E-COMM

Live From Your Laptop...

Let’s see if ring lights really make everyone look better. JCPenney is experimenting with video selling this holiday season through “JCP Live,” a livestreamed series across its website, Facebook Live, and YouTube. 

• Each episode is hosted by JCP team members and influencers.
• Influencers were picked to rep JCP’s key categories, including fashion, beauty, and family products. 

Why now? “The trend of livestreaming was on the rise even before we all became more digitally connected due to the pandemic,” Truett Horne, chief transformation officer at JCPenney, told Retail Brew. “We leveraged that trend[.]”

• Innovations that drive more gift giving are key for the department store: Since 2011, JCP’s only five quarters with a net profit were over the holidays. 

This isn’t an ordinary holiday. JCP is on its way to being acquired out of bankruptcy by Simon Property Group and Brookfield Asset Management. The purchase has slashed JCP’s debt and saved around 60,000 jobs, but its future is still uncertain. 

Attack of the QVC clones

Of the $60 billion that shopping livestreams generated globally last year, the U.S. could take credit for less than $1 billion, per Coresight Research. But that number could tick upward as more U.S. retailers press "Record." 

• Anne Klein, Fred Segal, and Tommy Hilfiger are among the retailers that’ve tested video selling on their websites or social media this fall. 
• There are also new platforms: ShopShops, a popular service in China, launched in the U.S. with Rebecca Minkoff in November. 

Their inspo: “We tend to think of livestreaming commerce as very forward-leaning right now, but it's really a modern incarnation of the proven model of QVC and HSN,” Andrew Lipsman, principal analyst at eMarketer, told Retail Brew. 

Marathon QVC viewers could overlap with JCP’s remaining shoppers: “[At] a time when everyone's attention is shifting toward digital commerce, maybe there's a chance to convert these shoppers from TV to online,” Lipsman said.

• But he told me the effort isn’t likely to "meaningfully increase sales during the holidays.”

What’s missing for everyone? A magnetic top choice. Between retailers’ sites and the many social platforms with livestream capabilities, “consumers aren’t sure where to invest their time if they want to engage,” Lipsman said.

• In JCP’s case, livestreaming adoption is mixed across platforms: JCP Live episodes received up to 1,800 YouTube views, but more than 50,000 Facebook views. 
• Horne told me that JCP’s flagship site logged “a great increase in traffic and views.”

Bottom line: Pivoting to video sales isn’t a silver bullet for recapturing years of lost market share. But early results are enough for JCP “to continue JCP Live on a regular basis into next year,” Horne said. 

BEAUTY

Sephora at Kohl's or Ulta at Target?

Kohl’s yesterday announced a ten year, 850 store-in-store collaboration with Sephora. It sounds like a contour copy of Target and Ulta’s deal, until you check the floorplans:

• The 2,500 sq. ft. Sephora stores will replace Kohl’s beauty department in locations where they open. Target hasn’t said Ulta will crowd out its current beauty aisles.
• Sephora will also have signage outside of the Kohl’s store and, in some cases, separate entrances. 

Shared goal: Reaching new, consistent customers—though there’s a larger gap between current Sephora and Kohl's shoppers. Sephora has 500 U.S. stores to Kohl’s 1,150, and few are in suburban areas. Kohl’s stores also populate off-mall centers where foot traffic has remained relatively strong. 

• BTW, Sephora plans to (officially) end its store-in-store partnership with JCPenney. 

Shared challenge: Convincing prestige beauty brands they won’t lose their clout. Top tier brands carried at Ulta have been tight-lipped about going masstige via Target, WWD reports. 

But Sephora Americas CEO Jean-André Rougeot said brands’ images are safe at Kohl’s: “We’ve seen brands like Nike, Adidas and Levi’s presented in the right way in Kohl’s stores,” he told the WSJ.

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DATA

Back for BFCM Seconds

During a socially distanced holiday, shoppers brought their phones to the dinner table and didn’t put them down for days after. Black Friday and Cyber Monday 2020 didn’t just break sales records; they also attracted more mobile shoppers than ever.

• First-time installs of mobile shopping apps grew nearly 8% YoY to 2.8 million downloads, per Sensor Tower data.
• Mobile sales made up 40% of total digital spend on Black Friday and 37% on Cyber Monday, according to Adobe Analytics data shared with Retail Brew.

Mobile mall tour 

Flagship apps didn’t take all the traffic. The top 10 shopping apps overall only accounted for 27% of total downloads on Black Friday. And leaders didn’t belong to a single category: discount generators (OfferUp) and order tracking apps (Shopify’s Shop) cracked the top 10, along with mainstays like Amazon and Walmart.

Francis Scialabba

IRL’s role? Shoppers still want the instant satisfaction of ripping off the sale tags right after purchase. Half of the top 10 most-downloaded apps are powered by retailers with growing buy online, pick up in-store programs: Walmart, Target, Best Buy, Nike, and Sam’s Club.  

WHAT ELSE IS BREWING

• Tailored Brands said it has exited bankruptcy. 
• Retail Ecommerce Ventures scooped up another bankrupt retailer: Stein Mart. 
• Debenhams will close all its stores, impacting around 12,000 jobs.
• Walmart eliminated its membership program's $35 order minimum for free shipping.
• De Beers pledged to become carbon neutral by 2030. 

SPONSORED BY SPLITIT

Shopper loyalty doesn't have a one-size-fits-all playbook. By 2021, global e-commerce sales are expected to reach $5 trillion! How can retailers capture a shopper's wallet-share and have them return for seconds and thirds? Our friends at Splitit have created a great framework for (re)capturing shopper’s attention again, and again. Hint: it’s not just about discounts—get the tips here.

COMMUNITY

Welcome to our segment highlighting the best part of Retail Brew: you, the readers. If you’re ready for the spotlight and to connect with 145,000+ other retail industry pros, fill out our quick nomination form.

We’re stepping into the footwear section with Casca Designs cofounder and CEO Braden Parker. Braden, the floor’s yours.

Describe your job like you’re on a date. Making sure that our entire team is heading in the same direction. Everything from sweeping floors to reviewing marketing strategy and negotiating orders with manufacturers.

One thing we can’t guess from your LinkedIn: I tried to start a cricket-based pasta company before getting into footwear.

Your favorite project you’ve worked on: 3D printed footwear that’s tailored to people's individual feet. I'm biased though.

A brand you’re obsessed with (that isn’t yours): Not a huge furniture person, but I'm renovating my apartment and obsessed with Article right now.

Your favorite retailer to follow: Lululemon. They are placing some interesting bets on the future of retail, Mirror being an example.

SWAPPING SKUS

“No brand is above a pivot.”—Ancient Retail Brew proverb.

• In the first leadership interview since Brooks Brothers was acquired out of bankruptcy, the brand has named a new creative director and a new plan for reinvention. Yes, it involves attracting a younger customer. (WWD)
• Extended WFH made workwear retailers invent new products, like the “coatigan,” and new survival plans. (NYT)
• The rise, fall, and rebirth of (some) department stores, in charts. (Recode)

ICYMI

Catch up on the Retail Brew stories you may have missed.

• Black Friday 2020 Broke Online Sales Records
• How DTC Brands Are Prepping for the Holiday Rush
• Special Delivery: The Retail Brew Guide to Modern E-Comm