Jeff Scolnick

Albertsons Media Collective, the retail media arm for Albertsons Companies, has debuted Collective TV. According to the company, the solution unlocks the combined value of retail media and TV, providing advertisers with a modern currency for targeting, measuring and optimizing campaigns across streaming, digital video and soon linear TV. Despite the fast-paced growth of digital video ads, Albertsons Media Collective pointed out that the pathways for running connected TV (CTV) campaigns alone are varied and complex. Agencies, networks, streaming publishers, identity solutions and ad tech platforms have built silos for planning, executing and measuring CTV campaigns. | Progressive Grocer https://lnkd.in/giaREQN9 #retail #supermarkets #grocery #digital #retailmedia #video

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Unsure how much a product actually sells? Take it's rank (or average rank) and plug it into SmartScout's sales estimator. This uses Amazon's numerical system that ranks each listing based on current sales Try it here for 7 days, risk free (Tona25 for a discount):

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US Dept of Commerce Retail Data is out for August. Core Retail Sales (retail x Auto, Gas, Restaurant) for August were up 3.3% over August of 2023. YTD Core Retail sales were up 3.4% over last year. This is below the average annual growth rate of 3.9%. Non-Store Sales (a proxy for E-Commerce Sales) were up 5.6% versus August 2023. YTD Non-Store Sales are up 8.3% over the previous year. This represents a significant slow-down versus the historical average of 12.4%, reflecting the maturation of the e-commerce industry.

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Walmart has reported strong earnings in the first quarter, with a 6% year-over-year improvement in sales and growing profits. The retailer has seen traction among higher-income shoppers, although it is not specifically targeting this demographic. Walmart is investing in renovating its stores and building new locations to create a more inviting shopping experience. The company is expanding its product selection, including the launch of its premium private label brand Bettergoods, and has seen a significant increase in third-party marketplace sellers. The convenience of e-commerce, particularly through delivery and curbside orders, is contributing to sales growth. Walmart's combination of nicer stores, upscale merchandise, and convenient services is making it resemble Target. Target, on the other hand, has projected a decline in sales and has faced criticism over its handling of its annual Pride celebration. Walmart's success in emulating Target is surpassing Target's success in emulating Walmart. Walmart continues to be effective in its core business while also improving its performance in areas traditionally associated with Target. #walmart #target #retail

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Dollar General is enhancing its retail media program by teaming up with solutions provider Criteo. The commerce media platform will work with the retailer's Dollar General Media Network (DGMN) arm to support onsite sponsored ad offerings. Through this arrangement, brand partners can access inventory and campaign execution and utilize Criteo’s self-service demand-side platform. Among other capabilities, brands can leverage DGMN’s inventory within their private market through Criteo’s retailer monetization platform. In addition, the technology enables brands to reach Dollar General’s digital customers who often build lists online before making their weekly in-store purchases. Omnichannel insights will be available for marketers to see if sales are taking place online or in-store. | Progressive Grocer https://lnkd.in/gATgumgr #retail #retailmedia #grocery #shoppers #media #digital

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Here are some interesting stories from the world of retail for Wednesday, June 26: 🎯 Target has made C-suite changes to support profitable growth. Christina Hennington will become chief strategy and growth officer. Rick Gomez will become chief commercial officer. Both roles are new and are effective July 7. 🛍️ July is shaping up to be a hot month for shopping. Target Circle Weeks joins Amazon Prime Day and Walmart Deals as events for bargains on electronics, clothing, back to school items and more. 👩🏽‍⚖️ A class action lawsuit claims Nike CEO John Donahoe misled investors about the success of its DTC strategy. The complaint was filed on behalf of investors who bought Nike stock between March 19, 2021, and March 21, 2024. 💳 A federal judge on Tuesday rejected a $30 billion settlement that would have capped the fees Visa and Mastercard charge to merchants for credit and debit card purchases. 👖 Gap Inc. stands to gain from the back-to-school season, increasing relevance at its namesake stores, a product refresh at its Old Navy stores and early signs of improvement at its fitness brand Athleta, analysts say. 👨🏻‍💻 Hackers have been attempting to sell Neiman Marcus Group shopper data stolen in a recent database attack. The data breach impacted 64,472 people and the types of personal information affected varied by individual. 🧴 Stripes Beauty, the wellness lifestyle brand founded by actress and women’s health advocate Naomi Watts, has been acquired by private equity firm L Catterton. 🪁 Toys"R"Us premiered a short promo film at the 2024 Cannes Lions Festival in France that was created almost entirely by using OpenAI’s new text-to-video tool. 📉 US consumer confidence teetered slightly in June as Americans grew a little warier about the future, new data released Tuesday showed. The Conference Board’s latest consumer confidence index dipped to 100.4. 🥤Starbucks has launched a drink called Iced Energy, which has up to 205 milligrams of caffeine in it — the equivalent of six cans of Coke. It debuts less than two months after Panera dropped similar drink because of health dangers. 🚘 CDK Global, the retail software provider behind the massive auto dealer outage, says it doesn’t believe its systems will be back online before June 30, a major blow to car buyers and sellers. 🍟 Fast-food jobs have increased in California since the state implemented a $20 minimum wage across the industry despite claims by trade groups that say the hike has hurt franchisees and their employees, according to BLS data. 🚙 June new-car sales are expected to come in slightly higher than May, wrapping up a first half of the year that is also forecast to be a bit better than a year ago, even as interest rates and prices keep some buyers sidelined. 🚚 Grubhub has partnered with Albertsons to offer grocery delivery services. This partnership marks Grubhub's first national grocery partner.  #retail #retailnews #economy #DailyRetailNews

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What tough decisions are you avoiding? Here was mine... First, some context: when we're not helping our product sourcing clients grow their brands, we are running our own home storage brand and have been since 2017. It's been a wild ride, seeing us launch 35+ products in three marketplaces. At our peak, we were doing around $2 million USD per year in revenue with healthy profitability. Like many home goods brands, we saw high sales during the Covid years and reinvested a lot back into inventory to keep up with demand. And like many home goods brands, sales dropped off in early 2022 due to many factors: inflation driving low consumer confidence, consumers having frontloaded purchases, shift from buying goods to more services, rise of dollar-store-quality competitors like Temu, and the list goes on... We were forced to pivot, keeping many products that continue to do well but cutting other poor performers. This past week, after trying many strategies and dwelling on the decision for far too long, I decided it was time to cut one of our all-time best sellers. Emotionally, I was attached. I had personally designed that product from scratch, sketching it out at my kitchen table one summer's night in 2017 after my son had gone to bed. It launched in 2018 and over the years sold $700k worth of units. It was highly reviewed, with customers sharing happy pictures of it featuring in their family meals and memories. But staring me in the face was a not-so-happy decision that needed to be made. It was costing us more to store and advertise on than we were making back and Q4 Amazon storage rates are looming. The losses were piling up month after month. No changes we tried were working. At a "monthly" level the losses didn't look like much, but the cumulative effect over a year on the business definitely would be felt. Over time, I have built this habit of self-talk, where, when faced with decisions, I tell myself that now it's time to "think like the business." Or, in other words, forcing myself to remove the emotion and purely look at the numbers to make a more objective decision. Ultimately, with this decision, the order to destroy (donate) all remaining units of that product was put in with our warehouse partner, our bill settled, and that was it. The relief was instant. The sadness of losing one of my "product babies" had already been felt and was compounded by me delaying the decision. I never shy away from tough decisions or conversations but oftentimes wish I had them earlier. Because every time the result is a stronger business or a deeper, more authentic relationship. How about you, how do you approach decision making? 👉 Like this content? Don't miss out! Join my monthly newsletter written for ambitious e-commerce brand owners. Make better sourcing decisions in China. No fluff, no ChatGPT used. Subscribe now in 10 seconds via the link in the comments section. #entrepreneurship #decisionmaking #productlifecycle

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Here are some interesting stories from the world of retail for Monday, May 13: 📱 The bargain app Temu, which has gained spectacular popularity with American consumers, is shifting business priorities beyond the US. Temu wants to limit risks and seek other sources of growth. 🚫 Last week, a merger between Neiman Marcus Group and Saks Fifth Avenue came closer to becoming a reality, but will a newly emboldened FTC try to block the deal? 🥗 Whole Paycheck, no longer? The CEO of Whole Foods Market says the upmarket grocery store chain will soon offer more affordable options in an attempt to minimize the impact of inflation on customers. 👰🏼 From the boardwalk to the altar: T-shirt, shorts, bikinis and boot sellers are now dressing brides: a string of affordable fashion brands have jumped into the weddings industry to appease thrifty shoppers with inexpensive bridal wear. 🇫🇷 Amazon plans to invest more than €1.2bn ($1.3bn) in its operations in France, creating more than 3,000 permanent jobs. The Amazon Web Services investment would increase cloud infrastructure in the Paris area. 👟 A'ja Wilson of the WNBA's Las Vegas Aces is getting her own Nike signature shoe. Wilson worked with Nike's team of innovation, product, and design experts to create a signature shoe collection inspired by her distinctive style. 🍏 Workers at the first Apple Store to unionize have now also authorized a first strike against the tech giant’s retail operations. Apple Store workers in Towson, MD, voted late Saturday to authorize a strike, according to a statement. ♻️ Starting next year, Patagonia’s wet suits won’t just be recycled — they’ll be reincarnated. This is the product of a years-long initiative by Patagonia to eliminate much of the waste that accumulates when a surfer buys a new suit. 👷🏼 An investigation by advocacy group Public Eye shows that staff working for some suppliers of SHEIN are working 75 hours a week, despite the Chinese fast fashion firm promising to improve conditions. 🍞 In the hope of boosting bread sales, which slow down during the hotter seasons, some specialty stores and manufacturers in Japan are focusing on selling "cold bread" that can be eaten like a dessert. 🍗 Chicken is reprising its role as the star of Americans’ dinner plates. Stung by the rising price of beef, diners are buying more wings at fast-food chains and frozen tenders at grocery stores. 📉 Inflation is moving a baby step in the right direction, though the trend toward lower inflation was interrupted in the first quarter. Wednesday’s release of the key April consumer price index will reveal the current path. 🥤 Investor interest in cleaner, healthier energy drinks shows no signs of fizzling out. After a number of lucrative exits, investors have proven eager to back new challengers in the energy drink category. #retail #retailnews #economy #DailyRetailNews

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If you are actively doing business with the dollar store channel, this is a very interesting article worth reading. How will these new pricing strategies affect your business?

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Target didn't just miss on revenue and earnings (20%!)- this was standing in the batters box and flailing wildly at a ball 3 feet off the plate. When you permanently lower prices on 10,000 items (including staples like diapers, bread, and milk), increase same store foot traffic by 2.4% YoY, and still have same store declines of 1.9% - all while your biggest rival, WalMart RAISES their quarterly and annual revenue forecast the day before - retailers and brands would be near criminally negligent not to take notice. Even front running the Holiday sale didn't help. Other take aways for brands to consider: ➡ Forecasting - Target now expects fourth-quarter comparable sales to be approximately flat. ➡ Consumer Demand- lingering softness in discretionary categories / deceleration in discretionary demand ➡ Consumer Strategy- Target offered discounts after hearing from shoppers about “the importance of value and affordability" ➡ Category growth: Customers gravitated toward food and everyday essentials during the quarter, along with beauty items (Comparable sales in beauty grew more than 6%). Two other categories, food & beverage and essentials, posted low single-digit gains compared with the year-ago period. Other Key take aways: ➡ Groceries account for about 60% of Walmart’s U.S. business but only about 23% of Target’s. ➡ "The retailer is contending with savvy and selective shoppers who aren’t willing to buy until the price is right....Consumers have become increasingly resourceful and strategic on how they shop” - TGT Chief Commercial Officer For as long as I can remember, if you're an emerging CPG company getting into Target was the holy grail. The collab with ULTA expanded the Heath and Beauty category and the "Target Shopper" embodied who brands catered to. That strategy appears to have holes - and you can bet when your share price drops by 20% while margins reduced across the board, category buyers will be extra diligent, selective and demanding with their assortments. Unit Velocity and high margin items will carry a premium. The other take away - and this is just my opinion - consumer fatigue has set in and demand is tapering off. I've written about Care Free Carrie and Anxious Anne in recent posts, as well as consumer debt being at an all time high. With Target forecasting a flat Holiday season YoY, brands and retailers need to be prepared and not wait too long to discount. This will be a holiday season driven by bargains.... and there is nothing AI can do about it. Where do you see holiday spending trending this year? #cpg #retail #branding #RetailTrends #ConsumerBehavior #RetailStrategy #ConsumerInsights #EmergingCPG #ConsumerDemand #InflationImpact #HolidayShopping #BrandStrategy #CPGTrends #MarketingInsights #SalesAndMarketing #CategoryGrowth

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With Ulta Beauty earnings report out and not as robust as we have seen from them in previous quarters, it is important to take in the full story. Ulta has done an amazing job continuing to build its loyalty program and provide exceptional innovation across both mass and prestige. Their challenge is a very dynamic market where the retailer landscape continues to become more competitive as we see both more retailers and points of distribution, a blurring of the lines between mass and prestige (previously space that was primarily owned by Ulta) and an acceleration of the digital/online business overall with brands making a much greater investment in driving their own DTC allowing them to own the relationship with the end consumer. While looking at Ulta performance in isolation this may seem to be a challenge, for the industry we should all be excited and driven by the fact that the beauty industry remains incredibly healthy and resilient - the pie continues to grow, how it gets split out is where we are seeing the greatest impact.

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Weekly Spotlight on a Profitable Niche: High Visibility Running Gear 🏃‍♀️ Did you know that the High Visibility Running Gear niche is generating over $30,000 per month on Amazon USA? With an average price point of $15.69, this product category is both accessible for buyers and profitable for sellers. Plus, with an average rank of 15,439, it's a competitive but achievable space with the right strategy! Key Highlights: Monthly Revenue: $30,957 Niche Score: 6/10 – solid potential for consistent income Low Competition for New Sellers – A fantastic option for those ready to get started on Amazon! For anyone passionate about fitness or looking to tap into the growing sports and outdoor market, this is a great opportunity to launch a winning product. Niche products aligned with hobbies, like running, often perform incredibly well – and high-visibility gear addresses an essential safety need for runners. Curious about selling on Amazon? My Amazon Seller Success Program provides the support you need to find profitable products like this and guides you through every step of launching and scaling on Amazon. For just £50 per month, you'll receive: ✅ A comprehensive Amazon FBA course ✅ Monthly group coaching calls ✅ A full year of ongoing support Ready to take your first step? Sign up here or book a call with my team to chat about how we can turn your idea into a profitable Amazon business: https://lnkd.in/erBxgFP8 Let’s get started on your Amazon journey today!

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“We’re not collecting data just to have it ... it's a value proposition.” says Colgate-Palmolive with their Hill's Pet Nutrition brand. Colgate-Palmolive, like many other CPG brands, are going DTC and building a customer data platform and martech stack for engagement. For many, the will they/won't they deprecate third-party cookies was just the push needed to start collecting first-party data. #ecommerce #customerexperience #firstpartydata #thirdpartycookies #dtc

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For most of the custom merch industry, if you don’t have a custom-built tech stack, communicating product pricing, inventory & options with customers is cumbersome. A typical order is frequently 20+ back-and-forth emails. Larger merch companies have great tech, but with that, typically, customers lose the personalized experience. I’ve found that customers prefer to have a point of contact when they’re spending 4 to 5 figures on an order. I’ve been working on a solution to solve this. I believe the best customer experience is a hybrid of tech and personalized 1-on-1 support. Customers can move quickly when preferred but also tap into a merch expert when needed. As a first step, we’re building a self-service product catalog to empower customers to instantly find products, get pricing & view inventory. Today, I’m demoing our apparel catalog, which we’ve integrated with the three largest suppliers in the industry, S&S Activewear, SanMar, and Alphabroder, for a real-time feed of over 10,000 products. In the coming weeks, I will share updates on our integration with a few promotional product suppliers, a self-service checkout feature, and give a sneak peek into AI tools.

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July US Retail Sales were the most robust growth of the year, with Core Retail sales (Retail minus Gas, Auto, and Restaurants) up 5.2% over July 2023. Year to date, Core retail is up 3.4% over last year, which is a bit slower growth than the historical average of 3.9%. The bulk of this growth is going to a handful of retailers (Walmart, Amazon, Temu, Shein, and Tik Tok Marketplace), which means lean times for many other retailers.

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James and I are interviewing Rachel Peters (Clean Age) this Friday for our pod, BrandBusters. CleanAge has been laser-focused on serving Gen Z, and they bucked the traditional 2010s CPG launch by going RETAIL FIRST instead of DTC FIRST. They have an awesome brand aesthetic and make products with better ingredients (and sustainable packaging). What should we ask Rachel? #CPG #podcasts #brandbusters

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