The Week in Commerce Marketing — Retail, E-commerce and DTC: October 18, 2024 edition

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

Aldi is turning back the clock on prices in time for the holiday season, announcing this week its “lowest-priced Thanksgiving basket in five years — a full meal for 10 people at less than $47,” per a brand announcement. Now through Nov. 27, Aldi shoppers can purchase a 16-pound Butterball turkey, pumpkin pie ingredients and “every guest’s favorite side dish” — including gravy, rolls, macaroni and cheese, stuffing and the ingredients for cranberry sauce, mashed potatoes, sweet potato casserole and green beans — for less than $4.70 per person.

Previously: “Aldi announces spoof ‘membership program’ called ALDI+,” from the April 12 edition of this column.

More retailer promotions:

• “Dollar General offers holiday deals with focus on toys” (Chain Store Age)
• ICYMI: “Urban Outfitters drops prices on over 100 styles” (Retail Dive)

Leveraging the recent TikTok craze around its apparel, Walmart-owned Sam’s Club has released a 26-piece clothing collection in partnership with TikTok influencer and model Remi Bader, Ad Age’s Gillian Follett reports. The “Edited by Remi” collection reflects Bader’s focus on “body positivity and inclusive sizing across her social content, with sizes ranging from XS to 4X in select Sam’s Club stores and extending to XXS to 6X online,” Follett writes. The collection’s pricing is inclusive, too, with all items under $30.

More brand launches and collabs:

• “Levi’s and McLaren Racing Launch Second Capsule Collection During the Austin Grand Prix” (Women’s Wear Daily)
• “Slay in Style with Dumbgood’s Exclusive Buffy the Vampire Slayer Collection” (Licensing International)
• “Todd Snyder’s Black Label Collection launches” (Fashion Dive)
• “Fenty Beauty partners with Netflix’s ‘Arcane’ for a gamer-inspired collection” (Glossy)
• ICYMI: “Nike Made Air Force 1s That Look Like Jason Voorhees’ Hockey Mask for Halloween” (Footwear News)

“Christmas is when we shine and are the most relevant in customers’ lives. Layering in physical retail makes a good, complementary approach to our online business. Even if people don’t buy something from the shops, they’ll see them. … It’s that omnichannel approach, merging both a D2C and in-person experience.”

—Greg Sarley, Senior Vice President of Merchandising for Harry & David, speaking with MediaPost’s Sarah Mahoney about the DTC brand’s decision to open six holiday-focused pop-up shops in Macy’s locations in New York and California starting this month

See also:

• “Macy’s-Disney partnership includes in-store shops, parade balloon” (Chain Store Age)
• “Macy’s Sets Holiday Markets, Both Indoors and Outdoors” (Women’s Wear Daily)

More brand activations and promotions:

• “JCPenney’s holiday playbook: Deals, in-store experiences and Martha Stewart” (Marketing Dive)
• “Vestiaire Collective Celebrates 15th Anniversary With Luxury Goods Treasure Hunt” (Women’s Wear Daily)
• ICYMI: “TikTok Pushes In-Stream Shopping With Fall Deals Promotion” (MediaPost)

That’s the amount in revenue that direct-to-consumer (DTC) STEM-themed toy and activity brand KiwiCo has surpassed since its founding in 2011, per Fortune. (See more stats in the most recent edition of The Weekly 10.)

More notable commerce stats:

• “NRF expects holiday sales to rise as much as 3.5%, reaching at least $980B” (Retail Dive)
• “Value-seeking shoppers fueling $1T in promotional sales” (Drug Store News)
• “70% of consumers plan to shop Black Friday, Cyber week sales” (Drug Store News)
• “Beyond to Make Physical Retail Comeback With $40M Investment in The Container Store” (The Wall Street Journal)
• “Ulta Lays Out Aggressive Store Expansion Plan to Reach Target of 1,800 Locations” (Retail TouchPoints)
• “Adidas momentum continues with 7% sales growth” (Retail Dive)

Mattel-owned toy brand Hot Wheels has launched Challenge Accepted, a new brand platform aimed at encouraging parents to let their children make mistakes in order to build resilience and self-esteem, Brand Innovators’ Dianna Dilworth reports. As part of the platform, Hot Wheels has established The Challenger Spirit Fund to support Mission 44, a charity dedicated to uplifting young people from underserved communities. Challenge Accepted also features an activation with Mission 44 at the F1 Grand Prix in Austin, Texas, Dilworth notes.

Previously: Mattel came in 10th in Brand Keys’ recent customer loyalty ranking, as we noted in the Sept. 13 edition of this column.

More brand campaigns:

• “Behind Shein’s new campaign as Gen Z favorite prepares for holiday season” (Ad Age)
• “De Beers and Signet Campaign for Natural Diamonds” (Women’s Wear Daily)
• “Saks Fifth Avenue offers omnichannel holiday campaign” (Chain Store Age)

Brooks Running and runDisney just announced a multiyear partnership that will include the creation of Disney-themed running shoes and makes the performance brand the official running shoe of the runDisney race series, per an announcement from Walt Disney World Resort. Based on a “shared belief that running can create powerful emotion, camaraderie and connection,” the partnership will feature running shoes featuring popular Disney characters, official race shirts for runDisney race weekends beginning in 2025 as well as Brooks jackets for Club runDisney members in 2026. The collaboration encompasses runDisney’s range of events, which includes six race weekends across Walt Disney World Resort in Florida and Disneyland Resort in California — each of which draw more than 170,000 participants — as well as virtual races.

More brand collaborations and partnerships:

• “Foot Locker, Bulls ink multiyear deal to boost basketball presence” (Sports Business Journal)
• “Reebok Partners with Generation Joy on Sports Nutrition and Performance Line” (Licensing International)
• “Birkenstock and Filson Unveil Three New Footwear Styles in This Camp-Ready Collab” (Footwear News)
• “Authentic Brands Group, Saks team up on luxury joint venture” (Fashion Dive)

Retail, DTC and e-commerce news:

• “Havenly Brands acquires Burrow as it builds out its portfolio of home brands” (Retail Dive)
• “Fareway Debuts Truly Yours Private Label” (Store Brands)
• “Online bedding retailer Boll & Branch opens first bricks-and-mortar store in Chicago area” (Chicago Tribune)
• “Amazon bundles online shopping of groceries and non-food items” (Grocery Dive)
• “Google Is Kickstarting the Era of AI Shopping” (Women’s Wear Daily)
• “Save A Lot Creates Test-and-Learn Colorado Supermarket Catering to Hispanic Shoppers” (Retail TouchPoints)
• ICYMI: “Amazon introduces mobile AI shopping guides” (Chain Store Age)