Yael Kochman
December 31, 2018
This holidays season was an intensive one for the retail industry.
Just last week, retailers were rushing to offer Christmas Eve delivery to keep up with Amazon Prime, and today numbers are showing the hard work paid off: U.S. retail sales saw best growth in 6 years, driven by both strong online sales and increased efforts to match growing customer expectations.
From smart shoes, experiential retail and the trends that pushed beauty retailers to new heights in 2018, check out the hottest retail tech news from this week:
Puma is re-releasing a new version of its 30 year old “smart” shoe, in attempt to regain the attention of sneaker addicts and collectors, AKA sneakerheads.
The original RS-Computer Shoe (RS stands for Running System) which was released in 1986, was a running shoe that included a built-in computer chip located at back of the heel. The RS-Computer Shoe allowed runners to track their progress, a ground-breaking feature in the pre-fitness days of the ’80s.
The 1986 RS chip recorded time, distance, and calories burned; The 2018 version of the sneaker takes the tech a few steps ahead, featuring Bluetooth technology to send time, distance, calories, and the number of steps from the shoe to a smartphone using an RS-Computer shoe app.
Taking its costumers down the memory lane, Puma preserved the original RS design- using 8-bit graphics, the same feature used on the original computer screens and giving it an old school touch.
Puma isn’t the first company to re-release a smart shoe in the race to stay relevant in today’s sneaker industry. ADIDAS re-released its original smart shoe, the Micropacer (from 1984) with some updates for the futuristic sneaker fans.
The significance for Puma here is twofold: in addition to increasing engagement with costumers, the connection to the mobile app offers personalized value to its users.
But above all, the force behind Puma’s move is the emotional bond it is creating with its customers, by not only providing them with a techy product, but using nostalgia to improve their marketing results. The combination of nostalgia and tech is topped with an exclusive hint: the collection will be very limited, as Puma will be releasing just 86 pairs of the shoe worldwide.
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Image Source: BGR
“Our best customers are omnichannel customers”- Prama Bhatt, SVP of digital and e-commerce.
Ulta Beauty omnichannel strategy has been in the works since 2015, and it is safe to say its efforts payed off: the company showed a 43 percent increase in e-commerce sales to nearly $458 million in the first nine months of 2018.
The brand’s move to an integrated omnichannel approach is happening on multiple fronts, with its intention of opening 100 stores this year. This doesn’t come as a surprise: Ulta found omnichannel shoppers spend up to four times more than its single-channel guest. They also found out these shoppers frequent stores two-to-four times more. One would think their extra spend was digital spend, but ironically, that extra spend is happening in stores.
Here are 3 ways the company has managed to grow with its mnichannel approach:
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Image Source: WWD
Instacart announced that it will end its relationship with Whole Foods in early 2019, and according to experts, it looks like in 2019 more grocery retailers will be joining.
Some numbers: Instacart serves over 4,000 cities, delivers from 15,000 stores and partners with more than 300 retailers. According to reatil expert Brittain Ladd, grocery retail executives have made some impulsive decisions to sign an agreement with Instacart in the past out of fear of Amazon, without taking into account the long-term impact of the decision. In other words: they are lacking strategy.
Looking forward, grocery retailers should own the costumer experience. Whether it be BOPIS, or using their managers to design and implement their own delivery services, grocery retailers should identify and leverage their differentiating capabilities.
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Image Source: Time
The beauty space has always been a great example for the power of experiential retail. The “play now, buy later” philosophy of beauty brands like Sephora and Ulta, alongside the entrance of new players like Glossier and Birchbox, have pushed traditional retailers to reconsider their strategy and as a result invest in experiential stores.
Lets take a quick look at 3 trends that defined the beauty sector in 2018:
To put it simply, this year was a big one for renovations and revamps in the beauty sector- a trend that is only expected to grow.
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Image Source: WWD
Amid the holiday season, total retail sales in the US jumped by 5.1% up to $850 billion from Nov. 1 to Dec. 24 compared to the prior year – the strongest performance in six years.
It was also a great holiday season for Amazon: the company claimed that it shipped a billion products (!) for free in the U.S. alone, and that voice-placed orders was tripled during 2018 holiday season. That’s one happy Alexa.
How did this happen?
According to retail experts and analysts, the drive in sales could be attributed to efficient inventory management and distribution strategy.
The jump was also driven by robust online spending. Unlike last year, retailers were challenged to keep up sales throughout the holiday shopping season with an uncommonly early Thanksgiving, and stores like Target and Walmart extended their online order deadlines for Christmas.
Retail apocalypse, anyone?
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Image Source: Her Campus
Final thoughts
