JEWELRY

Ice ice baby

We’ve all been looking for bright spots throughout the pandemic. 

Jewelry sales were up 106.1% from March 2019 to March 2021, per April Mastercard SpendingPulse data.

• That increase is higher than apparel, hardware, furniture, and general e-commerce sales. 

Bling ring: One segment that’s especially eye-catching: men’s jewelry. Tiffany and Co. debuted its first engagement ring for men in April, while DTC jewelry brand Mejuri introduced its men’s line last October. 

The latest to join the boy’s club is Kendra Scott. We spoke to CEO Tom Nolan about the decision to enter the men’s jewelry market, with a new line that debuts today.  

By popular demand: There were macro trends, yes. “We all saw that this business has been growing over the last couple of years,” Nolan told Retail Brew—even more so during the pandemic. But customers had the final say on whether men’s jewelry was a fit for the company. 

• “A lot of men shop in our stores, either for themselves or the women in their lives,” he said. After speaking to them, “it was pretty clear we had some white space in this market.” 
• Work on the 25-piece collection started more than a year ago, and Kendra Scott’s three sons helped design the bracelets.

Whether the line expands depends on whether shoppers take a shine to it, Nolan said. (Read: buy it.) Plus, on who actually picks up the pieces... 

• “I actually anticipate that a lot of our product is going to be sold to those who identify as women as much as it is to those who identify as men,” Nolan said, noting the company kept gender-inclusivity in mind. 

Zoom out: Not all men’s accessories are poised for growth. Tie sales plummeted during Covid, according to the WSJ, and there isn’t a lot of confidence that the business will stabilize. 

US men’s apparel and footwear overall also slumped, as sales dropped 23.7% from 2019 to 2020, per Euromonitor data provided to Retail Brew.—KM

STORES

Sorry, we’re closed

Summer’s barely begun, and retailers are already making holiday plans.

On Friday, Walmart announced its doors will be closed again for Thanksgiving Day, following Target’s lead. 

• “[It] is one way we’re saying ‘thank you’ to our teams for their dedication and hard work this year,” Dacona Smith, EVP and COO for Walmart US, said in a statement.

It’s a good-will play, letting store employees enjoy the holiday at home. But the broader shift to e-commerce likely played a role in the decision too.  

Add to cart: Walmart’s online sales for Thanksgiving and Black Friday rose 28% in 2020, Edison Trends data shows. Overall US digital sales spiked 20% on Thanksgiving Day and 23% on Black Friday, compared to 2019, per Salesforce data.

• According to Adobe Analytics, Thanksgiving Day e-comm sales topped $5 billion for the first time.

The takeaway: While e-comm didn’t completely make up for in-store sales lost last year, the pandemic sped up digital adoption faster than one-day shipping.—JG

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SPENDING

Zoom, not gloom

Gen Z is spending like it’s...2021. 

Zoomers are a major force in driving post-vax spending, American Express CEO Steve Squeri said at an investor conference last week. 

• Gen Z (and millennials) are shelling out 125% more dollars compared to 2019. 
• That boosted AmEx card spending, Bloomberg noted, though it’s still lower than pre-pandemic levels.  

Pocket money: Zoomers’ purchasing power still remains relatively low compared to Boomers—most are still under 20 (Pew Research Center defines Gen Z as those born after 1996). 

Teen spending clocked in at $2,165 per capita each year, according to Piper Sandler’s semi-annual survey for Spring 2021. That was up 1% from an all-time low of $2,150 in Fall 2020. 

• Food is where the cash is going, with a 23% share, up from 21% from last fall. 
• Chick-fil-A, Starbucks, and Chipotle ranked as favorites. 

But looking ahead...Gen Z will rule the global economy in a decade, according to a November Bank of America Research report. Zoomer income will reach $33 trillion by the end of the decade, it estimates, and overtake millennials a year later. Winning Gen Z loyalty now bodes well for retailers in the future.—KM 

WHAT ELSE IS BREWING

• McDonald’s BTS meal is driving more store traffic than its popular Travis Scott collab.
• Pinterest partnered with DTC brands for exclusive products, while Instagram released even more commerce tools.
• Staples proposed a $1 billion takeover of Office Depot’s consumer business.
• Athena Club, a DTC bodycare company, raised $15 million in a new funding round.
• Macy’s is one of several companies still delaying payments to vendors, blaming the pandemic.

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HOT TOPIC

The biggest retailers are turning June into a summer shopping bonanza. 

• Last week, Amazon made it official: Prime Day will be June 21-22. 
• Walmart and Target quickly followed suit, announcing their own sales events to overlap with Prime Day. 

Our question: Among Amazon, Walmart, and Target, which retailer’s sale event will bring in the most revenue? Cast your vote here. 

Last time...We asked when you believe retail sales will cool down after a strong Q1. Nearly half (47.7%) believe sales will slow down in Q3, while almost a third (31.8%) believe it’ll be even further down the line, in Q1 2022. 

SWAPPING SKUS

Today’s top retail longreads. 

New ingredients: There’s more to Sweetgreen’s latest logo than an upgraded sans serif font. It’s the garnish on a wide-ranging, pre-potential IPO makeover. (The New Consumer)

In the bag: Take a closer look at the emerging tech providers powering grocery delivery—and the workers who say the tech is making the job harder. (NYT)

What’s cooking? An ode to Le Creuset, the French cookware brand that saw global sales rise to a record $750 million amid last year’s sourdough surge. (Fortune)

ICYMI

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

• Testing Amazon One, Amazon’s palm payments system
• Costco, Sam’s Club bringing back free samples
• How three first-time founders navigated the pandemic