FROM THE DESK OF DEBORAH WEINSWIG

Walmart Makes a Second Splash on TikTok with a Beauty-Focused Livestream Walmart held its second livestreaming event on social media platform TikTok on March 11 at 9:00 p.m. EST. The event was titled “Spring Shop-Along: Beauty Edition.” Walmart’s interest in, and engagement with, TikTok began last year. Back in September 2020, US President Trump branded Chinese mobile apps TikTok and WeChat—which are owned by ByteDance and Tencent, respectively—national security risks and sought to ban them. Subsequently, the sale of TikTok’s US, Canadian, Australian and New Zealand operations emerged as a possible solution, and several companies including Oracle, Microsoft and Walmart were reported to be likely bidders. Ultimately, the apps were not banned, and the US business was not sold, but Walmart’s interest in the platform remained. Walmart made a splash on TikTok in mid-December 2020, announcing its presence on the platform with its first event on December 18—the “Holiday Shop-Along Spectacular.” The event featured 10 TikTok creators and influencers, including dancer Michael Le, who is one of the most-followed artists on the platform with 46.2 million followers. Each influencer had up to five minutes to promote Walmart products. The theme of the event was fashion, and Walmart showcased national brands including Champion, Jordache and Kendall + Kylie, as well as some of its own private-label brands, such as Free Assembly, Scoop and Sofia Jeans. The company offered surprise product giveaways and stressed that the featured products were shoppable via TikTok—i.e., consumers were able to make purchases without leaving the app, using shoppable pins and a shopping cart that was available during the event. Walmart commented that the inaugural event attracted seven times as many views as expected and increased the company’s number of TikTok followers by 25%—and the second event likely benefited from the buzz generated during the first. Walmart’s event on March 11 was focused on beauty and featured beauty influencers Gabby Morrison, who has 3.5 million followers on TikTok, and Nabela Noor, who has 5.5 million followers. During the 60-minute livestream, the influencers demonstrated their pick of Walmart products for skincare, makeup and hair routines. Viewers were able to shop from an assortment of national, private-label and Black-owned beauty brands such as Bliss, Kim Kimble, The Lip Bar, Marc Jacobs (fragrances), Maybelline and NYX. The influencers also offered beauty tips and tutorials on popular trends. The products demonstrated were available for sale within Walmart’s TikTok stream. Walmart plans to offer more shoppable livestreams in the coming months with different product categories and themes and promised to “test, learn and iterate on what’s best for users” in its press release as it braves the relatively uncharted waters of TikTok and livestreaming. A retail titan like Walmart leveraging TikTok validates livestreaming as a platform and raises the stakes for other livestreamers such as Amazon and Facebook. Livestreaming has become a major phenomenon in China, and Coresight Research expects livestream e-commerce sales in the country to exceed $300 billion this year. Coresight Research has identified livestreaming as one of the key trends to watch in 2021. While livestreaming in the US is hardly likely to match its success in China, the technology could offer a major opportunity for retailers even if it equals just a small fraction of its penetration in China.

US RETAIL AND TECH HEADLINES

Amazon Introduces Contactless Payment Technology at Nine New Locations (March 9) Chainstoreage.com

• Amazon has implemented its Amazon One contactless payment technology at nine of its stores in the Seattle area. The new technology encrypts a customer’s “unique palm signature” and then allows them to pay by hovering their palm over an Amazon One device at the checkout.
• Amazon initially launched Amazon One at two Seattle-based Amazon Go stores in September 2020. The company plans to extend the payment mechanism to Amazon Books, Amazon Go, Amazon Go Grocery and Amazon 4-star stores in and around Seattle.

Dick’s Sporting Goods Announces 19.8% Growth in Net Sales (March 9) Company reports

• Dick’s Sporting Goods reported net sales of $3.13 billion for its fourth quarter of 2020, ended January 30, 2021. The 19.8% increase in net sales (versus the fourth quarter of 2019) was driven by 19.3% year-over-year growth in consolidated same-store sales.
• Total e-commerce penetration for the fourth quarter of 2020 was 32%, compared to 25% in the fourth quarter of 2019.
• In response to the Covid-19 pandemic, the company improved its omnichannel sales initiatives, which drove the increase in total sales during the period.

NIKE Announces Sarah Mensah as Head of North America (March 9) Retaildive.com

• Sarah Mensah has been appointed as NIKE’s new Head of North America following Ann Hebert’s resignation. She has been given the title of Vice President and General Manager of North America and will report to Heidi O'Neill, President of Consumer and Marketplace.
• In this new role, Mensah is expected to lead multiple aspects of NIKE's North American operations, including direct, marketing, digital, sales, consumer construct and territories.

Stitch Fix Reports 12% Increase in Net Revenues and $21.0 Million in Losses (March 8) Company reports

• Stitch Fix reported a 12% year-over-year increase in net revenues during second the quarter of fiscal 2021, ended January 30, 2021. The increase was primarily attributed to the addition of 408,000 active clients reported in the quarter, reaching a total of 3.9 million active clients.
• During the same period, the company reported a net loss of $21.0 million, due to shipping delays and higher freight costs.

Target Announces Launch of New Grocery Brand “Favorite Day” (March 9) Company reports

• Target announced plans to launch its new food and beverage brand, Favorite Day, in April 2021. The new brand will offer 700 products all priced under $15, spanning multiple categories focused on snacking and indulgent treats, including premium ice creams and bakery items.
• Through this initiative, Target aims to further strengthen its private labels. Over the past five years, the company has launched more than 30 owned brands across multiple segments, from women’s apparel labels to home collections.

EUROPE RETAIL AND TECH HEADLINES

German Supermarket Group Edeka Sells Delivery Service Bringmeister (March 10) Retaildetail.eu

• German supermarket group Edeka has announced plans to sell delivery service Bringmeister to Rockaway, a Czech investment group. The buyer, which owns e-commerce player Mall Group and online supermarket Kosik.cz, has plans to further develop Bringmeister’s activities on the German market.
• Although Edeka will continue to deliver products to Bringmeister, the group has an interest in pure-play company Picnic and will focus on that moving forward.

Intersport Implements Electronic Shelf Label To Improve Customer Experience (March 8) Retailtechnology.co.uk

• Sports retailer Intersport, has implemented new Electronic Shelf Label (ESL) software as part of efforts to enhance the customer experience and in-store operations. With manual in-store pricing becoming a time-consuming task for its employees, the ESL solution from Pricer automatically manages changes in pricing in seconds on a daily basis.
• The solution ensures accuracy and consistency of prices across sales channels, enabling store associates to focus on value-added tasks such as serving customers and enhancing the in-store experience for shoppers.

Marks & Spencer Opens Its Webshop in 46 Additional Markets (March 9) Retaildetail.eu

• As part of the expansion of its international online operations, UK-based department store Marks & Spencer has opened its webshop in 46 additional markets, extending its digital reach to more than 100 countries.
• The expansion is part of the retailer’s transformation program, “Never the Same Again,” which is aimed at boosting its online business. The move helps Marks & Spencer grow without substantial startup costs.

Ocado Launches a Virtual Pop-Up Store for Charlotte Tilbury (March 9) Chargedretail.co.uk

• Ocado has become the first UK grocer to launch a virtual pop-up store for beauty brand Charlotte Tilbury. The online pop-up enables customers to add items to their weekly shop, with orders delivered to their home.
• Ocado will stock a range of over 50 Charlotte Tilbury products, which will be available for a limited time from March 5, 2021. Laura Harricks, Ocado’s Chief Customer Officer, said, “Charlotte Tilbury is a brilliant addition to our wide range of products in Beauty and makes life even more convenient for our customers.”

Pandora Sales Up Despite Closing 25% of Stores During Lockdown (March 9) Retailgazette.co.uk

• The Danish Jeweler Pandora has reported 12% sales growth in February despite the temporary closure of 25% of its store portfolio during pandemic-led lockdowns. Combined, offline and online sales grew 7% year over year in February, and organic growth remained at 4%, according to the company.
• Pandora said that it does not have plans to change its financial guidance for the full year, with organic growth set to be above 8%.

ASIA RETAIL AND TECH HEADLINES

Amazon Expands Food Delivery Service in Bengaluru (March 8) Techcrunch.com

• Amazon India has announced expansion of its food delivery service, Amazon Food, which will now be available across 62 pin codes in Bengaluru. The service was launched in May 2020 and served just four pin codes initially.
• The food delivery service will be free for Prime members, while non-Prime members will have to pay ₹19 ($0.26)—slightly cheaper than market leaders Zomato and Swiggy. Amazon Food will fulfill orders from over 2,500 restaurants and cloud kitchens.

Gap Considers Sale of Its China Business (March 9) Bloomberg.com

• Apparel retailer Gap Inc. is considering options for its China business, which include a potential sale, according to Bloomberg.
• Gap is working with investment banking firm Morgan Stanley to study its options and has reached out to prospective buyers. Deliberations are at an early stage, and the retailer may opt in favor of keeping its China operations, according to Bloomberg.

Google To Support 1 Million Rural Indian Women Entrepreneurs (March 8) Retail.economictimes.com

• Google has announced plans to support 1 million rural women entrepreneurs in India as a part of its “Women Will” program. The initiative will offer community support, mentorship and accelerator programs.
• Google CEO Sundar Pichai highlighted the success of its “Internet Saathi” program, which was launched in July 2015 to improve digital literacy among women from rural areas in India. The company will work with 2,000 “Internet Saathis” to help other women under the “Women Will” program.

Paytm Brings POS Functionality to Smartphones (March 9) Livemint.com

• Indian financial services and payments company Paytm has announced new functionality, Smart POS, which allows merchants to use near-field communication (NFC)-enabled smartphones to receive payments through a debit or credit card.
• Smart POS will be available in more than 10 local languages and will eliminate the need for merchants to purchase a physical point-of-sale machine.

South Korea Announces Investment Plan To Support Retail Digitalization (March 5) Retailinsightnetwork.com

• The South Korean Ministry of Trade, Industry and Energy has announced plans to invest ₩300 billion ($267 million) over the next three years to support e-commerce in the country and facilitate the development of advanced technologies.
• Under the investment plan, the government aims to distribute 4,000 logistics robots by the end of 2023 and conduct over 1,000 trials for drone delivery by the end of 2022. Other key goals include standardizing a database of around 3 million products, establishing shared logistics centers for small and medium-sized companies and fostering around 1,200 e-commerce experts to meet growing digital demand.