Will Taylor

Costco is entering the rapidly expanding world of retail media networks. Costco, the third-largest retailer in the United States, is preparing to launch its own retail media network (RMN) to tap into its extensive loyalty membership program and shopper data. Costco's RMN will allow the company and advertisers to deliver targeted ads to its 74.5 million paid household members based on purchasing behavior. As Mark Williamson, Costco's Assistant Vice-President of retail media, stated, "We will not only help you reach a Costco member, but we will help you reach the right members in the right context based on past behavior." Retail media networks have become one of the fastest-growing ad-supported media channels, with eMarketer estimating global ad spending for RMNs to reach $140 billion in 2024. While Costco's entry into this market is later compared to competitors like Amazon, Walmart, and Target, it presents a significant opportunity for advertisers to reach Costco's loyal customer base. Nich Weinheimer, Executive Vice-President of Strategy at Skai, expressed excitement about Costco's RMN, stating that it "offers a unique advantage: the ability to effectively target buyers through membership retail media networks. Costco's extensive data on purchase behavior is nearly unmatched, allowing ads to target loyal shoppers based on their recent purchases, behaviors, demographics, cart sizes, and more." Although Costco is a latecomer to the RMN market, with Amazon holding a 77% share of U.S. retail media ad spend, Costco's large customer base and first-party data provide a significant opportunity for advertisers in the travel, telecom, and other service sectors to reach new, targeted audiences. As Costco continues to develop its RMN, it must collaborate with data companies to create a programmatic ad-buying platform and manage its shopper data and targeting capabilities. #costco #amazon #retailmedianetwork https://buff.ly/3L5PKDs

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Want to learn how AI is transforming eCommerce and helping merchandisers understand customer needs? Check out the blog from Constructor below 👇 to discover how GenAI can turn vague search terms into valuable insights! https://bit.ly/3WZn04N #ProductExperience #PX #GenAI #Constructor #Akeneo

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Heading to #Groceryshop in Las Vegas next month? Stop by and meet with the 1WorldSync team at booth #A834 to learn about ways to elevate your omnichannel strategies in grocery and CPG.

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Exciting Insights from The New York Times Interview with Robert Sanders In a recent interview, Dr. Stamatopoulos highlighted a fascinating trend: when Electronic Shelf Labels (E.S.L.s) are implemented in stores, they not only reduce the average price per unit sold but also increase the overall quantity of items sold. This dynamic pricing strategy, especially as expiration dates approach, creates a win-win situation for both companies and consumers. ……..! At Wasteless AI , we are harnessing the power of smart dynamic pricing to tackle food waste and enhance profitability. By using advanced algorithms, we enable retailers to optimize pricing in real-time, ensuring that products nearing their expiration dates are sold quickly while maximizing revenue and reducing foodwaste and markdown costs This approach not only benefits the bottom line but also contributes to a more sustainable future by reducing waste. Together, we can transform the retail landscape and create efficient, eco-friendly shopping experiences! Oded Omer Tomas Pasqualini Yossi Regev

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Key Lessons for Digital Marketers from Amazon Prime Day 2024 Amazon Prime Day 2024 brought in a record $14.2 billion in U.S. online sales, showcasing significant trends and insights for digital marketers to consider as they gear up for the holiday sales period. 𝗠𝗼𝗯𝗶𝗹𝗲 𝗗𝗼𝗺𝗶𝗻𝗮𝗻𝗰𝗲: Mobile-driven sales saw a significant increase, with $7 billion in sales through mobile devices, marking an 18.6% increase over the previous year. This highlights the importance of optimizing marketing strategies for mobile platforms. 𝗥𝗲𝘀𝘂𝗿𝗴𝗲𝗻𝗰𝗲 𝗼𝗳 𝗕𝗶𝗴-𝗧𝗶𝗰𝗸𝗲𝘁 𝗜𝘁𝗲𝗺𝘀: Despite economic challenges, big-ticket categories such as home, furniture, and appliances experienced a substantial 76% boost in sales during Prime Day. This points to the potential for marketers to capitalize on consumer demand for high-value items during holiday sales. 𝗜𝗺𝗽𝗮𝗰𝘁 𝗼𝗳 𝗗𝗲𝗲𝗽𝗲𝗿 𝗗𝗶𝘀𝗰𝗼𝘂𝗻𝘁𝘀: Higher discounts, averaging 22%, propelled Prime Day's success, up 10% from the previous year. This reaffirms the impact of offering substantial discounts on stimulating consumer spending and driving sales growth. 𝗘𝘅𝗽𝗮𝗻𝗱𝗲𝗱 𝗢𝗽𝗽𝗼𝗿𝘁𝘂𝗻𝗶𝘁𝗶𝗲𝘀 𝗕𝗲𝘆𝗼𝗻𝗱 𝗔𝗺𝗮𝘇𝗼𝗻: The Prime Day halo effect extended to other retailers, with an 88% increase in participating mass retailers and specialty stores running concurrent sales. This underscores the potential for marketers to leverage the momentum of major events to drive sales across various platforms. 𝗦𝗼𝗰𝗶𝗮𝗹 𝗘𝗻𝗴𝗮𝗴𝗲𝗺𝗲𝗻𝘁 𝗮𝗻𝗱 𝗜𝗻𝗰𝗹𝘂𝘀𝗶𝘃𝗶𝘁𝘆: Primarily associated with consumer goods, Prime Day also drew attention to social causes, such as the #ClearTheList campaign, which highlighted teachers' wish lists. This presents an opportunity for marketers to align their campaigns with social initiatives and engage with audiences more inclusively. In contrast, "Deals For You Days" by TikTok Shop demonstrated the challenges of competing with established events like Prime Day. The lower growth and discounts during the TikTok promotion signify the significance of established events in driving value and sales for retailers and brands. In summary, it's crucial for digital marketers to adopt a mobile-first approach, capitalize on consumer interest in high-value items, leverage the power of discounts, explore omnichannel opportunities, and engage with audiences through social initiatives to drive sales growth during holiday seasons.

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This is a wake-up call to all retailers and brands CEO/CDOs/CMOs, you are going in the WRONG direction. Stop competing with commodity commerce sites like Amazon and Walmart and start innovating. You all “say” the right things at trade shows: “better customer experiences” “personalization” “real connections and brand engagement” Yet your actions are the OPPOSITE You don’t encourage your teams to take any risks or come up with creative ideas. You have teams of paper pushers. Everyone is looking to press a button or implement the newest Acme Company technology (yes, a Roadrunner cartoon reference). You are looking for the latest AI bot to do the trick Newsflash, consumers hate bots…no matter how smart they are You are cutting programs left and right, reducing customer service hours, getting rid of free returns You are being lazy You're playing defense not offense You need to do some real work, some elbow grease type stuff Case in point: When Domino's pledged to get you your pizza in under 30mins – that took effort and it worked. It was all about the customer experience. When Enterprise said “we’ll pick you up” – that wasn’t a push the button effort, it was a program and executed well. When my friends at Sweetwater promise you access to a real musician expert 1:1 to help buy the right products, that was a real effort (and it worked, driving their DTC to $1.7B) The biggest risk is the risk you don’t take. NEED Help? Here’s an example of an idea to inspire creative thinking – it may be a terrible idea but I want to get the point across on how you NEED to be dissecting the customer experience and coming up with creative solutions I call it Pizza Party - that will both drive conversion and reduce returns for apparel brands Hire fit models of varying sizes and body types near you warehouse For every new drop, have them try on the clothes and record their fit feedback Share that feedback on every PDP page Have fun with it, make your fit models ambassadors and show their personalities. 6 fit models $500/a day x 3 days of work = $7,500 1 Producer at $500/day x 3 days - $1,500 8 times a year = $72,000 Web manager to project manage this whole thing - $100,000 For $172K a year An apparel brand doing $50M GMV a year with 30% returns – that’s $15M in lost revenue + probably another $1M in return logistics A 2% drop in returns would recover approx. $1M in revenues Add another 2% conversion lift and that’s another $1M in revenues Net net - $2M gained for $172K spent Sounds like a pretty freaking good ROI to me any my CVR and reduction in returns #s are conservative  Plus you’ll get some amazing content, brand ambassador, etc etc That’s old school innovation stuff You get my point – start innovating.

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We get it—Previ sounds like it’s almost too good to be true. But trust us, it’s not. Here’s why Previ works and why 90% of employees see real savings: Exclusive Partnerships: Previ partners directly with top brands like T-Mobile and AT&T to negotiate these exclusive, below-market rates. These partnerships allow us to offer pricing that your employees simply can’t find anywhere else. No Strings Attached: Unlike other benefits, Previ doesn’t come with hidden fees or complicated terms. Employees just switch to these deals and start saving—it’s that simple. It's also free for companies to launch. 📲 Real Savings, Real Results: While not everyone may save the same amount, on average, employees save $1,200 per year. That’s more money in their pockets for other priorities, improving their overall financial wellness. 🏆 Previ has been vetted and trusted by PepsiCo, GameStop, HanesBrands, and more. These companies have seen real results, and your team can too.

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How can CIOs tackle their disorganized data to prepare for AI interactions with customers? Salesforce CIO Juan Perez and Saks CTO Mike Hite discuss how tools like Data Cloud and Agentforce can tap into disparate data sources to personalize every customer touch point. Watch the full video:

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