Rithum’s retail roundup is a monthly collection of noteworthy news and events happening around the world of retail.
The Latest News
Kohl’s plans 400 Sephora shop-in-shops for 2022
Kohl’s Sephora partnership is expanding on track. The total number of Sephora shop-in-shops at Kohl’s stores will reach 600 by the end of 2022. Sephora at Kohl’s allowed the retailer to not only expand beauty, but also opened up additional space in its stores to invest in casual and active categories.
Home Depot, Lowe’s sales lap pandemic highs
While demand in the home improvement category has come down from pandemic highs, the biggest players in the sector continued to post sales gains in the fourth quarter largely driven by consumers investing in their homes around the holidays. The Home Depot reported fourth quarter net sales increased 10.7% year over year to $35.7 billion, while comparable sales increased 8.1%. In the U.S., comps increased 7.6% from last year. Lowe’s reported that fourth quarter net sales increased 5% to $21.3 billion, while comps increased 5%. In the U.S., comps grew 5.1%.
Saks is finally on TikTok
Saks debuted its @saks account and announced its first content series on TikTok. Saks will be enlisting influencers, celebs, and fashion insiders to promote its wares. Its first videos show creators embracing popular TikTok trends—like the shoe flip transition challenge and #GRWM (“get ready with me”)—to model loungewear, eveningwear and cosmetics.
Walmart’s third-party fulfillment business grew 500% last year
Walmart CFO Brett Biggs said in a company blog post that expanding Walmart Fulfillment Services (WFS) has been key in “bringing more sellers to Walmart’s marketplace.” He added that many sellers using WFS experienced 50% sale growth for items. The goal of building out fulfillment capabilities is to increase its online assortment as well as create a new revenue source from sellers. Biggs said that Walmart expects to have over 200 million items in its e-commerce assortment by the end of 2022.
CVS pharmacy develops innovative, modern line of home heath care products
CVS pharmacy launched six new innovative home health care products as an extension of the company’s exclusive CVS Health product line. The product assortment aligns with the company’s commitment to transforming health care into a more personalized experience through new technologies and innovations that can help improve quality of everyday life.
American Eagle debuts on Roblox with inclusive club showcasing spring apparel
American Eagle will make its Roblox debut to promote a spring “Members Always” collection that draws on vintage and prep styles and emphasizes inclusivity. More brands are gravitating to Roblox as they try to engage an audience of 55 million daily active users, many of whom are hard to reach through traditional media.
More and more we’re seeing retailers embrace the metaverse, we blogged about why we think it’s a good move. Read it here.
Upcoming Retail Events
Visit Rithum! Stop by at our booth:
The 2022 ShopTalk event will bring together more than 8,000 retail change makers to discuss the latest technology trends and the state of retail innovation. Being held March 27-30, 2022 at Mandalay Bay in Las Vegas, Nevada, ShopTalk is back and better than ever.
Rithum will be at Booth #4088—we hope to see you there!