Mask Mandates Re-instated; Amazon 2Q Recap; Supply Chain Optimization
With the COVID-19 Delta variant on the rise, last week the CDC recommended that all individuals should wear masks in public indoor areas, regardless of vaccination status. In response to the CDC’s announcement, big-name retailers have started to re-instate their mask-mandates including Target, Walmart, Kroger, Home Depot, Kohl’s, Publix, and…
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eCommerce Supply Chain – Capability Investments; Grocery Delivery; Fulfillment Evolution
Only 26% of brands report bringing a "strategic approach" to eCommerce operational investments. When it comes to brands’ eCommerce supply chain, 74% of companies report approaching operational capability investments with a "tactical mindset." This would require significant business volume to validate investments, addressing issues in a reactionary manner, and…
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Prime Day Membership Bump, Hybrid Selling Model, & Post-Pandemic Grocery Shopping
Our research suggests an uptick in interest among brands to pursue the hybrid model on Amazon. This means brands would maintain their 1P retail relationship with Amazon’s retail team while also offering assortment on the 3P marketplace, either via the brand itself or through a partnership with another 3P…
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Subscribe & Save; Amazon Launches New Beta; Amazon Sales Trends
Amazon Subscribe & Save - Vendor-Funded Manufacturer Coupons:Our recent Amazon Supplier Benchmark indicated that over 80% of companies using Subscribe & Save (S&S) have run vendor-funded manufacturer coupons on their S&S items, a relatively new offering from Amazon in N. America that is designed to drive S&S penetration. While adoption…
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Lowe’s Mimicking Store Structure; Bezos is Gone at Amazon; Millennials Still Love to Shop Online
Our work suggests Lowe’s is working to rearrange its organizational structure to more closely match other big box retailers like Walmart, Target, and Home Depot. Contrary to in the past, online and brick & mortar merchants seem to be aligned on goals versus in competition against each other. These types…
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Instacart’s National Reporting; New Amazon Warehouse Rules; Return to Normal
In our most recent research, Instacart has been called out as offering a range of good activations including search advertising, national coupons, and free shipping programs. The one downside to participating in these programs is that Instacart only reports the national results, rather than illustrating performance/results at the individual retailer…
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Digital Activation; Changes to Amazon Seller Profiles; China’s Shopping Holidays
Our most recent report on commerce marketing highlighted steady, but perhaps, slow progress from Amazon’s key omnichannel rivals. In our research, brands are continuing to look for more advanced analytics and activation options across Walmart, Target, and Kroger in particular. While these retailers are eager to build a robust advertising business…
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Costly eCommerce Growth, COVID-19 Bonus Pay, China Retail Slow to Recover
COVID-19 created an unprecedented shift to eCommerce, representing a significant change in eCommerce acceleration. While many brands have seen tremendous growth since the start of the crisis, eCommerce represents a headwind to profitability for omnichannel retailers. According to our research, 29% of manufacturers have already seen key omnichannel customers looking…
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Amazon Activations Recovering; Counterfeit Crimes Unit; Highest Outperformance in Two Years
Our research throughout the COVID-19 crisis has suggested manufacturers tended to invest more deeply into AMS so long as they were able to stay in stock. The most recent benchmark suggests that principle remains, as we now see a net positive number of both essential and non-essential manufacturers investing more,…
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