The Week in Commerce Marketing — Retail, E-commerce and DTC: February 28, 2025 edition

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

Meal kit brand Home Chef just announced the upcoming launch of a limited-time collaboration with the beloved Nickelodeon animated series “SpongeBob SquarePants” on themed kits. The drop will include a rotating mix of new and repeating options — including a Pineapple Under the Sea Burger and Krusty Krab Pizza Flatbread — through March 21. Fans ordering for the weeks of March 10 and 17 will receive each meal packaged in a collectible box, while new Home Chef customers ordering from the SpongeBob SquarePants menu can receive a SpongeBob mini spatula, while supplies last, when they use the code “CHEFKRABS.”

Previously:

• “Home Chef partners with Dolly Parton and her sister on new Good Lookin’ Cookin’ meal kit,” from the Sept. 20, 2024 edition of this column.
• “Home Chef partners with ‘PAW Patrol’ on family menu collection,” from the Aug. 16, 2024 edition of this column.
• “Home Chef debuts family menu collaboration with children’s TV series ‘Bluey’,” from the March 29, 2024 edition of The Week in Direct-to-Consumer.

More brand collabs and partnerships:

• “Target Adds Disney, Marvel To Pillowfort Own Brand” (Store Brands)
• “Pat McGrath Labs x Candy Crush Saga’s Dazzling Makeup Collab Comes With a $10K Surprise” (Us Weekly)
• ICYMI: “Wrangler teams with Whataburger for a flavorful collaboration” (Rivet)
• ICYMI: “Victoria’s Secret launches collaboration with Altuzarra as it steps into ready-to-wear” (Fashion Dive)

With clocks springing forward one hour on March 9, Kroger just announced a new promotion to help customers “get that lost hour back and conquer the mornings after daylight saving with ease,” per a brand announcement. Each Kroger Hour Back Box contains breakfast items from Kroger private-label brands, including cold brew coffee concentrate, oat milk creamer and frozen breakfast sandwiches, as well as a gift card redeemable for a one year membership in the Kroger Boost loyalty program. Kroger will give away a limited number of Kroger Hour Back Boxes starting March 4 at 12 p.m. ET; customers can enter to win a free box at Kroger.com/HourBack.

Previously: “Kroger launches Resolution Rescue bundles under its Simple Truth brand,” from the Jan. 10 edition of this column.

More retailer promotions:

• “Trader Joe’s Just Upgraded Its Meat Aisle With Premium Steaks at Budget Prices” (Food & Wine)
• “‘Pokemon Day’ returns to eBay – for three days” (Chain Store Age)

That’s the year-over-year percentage increase in foot traffic to Aldi stores in Q4 2024, according to just-released data from Placer.ai, per eMarketer.

More commerce insights:

• “Generational differences govern online fashion shopping behavior: report” (Fashion Dive)
• “Data: 41% of U.S. beauty sales happen online” (Chain Store Age)
• “DIY Spending Shows Signs Of Life At Home Depot, Lowe’s” (MediaPost)
• “65% of Consumers Say They Returned or Exchanged a Holiday 2024 Purchase” (Sourcing Journal)
• “Grocery sales growth will rebound this year, report says” (Grocery Dive)
• “Circana Reports Spotlight Continued Private Label Growth” (Store Brands)
• “TJX maintains momentum in Q4 with gains across divisions; to open 90 U.S. stores” (Chain Store Age)

Hanes brand just launched a limited-edition collection with Urban Outfitters that “draws inspiration from Hanes’ 125-year legacy,” Women’s Wear Daily’s Kanika Talwar reports. The 28-piece capsule collection includes innerwear and apparel for men and women, including sweatshirts, crew socks, sports bras, boxer shorts, ribbed tanks and more. The Hanes Heritage x Urban Outfitters collection is available now at UrbanOutfitters.com and in select stores, with prices ranging from $10 to $45.

Previously: “Vera Bradley partners with Urban Outfitters on new capsule collection,” from the Aug. 30, 2024 edition of this column.

More launches and partnerships:

• “Calvin Klein Shapewear Is Latest Introduction From the Brand That Originated Designer Underwear” (Women’s Wear Daily)
• “Buck Mason and Lee reimagine 1940s denim” (Rivet)
• “Todd Snyder, Fanatics Create Elevated Fan Gear for NHL” (Women’s Wear Daily)
• “PatPat Launches Barbie Collection” (License Global)
• “Target Strikes Strategic Partnership With Champion, Offering Activewear and Sporting Goods” (Women’s Wear Daily)
• “The Louis Vuitton Music Player Wearable Wallet Arrives This Spring” (Trend Hunter)
• “Old Navy Targets Activewear With Innovation” (Women’s Wear Daily)

Walmart just announced the launch of a new “immersive in-game commerce experience” in partnership with Spatial and Unity’s real-time 3D development engine, Chain Store Age’s Dan Berthiaume reports. Called “Walmart Unlimited,” the three-episode gamified miniseries “takes players on a multi-level journey to play, discover and support products created by Walmart suppliers,” ultimately enabling them to purchase real products inside the virtual world, Berthiaume notes. The first episode is currently available on the Spatial platform, with episodes two and three set to be released in April and May.

See also: “Walmart Exclusive Beautiful Collection Adds New Color” (Store Brands)

More brand campaigns and content:

• “New Hugo Boss Campaign Highlights Sustainable Clothing” (Women’s Wear Daily)
• “Levi’s and Beyoncé recreate another iconic denim ad” (Ad Age)
• “Neiman Marcus Serves Up Food and Fashion in Café Society Spring Campaign” (Women’s Wear Daily)
• “Winona Ryder and Iman Shine in Pandora’s Timeless Jewelry (Including Its Signature Charms) in New ‘Be Love’ Campaign” (People)
• “Gap and Parker Posey celebrate self-expression in spring campaign” (Marketing Dive)
• “Allbirds Goes All In With Stanley Tucci Dinner Party Series” (Adweek)

Commerce operations and innovation:

• “IKEA Grows Its US Footprint With 8 New-Format Store Openings” (RetailWire)
• “Homeland Stores offers customizable online orders” (Chain Store Age)
• “Fabrics retailer Joann to go out of business and close all of its stores” (CNN Business)
• “Schnucks tests late-night delivery” (Grocery Dive)
• “Furniture.com Sets Out to ‘Transform the Industry’ with Multi-Brand Ecommerce Experience” (Retail TouchPoints)
• “Authentic signs license agreement for Quiksilver” (Fashion Dive)
• “Simon, Shopify, Leap join forces to help online brands enter brick and mortar” (Chain Store Age)
• “Amazon Alexa+ can do your grocery shopping, too” (Tech Crunch)
• “DoorDash Expands Grocery Presence With 4 New Partners” (Progressive Grocer)
• “Harry Potter Conjures Retail Magic in the Windy City” (Retail TouchPoints)
• “Target to bring Warby Parker shops to certain stores in effort to drive sales” (CBS News)
• ICYMI: “Sprouts Farmers Market to open at least 35 stores on heels of ‘remarkable’ 2024” (Chain Store Age)