Stephen Beck

Amazon’s retail profitability has improved meaningfully over the last several quarters, thanks to: ▪ Growing into its fulfillment network capacity that doubled (!) over COVID ▪ Amazon Ads growing 20%+ ▪ Increased fees for 3P sellers ▪ Increased funding from 1P vendors While the business is back to profitability, Amazon is not pressing its foot off the gas when it comes to 1P funding. This means AVNs remain challenging, with asks getting bigger and bigger each year. 🙋‍♀️ Sound about right? We want to hear more about your experience in our AVN study we’re running in partnership with Martin Heubel of Consulterce. Take 3 minutes or less to let us know how AVNs went for you, and how you’re thinking about growth and profitability on Amazon this year. 🌟 In return? We’ll share the insights back with you so you can learn from hundreds of other brands and some of the industry’s foremost experts on the topic! Take the survey: https://lnkd.in/eXn37xJh

62

3 Comments

Kohl's is partnering with Instacart to enable super fast delivery. Now, being on the Instacart platform gives Kohl’s more visibility and might win it some new customers who want things in a hurry. So, it's not a bad initiative. The but part is that most of the things Kohl’s sells are discretionary and are not always needed within hours, so this caters to something of a niche audience. The even bigger but is that while this doesn't harm Kohl's, it does not address the core issues of a lack of investment in stores, mundane ranges, and weak pricing compared to retailers like Target. Kohl’s is working on these things, but it needs to fix them if it wants to compete and win market share. In other words, it will take more than fast delivery to revive Kohl’s. Thank you to Inside Retail US for including my thoughts in this article... https://lnkd.in/ePjPfFFh #retail #retailnews #fastdelivery #ecommerce #shipping

3

2 Comments

🚀 News Alert! Exciting Opportunity for Pacvue Customers with Walmart Connect New Store Attribution Dataset! Walmart has launched a new set of store attribution metrics enabling you to track the direct impact of your Sponsored Search ads on in-store purchases at Walmart. Here's why this is big news: ✅ Direct Link Between Online Ads and In-Store Sales: Understand how your digital campaigns influence in-store buying decisions. ✅ Optimize Your Campaigns: With detailed metrics like in-store attributed sales, advertised sales, and others, you can fine-tune your strategies for both online and offline impacts. ✅ Empirical Backing: According to a Walmart E-Commerce Claims Custom Survey, a significant portion of customers are influenced by online ads in their in-store purchases, enhancing the relevance of these metrics. For more details on accessing and utilizing these metrics, reach out https://lnkd.in/gaGdVZiC #retailmedia #omnichannel #measurement

93

6 Comments

Live Event Today! Join Rick Watson, Joe Risico, JD, CPA, and me at 1:00 PM ET for a webinar about Delivering The Modern Brand Promise. At RMW Commerce, we have an opinion about the state of affairs in the world of #commerce. We believe we are transitioning to a new era: the Era of Efficiency. Leaving behind the eras of Growth at all costs (including your business in many cases) and Profit, there is a new metric in town: Efficiency. Consumer behavior is changing, and as a result, consumers' expectations are changing. There is a new brand promise: the modern brand promise. We will talk to you today about the strategies and solutions available to Deliver The Modern Brand Promise. Avoid being behind the times. Sign up. You don't want to miss it! See you today! https://lnkd.in/eisAa7pZ

10

1 Comment

When Hurricane Frances threatened Florida, Walmart trucks were racing down I-95 loaded with... Not flashlights or water. Strawberry Pop-Tarts and Beer? 🍓🍺 Through predictive analytics, Walmart discovered that Pop-Tart sales surge 7x before a storm, while beer becomes the top seller. This insight isn't just interesting—it supports profitability and reduces missed opportunities. But the twist: Despite 500 terabytes of data, Walmart lacked individual customer insights. They knew what sold but not who was buying or who was most profitable to sell to. This is why loyalty programs have exploded over the last 15 years. In and out of cannabis. A program is a little about creating engagement and customer retention and a lot about understanding individual purchasing behavior. Being able to attribute sales increases or decreases to a segment of customers. If your loyalty program is only pushing deals, its missing the mark.

58

5 Comments

#ecommerce #Shopifyeditions just dropped. Rather than just post about this, I decided to get out from behind the curtain and talk about it. This Friday I will be the "guest" on the Watson Weekend with my friends Rick Watson and Jessica Lesesky and we are goin' big on editions. Why wait? Well team Shopify are celebrating pretty hard in TO (A big birthday I think). So we will hit them when they are hungover on Friday. But seriously, there is loads in this update that is worthy of discussion. Rick covered a lot in his post today - he must have gotten out of bed extra early today to make his usual 5am spot. How many tech companies roll updates like this? How undervalued will some of this be? Why, in certain circles, are they not taken more seriously in terms of enterprise? Makes me ask, what the F*** is enterprise anyway? SI partners will have to roll out another roadmap update to clients? I think there were a few tricks missed? Markets rebranded as Markets - It feels a bit like when the Batman cape was given to Clooney for a while until they found there was a real superhero there - it just needed a Christian Bale reboot (and Chris Nolan - before you purists kick off). Doesn't this make Sidekick Dick Grayson? Cross Border - A key growth channel and feels like it is being made easier, but you are on your own. Remember 3 consecutive quarters of 35%+ growth in the EU. If CBT were a superhero it would be Loki than Thor - its own worst enemy and it is not sure why yet. Needs direction from Big Brother. I disagree with Rick on analytics. A super update but felt a bit meh. I think if you were to tell me there was a trading control center driven through our analytics, I would say make it rain. Dollars to be made. As important as analytics are, they are just not sexy enough. The Michael Keaton Batman. These are some of my musings, that I will be bringing to the table for this weeks Watson Weekend. Put it in your diary, bunk off work, whatever it takes. These updates impact all platforms. There will be responses, there has to be. SI providers will be busy planning the communication plan for all of this (without go live dates for much of it, but that's ok). In todays hedonistic mantra that is better, faster more, Shopify are to be applauded. This update is self reflective, almost apologetic in places, to be taken seriously and talked about. It is too easy to be negative all of the time and I would say in all the other houses around town they would love to be rolling something like this out. Would love your opinions before we dive in? Hit me Join us Friday. #strategy #retail #pos

20

1 Comment

What levers drive the most impact in your Amazon business and which are most brands using? Russ Dieringer and the team at Stratably created a framework for ‘competitive edge on Amazon’. This is a simple but detailed overview of what levers brands are using to drive Amazon business and which are having a positive impact. I’ve been following the evolution of this framework since it was released by Russ a couple of years ago. 💡 Things to understand: 1. Really dive into the quadrants: 👉 Upper right – you should be doing most of this, as nearly everyone does and it’s very effective. How do you prioritize the resources needed to close gaps here? 👈 Upper Left – things that can drive results that not everyone has the capability or bandwidth to do – this is a separator of you vs the competition. Might take more time to get these resources, longer term (but don't wait too long) to get these in place.   2. Russ and his team update this regularly: that is the real 🥇 gold here – it’s not set it and forget it, Amazon success (and eCommerce in general) relies constant refinement, optimization, pulling of new levers, test & learn, failing fast and more. 🏃‍♀️ If you’re running Amazon exactly the same way today, as you were last year – you’re already falling behind. Selfishly – I love it when the update comes out, because sometimes our team does try a few things that at one point were in the bottom – low impact quadrants, and often, I see those float above the line, and feel like we were ahead of the curve. 😁 💹 Love that we’re hitting or in progress on 19 of the 23 in the upper right and have plans on the balance. We’re at about 50% on the upper left, better than most I imagine. 🙌 I recapped with a few slides below on what gained and lost traction/impact in this latest version. If you’re running a retail eCommerce business  – I highly suggest you follow 👉 Russ Dieringer and 👉 Claire McBride from Stratably. This is just the tip of the great insights they share.

23

4 Comments

Has anyone else noticed a disconnect? 🤔 I'm not seeing the reported increases in Walmart's revenue as a Walmart Marketplace seller. Is anyone else in my network seeing the same? Rick Watson highlighted some impressive stats from Walmart’s Q1 FY2025 earnings (his reporting): 📈 Comparable store sales up 3.8% 💰 Consolidated operating income grew 12.9% 🛒 eCommerce growth of 22% Yet, my personal experience doesn't reflect these numbers. Key takeaways from Walmart’s performance: 🔹 One-third of operating income improvement came from new businesses: ads, membership, data (#Walmart+ Membership grew double-digit) 🔹 40% reduction in #eCommerce losses, driven by fulfillment improvements and ad revenue 🔹 Marketplace saw 36% more sellers y/y, with 28% using Walmart fulfillment services 🔹 50% of Walmart advertiser growth came from Marketplace sellers Despite these overall gains, my sales as a Marketplace seller haven't mirrored the reported increases. Are other Marketplace sellers experiencing the same trends? Rick Watson’s full analysis provides a detailed breakdown of Walmart’s strategies and performance. Worth a read! 📖 How’s your experience been? 💬 #Walmart #Marketplace #eCommerce #RetailGrowth #SellerExperience P.S. If you found this insightful, give it a like or share! 👍♻️

15

9 Comments

I was asked by a friend and mentor the other day what my superpower is as it relates to starting and scaling ecommerce businesses. I then asked one of my clients and here is how he broke it down... Ecom Companies that are "stuck" Most ecom brands hit a plateau in their scaling journey. Additionally, they may be growing too fast and/or have declining revenue/profit. They don't know what to fix first....Do I build more products? Am I actually making money, should I try advertising on Facebook? You help with copywriters, design, media buying, supply chain, and more. You are really good to plug in there to help them work their way through this. You help me focus on the "when", not the "what" Ecom Brands Looking To Exit 90% of entrepreneurs look at an exit as a major goal. You help can jump in, with your experiece selling 3 companies, and work with me to plan my exit so that they get maximum value from their company. You helped me look at addressable markets, single points of failure, unique and differentiated products, audited financials, and more. I have access to Private Equity and VC's You really good at helping entrepreneurs maximize the value for themselves on exit. Fractional CMO Many quickly growing brands need help with ideas around landing pages, average order value, media buying and more. They want to improve conversion rates and customer value but don't have an expert helping them. You are really good at employing direct-response style techniques to increase order value (and lifetime value) and broaden their media buying presence Fractional COO A lot of ecommerce companies suffer from having a visionary, without backend support. They need a "fast follow" who can build the infrastructure needed to scale. Daily P&L's, MID architecture, supply chains, creating SOP's, creating culture, meetings. etc. Your help here has changed the game for me. **can i help YOU with any of this?

12

1 Comment

Heads up e-commerce leaders and brand owners! Amazon has announced (5/1) updates to their low level inventory fee program and timeline. Here's what you need to know: - The transition period has been extended to May 15th. - The fee will not apply to items selling less than 20 units in the trailing 7 days. - Fees incurred due to inbound delays will be credited back on the 15th day of the following month. - Prime day will have a timing exemption. Stay ahead of the game and ensure your inventory is optimized accordingly. #ecommerce #brandowners #amazonupdates #inventorymanagement

3

What should brands consider while navigating ad spend for new SKUs on Amazon? Strong guidance here on finding an optimal spending range on a product-by-product basis.

8

My research shows that 17% of retail assortments are flush with duplication. Learn more about leveraging AI/ML to identify true duplication! Jake Busch explains, "one of the things that we like to look at first is leveraging forecast data versus just completely relying on historical sales." RELEX Solutions utilizes both historical sales data and machine learning and AI to create accurate demand forecasts what take into account things like weather forecast and trends. #Assortment #Retail #Insight

7

Is Amazon Contributing to Inflation? This suggestion would have seemed ridiculous 5 years ago. Amazon generally had lower prices then available in Brick and Mortar Stores and was creating downward pressure on retailers, distributors and manufacturers to lower prices (remember the good old days with Walmart "Rollbacks") Well things have changed. just 5 years ago, it was typical for Amazon to take 15% of the cost of an item, now it is typical for Amazon's pie to be in excess of 50% with 60-70% not being unusual. Some of it is Amazon increasing profits by shifting costs onto sellers, some of it is increased logistics costs, a lot of it is due to the cost of Amazon Ads. While costs for sellers have increased steadily, the consumer was insulated due to sellers taking a hit & lowering profit margins, as well as a constant flood of new sellers entering Amazon (many were unsophisticated & sold at a loss). That is an unsustainable business model, and sellers are raising prices in order to survive. This doesn't only impact Amazon Customers, but B&M retailers no longer feel pressure from eCommerce to keep prices low. There are a lot of factors in inflation, but it is surprising that the Amazon effect seems to be overlooked. #amazon #Amazonsellers #Ecommerce #ecommercebusiness #amazonppc #amazonexpert

7

5 Comments

For the vendors and brands building retail point-of-sale reporting, how are you handling the variability in data readiness when presenting metrics back to your report users? A given retailer may sometimes be two or five days behind in providing data. This can vary by metric within the same retailer (i.e., inventory is three days behind, and sales are two days behind). How do you indicate this data variability in your reporting? Are you consistently checking and showing the most recent data across each metic/retailer combination? Are you making your report users wait until all metrics have been successfully loaded for proper WoW aggregate reporting? Are you displaying data availability on your reports as a “key”? Sreenath Reddy // Andrew Hamada // Kyle Volenik // Doug Murless

28

5 Comments

Happy Friday! This weekly supply chain news roundup includes Walmart’s Q1 earnings and more. 🗞️ ⚙️ Walmart just crushed Q1 expectations, raking in a cool $161.5B! A 21% surge in e-commerce, driven by their seamless pickup and delivery options, and savvy shoppers filling their carts are fueling the retail giant's success story. 🔗 Source: https://bit.ly/3yGt89p ⚙️ Bloomberg identified the 6 most critical choke points of global trade. Conflict, piracy, and extreme weather events are further straining supply chains and driving inflation. Prepare increased shipping costs, MORE supply chain disruptions, and higher costs. 🔗 Source: https://bit.ly/4azNWNl ⚙️ Tesla is urging suppliers to diversify production beyond China and Taiwan due to geopolitical tensions. This move comes as Tesla faces increased competition from Chinese rivals and navigates a complex geopolitical landscape. 🔗 Source: https://bit.ly/4bud758 Let me know if any of these stories stuck out to you. And don’t forget to hit subscribe for a weekly dose of the most important supply chain news impacting DTC brands and consumers. #supplychain #supplychainnews

4

It’s line review season in retail. I’ve been on both sides of the meeting. It's tough to know what to share. Here are six tips I’d share with brands already on the shelf who want to nail their presentations. Tip 1: Be Engaging Buyers are in back-to-back meetings. Be sure to add some sizzle, and personalize the conversation if you know them. Tip 2: Remind them of Who You Are Most buyers manage 50+ brands. They may not recall what the current assortment is. Recall your brand’s “why.” Walk them through the current state and the desired future state. Tip 3: Share *Relevant* Market Performance Buyers don’t necessarily want to hear about the competition. Talk about growth at other retailers if it ties into your desired future state for that retailer. Tip 4: Cover the Business Go through your current business performance. If it’s going well - know your ask for more. If it’s not going well, have suggestions prepared to offer solutions. Tip 5: Provide Positive Updates Share what you’re excited about: a new influencer partnership, a new product launch, new operations, new people on the team. Tip 6: Ask Questions What best practices are you seeing from your top-performing brands? Are you noticing any changes in the consumer that we should be aware of? Maximize this opportunity to talk with the buyers. Share news about your business Gather the intel you can use to help your business grow.

33

8 Comments

🚀 Insights from Walmart CEO Doug McMillon on eCommerce and Omnichannel Retail. Brilliant interview, thanks Stratechery. Here are some key takeaways from our conversation: 🔹 𝐖𝐚𝐥𝐦𝐚𝐫𝐭’𝐬 𝐞𝐂𝐨𝐦𝐦𝐞𝐫𝐜𝐞 𝐄𝐯𝐨𝐥𝐮𝐭𝐢𝐨𝐧: Initially, the potential of eCommerce was underestimated, but the acquisition of Jet.com was a game-changer. It brought in essential expertise and new perspectives, enabling Walmart to aggressively pursue and integrate digital retail. 🔹 𝐎𝐦𝐧𝐢𝐜𝐡𝐚𝐧𝐧𝐞𝐥 𝐒𝐭𝐫𝐚𝐭𝐞𝐠𝐲 𝐚𝐧𝐝 𝐈𝐧𝐭𝐞𝐠𝐫𝐚𝐭𝐢𝐨𝐧: Leveraging its vast network of physical stores, Walmart has created a seamless omnichannel experience. With stores in close proximity to customers, especially for groceries, Walmart has a unique competitive edge. Integrating supply chain and technology across channels has enhanced both customer experience and operational efficiency. 🔹 𝐓𝐞𝐜𝐡𝐧𝐨𝐥𝐨𝐠𝐢𝐜𝐚𝐥 𝐓𝐫𝐚𝐧𝐬𝐟𝐨𝐫𝐦𝐚𝐭𝐢𝐨𝐧: The transition to a tech-savvy retailer required adopting agile methodologies and fostering cross-functional collaboration. Significant investments in automation and AI are optimizing Walmart’s supply chains and inventory management, showcasing a forward-thinking approach to retail technology. 🔹 𝐆𝐫𝐨𝐜𝐞𝐫𝐲 𝐚𝐬 𝐚 𝐒𝐭𝐫𝐚𝐭𝐞𝐠𝐢𝐜 𝐀𝐝𝐯𝐚𝐧𝐭𝐚𝐠𝐞: Integrating grocery with eCommerce has been a major advantage for Walmart. The grocery business drives frequent customer visits and supports the broader eCommerce strategy, solidifying Walmart’s market position by offering a comprehensive shopping experience both online and in-store. 🔹 𝐌𝐚𝐫𝐤𝐞𝐭𝐩𝐥𝐚𝐜𝐞 𝐚𝐧𝐝 𝐀𝐝𝐯𝐞𝐫𝐭𝐢𝐬𝐢𝐧𝐠 𝐁𝐮𝐬𝐢𝐧𝐞𝐬𝐬: Walmart’s marketplace and its advertising platform, Walmart Connect, are crucial areas of focus. These initiatives aim to diversify revenue streams, enhance customer acquisition, and leverage Walmart's scale in both physical and digital retail. Do you follow Walmart's journey? #EmerceConsulting #Ecommerce #RetailInnovation #Omnichannel #Walmart #Leadership #TechnologyInRetail

39

1 Comment

We’re forecasting Walmart to slightly outpace the U.S. retail market, entirely driven by eCommerce. eCommerce is expected to account for 70% (!) of Walmart’s dollar growth this year, up from 56% in 2023. Two key action items for suppliers: 1️⃣ For starters, you need to know the breakdown of growth for your own brand. This is way more impactful than fixating on digital penetration alone. (And btw, you’ll need Luminate Charter to see this granular level of detail.) 2️⃣ Then, you need to align your strategy for growth. Sure, eCommerce may still only account for a small percentage of your sales, but likely the large majority of the growth. Investments need to be right sized accordingly and you need a deep understanding of the digital levers available to you. Our 2Q quarterly business review on Walmart shares more details on our forecasts and the omnichannel tactics needed for success – spanning Walmart Connect, Luminate, 3P marketplace, measurement, and more. The QBR will hit Stratably Premium members’ inboxes later this morning. If you want in on the action, sign up at stratably.com/join or DM me to learn about how we can help you win with your most important retail accounts, in the fastest-growing channel – digital.

42

6 Comments

Our team talked through the differences in physical retail vs. digital this week. Cole Walker presented some great insight in the differences in Instacart behaviors and typical store patterns. The big underlying theme? Visibility means something entirely different when you’re talking digital vs. physical in retail. One of my favorite things to do in store is tidy up the shelf (most CPG folks I’ve found do this 😆). The physical shelf requires price tags, inventory, some decent packaging, and merchandising to look good. It also is seen by the human eye, which has a wide lens and can capture a lot of info at once. The digital shelf largely relies on inventory, reviews, and an algorithm paired with searches. It has a very narrow lens for viewership (1 listing per 1 inch of screen essentially) and is noisy in its own way. As the two worlds grow more intermingled, it’s imperative to remember the core ingredients that fuel each medium, and the recipe need for success.

16