CASE STUDY

The Sole Survivor

In 2020, few shoe styles have been collectively embraced like the Swiss-cheese holed plastic clogs we all know as Crocs. 

• Crocs sales increased 48% this year while overall footwear sales declined 20%, according to NPD.
• Searches for Crocs jumped 32% MoM this October on fashion search engine Lyst. 

Everywhere isn’t an exaggeration. Instagrammers were #influenced to buy strawberry patterned Crocs; Dead Heads snapped up tie-dye Crocs; Ryan Duffy, my colleague and Emerging Tech Brew writer, is the proud owner of electric pink Crocs. 

Shoppers’ newfound fondness for the official shoe of rec swim coaches put Crocs in a unique position. “While it was important that we maintained a lean inventory position during the pandemic, we immediately recognized surging demand for our product,” Katie Wagner, VP of Sales, Americas at Crocs, told Retail Brew.

To keep up, “we leveraged our strong manufacturing and distribution partnerships to chase supply for key products,” Wagner said. 

But how will the brand maintain—and extend—its streak? 

Jibbitz and bites 

Croc’s path forward is one it’s walked many times: “continued investment in clogs, sandals, Jibbitz charms, and our innovative comfort technology,” Wagner told me. But Crocs is also deploying a mix of exclusive products and wholesale placements to make Croctober a year-round event. 

The channel angle: While Nike pulls its products off Amazon, Crocs hasn’t backed away from third-party marketplaces—and the new customers they offer.

• “The digital experience with our wholesale partners provides opportunities to reach more consumers where they are already shopping and highlight our brand in ways that align with what our consumers value,” Wagner told me.

The collab angle: Crocs’s formula isn’t that different from other brands, Wagner said. “[W]hat we’ve found is that strong, authentic collaborations with various artists and creatives is something that excites our existing customer base and expands our audience.” 

• Authentic = partners who wore Crocs before they became America’s preferred outdoor slipper. 
• That includes Justin Bieber (whose custom Crocs are reselling at a 20% mark-up) and Bad Bunny (whose Crocs collab sold out in 16 minutes last month).

Bottom line: Crocs couldn’t have anticipated the circumstances behind its 2020 rise, but astute merchandising plans could ensure it continues to gain footwear share. 

Ed. note: Ryan Duffy contributed reporting to this story. 

DATA

Some Halos Shine Brighter Than Others

It’s time for part two of our Prime Day 2020 recap. Our focus? Participants that aren’t founders of the faux holiday.

The brands’ eye view: 350+ retailers hosted Prime Day-adjacent promotions, increasing 17% from 2019, according to RetailMeNot data shared with Retail Brew. 

Any retailer hosting a discount likely captured more sales than usual. DigitalCommerce360 and Salesforce report overall online sales rose 76% on Prime Day compared to last year. 

Traffic citations 

All those brands joined the bandwagon, but did they outdo Prime Day? I asked the experts at SimilarWeb to evaluate other major retailers that joined the sales fray.

Francis Scialabba

Shoppers clicked through competing sales, but not everyone could seal the deals. “The large variation in visits and conversions across retailers shows us that consumers were ready to convert once they found the best deal going into this year's delayed Prime Day,” Jamie Drayton, lead retail industry consultant at SimilarWeb, told Retail Brew. 

The top converters discounted products that Amazon also carried—implying that conversions came from better customer service, better additional products, or both.

• Target more than doubled total sales for its Deal Days event, with omnichannel fulfillment usage increasing 300%.
• Best Buy marked down TVs and wireless headphones among other popular tech, but hasn’t released sales figures yet.

SPONSORED BY LISTRAK

When Closing Is Good

Lately, when you hear the word “closing” in a retail context, it's bad news. But today closing is good—especially when it’s about closing the revenue gap.

Have questions about how to do that? We figured, so we’ve teamed up with the masters of digital marketing automation at Listrak to discuss just that.

Trusted by 1,000+ leading brands, Listrak has helped retailers of all shapes and sizes see the power of integrating email, SMS, and behavioral triggers on one platform.

So if you’re looking to close your revenue gap, or wondering how a furniture brand like Jonathan Adler saw 109% revenue growth in just a year, this is an article you must read. 

Check out our article with Listrak here.

TECH

Invasion of the Body Scanners

Zalando is one purchase closer to making the Clueless closet a reality. On Friday, the European online retailer acquired a body scanning tech firm, Fision, for an undisclosed sum.  

The details: Fision creates virtual dressing rooms where users can scan their body measurements and see how an item looks in their size. It doesn’t take a returns scientist to see why Zalando made the purchase...

• Shoppers will know their fits fit. 76% of U.S. shoppers said virtual try-on services improved their purchase confidence in a recent Vertebrae survey. 
• Zalando’s costs will plummet with fewer too-small returns to process and fewer excess products to redistribute...if the tech is accurate. 

Compare + contrast. Body measurements are difficult to standardize, so virtual try-on tech is mostly an accessory (Kendra Scott and Warby Parker) and beauty (Ulta) feature. 

Other apparel retailers have limited virtual dressing room experiences: 

• ASOS is testing a feature called “See My Fit” where shoppers can view 800 items on 16 body types (but not a scan of their own).
• Kohl’s partnered with Snapchat to test a virtual closet.

WHAT ELSE IS BREWING

• Juniper Unlimited, a marketplace for adaptive clothing, launched in the U.S. 
• CVS will hire another 15,000 workers. 
• Reformation's third-party investigation uncovered a “cliquish” culture at the brand.
• Shipping providers are already at holiday capacity, the WSJ reports.

SPONSORED BY CRITEO OMNICHANNEL SOLUTIONS

Omnichannel marketing that will make you feel omnipotent. By combining your customers’ in-store activity with their online behavior, Criteo Omnichannel Solutions can help retailers deliver better targeted ads that drive sales. By connecting the dots between in-store and online, you can truly see the full picture of the shopping journey. Learn more about how Criteo Omnichannel Solutions can keep you connected with your customers.

SWAPPING SKUS

Retailers spent the past seven months gobbling up tech they could’ve implemented years ago. Here’s a closer look at the (overdue) updates some are testing. 

Read: Why did grocers adopt contactless payments at an AOL pace? (Input)

Watch: H-E-B senior engineering manager Justin Turner explains how the beloved chain overhauled its curbside pickup program (and the app behind it) for the peak BOPIS era. (YouTube)

HOMETOWN HEROES

Let’s take the edge off this Monday with a Retail Brew classic. I’ll give you the retail category and the location; you’ll guess the retailer or restaurant chain that’s headquartered there. 

1. Family restaurant; Lebanon, Tennessee
2. Hardware; Oak Brook, Illinois 
3. Dollar store; Goodlettsville, Tennessee
4. Bulk membership club; Issaquah, Washington

Keep scrolling for the answers.

ICYMI

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

• How Shop Latinx’s Relaunch Leveraged Consumer Feedback
• Apple Joins Retailers Fulfilling Online Orders With Store Inventory
• As Online Grocery Surges, CPG Brands Are Rethinking Their Wholesale Strategies

HOMETOWN HEROES ANSWERS

1. Cracker Barrel 
2. Ace Hardware 
3. Dollar General
4. Costco