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Good afternoon. It's the first day of Fashion Revolution Week, a global event for increasing human rights standards in retail supply chains. It was founded after the Rana Plaza, an apparel manufacturing center in Bangladesh, collapsed in 2013, killing more than 1,100 garment workers who made clothing for major retail brands.
To learn more about Fashion Revolution Week 2021, head here.
In today’s edition:
- Omnichannel staffing strategies
- Nuggs enters three major retailers
- JCPenney debuts new private label brand
— Halie LeSavage, Katishi Maake
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Stephanie Keith/Getty Images
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Over the last 12 months, retailers have spent millions expanding their omnichannel offerings—from partnerships with Instacart to modernizing fulfillment services.
- And omnichannel revenue has soared: US click-and-collect sales more than doubled last year, per eMarketer, rising from $35.02 billion in 2019 to $72.46 billion in 2020.
Staffing up: Now that stores double as fulfillment centers, employees have a wider set of responsibilities. Old shifts entailed ringing up orders or stocking shelves; new shifts can require that and fulfilling online orders or handling curbside pickup.
We spoke to six decision-makers, at retailers from Madewell to Build-A-Bear, who are navigating the omnichannel shift from an in-store staffing POV.
Our question: How have you attempted to maintain customer satisfaction, across all channels, while further expanding omnichannel offerings?
Keep scrolling for a sampling of their answers, and click here to read the full interviews.
Richard Armour
SVP of e-commerce at Michaels
Before the pandemic, we had BOPIS available at all our stores and team members were trained to help our customers via this fulfillment channel. At the start of the pandemic, we rolled out curbside pickup in a matter of days chainwide.
- Following the rapid rollout, we focused on reducing friction in every step of the curbside process for both our customers and team members.
- This included training for employees, improved in-store technology, and a redesigned front-end experience on the site and the mobile app.
Kecia Steelman
Chief store operations officer at Ulta
We do have some collective scheduling that looks at the historical data, and we proactively give hours to the stores to support that fulfillment, to be sure that we still have a great presence on the sales floor.
- 80% of our BOPIS orders are picked up and fully prepared within an hour.
- If there's a surge of in-store physical guests coming into the shop, we do have a little window of time, but 80% picked within an hour is a good indicator that we're proactively scheduling in order to take care of all of those guests.
John Wompey
VP of global omni customer connectivity and care at Foot Locker
To maintain high-level customer satisfaction, our associates are encouraged to continually check omni-orders throughout their shifts. Some of Foot Locker’s largest stores even have dedicated omni-fulfillment teams that are not only responsible for packing orders, but also for ensuring customers are greeted and checked out in a timely manner. — HL, KM
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Courtesy of Simulate
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Even your best-educated guesses won’t hit the mark. The pins above represent the ~2,500 stores carrying Simulate’s plant-based nuggets, Nuggs, as of this April.
- Nuggs entered hundreds of Target, Walmart, and Sam’s Club locations this month—representing a 200% store footprint increase.
- By the end of 2021, Nuggs will reach 3,200+ Walmart stores alone, and projects it’ll hit $40 million in revenue (that's up from $8 million in 2020).
Why 3-for-1: Sam Terris, COO at Simulate, told Retail Brew that partnerships make Nuggs accessible beyond its coastal DTC base. And the category’s crowding: “Every day there are two new plant-based skus hitting the market, so we want to go live as quickly as possible.”
Something to chew on: Accommodating three major retailers means adjusting pricing and package volume for each audience. In Sam’s Club’s case, the brand needed a bulk bag.
- Terris said the request wasn’t too far off from the largest DTC sku it sells.
- But “if everything was one sku in one size and had the same pallet pattern and packaging...that is definitely ideal.”
One customer discovery win? Unlike rivals in the $4.2 billion plant-based meat market, “we're getting put in the meat section, which is really where we want to compete,” Terris said.
About that map...more blue pins via food partnerships are imminent. Terris said the Nuggs team “has set our sights” on restaurant and QSR partnerships. — HL
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This probably sounds familiar: You ship a package to your customer, it disappears into another dimension, and then they come to you with all the questions.
Route delivers post-purchase solutions that spare you the headache—and the unhappy customer.
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Plus with real-time alerts and easy access to your order history, the status of every package is right at your fingertips. Add in Route’s order protection and customer engagement solutions, and you’ve got brand loyalty that stretches far beyond the checkout page—and keeps customers coming back.
By the numbers? Brands who use Route see an average 126% increase in customer engagement.
Now check out this dealio: Route is offering a cool $100 off when you schedule a demo to learn more.
Book one now and discover why Route truly is the whole package.
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Jeff Greenberg/Getty Images
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The comeback is getting serious. After reemerging from Chapter 11 and being sold to Simon Property Group and Brookfield Property Partners, JCPenney has rolled out a new private label brand, Loom + Forge.
The line offers indoor and outdoor home decor, complementing home brands JCPenney has recently brought into the fold (Fieldcrest) or expanded (Linden Street).
Right at home: Broadening its home portfolio is central to JCP’s recovery strategy. The segment is hot, and Penney is not.
- “Penney's e-commerce business is not where it needs to be, and...their store business isn't either,” Simon Property Group President and CEO David Simon admitted during a February earnings call.
It’s been said a thousand times, but that doesn’t make it any less true: When people were stuck at home, homeware sales surged.
- Bed Bath & Beyond is taking a similar approach, debuting eight private labels this year.
Bottom line: Loom + Forge helps fill a white space in JCPenney’s home portfolio, which now includes bedding, bath, tabletop, window coverings, and pillows, a company spokesperson told Retail Brew. JCP says that more private and national brands of all categories are on their way this year. — KM
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It’s official: GameStop CEO George Sherman will step down by July.
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Target tapped three designers for its spring collaborations: Christopher John Rogers, Alexis, and Rixo.
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CVS is expanding its stock of healthy snacks and meat alternatives.
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McDonald's selected K-pop group BTS for its latest menu collab.
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Amazon is developing a furniture assembly service, per Bloomberg.
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Package protection doesn’t stop at packing peanuts. When a customer’s package is lost, stolen, or damaged, Route can help automate and outsource their claim for you. In fact, brands that use Route’s premium order protection see an average 18% decrease in support costs, an 11% increase in profits, and a 24 hour resolution time. Protect your orders and build customer loyalty with Route.
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At the mall, it’s where band tees are the only tees. In Retail Brew, it’s where we invite readers to weigh in on a trending topic in retail.
Walk into almost any grocery store, and self-checkout will be an option. But the pandemic has accelerated demand for low-contact shopping experiences, and some grocers are taking self-checkout to the next level with frictionless stores.
- Amazon is testing its “Just Walk Out” cashierless technology at a Fresh store in Illinois, and will open Fresh stores on the East Coast.
- Choice Market opened its first “Choice: Now” frictionless store in Denver, with more locations to come.
Hot or not? Is frictionless grocery shopping the future, or will consumers prefer the traditional experience? Cast your vote here.
Circling back...Last week we asked: What should Walmart replace its closing McDonald’s locations with? Nearly 37% said ghost kitchens, while 28.5% think Taco Bell is the best fit. 27.2% believe it should be something else entirely.
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A roundup of today's top retail reads beyond Retail Brew.
Going green: No two fashion houses have the same logos, much less long-term sustainability plans. But the entire industry could learn a thing or two from...Apple? (Elle)
Going viral: How to orchestrate a brand debut shoppers can’t help but tweet about, according to the sunscreen slinger behind Vacation. (Thingtesting)
Going virtual: Unpacking the non-fungible token’s impending effects on luxury and resale. (The Fashion Law)
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Catch up on the Retail Brew stories you may have missed.
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Written by
Halie LeSavage and Katishi Maake
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