Ben Jacobs

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

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Amazon is taking a page out of Instacart's playbook and has begun to make their Dash Cart #smartcarts available to third party retailers. Its a small testing pool so far (literally five stores across two retailers), but it will be interesting to see where this goes. According to Amazon, "customers who use Dash Carts spend 10% more than non-Dash Cart users in Amazon Fresh Stores". In addition to increasing basket size, smart carts can alleviate bottlenecks at checkout, collect valuable data on shopping habits, and of course, present a compelling digital screen on which to advertise to customers right at the point of purchase with contextually appropriate messaging. EMARKETER forecasts that in store #retailmedia will exceed $1 Billion by 2028. Momentum will depend on the right technology investments necessary to bring digital messaging into physical spaces, with a focus on enhancing, rather than disrupting the customer experience. #Smartcarts have relatively low adoption among grocers today, (6% according to Progressive Grocer). They are expensive, and more complicated to store compared with regular grocery carts. If Amazon is able to offset some of the up-front investment for grocers interested in testing out the technology, I could see this being an appealing offering. It's also worth noting that success in this initiative would mean Amazon can reap the benefits of their in-store tech innovations and get in on the sizable in-store retail media opportunity without the headache of opening 100's of their own grocery stores. https://lnkd.in/ew44SYy2

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Saw an interesting post this morning from the Retail Industry Professionals Group (Michael Song) about eCommerce topline sales volumes, and of course, who's biggest: Walmart, Amazon, or Meta (FB Marketplace). I wonder what the stack would look like with fraudulent sales stripped out, much like retailers reporting bottom line performance, (shrink is reported in COGS), for the true "so what" financial performance. eCommerce channels are a massively convenient outlet for stolen merchandise - as in huge. This would showcase the impact of said eCommerce entities' seller verification programs and compliance with the 2023 INFORM Act. I know, "good luck with that." #retailindustryprofessionalsgroup Federal Trade Commission Retail Industry Leaders Association (RILA) National Retail Federation #retail #retailleaders #shrink #orc #theft #ai #socialmedia #lawenforcement #crime

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Having the right merchandise at the right time to hit the Target is how the team at Target is getting it done. Thanks for sharing, Gretchen McCarthy, your insight on deploying data and technology to look at solutions differently while meeting changing customer demands. Read more: https://lnkd.in/gq3uJptq

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Watching all of these (mostly apparel) retailer earnings come in this week, and I can’t help but wonder where all of the EPS beats are coming. Then I look to my old time friend: inventory. It’s been a minute since I ranted on about growing inventories as a lead-up to the 2022 slow down. Retailers were projecting sales, with inflation as a head wind, like it was a stimulus infused environment. They had it wrong. It looks like they might have learned a lesson or two. Since early last year, retail inventories have followed an interesting month to month pattern of grow, grow, hold. The growth, likely a product of pricing given how small it is, is acting more like a “maintain”. The hold is what looks to be most strategic. Hard to see here, but the hold happens at the end of the fiscal quarter month (ie March to April change with April end of Q1). These data come from retailer surveys and are weighted to the appropriate value. Sure, there’s a lot of retail not publicly traded, but there’s a major share of the market that is. With the exception of my former employer, A&F (no joke - I used to have A LOT of hair), actual retail performance has been ok. Given retail to sales ratios don’t seem to change much during these periods, I’m wondering if heavy promos are aligning to these last month inventory adjustments. It would make sense why some of the top lines are outpacing expectations (although I have little faith in the latter). The risk in all of this…guidance. If you’re injecting growth the last month of the quarter, your guidance is as good as a finger in the wind…or a 2021 inventory forecast 🫠. Just a thought for now…it’s looking like a 🦆, but not sure. #consumerbehavior #retail

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#ecommerce Getting an email from Aliyah Flowers in December 23 changed a few things for me. Making the RETHINK Retail list of retails experts was like that’s happened before professionally. First up, I took the best headshot of anyone at #NRF in my opinion. Gauntlet down for 25. #beatit but I figured I’d try “do it” my way. Since then it’s been work and figuring stuff out. Thankfully within the group I’ve started to get to know a few great people. We meet regularly (twice per week) and are forging something pretty special in the background. I’ve been lucky enough to already share some thoughts with David Polinchock DeAnn Campbell I’ve listened intently to Paul Lewis Julia Hare and many more in our group. I’m still trying to figure out if Matthew Adam Smith sleeps, eats and rests. We had our monthly #TRE mixer yesterday and it was a blast hosting a table on #retailmedia Now I know a few people on this space. I work in this space a bit so I choose my words carefully. Phrases dishes out about the topic at large: Skepticism Measurement Accountability Confusion I noted that Cannne Lion next year will just be a living breathing #RMN if not - you failed. It’s a divisive topic. It’s in its embryonic stages but already creating a future that is hard to not see it impacting our work dramatically. Getting together with peers and not always having the answer, or saying I don’t get it?!? Has enormous value. It’s also the site sign we are all still human. Next month I propose. My death to ROAS discussion or how much harder ecomm has to work than store retail .. sitting at the table is better than being on the fence. Thanks to all that came. Even on a vacation day. #TRE #strategy #usretail

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“Costco Wholesale Corp. turned in another strong quarter with earnings, revenue and same-store sales that beat Wall Street expectations amid gains in traffic and discretionary purchases.” “”As inflation has leveled off, our members are returning to purchasing more discretionary items,” CFO Gary Millerchip told analysts on the company’s earnings call. “And growth in the category was led by toys, tires, lawn and garden, and health and beauty aids.”” “Total revenue rose to $58.515 billion from $53.648 billion, topping estimates of $58.02 billion. Net sales rose 9.1% to $57.39 billion. Membership fees rose 7.6% to $1.12 billion.” “Total comparable sales rose 6.6%, more than expected. U.S. same-store sales increased 6.2%, with traffic up 5.5% and the comparable ticket up 0.7%.” “E-commerce sales soared 20.7%, led by gold and silver bullion, gift cards and appliances. Costco ended the quarter with 74.5 million paid members, up 7.8% from a year ago.” - Marianne Wilson

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I recently shared a post by my friend Don “eCommerce” Brett, highlighting the insightful data and infographic created by Joshua Novick. Josh did an excellent job comparing the metrics of these retail giants side by side, shedding light on the fact that Amazon is on track to surpass Walmart as the world's largest retailer in the next year or two. Despite Walmart leading in the true retail sales ($650B vs $400B). The pace at which Amazon has grown since its inception in 1994 is truly remarkable. Achieving $1B in sales by its 5th year, crossing $100B+ by its 10th year, and now positioning itself to overtake Walmart within 30ish years is an incredible feat. Reflecting on the history of Walmart, established in 1962, and the emergence of Amazon in the late '90s, it's fascinating to witness this shift in the retail landscape. Despite the potential future change in the "Fortune 1", the continuous innovation and forward-thinking approach of Walmart under the leadership of Doug McMillion make them a force I would never bet against. I even suspect Walmart already has the plans or acquisitions in place to ensure they retain their top spot. The evolving dynamics between these retail powerhouses serve as a testament to the ever-changing nature of the industry and honestly we (us retail geeks at least) are fortunate to not only bear witness to it, but also be a part (albeit very small) of the story! #Retail #Amazon #Walmart #Innovation

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What started as interview to kill my curiosity quickly turned into excitement as I learned about the analytics TrackFly supplies the industry. This tool not only helps retailers make more informed buys but allows brands to have all the shop and market information before they call or walk into a store. No more asking a retailer, how they are doing on inventory or asking for a report. It’s now all at the brands finger tips. Sound too good to be true? Watch this episode of Welcome to the Surf Industry with Stephen Baird of TrackFly and get excited about the possibilities. https://lnkd.in/gvb59JBN #retail #marketing #analytics #data #surfing #indendentretailers

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I just finished a webinar for our community on maximizing ROI at retail. One of the subjects we discussed is the advantage of delivering to KeHE and UNFI DCs vs having them pick up. Many brands would benefit—and take better control of their retail and margins—if they looked at delivering to the distributor using freight consolidators who focus on delivering multiple brands' products to distributor DCs. Does anyone have any recommended consolidators we can share with the CPG community? An example would be Organic Logistics, LLC—which I believe is related to Organic Valley—and does refrigerated consolidation. Thank you for your thoughts!

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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.

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“The mood of U.S. consumers turned negative in May as their expectations for inflation moved upward.” “The University of Michigan Index of Consumer Sentiment posted a preliminary reading of 67.4 for May, down from 77.2 in April and its lowest reading in six months. The move represented a one-month decline of 12.7% but a year-over-year gain of 14.2%.” “Consumers’ view of current economic conditions fell 12.9% to 68.8 in May, down from 79.0 in April. The expectations index decreased 12.5% to 66.5, down from 69.4 the previous month.” “The trend in sentiment is characterized by a broad consensus across consumers, with decreases across age, income, and education groups, she added. Consumers in Western states exhibited a particularly steep drop.” “Year-ahead inflation expectations rose from 3.2% last month to 3.5% this month, remaining above the 2.3-3.0% range seen in the two years prior to the pandemic. Long-run inflation expectations inched up, from 3.0% last month to 3.1% this month.” “Although they have been within the narrow 2.9-3.1% range for 30 of the last 34 months, long-run inflation expectations remain elevated relative to the 2.2-2.6% range seen in the two years pre-pandemic.”

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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.

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“As EMarketer’s data shows, 2020 did experience a—all things considered—rather minor dip in sales rung up in brick-and-mortar locations. But sales bounced back strongly in 2021, dramatically exceeding 2019 levels. Overall physical store sales continued to grow in 2022, surpassing 2020 levels by more than 15%.” “Looked at through another lens, many measures of store traffic rebounded to pre-pandemic levels by the end of 2021. Moreover, throughout the post pandemic period store openings continued to be robust for many retailers, with overall openings outpacing closings in both 2022 and 2023.” “To be clear, like many aspects of retail, we continue to see a pattern of bifurcation. So called ‘A” malls have been performing well, while many lower-end centers continue their long-term struggles. Suburban locations of most brands are typically meaningfully outpacing the performance of their urban brethren. In a pattern that emerged pre-COVID, store closings and bankruptcies are largely concentrated among retailers trapped in the unremarkable middle. While retailers with distinctive and highly customer relevant value propositions continue to open stores and drive strong top line growth.” “This phenomenon is hardly new. It’s been clear to see if you were looking for it, while simultaneously ignoring unreliable narrators. Ask remarkable retailers if physical retail is back and the vast majority will say it was only in hibernation for a very short period of time.” “It’s also important to call out the frequently important and expanding role physical locations play in facilitating online commerce growth—which does (and will) continue to outpace store growth rates by a solid margin. Brick-and-mortar locations help drive e-commerce demand and are often critical to order fulfillment via direct ship from store, local home delivery, or customers opting to “click-and-collect.”” - Steve Dennis

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As a consumer insights professional, you have to accept you will never understand all of your consumers' behaviors all of the time. For example, there is NEVER ANY REASON TO REACH OVER THE SNEEZE GUARD AT CHIPOTLE. EVER! Even if you are Barack Obama, I can assure you that the worker knows what "pico" or "no corn" or "yes, I know guac is extra" means without your grubby hands reaching into the food area. There is no data or research or analysis that will ever make this understandable or acceptable. #ConsumerInsights #MRX #MarketResearch #Chipotle

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Consulting by Kantar Organized Retail Crime (ORG) was a major news story in 2023 that went quiet in 2024. In part due to a burst of 'catchas' from analyst in regards to a gap between a report and comments to congress, but more so to the news cycle. Very good article to where we are now by CNN with notable success and legal changes pushed by the National Retail Federation and David Johnston And the self-evident "the public pays". A more detailed call out to the 'INFORM ACT 2023" would be of interest Paida Mugudubi Gary Newbury, Supply Chain Performance Improvement, Curt Devine, Jennifer Heebner https://lnkd.in/ge_TAxCB

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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! 👍♻️

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I just stumbled across this slide from a presentation I gave in 2019 (five years ago) at a Data Analyst conference. I'm not sure we've reached the AI future of retail yet, but all the algorithms and tech are in place to do so; now we just need to integrate it. #AI #Ecommerce #Futureofretail #Futurist #Optimist

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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.

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