TECH

Hudson Looks for a Layover Cure

Airport retailer Hudson is testing a new store concept with Amazon’s “Just Walk Out” tech. The 3D rendering doesn’t do this development justice, so allow me to break it down.

• Travelers will scan their credit card to enter the new “Hudson Nonstop” stores.
• After grabbing the latest John Grisham and a $15 granola bar, they can exit without stopping at a register. Purchases will be charged to shoppers’ cards once they leave.

ETA: The first store will open at Dallas’s Love Field Airport in Q1, but Hudson’s mum on exactly when (and where) it’ll open additional Nonstop stores. It’s also unclear if the 1,000+ convenience stores it already operates will get a contactless makeover. 

Renovation redux

Airport outlets were once a coveted distribution channel for everyone from Bacardi to Lego to L’Oréal, as execs realized bored travelers would spend to pass time. “When a department store goes away, it’s not a major catastrophe,” Olivier Bottrie, Estée Lauder’s global president of travel retail, told the WSJ in 2019. “But if a major airport went away, it would be a major catastrophe.”

Enter: major catastrophe. The travel industry has plummeted in Covid-19’s wake, taking ambitions for airside malls with it. 

And, like anyone who’s been randomly assigned an exit row seat, airport retailers now have responsibilities they weren’t prepared to handle. 

• Before, convenience stores wanted to encourage browsing and extra purchases; now, they’re about speed and social distancing. 
• In Hudson’s case, the Just Walk Out tech will allow its store staff to focus on restocking shelves and sanitizing high-touch surfaces. 

Amazon’s an obvious partner as travel retailers recalibrate. Amazon planned to license its Just Walk Out tech to retailers as early as fall 2019; its first airport partnership hit the tarmac just as Covid went global last spring. 

DATA

Last Time You'll See This Pic Until November

Retailers’ shelves are already overrun with Valentine’s Day merch. But Retail Brew couldn’t take down the garlands until we published a final recap of 2020 holiday sales results. 

From retailers’ POV: E-commerce carried the team. Adobe Analytics reports that US online sales over the holiday season increased 32% year over year to $188+ billion. Digital options didn’t put retailers on an equal footing, however. 

• Out in front: Target said comparable sales in November and December grew 17.2%, with strongest growth in home goods and electronics. Lululemon said it’s anticipating Q4 earnings to come in at the high end of its outlook. 
• Falling behind: Abercrombie & Fitch still expects net sales declines. Urban Outfitters reported that holiday sales fell 8.4% and CEO Trish Donnelly will depart the company by the end of the month. 

From shoppers’ POV: We’re going to need bigger sleighs next year. In a survey of 1,000+ US shoppers by delivery firm Convey…

• 41% said their biggest shopping hang-up was a shipping delay. 
• Half said they abandoned their purchase after seeing the delivery window.

My takeaway: When Adobe Analytics’s holiday sales tracker comes out of hibernation in ten months, retailers need improved online fulfillment plans. Sales likely won't drift offline after a habit forming year. 

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FURNITURE

Make Yourself at Home

From the studio that brought you “Why are all the good desk chairs on back order?,” here are the latest furniture retail updates. Some assembly required. 

Small(er) spaces: In NYC, Ikea opened the first of its new small format locations in the US. Small = roughly half its usual store size. 

• Accessories and small furniture can be carried out of the store; relationship-enders like couches and dressers can be scheduled for home delivery. 
• In a push to infiltrate more urban US markets, Ikea plans to open similar stores in cities including Chicago and Los Angeles.

Outdoor spaces: Outer, a DTC brand for upscale patio furniture, raised a $10.5 million Series A. Outer’s best known for its “Neighborhood Showroom,” a (Covid-unfriendly) program where potential customers can visit the homes of current owners to see how Outer's weather-resistant rugs look IRL. 

• New funds will go toward DTC classics like category expansion and materials innovation. 

Threadbare spaces: Loves Furniture filed for bankruptcy after less than a year in existence. It was built from the liquidation wreckage of Art Van—but that shaky foundation led to logistics and shipping delays that hamstrung its launch. 

WHAT ELSE IS BREWING

• Dollar General will pay store employees to get the Covid-19 vaccine.
• Starbucks pledged $100 million to support small businesses and community development programs. 
• Walmart is piloting deliveries with smart coolers.
• Bombas is expanding from socks to men’s and women’s underwear.
• Wild One, a DTC pet brand, is entering IRL retail with Target.

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COMMUNITY

It’s time for our segment highlighting the best part of Retail Brew: you, the readers. We’re still accepting self-nominations for 2021, so introduce yourself here. 

Petite watermelons are just one perk of Marie Schroeder’s role at Imperfect Foods. Marie, the fridge floor is yours.

How you'd describe your role to folks outside of retail: I share the unique stories of how delicious, healthy, and affordable less-than-perfect food is (think twisty carrots and wonky shaped salmon), to drive sales and prevent food waste through e-commerce.

One surprising fact about your industry:  $218 billion (that's with a "b") worth of food is thrown away every year in the United States.

Favorite project you've worked on: We partnered with JetBlue to rescue thousands of snack trays that would have gone to waste due to the decline in air travel caused by Covid. The story went viral and was even picked up by Trevor Noah!

Your dream retail collab: Patagonia and Target. If you haven't read Let My People Go Surfing [Patagonia founder Yvon Chouinard’s memoir], add it to your cart right now. I'm from Minneapolis so I had to toss Target in the mix.

SWAPPING SKUS

I can’t remember the last time I wore a full face of makeup, but I’m always ready for in-depth reads on the state of beauty.  

• Sephora shared plans to improve its shopping experience for Black customers, from the training its employees receive to the brands it stocks. Is it enough to regain favor with Black shoppers who said Sephora employees discriminated against them? (Bloomberg)
• Allure dedicated its latest issue to the business of beauty. It’s all must-read material, but I’d suggest starting at the cover, with a profile of makeup artist turned brand mogul Pat McGrath. (Allure)
• Augmented reality tools for beauty used to look like a gimmick. But at a sampling counter reshaped by Covid-19, brands that bet early on emerging beauty tech are reaping the benefits. (Fortune)

ICYMI

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

• Inside Shipt’s Evolution from Delivering Groceries to Delivering Everything
• With Another Product Expansion, Harry’s Is So Much More than a Shave Brand
• Amazon Tops Retail App Downloads for 2020