The Week in Commerce Marketing — Retail, E-commerce and DTC: November 22, 2024 edition

Welcome to The Week in Commerce Marketing — Retail, E-commerce and DTC, a weekly roundup for marketers from Quad Insights.

Aldi just announced an upcoming activation designed to provide some charcuterie inspiration just in time for the holidays. Open Dec. 4-5 at Loft on Lake in Chicago (1366 W. Lake Street), the Aldi Charcuterie Chalet will feature a cozy, ski-lodge vibe with a curated selection of food and beverage offerings, as well as an interactive photo booth and opportunities to create personalized engraved gifts. Guests can sample a mix of themed charcuterie boards, including the Aldi $50 Board, Holiday Sweater Board, Windy City Board, Sweets Board, Aldi Fresh Board and more. Free tickets to the Aldi Charcuterie Chalet are now available on a first-come, first-served basis at ALDICharcuterieChalet.eventbrite.com. For those unable to make it to the IRL event, Aldi and DoorDash are making it easy to recreate these boards at home with a landing page for all the products on DoorDash’s website.

Previously:

• “Aldi partners with DoorDash to host grillmaster giveaway,” from the June 21 edition of The Week in Retail.
• “Aldi promotes Thanksgiving dinner at 2019 prices,” from the Oct. 18 edition of this column.

More brand activations:

• “Food Club Brings Culinary Inspiration to Hallmark+ Holiday Streamers” (Retail TouchPoints)

That’s the year-over-year growth in Walmart’s global advertising business in Q3 2024, as its retail media network, Walmart Connect, experienced 26% growth in the U.S., per Modern Retail. (See more industry and marketing stats in the most recent edition of The Weekly 10 from Quad Insights.)

See also: “Walmart slashes US delivery costs by 40% per order” (Retail Dive)

Read more: “Why in-store retail media is exploding — and what retailers and CPG marketers need to know,” from Quad Insights.

More retail insights:

• “Poshmark’s promotion of ‘Reposh’ feature boosts product listings” (Modern Retail)
• “TJX maintains momentum in Q3; holiday season off to ‘strong start’” (Chain Store Age)
• “Luxury spending hits one of its worst years since the Great Recession” (Fashion Dive)
• “Apparel, Department Store Retail Sales Flat in October” (Sourcing Journal)
• “Asics continues to lead resale as holiday season approaches: report” (Fashion Dive)
• “Ariat, Tecovas and Filson are seeing the ‘Yellowstone’ boost after premiere” (Modern Retail)
• ICYMI: “Retail sales rose in October as early holiday shopping began” (Retail Brew)

Amazon just debuted a dryly humorous product-focused holiday campaign featuring a “real serious actor” offering dramatic readings of real customer reviews, Marketing Dive’s Chris Kelly reports. Starring Adam Driver, the campaign will include 10 different ads highlighting a range of products, with the first three installments featuring reviews of a Dutch oven, a plush seal and a banana slicer. In the ads, “a suited Driver sits on a leather chair in front of a Christmas tree,” surrounded by “Amazon boxes and a pianist playing a version of ‘O Tannenbaum,’” Kelly notes. Timed to the e-commerce giant’s Black Friday and Cyber Monday sales events, the campaign is running across owned and paid social, as well as premium online video.

Previously:

• “Amazon debuts ‘Amazon Haul’ shopping experience featuring products $20 and under,” from the Nov. 15 edition of this column
• “A singing janitor takes center stage in Amazon’s feel-good holiday campaign,” from the Nov. 8 edition of this column

More notable campaigns and promotions:

• “Kroger plans Shop the Scene experience on Hulu for holiday campaign” (Marketing Dive)
• “Rent the Runway Celebrates 15 Years by Inviting Consumers to ‘Embrace Access Over Accumulation’” (Retail TouchPoints)
• “Monopoly Go! looks to stay on top with star-studded campaign” (Marketing Dive)
• ICYMI: “S’Auntie Claus is here: Chloe Bailey brings ‘cool aunt’ vibes to Carter’s holiday campaign” (The Drum)

“We think about it as humanist design — it is about bringing that softness and warmth, to remove hard edges, soften the experiences, embrace white space and give hierarchy its rightful place. … This is a 30-year-old company next year. It’s important we don’t move all the furniture around at once and create chaos.”
—EBay Senior Director of Design Tyler Moore speaking with Fast Company’s Mark Wilson about the e-commerce platform’s recent website redesign

Previously: “EBay launches live, shoppable events via first-ever Pre-Loved Fashion Week,” from the Aug. 30 edition of this column.

Drinkware brand Stanley 1913 just announced a partnership with soccer (football) superstar Lionel Messi on a cobranded collection. The Messi x Stanley 1913 collection features “performance-based, built-for-life innovations” in the exclusive Messi GOAT Pink colorway, including the Quencher ProTour Flip Straw Tumbler, High Precision Flow Mate System, Classic Mate Mug and more. Several of the pieces feature Messi’s mantra, “Start early, stay late,” etched on them. The new line — part of a multiyear partnership between the brand and Messi — will be available starting Dec. 3 at Stanley1913.com, with select products also for sale in-store and online at Dick’s Sporting Goods. Stanley will celebrate the launch with a series of immersive experiences Dec. 3-8 in Miami, where Messi captains the Major League Soccer club Inter Miami.

More brand collabs and partnerships:

• “Olivia Rodrigo Becomes Lancôme Global Brand Ambassador” (Beauty Inc)
• “Toys ‘R’ Us Powers Ecommerce Site for USPS’ Operation Santa Donation Program” (Retail TouchPoints)
• “The lululemon x Disney Collection Is Here — And It’s Pure Magic” (Reader’s Digest)
• “Bristol Studio, New Era Team on NBA Collection” (Women’s Wear Daily)
• “Lee launches collab with Alpha Industries” (Fashion Dive)
• “Amazon’s new livestream partnership will feature Martha Stewart” (Chain Store Age)

DoorDash launched a slew of new features designed to improve the customer experience this holiday season, including a redesigned shopping experience, Chain Store Age’s Dan Berthiaume reports. Customers can now search and comparison-shop for items across multiple retailers, import their grocery list into the DoorDash app, add products from additional nearby stores to an order for no extra fee, and more.

More retail and e-commerce news:

• “Nordstrom holiday plans include refreshed mobile app, transformed NYC store” (Chain Store Age)
• “Charli XCX Takes Over Times Square With H&M” (Daily Front Row)
• “Wolverine World Wide debuts global innovation hub in Boston” (Fashion Dive)
• “Wonder acquires Grubhub” (Drug Store News)
• ICYMI: “Amazon launches lifestyle drug service as challenge to Hims & Hers” (Supermarket News)