E-COMM

Watch Before You Buy

Half of my holiday orders are suspended in package purgatory, buried in mail piles at indeterminate warehouses along the fulfillment route. 

While I await their arrival, tech companies and a handful of retail partners are launching new experiences for me to pass the time...and order even more stuff.  

Search party 

Google released two mobile Shopping updates in one swoop on Thursday.

Virtual beauty tests: Augmented reality tools now appear at the top of shopping searches for Charlotte Tilbury, Estée Lauder, L’Oréal, and MAC Cosmetics products. 

• Shoppers hit a “Try it on” button on select products, then see the lipstick or eyeshadow applied like a Snapchat filter.
• Brands aren’t charged to participate and the tool isn’t considered an ad.

AR try-on has already been implemented at Pinterest and YouTube, but adoption hasn't caught up yet. So far, only 1% of U.S. adults actively use AR while shopping, per an October Bizrate Insights/eMarketer study. 

Video recs: Searches for apparel, home, and beauty items will generate taped reviews from “enthusiasts and experts.” Exact personalities are TBA.

Watch party 

Tonight at 8pm EST/5pm PST, TikTok and Walmart are at the top of my watch list. They’re hosting the app’s first shoppable livestream event in the U.S., an hour-long broadcast when influencers will peddle fashion items to Walmart’s ~480k followers. 

• Shoppers can add pinned items to a virtual cart during the broadcast, to purchase during or after. 
• The livestream’s still a pilot, so Walmart won’t share revenue from sales with TikTok.

So far, shopping on TikTok has been limited to allowing a link in bio (clunky) or video ads (inorganic). But TikTok and Walmart’s combined scale has potential to jumpstart the nascent livestream economy in the U.S. and overtake competitors. 

Another angle: Modern Retail reported this week that Walmart has launched an in-house TikTok influencer program. I can see employee test and recommendation livestreams on the horizon.

My takeaway: The race to win digital retail innovation is, like so many other experiential developments, a microcosm of a larger tech war. I’ll be watching tonight to see if TikTok x Walmart take this battle.

GROCERY

More Doorstep Deliveries

Online grocery’s rapid ascent has largely left out shoppers who rely on federal assistance, CNN reports. So retailers are expanding delivery access.

The latest: Aldi and Instacart are extending a pilot partnership to fulfill online grocery deliveries for SNAP (Supplemental Nutrition Assistance Program) beneficiaries. Instacart will...

• Deliver orders from 1,700+ Aldi stores across 29 states and Washington, D.C., more than double the number in its initial pilot. 
• Waive delivery fees for the first three Aldi orders made via SNAP.

Why it matters: SNAP is the largest food assistance program in the U.S., with more than 40 million registrants. Food insecurity due to Covid-19 has only expanded the program: By NYT analysis, SNAP grew 3x its usual rate from February to May of this year.

Many SNAP users lacked access to online grocery until the pandemic made it a priority. Now, grocers and delivery services, coordinating with the USDA, are scrambling to enhance their digital services.

• Walmart and Amazon handle the largest share of SNAP orders placed online, having entered a pilot with the USDA in 2019.
• Albertsons, Kroger, and Hy-Vee accept SNAP payments for curbside pickup orders, but not delivery.

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PETS

My Dog Spac

I solemnly swear to guide you through BarkBox’s impending public filing without dropping the f-bomb (fetch). 

The details: BarkBox is merging with Northern Star Acquisitions Corp., a special purpose acquisition company (SPAC), to go public. The deal is valued at $1.6 billion, or several lifetime supplies of Milk-Bones. 

• BarkBox will trade under the “BARK” ticker on the NYSE next year. 

BarkBox’s merger follows Petco’s recent IPO, Chewy’s runaway growth, and the many DTC pet brands that launched in 2020. Pet purchases and adoptions have risen alongside e-commerce this year: the perfect intersection for a subscription-driven pet supplies brand.

• By the fiscal year ending March 31, 2021, BarkBox expects to generate $365 million in revenue.
• BarkBox also learned to sell omnichannel early. It’s sold in 23,000+ stores including Target and Costco—helping it reach pet owners who aren’t yet subscribers.

New tricks? BarkBox plans to update its products and expand abroad with funding from the merger. Both avenues could lead it to more leashes, but also present cross-border logistics hurdles.  

WHAT ELSE IS BREWING

• FedEx nearly doubled its quarterly profit in Q3, thanks to surging package volumes and shipping rate hikes.
• Guitar Center is already on its way out of bankruptcy.
• Dick’s Sporting Goods will offer same-day delivery via Instacart.
• Etsy sellers say the platform hasn’t adequately supported them during shipping delays.
• Toymakers are reporting robust holiday sales figures.
• Darden Restaurants thanked Taylor Swift on its Q3 earnings call for giving Olive Garden a shout-out on her latest album.

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SWAPPING SKUS

Listen: Business Casual took us behind the seams of the global fast fashion industry this week. Hear from…

• Journalist and bestselling author Dana Thomas, on the gaping hole in fashion where supply chain and marketing regulations should be.
• Patagonia CEO Ryan Gellert, in one of his first interviews on the job, on whether a mission-driven brand can “save” its home planet. (Also, what he thinks of monikers like “Patagucci.”) 

Read: Vogue Business tracks the year in sustainable retail in this comprehensive recap.

FRIEND OR FAUX?

Let’s see if you can hang with The RealReal’s authenticators. Which of the retail news stories below is fake?

1. Japanese apparel company develops new uniforms for permanent WFH-ers: pajama suits.
2. Closing malls put food court tables, light fixtures, store directories up for auction.
3. Road accident during Northeastern blizzard destroys Stop & Shop Christmas ham cargo.
4. Minnesota man refashions Kmart “K” store sign as yard decor.

Keep reading for the answer.

ICYMI

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

• Sweetgreen Will Open Its First Drive-Thru in 2021
• Inside Retail Ecommerce Ventures’s Acquisition Strategy
• Why November Retail Sales Disappointed

FRIEND OR FAUX? ANSWER

3. To my knowledge, there hasn’t been a Christmas hamccident. For my fellow Northeasterners, stay safe and enjoy the snow.