Welcome to The Week in Commerce Marketing — Retail, E-commerce and DTC, a weekly roundup for marketers from Quad Insights.
PetSmart launches holiday streaming experience for pets left at home for the holidays
PetSmart just released a holiday streaming experience designed specifically for, yes, cats and dogs. Inspired by a new PetSmart survey conducted by Big Village revealing that 69% of pet owners feel guilty leaving their pets home alone while out shopping or going to holiday celebrations, PetSmart has launched its “Home for the Pawlidays” video series designed to “ease pet and pet parent worry, and end the holiday pet blues,” per a brand announcement. With one for cats and one for dogs, “Home for the Pawlidays” features pets in holiday attire playing with toys and unwrapping gifts from PetSmart’s Merry & Bright collection; each video has a run time of just over 2 hours.
Previously: “PetSmart opens applications for second annual Chief Toy Testers,” from the May 17 edition of this column.
More brand activations:
Quote of the week:
Nostalgia “is most interesting and effective, obviously, when it’s tapping into something real and true about the brand and its history, not just latching on to a trend for the sake of it. If you need to write an essay explaining the connection to your business and your brand, it’s probably not a good sign.”
—Eric Tsytsylin, Brand Strategy Partner, Lippincott, in an interview with Marketing Dive’s Chris Kelly for a post titled “Nostalgia-washing: How brands can look back without getting hung up to dry”
Dick’s Sporting Goods launches second holiday ad with NFL athlete Xavier Worthy
Dick’s Sporting Goods just launched a fresh iteration of its continuing “Holiday Shopping Spring” campaign starring famously fast Kansas City Chiefs wide receiver Xavier Worthy. In “Holiday Shopping Sprint with Xavier Worthy,” the NFL star rapidly shops for and hand-delivers holiday gifts to winners of a Dick’s promotion, including a mother and her 8-year-old son, as well as the Boys & Girls Club of Greater Kansas City. Dick’s uses the new spot to hype its “fast and convenient delivery options,” including free delivery for loyalty members, same-day delivery and guaranteed holiday delivery.
Previously:
- “Dick’s Sporting Goods announces partnership with Team USA and LA28 Olympics,” from the July 26 edition of The Week in Retail.
- “Dick’s Sporting Goods unveils new ‘Click On DICKS.com’ campaign,” from the March 1 edition of The Week in Retail.
More retailer campaigns and promotions:
- “Sam’s Club Is Offering Free Holiday-Themed Hot Dogs — Including One Topped With Pumpkin Pie” (Food & Wine)
- “Target extends store hours, offers Christmas Eve delivery and pickup” (Chain Store Age)
- “Whole Foods’ 12 Days of Cheese Is Back for Its 12th Year — and the Cheeses Are Better Than Ever” (Food & Wine)
- “Walmart wraps up holiday promotion with omnichannel features” (Chain Store Age)
- ICYMI: “Home Depot’s Secret to Finding Its Boy-Next-Door Models: Hire the Boy Next Door” (Adweek)
Netflix announces partnership with Mastercard to enable more in-person activations
As it moves toward more in-person experiences, Netflix is teaming up with Mastercard, making it the preferred payments provider for such activations, Marketing Dive’s Peter Adams reports. The partnership encompasses Netflix House venues, Netflix Bites at Las Vegas’ MGM Grand Hotel & Casino and an upcoming Broadway show based on the Netflix series “Stranger Things,” Adams notes.
Previously:
- “Netflix and Google partner to make ‘Emily in Paris’ shoppable,” from the Aug. 23 edition of this column.
- “Bath & Body Works partners with Netflix on ‘Bridgerton’-inspired collection,” from the March 15 edition of The Week in Retail.
More notable partnerships:
- “Albertsons, Preferabli Partner to Revolutionize Grocery” (Progressive Grocer)
- “Crocs Building Accessories Offering Through Licensing Deal With Concept One” (Women’s Wear Daily)
- “will.i.am Is LG’s Experiential Architect for New Audio Line xboom Dropping in 2025” (DesignRush)
- “Omaha Steaks Joins Forces with Laithwaites Wine” (Trend Hunter)
Stat of the week: +200%
That’s the amount by which Walmart Bettergoods and Target Dealworthy brands each increased their sales volume this year, making them the fastest-growing private label brands of 2024, according to Numerator’s “Private Label Trends Tracker,” per Chain Store Age. (See more industry and marketing stats in the most recent edition of The Weekly 10 from Quad Insights.)
See also: “The store brands boom: 5 trends to watch now,” from Quad Insights.
More consumer-driven insights:
- “November sees record 78M online grocery shoppers, beating pandemic high” (Supermarket News)
- “Poor in-store experiences are losing retailers billions: survey” (Retail Brew)
- “Nike was the top brand for influencer marketing in the US this year” (Fashion Dive)
- “While grocery inflation has slowed, it continues to weigh on shoppers’ purchase decisions” (eMarketer)
- “Holiday Shopping Trends Survey Uncovers Rise in AI Adoption and Demand for Personalized Retail” (Women’s Wear Daily)
- “Super Duper Sunday: The Day Played A Big Part In This Year’s Cyber Weekend” (MediaPost)
- “SNAP to drive growth in consumables throughout 2025: report” (Grocery Dive)
Lord & Taylor prepares to relaunch as a luxury e-commerce platform
Regal Brands Global has announced plans to relaunch longtime department store chain Lord & Taylor — which shuttered all of its brick-and-mortar stores in 2020 — as “a discount luxury e-commerce platform” next year, Retail TouchPoints’ Adam Blair reports. In addition to featuring Lord & Taylor products, the site will sell goods from licensees across a range of categories from womenswear to leather goods. Regal’s online-centric approach will be complemented by partnerships with luxury retailers, such as Saks Fifth Avenue and Nordstrom, to sell Lord & Taylor products in-store, Blair notes.
More retail and e-commerce news:
- “Report: Walgreens In Talks To Go Private” (Forbes)
- “Tractor Supply Grows Long-Term Store Goal to 3,200 Locations” (Retail TouchPoints)
- “Best Buy launches scheduled parcel delivery” (Retail Dive)
- “Amazon Auto Launches In 48 Cities” (MediaPost)
- “Dollar General Tests Same-Day Delivery in 75 Stores, Could Expand to ‘Thousands’” (Sourcing Journal)
- “Target Adds New AI-Powered Shopping Tools” (Retail TouchPoints)
- “Meijer triples home delivery range to serve an additional 4 million households” (Drug Store News)
- “Prada Lands in Dallas in an Over 10,000-square-foot Boutique at NorthPark Center” (Women’s Wear Daily)
- “Lowe’s 2025 growth plans include store expansion, marketplace launch and more” (Chain Store Age)
- “Aldi Expands In Eight States, D.C.” (Store Brands)
- “Stop & Shop rolls out ‘savings’ kiosk to half its stores” (Supermarket News)
- “Under Armour Opens a New Flagship Store at Its Baltimore Global Headquarters” (Footwear News)
- “Kim Kardashian’s popular Skims brand opens NYC flagship” (Chain Store Age)
- ICYMI: “Jimmy Choo Returns to Madison Avenue With New Flagship” (Footwear News)