Morning Brew - ☕ Tools of thought

Commercetools exec on e-commerce tech.
November 22, 2024

Retail Brew

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Hi there, it’s Friday, the “Glicked” weekend is here. But what’s more exciting than movies? Many would say sports, and Instacart is set to deliver its first Super Bowl marketing push. The grocery delivery service will air ads during the big game, and we hear the locker room chatter is all about winning the grocery department.

In today’s edition:

—Vidhi Choudhary, Erin Cabrey, Alex Vuocolo

E-COMMERCE

All about the code

Hand holding a smartphone with buy 1, get 1 free on it Natasaadzic/Getty Images

Kelly Goetsch, chief strategy officer at enterprise commerce technology platform Commercetools, expects to close this year on a high note.

Clients are moving beyond the general uncertainty of the election, and retailers are in a better position to finally make decisions that they’d been sitting on, Goetsch told Retail Brew. “Projects that have been frozen for six months or whatever are now getting approved.”

It’s heads-down holiday season crunch time, and Goetsch said, “What everybody’s looking to with running legacy tech is…they need to get to something better and stronger and be certain it will work, which is why we’re seeing such a big rise in business.”

Commercetools, which powers digital commerce for retailers like Sephora and Express, reported a gross merchandise value increase of more than 45% YoY to over $30 billion in 2023, with annual recurring revenue growing more than 65% YoY in the Americas region.

Goetsch sat down with Retail Brew to discuss rising competition and future roadmaps for e-commerce tech providers.

Keep reading here.—VC

   

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RETAIL

Click and mortar

Young woman Black Friday sale shopping Artistgndphotography/Getty Images

While retailers have reported mixed results in recent quarters, e-commerce sales are clicking into place for many, and they’re expected to keep picking up; 76% of shoppers plan to head online to cover at least half of their holiday shopping, per Bain & Company. We’re looking at ecommerce performance so far in H2, and what’s next as the holiday shopping season heats up.

Looking back: Retail e-commerce sales in the third quarter of 2024 hit $288.8 billion, up 2.2% from the previous quarter, on a not-adjusted basis, according to data from the Commerce Department released this week. Total retail sales rose 2% quarter over quarter to $1.8 trillion. Q3 e-commerce sales rose 7.5% YoY, outpacing the total retail sales gains of 2%, accounting for 15.6% of total sales.

Earnings across major retailers like Walmart and Target have been mixed, but both reported strong digital sales in Q3, with Walmart’s jumping 22% in the US YoY and Target’s up 10.8%.

Keep reading here.—EC

   

STORES

Stocked and loaded

Target logo Spencer Platt/Getty Images

Target’s inventory levels increased faster than sales in the third quarter, but the retail giant reassured shareholders in its latest earnings call that it’s employing new metrics to balance inventory across in-store and digital channels.

  • Inventories were up 3% YoY compared to a 0.3% increase in comp sales, due to “softer than expected sales in discretionary categories,” CEO Brian Cornell explained, which has led to “higher than expected costs in our supply chain.”

Chief Operating Officer Michael Fiddelke, who was hired at the beginning of 2024 to oversee the company’s global supply chain, said Target uses a metric it calls “purchasability” to “protect our guests’ in-store and digital shopping experience.”

He provided an example.

Keep reading here.—AV

   

Together With Bush Business Furniture

Bush Business Furniture

SWAPPING SKUS

Today’s top retail reads.

Race to the bottom: Amazon is offering a 50% discount on all orders placed through Haul for the holiday shopping season. (The Information)

On the right track: Apparel retailer Gap raised its sales outlook for the year after reporting strong holiday demand. (CNBC)

In house, literally: Some Chinese immigrants in the US are turning their living rooms into warehouses to ship and deliver packages for Temu, TikTok, and Amazon merchants. (Rest of World)

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