products this season, and 81% of consumers shop with brands during the holiday season because they're members of their loyalty programs, he said. Eighty percent of consumers are more likely to sign up for a retailer’s loyalty program during the holidays if it means they will earn additional discounts throughout the year, while creating emotional connections with customers during the period can build brand loyalty "that lasts throughout the year." Some 51% of brands with premium loyalty programs say members are four times as valuable as non-members, he said.
Home Depot is the first retailer to sign on to use Walmart’s GoLocal same-day and next-day delivery capabilities, the companies said Wednesday. The partnership brings Home Depot closer to its goal of offering same- or next-day delivery to 90% of the U.S. population, said Stephanie Smith, Home Depot senior vice president-supply chain. It will offer Walmart GoLocal in select markets in coming weeks, with plans to expand to multiple markets across the country by year-end. Products that qualify for the scheduled delivery option include tools, fasteners, paint and other supplies that “fit easily in a car.” The option will be enabled at online checkout, they said. Walmart launched GoLocal in August "to build alternative revenue streams and profit pools" by offering delivery-as-a-service to other businesses "at competitive pricing,” it said. In fiscal 2020, Home Depot had an 86% increase in sales on digital platforms, with more than half of online orders fulfilled through stores, it said.