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

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

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