Apparel & Accessories | Digital Commerce 360

Successful loyalty programs give consumers an incentive to spend more

Mary Meisenzahl — Wed, 08 Nov 2023 14:44:44 +0000

Chico’s FAS Inc. made major changes to its loyalty program in June 2022 for the first time since the 1990s. “The previous programs had significant limitations of what we would be able to do in the future,” senior vice president of marketing Leana Less says. After 30 years, the loyalty programs from Chico’s competitors had […]

To access this post, you must purchase Platinum Memberships, Platinum Memberships – North American Platinum, Platinum Memberships – International Platinum, Platinum Memberships – Platinum Bundle, Gold Membership, Reoccuring Billing Test Product, Top 500 Database – Top 500 Database, Top 500 Database, Top 500 Database – Top 500 Database with Report, Top 1000 Database – Top 1000 Database w/report, Top 1000 Database – Top 1000 Database, Europe Database, Latin America Database, Global Online Marketplaces Database, Complimentary Top 1000 Database, Next 1000 Database – Next 1000 Database, Clorox 2019 Gold Membership, Sodimac Gold Membership 2021, North American Retailer Starter Kit, International Retailer Starter Kit, Silver Membership, Silver Membership – Silver + Top 1000 Membership or 2023 Top 1000 Report.

The post Successful loyalty programs give consumers an incentive to spend more appeared first on Digital Commerce 360.

Natori says user-generated videos resonate more with shoppers

Gretchen Salois — Tue, 07 Nov 2023 14:28:37 +0000

Video used to be highly produced, big productions, says Ken Natori, president at lingerie brand The Natori Co.

Ken Natori, president, The Natori Co.

“Videos were completely controlled by us,” Natori says. “They had high production budgets and involved carefully curated and intentional content. That was the past.”

Now, Natori says shorter, user-generated-content videos are more popular with consumers. The brand works with influencers and features some of those videos at the bottom of its homepage.

“There’s a much greater appetite from consumers to see video not intentionally curated by the brand but more curated by other people,” Natori says. “There’s more appetite for video, and videos are more plentiful. The technology makes it much easier to post videos from a number of different sources.”

Natori uses video commerce vendor Firework and artificial intelligence software vendor Agora for video and livestreaming content. Natori says he can record video and use Firework’s app to launch livestreams on its website. He plans to use video to give consumers a “behind-the-scenes” view of products and experiences.

The retailer plans to work with more social media influencers in the future as well as film more instructional/styling content. The retailer also plans to give shoppers an inside look with more “casual videos,” he says. He plans to film parts of a supplier trip to the Philippines in the coming weeks to give consumers a look at how Natori’s products are sourced.

“The technology allows us to be creative quickly and easily,” he says.

Favorite

The post Natori says user-generated videos resonate more with shoppers  appeared first on Digital Commerce 360.

Ecommerce earnings recap: What you missed from Shopify, Wayfair, Etsy and more

Mary Meisenzahl — Fri, 03 Nov 2023 16:58:25 +0000

More retailers in Digital Commerce 360’s Top 1000 list of leading ecommerce retailers in North America reported ecommerce earnings results for the most recent fiscal quarter. Here’s the ecommerce earnings summary you need to know from this quarter. Read more ecommerce earnings coverage here.

Parentheses indicate the merchant’s ranking in the Top 1000.

Amazon.com Inc. (No. 1)

Amazon recorded its highest operating income ever in the third quarter ended Sept. 30. Operating income nearly quadrupled year over year, growing 343%.

Read more about Amazon’s earnings here.

Canada Goose Holdings Inc. (No. 154)

Canada Goose reported total revenue grew 1% to $281.1 million in its fiscal third quarter ended Oct. 1. Direct-to-consumer revenue grew 15% in the same period, while comparable DTC sales declined 7%. Comparable store sales grew, but not enough to offset ecommerce declines, the retailer said in a statement. Though online sales were down, website visits to product pages increased in the quarter, Canada Goose says.

E.l.f. Cosmetics Inc. (No. 950)

Beauty retailer e.l.f. reported net sales grew 76% to $215.5 million in its fiscal second quarter ended Sept. 30. The growth was attributed to strong sales both in stores and online. Ecommerce made up about 17% of sales in the quarter, the retailer says. The e.l.f. app and loyalty program are also both growing quickly, the retailer says.

Etsy Inc. (Marketplace No. 17)

Etsy reported consolidated revenue grew 7.0% to $636.3 million in the third quarter ended Sept. 30. Gross merchandise sales on the platform grew 1.2% in the period, to $3 billion. Meanwhile, active buyers grew 3.4%, and active sellers grew 19.0%.

Pitney Bowes

Pitney Bowes reported revenue declined 6% to $784 million in the third quarter ended Sept. 30. Global Ecommerce, the sector of the shipping vendor that handles B2C fulfillment services, reported a revenue decline of 12% to $313 million. Domestic parcel revenue grew 29% and volume grew 38%, offset by declines in international revenue.

“We recognize that the level of losses that we’ve been reporting in that segment are not sustainable,” Jason Dies, interim CEO, told investors of the Global Ecommerce segment in an earnings call.

Pitney Bowes is a shipping carrier for 104 retailers in the Top 1000.

Revolve Group Inc. (No. 87 in the Top 1000)

Revolve reported net sales declined 4% in the third quarter ended Sept. 30. Expenses increased over the same period due in part to a pending legal case, leading to a 73% decline in net income to $3.2 million.

Revolve did not share specifics on online sales, but said sales through TikTok shop “increased meaningfully” over Q2. The retailer plans to expand its TikTok presence in the future.

Shopify Inc.

Shopify reported total revenue grew 25% to $1.7 billion in the third quarter ended Sept. 30. Gross merchandise volume, the total value of merchant sales across Shopify’s systems, increased 22% to $55 billion. Gross profit also grew, up 36% to $901 million.

45 retailers in the Top 1000 use Shopify. They account for a combined $8.30 billion in web sales annually.

Target Corp (No. 5)

Target announced that digital sales declined 10.5% year over year in the fiscal second quarter ended July 29. The retailer’s Drive-Up service led online sales, Target says.

Meanwhile, comparable in-store sales declined 4.3% versus Q2 last year. Target’s total revenue in Q2 reached $24.8 billion. That’s down 4.9% year over year. Operating profit after taxes was $3.89 billion, down from $4.63 billion in the year-ago period. Read more here.

Walmart (No. 2)

Walmart announced that U.S. online sales grew 24% for its fiscal second quarter ended July 28. International ecommerce sales grew 26%. Ecommerce sales were fueled by pickup and delivery orders.

Over the same period, comparable in-store sales grew more modestly, up 6.4%, excluding fuel. Total revenue grew, too, by 5.7% to $161.6 billion. Read more here.

Wayfair Inc. (No. 10)

Wayfair reported total net revenue increased 3.7% to $2.9 billion in the third quarter ended Sept. 30.

The online furniture retailer reported a larger increase in U.S. net revenue, which grew 5.4% to $2.6 billion. Meanwhile, international revenue declined 7.0% over the same period. Net loss was $163 million.

So what does it mean?

Apparel results were mixed, but Revolve’s involvement with TikTok shop hints at future possible avenues of growth for savvy retailers.
Pitney Bowes reported volume declines similar to what UPS previously recorded. Both fulfillment vendors will rely on the upcoming holiday season to reinvigorate business.

Ecommerce earnings calendar

Here’s when to expect other ecommerce earnings this quarter:

Amazon.com Inc.: Oct. 26
Best Buy Co Inc.: Nov. 21
Chewy Inc.: Dec. 6
Costco Wholesale Corp.: Dec. 14
The Gap Inc.: Nov. 16
The Home Depot Inc.: Nov. 14
Lowe’s Cos Inc.: Nov. 21
Macy’s Inc.: Nov. 16
Target Corp.: Nov. 15
Walmart Inc.: Nov. 16

Do you rank in our database?

Submit your data and we’ll see where you fit in our next ranking update.

Sign up

Stay on top of the latest developments in the ecommerce industry. Sign up for a complimentary subscription to Digital Commerce 360 Retail News. Follow us on LinkedIn, Twitter and Facebook. Be the first to know when Digital Commerce 360 publishes news content.

The post Ecommerce earnings recap: What you missed from Shopify, Wayfair, Etsy and more appeared first on Digital Commerce 360.

How True Religion boosted online traffic ahead of the holiday season

Mary Meisenzahl — Wed, 01 Nov 2023 15:11:25 +0000

True Religion Apparel Inc. is aiming for a big holiday season. The denim retailer recorded triple digit traffic growth to TrueReligion.com in September, says CEO Michael Buckley. Now, its looking to capitalize off that momentum with a holiday campaign.

True Religion ranks No. 892 in the Top 1000. The database is Digital Commerce 360’s ranking of the largest online retailers in North America.

True Religion’s holiday plans

True Religion’s digital holiday campaign is called “Style is a gift,” says Kristen D’Arcy, chief marketing officer. It’s based around the idea of giving True Religion jeans as a gift. The campaign will incorporate influencers, musical artist Quavo, and the Los Angeles Rams leading up to the holiday season.

Quavo poses for True Religion’s holiday campaign.

Like many retailers, True Religion typically records its highest sales volume of the year in the fourth quarter, D’Arcy says. That makes successful holiday marketing even more important, because of the potential for even more sales and gifting.

True Religion’s holiday campaign will involve influencers with varying follower counts, D’Arcy says, from larger influencers to micro- and nano-influencers. Each week, a different influencer will take over True Religion’s Instagram account to post about the retailer as a gifting destination.

Customer engagement is important to True Religion this year, D’Arcy says. In addition to the Instagram takeovers, the brand will launch a meme generator to encourage consumers to engage directly with it.

“So they [users] will be able to take a picture of absolutely anything. And then we will auto-generate a word to complete the line. Blank is a gift,” D’Arcy says.

True Religion will launch a meme generator as part of its holiday campaign.

True Religion launched its holiday campaign in October, earlier than in previous years. That was an intentional choice, D’Arcy says. The retailer studied consumer behavior and Google search trends, alongside information from consumer research firms like McKinsey and Deloitte.

“What they are all saying across the board is that people are going to shop earlier, but there’s still a bulk of people that will wait for the big deal moment in November,” she says.

So, True Religion launched an early holiday campaign to enter consumers’ consideration for gifting, with plans to unveil further deals in the traditional Cyber 5 period.

Traffic growth across channels

True Religion is doing well with brand awareness, but it takes an extra push to get consumers to consider the retailer for holiday gifting, D’Arcy says. That’s where the holiday campaign comes in. True Religion started setting the stage for the campaign earlier, with efforts to boost web traffic.

D’Arcy attributes traffic growth to several factors. First, True Religion is in the middle of a repositioning of who its core customer is. The retailer is now targeting 25- to 45-year-olds, and styling photos and campaigns more attuned to that audience as a result.

Second, True Religion gained online traction from its involvement in New York Fashion Week in the form of comments and mentions on social media, D’Arcy says. Follower counts began rising 10% week over week, the highest it had experienced in a long time, she said without specifying further.

Then, a “tremendous amount of traffic” started coming to the website from consumers going directly to the retailer’s URL, she said. At the same time, paid social ads started to perform better, and organic social traffic grew to numbers normally only seen during the holidays. So far, October web traffic is up double digits over last year, she says.

The growing traffic and engagement are already turning into sales, D’Arcy says without giving more details. The engagement and social media mentions create a “halo effect” that continues itself, she says.

Do you rank in our database?

Submit your data and we’ll see where you fit in our next ranking update.

Sign up

Stay on top of the latest developments in the ecommerce industry. Sign up for a complimentary subscription to Digital Commerce 360 Retail News. Follow us on LinkedIn, Twitter and Facebook. Be the first to know when Digital Commerce 360 publishes news content.

Favorite

The post How True Religion boosted online traffic ahead of the holiday season appeared first on Digital Commerce 360.

Earnings recap: What you missed from Amazon, Deckers and more

Mary Meisenzahl — Fri, 27 Oct 2023 18:28:07 +0000

This week, more retailers in Digital Commerce 360’s Top 1000 list of leading ecommerce retailers in North America reported ecommerce earnings results for the most recent fiscal quarter. Here’s the ecommerce earnings summary you need to know from this week. Read more ecommerce earnings coverage here.

Parentheses indicate the merchant’s ranking in the Top 1000.

Amazon.com Inc. (No. 1)

Amazon recorded its highest operating income ever in the third quarter ended Sept. 30. Operating income nearly quadrupled year over year, growing 343%.

Read more about Amazon’s earnings here.

Columbia Sportswear Co. (No. 149)

Columbia reported net sales grew 3% in its fiscal third quarter ended Sept. 30, 2023. Growth was balanced between wholesale and direct-to-consumer channels, it said. Physical stores are outperforming ecommerce within direct to consumer.

“Consumer demand for soft goods, including apparel, footwear, remains weak,” Tim Boyle, CEO, said in an earnings call.

Deckers Brands (No. 74)

Deckers reported revenue grew 25% to $1.1 billion in its second fiscal quarter of 2024 ended Sept. 30. Direct-to-consumer net sales increased 38.8% to $331.7 million.

“Consumer demand was robust in stores and online,” says Dave Powers, Deckers CEO. Greater numbers of Hoka and Ugg brands drove average prices up, he said. [what do you mean? products from those brands?]

Hasbro Inc. (No. 554)

Hasbro reported revenue declined 10% in the third quarter ended Oct. 1. However, the toy retailer reported large gains in online gaming. Digital gaming revenue grew 40%, driven by Magic The Gathering and Dungeons and Dragons. Consumer products and entertainment revenue declined 18% and 42%, respectively.

Overstock.com Inc. (No. 49)

Overstock reported revenue declined 19% to $373 million in the third quarter ended Sept. 30. Results reflect the Overstock brand through July 31, and Bed Bath & Beyond beginning Aug. 1. Active customers declined 15% and net revenue per active customer declined 13%.

Skechers USA Inc. (No. 301)

Skechers reported sales grew 7.8% to $2.0 billion in the third quarter ended Sept. 30. Direct-to-consumer sales, which include ecommerce, grew 23.8%. Domestic ecommerce slowed as U.S. consumers returned to stores. Last year at this time, stores had a lack of inventory, pushing consumers online, the retailer said. This year, stores are better stocked, so consumers went there first. [attribution?]

Tractor Supply Co. (No. 99)

Tractor Supply report net sales grew 4.3% to $3.41 billion in the third quarter ended Sept. 30. Ecommerce sales grew in the high single digits, the retailer said without revealing more. Digital sales made up more than $1 billion in the last 12 months. The Buy Online, Deliver from Store program is also doing well, Tractor Supply said.

Meanwhile, comparable sales declined 0.4%.

United Parcel Service Inc.

UPS reported profits and revenue declined in its fiscal third quarter ended Sept. 30, 2023. UPS consolidated revenue declined 12.8% from the year-ago period to $21.1 billion. Consolidated operating profit declined 48.7% over the same period to $1.3 billion.

So what does it mean?

Retailers are still reporting soft consumer demand in the face of rising prices and turn toward experiences rather than physical goods.
However, some apparel retailers are reporting bright spots. Deckers and Skechers both say they’re seeing strong interest from consumers.

Do you rank in our database?

Submit your data and we’ll see where you fit in our next ranking update.

Sign up

Favorite

The post Earnings recap: What you missed from Amazon, Deckers and more appeared first on Digital Commerce 360.

Secondhand sales provide a boost to apparel retailers

Mary Meisenzahl — Wed, 18 Oct 2023 13:27:12 +0000

Secondhand sales and buyback programs are increasingly a potential source of revenue for online retailers. Secondhand retail continues to make headway with consumers. Sales in 2022 amounted to $177 billion, according to ThredUp’s 2023 resale report. The report also projects the secondhand industry will nearly double to $351 billion in global sales by 2027.

In 2023, children’s clothing retailer Hanna Andersson and apparel retailer H&M both launched resale platforms to recirculate previously owned clothing.

Consumers are looking toward resale as an ecommerce shopping option, particularly as they try to cut costs. Retailers across categories in the Top 1000 sell secondhand items. The Top 1000 is Digital Commerce 360’s ranking of the top online retailers in North America by web sales.

Consumer electronics retailers in the Top 1000 are the most likely to sell secondhand products, at 28.0%, followed by toy and hobby retailers at 20.8%. Just 6.1% of apparel and accessories retailers sell secondhand goods.

“While many Top 1000 retailers offer used goods, apparel retailers offering used goods are the ones showing strong growth,” says James Risley, research data manager and senior analyst at Digital Commerce 360. “Not only is the fastest-growing Top 1000 retailer a seller of used goods exclusively, but many up-and-coming Next 1000 retailers also offer used goods to capitalize on shoppers looking for deals on clothing without turning to fast fashion,” he says.

Online resale retailer ThredUp Inc. reported increases in revenue and total orders in its second fiscal quarter ended June 30. ThredUp CEO James Reinhart said the brand was making gains with customers who are “feeling the pinch across their discretionary purchasing power” due to economic trends. ThredUp’s web sales grew 72.6% in 2022.

Consumers choose secondhand retail for environmental reasons

Customers are increasingly interested in the environmental impacts of their purchases, driving some to buy used and prioritize brands with eco-friendly policies. 43% of shoppers called sustainability a deciding factor in what they buy, according to luxury goods resale marketplace The RealReal’s 2022 Luxury Resale Report, which measured data from 28 million of its shoppers between January 2022 and June 2022 compared with the same period in 2021.

Some online shoppers choose secondhand goods over new fast fashion items to be more sustainable. “Fast fashion can be seen as not environmentally friendly and more wasteful, the opposite of buying things used,” Risley says.

The RealReal ranks No. 460 in the Top 1000, and ThredUp is No. 577.

Do you rank in our database?

Submit your data and we’ll see where you fit in our next ranking update.

Sign up

Favorite

The post Secondhand sales provide a boost to apparel retailers appeared first on Digital Commerce 360.

Women’s apparel retailer ‘Evereve TV’ attracts shoppers, increases conversion

Gretchen Salois — Mon, 16 Oct 2023 13:35:26 +0000

It can be difficult to picture how a pair of jeans or a blouse will fit by looking at a flat, two-dimensional photo online. Women’s apparel retailer Evereve has its employees model clothing and features the videos online as part of Evereve TV.

“What we know about our customer is she is interested in fashion — but she’s not a fashionista and looks for guidance,” says Tom Nowak, chief marketing officer.

That’s why the retailer launched “Evereve TV” in 2021. It is composed of videos featuring how clothing fits employees. Each week, the retailer posts about four to five videos. There is also a livestreaming session on Monday mornings. The content has to be fresh because clothing items tend to sell quickly, Nowak says.

“We always have to be doing new content because there’s always new product,” Nowak says. “We can’t run these as evergreens.”

A popular video category is denim, specifically blue jean pants, Nowak says. There are videos that talk about overall denim trends and others of employees showing how different styles fit them. One video features a staff member showing viewers how to cuff the ends of jeans or what type of top to wear depending on the jean leg cut. A typical shopper views an average of 1.8 videos with a completion rate of about 60% for all videos which range from under a minute to as long as 5-6 minutes, Nowak says.

“There’s a pretty high completion rate,” Nowak says, without revealing more.

Evereve staff members showcase various types of jean pants and how to style them.

Evereve TV videos lead to higher conversion

Shoppers who watch Evereve TV are more likely to buy, Nowak says. From August 2023 through mid-September 2023, conversion rate increased 12.7% for shoppers who watched the videos compared with those who did not. Evereve did not share its overall conversion rate.

Currently, Evereve TV accounts for 4% of the retailer’s web traffic. “Our hope is to increase this over time,” he says.

Conversion for shoppers engaged with videos focused on denim was about 20%. The best performing denim video was a how-to styling wide-leg denim video. This particular video resulted in a more than 35% jump in conversion during the two-month period, Nowak says.

The average order value for shoppers who engage with any Evereve TV videos was 28% higher compared with those who did not during the August through mid-September 2023 period, he says. Evereve declined to share its overall AOV.

Evereve staff address body type and fit

Nowak says the Evereve customer relies on it for a curated shopping experience.

“Finding the right pair of jeans can be life changing,” Nowak says. “It’s an important category for us. It’s an emotional experience — will you come out of it feeling awesome, psyched or disappointed?”

There’s a nuance to fit, Nowak says. The ability to showcase different styles for different body types is valuable, he says.

“Having our staff represent those body types and personally talk through the pros, cons, things to look for — there’s a lot of trust in that because they have knowledge of the product,” Nowak says.

In addition to a higher conversion rate, Nowak says that customers tend to purchase more units of clothing at checkout after watching the curated styling videos. This includes complementary clothing items to go with a pair of jeans or more than one pair of jeans, he says, without revealing more.

Retailers are focusing on authentic brand voice — and conversion

Evereve plans to continue using Evereve TV to align in-store and online shoppers.

“Evereve is very much about the styling experience,” Nowak says. “It’s very high touch. Our NPS scores are through the roof. With ecommerce, we have to raise the question about how to bring that styling point of view and guidance into the digital universe.”

Net promoter score is a customer satisfaction metric that measures how likely customers will recommend a brand or product to a friend or colleague. Retailers conduct customer surveys asking for a ranking based on a scale of 1-10. Nowak did not reveal the actual NPS number.

Getting consumer attention is critical, says Calla Murphy, vice president of digital strategy and integrated marketing at Belardi Wong.

“Clients are focused on authentic brand voice — and conversion,” Murphy says. “We see retailers use video on product detail pages as well as in email and customer relationship management (CRM) efforts as well as in paid ads across Meta, Google, YouTube and TikTok.”

Nowak believes Evereve TV is the retailer’s best way to reach both in store and online consumers.

“We’ve figured out that to have our staff talk about the same things, products, needs, occasions and body type issues our customers can relate to is really at the heart of what we’re trying to do,” Nowak says.

Do you rank in our database?

Submit your data and we’ll see where you fit in our next ranking update.

Sign up

Favorite

The post Women’s apparel retailer ‘Evereve TV’ attracts shoppers, increases conversion appeared first on Digital Commerce 360.

Reseller uses AI to speed up listing process

Mary Meisenzahl — Mon, 09 Oct 2023 18:33:57 +0000

Formalwear resale marketplace Queenly uses generative AI and 3D modeling technology to improve the web experience for sellers and buyers, Kathy Zhou, chief technology officer and cofounder says.

AI simplifies the product listing process

Queenly spent 2023 redesigning the way sellers list products on the platform, Zhou says. “We had a standard UI for listing a dress, basically it was just like a very long form,” she says.

Now, instead of asking potential sellers to fill out a form describing the dress they’re selling, Queenly asks them a personalized path of questions. For example, it might ask “Where did you wear this dress?” and “What are the flaws of this dress?”.

Kathy Zhou, chief technology officer and cofounder, Queenly

Then, Queenly uses generative AI to generate a product description based on their answers.

The completion rate of the listing prices increased after the redesign, Zhou says. Now 85% of listings are completed, compared to 60% before the generative AI implementation. Sellers can also create those listings faster, down from an average of 9.5 minutes to just 4.5 minutes.

Queenly discovered its customers generally prefer longer descriptions, too. That finding is true across the board. A September 2023 survey from Digital Commerce 360 and Bizrate Insights of 999 online shoppers found that 58% said a detailed product description is an important feature when online shopping.

The average description on a Queenly listing is now 230 characters, up from 80 characters before the AI-generated listings.

3D modeling helps consumers know what they’re getting

Queenly also added new technology on the buyer side. The resale website released a new 3D modeling feature designed to show customers how a dress would look beyond just a picture, replicating the experience of seeing a product in person. For now, it’s only available on certain listings.

Queenly’s 3D Modeling tool.

After testing different technical solutions, Queenly landed on photogrammetry to create a 3D map of an object based on high resolution images.

The problem, according to Zhou, is that the technology requires 200 to 300 images to create an accurate picture of the dress. That’s not feasible for the average user lister.

“How do we make it so that a seller doesn’t have to take 100 pictures of their dress? What if they only had to take five pictures of their dress,” Zhou says. Then, the technology does the rest of the work, filling in gaps from the photos into a model that consumers can rotate and zoom in on. Queenly is considering giving sellers the option to display 3D models of dresses they want to sell, but they must submit a list of required photos.

Online resale is growing

Consumers are increasingly looking towards resale as an ecommerce shopping option. Online resale retailer ThredUp Inc. reported increases in revenue and total orders in its second quarter ended June 30. ThredUp CEO James Reinhart said that the brand was making gains with customers who are “feeling the pinch across their discretionary purchasing power” due to economic trends.

Secondhand retail continues to make headway with consumers, amounting to $177 billion in secondhand global sales in 2022, according to ThredUp’s 2023 resale report. The report projects the secondhand industry will nearly double to $351 billion in global sales by 2027.

In 2023, children’s clothing retailer Hanna Andersson and apparel retailer H&M both launched resale platforms to recirculate previously owned clothing.

Do you rank in our database?

Submit your data and we’ll see where you fit in our next ranking update.

Sign up

Favorite

The post Reseller uses AI to speed up listing process appeared first on Digital Commerce 360.

What Sycamore gets for $1 billion to buy Chico’s

Gretchen Salois — Mon, 02 Oct 2023 13:00:48 +0000

Sycamore Partners purchased Chico’s FAS for $938.1 million in an all-cash deal. Chico’s is ranked No. 108 in the Top 1000, Digital Commerce 360’s database of the largest North American e-retailers.

Digital Commerce 360 takeaways:

Chico’s has a loyal and long-lived customer base — and this isn’t the first time private equity firm Sycamore Partners has tried to close the deal. Sycamore tried to purchase Chico’s in 2019 to no avail. This time, however, the deal is expected to close by the end of the first quarter of 2024.
Chico’s debuted a new loyalty program, Chico’s Rewards+, in 2022 and sign ups have surpassed expectations. Within nine months, 80% of Chico’s customers were members of the program, senior vice president of marketing Leana Less told Digital Commerce 360.

Retail chains more likely to have loyalty programs

Loyalty programs are not prevalent among Top 1000 retailers. In fact, fewer than one-third of Top 1000 retailers have a loyalty program. And less than half of retail chains have loyalty programs, more than any other merchant type, according to Digital Commerce 360 data.

Retail chains (48.1%)
Consumer brand manufacturer (26.5%)
Web only (20.3%)
Direct marketer (13.9%)
Top 1000 retailers (27.9%)

Chico’s Rewards+ members are incredibly valuable for the retailer, according to Less. In the most recent fiscal quarter, average spend per customer was 40% higher among members than among non-members.

The average member “spends significantly higher [than non-members] and then the likelihood of her coming back the next quarter versus somebody that’s not in the loyalty program is significantly higher as well,” Less says.

The apparel retailer‘s brands include Chico’s, White House Black Market, and Soma.

Chico’s reports online sales growth in Q1 2023

Ecommerce sales were “up low single digits and outpaced stores on very strong traffic,” at Chico’s for the first quarter, chief financial officer PJ Guido told investors.
Online sales accounted for 41% of the retailer’s revenue over the last 12 months.

Mary Meisenzahl contributed to this report.

Do you rank in our databases?

Submit your data and we’ll see where you fit in our next ranking update.

Sign up

Stay on top of the latest developments in the ecommerce industry. Sign up for a complimentary subscription to Digital Commerce 360 Retail News.

Follow us on LinkedIn, Twitter and Facebook. Be the first to know when Digital Commerce 360 publishes news content.

Favorite

The post What Sycamore gets for $1 billion to buy Chico’s appeared first on Digital Commerce 360.

Nike Digital sales grow modestly in fiscal first quarter

Abbas Haleem — Fri, 29 Sep 2023 13:00:14 +0000

Nike Inc. started its fiscal 2024 with digital sales growing in its first quarter ended Aug. 31, 2023. The athletic apparel and footwear retailer did not share a dollar amount for digital sales but reported $12.9 billion in revenue for the quarter. That’s up 2% versus Q1 of its fiscal 2023.

Nike ranks No. 9 in the Top 1000, Digital Commerce 360’s database of the largest North American e-retailers.

Nike’s digital retail strategy

Chief financial officer Matt Friend said Nike consumers spent more time in brick-and-mortar locations in the quarter.

“But 90% of their shopping journeys are starting with digital,” Friend said. “And so we continue to believe that our digital and physical strategies of serving consumers are the right strategy to serve demand as we look forward.”

In North America, Nike Digital sales grew 4% in the retailer’s first quarter. Nike Digital refers to sales made through the retailer’s websites and apps.

At the same time, Nike Digital sales in Europe, the Middle East and Africa decreased 2%. And they decreased 3% in Asia Pacific and Latin America. In Mexico specifically, though, Nike’s “digital business delivered double-digit growth,” Friend said, without revealing more.

“We’ve increased the size of our supply chain in the last few years to be able to address the growth that we’ve seen in our business, both overall and in digital,” Friend said.

To improve that efficiency, he said, Nike has reduced digital split shipments so consumers don’t get two deliveries for the same order. It has also invested in “regional service centers that are closer to where consumer demand is.” In other words, it has improved its fulfillment by opening distribution centers in strategic areas.

Nike Digital sales in China

In the Greater China region, Nike Digital sales grew 6% in Q1. The footwear brand held a three-day sports festival called Sportchella in China.

“The team amplified the impact of the festival by partnering with Tmall to create the first Nike Super Brand Week, which drove more than 2 billion impressions,” Friend said. “And this partnership seamlessly integrated the events with a digital shopping journey that generated very strong consumer response and engagement.”

Tmall is an Alibaba-owned marketplace, along with Taobao. Taobao ranks No. 1 in the Global Online Marketplaces Database, Digital Commerce 360’s ranking of the largest such marketplaces by gross merchandise value. Tmall ranks No. 2.

Nike App increases Nike sales

The Nike mobile app had “strong growth,” Friend said. Nike mobile app traffic had high single-digit growth in the quarter, he said.

“We saw member activity continue to increase both in terms of engagement and buying behavior and a higher basket size, a higher AOV,” Friend said.

That drove “sustained momentum on the Nike mobile app” as loyalty members increased their buying frequency in the quarter, he said.

“We continue to see a growing structural advantage as more consumers start their shopping journeys with us on mobile,” Friend said.

Nike Direct revenue

Friend said member engagement through Nike Direct grew double digits in its Q1 compared with the year-ago period. Average order value through Nike Direct sales increased, but he did not specify how much.

Nike Direct refers to the retailer’s direct-to-consumer sales (online and offline). It grew 6% year over year in the first quarter.

In North America, Nike Direct grew 7%, led by 11% growth in physical store sales. Nike Direct sales grew 10% in China. They grew 6% in Europe, the Middle East and Africa, and 3% in Asia Pacific and Latin America.

How much does Nike make in a year?

For the fiscal first quarter ended Aug. 31, 2023, Nike reported:

Revenue grew 2% to $12.94 billion, from $12.69 billion in the year-ago period.
Profit also grew 2%, to $5.72 billion from $5.62 billion the year before.
Similarly, Nike Digital sales grew 2% year over year in the quarter.
Nike Direct, or the retailer’s direct-to-consumer sales (online and offline), grew to $5.4 billion. That’s a 6% year-over-year increase.

Percentage changes may not align exactly with dollar figures due to rounding. Check back for more earnings reports. Here’s last quarter’s Nike report.

Do you rank in our database?

Submit your data with this quick survey and we’ll see where you fit in our next ranking update.

Sign up

The post Nike Digital sales grow modestly in fiscal first quarter appeared first on Digital Commerce 360.