The Week in Commerce Marketing — Retail, E-commerce and DTC: September 20, 2024 edition

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

Retailers are getting a head start on the holiday shopping season — in, yes, September (and October). Among them: 

• Anthropologie just announced the opening of its Holiday House on Manhattan’s Upper West Side. Available exclusively to AnthroPerks members — by appointment only through Sept. 22 — the interactive experience allows guests to explore and purchase Anthropologie and Terrain products, including home furniture and décor, while consulting with stylists and design experts.  

• In addition to hosting Target Circle Week for loyalty members Oct. 6-12, Target announced a slew of early holiday deals starting on Monday, including the relaunch of its Deal of the Day program, 50 gifts under $5 in the Bullseye’s Playground section, half of all toys priced at $20 or less and 80% of Target’s Wondershop holiday items priced at $10 or less. 

• Big Lots just announced plans to bring back its “Black Friday Fridays,” with one-day deals offered every Friday from Oct. 13 through Dec. 6, including up to 50% off décor, gifts and more.  

• Best Buy just announced its plans to host a series of holiday sales events — beginning Sept. 27-29 with its Member Exclusive Sale. The retailer will also host an Apple Trade-Up Event Sept. 30-Oct. 13, during which customers can earn savings toward new Apple tech; a 48-Hour Flash Sale Oct. 8-9; a 3-Day Gaming Event starting Oct. 25; and more.  

• Amazon will host its Prime Big Deal Days Oct. 8-9, offering Prime members access to holiday deals such as up to 40% off winter apparel, as well as savings on electronics and everyday essentials from Amazon Basics, with new deals dropping every five minutes. 

• On Thursday, Walmart announced plans to launch its first Holiday Deals event in October, as well as to resume its inflation-free holiday meal offering. Kicking off for Walmart+ members at midnight on Oct. 8 — and for all other online customers at noon that day — the savings event will include deals on electronics, fashion, toys and more at Walmart.com and on the app. The event will expand to physical stores Oct. 9-13. 

Footwear brand Merrell just announced an upcoming immersive pop-up art installation at Studio 525 in New York City that will allow guests to experience “the wonders of nature without leaving the city,” per a brand announcement. Open to the public Sept. 27-29, the “Wander Wheel” installation is “a large, interactive sculpture slowly spinning on a static base, transporting visitors to diverse natural environments from around the world in each of the four hemispheres.” Guests can slip on a pair of Merrell’s Moab Speed 2 and walk the Wander Wheel — the interior of which mimics a hiking trail — where they’ll experience the sights, sounds and smells of nature, from the hills of California to the plains of the Australian Outback. 

That’s the year-over-year increase in online grocery sales in the U.S. in August, for a total of $9.9 billion — marking the third straight month of single-digit sales growth for the online grocery sector — according to the most recent Brick Meets Click/Mercatus Grocery Shopper Survey, per Supermarket News. (See more stats in the most recent edition of The Weekly 10.)  

More consumer insights:

• “Shoppers want personalization online, in-store and on customer service calls” (Retail Dive)
• “Survey: Return policies have strong impact on purchase decisions” (Chain Store Age)
• “Holiday Fever: Most Consumers Plan To Shop Online This Year” (MediaPost)
• “Online Search Functionality Gets a Low Grade from 42% of Shoppers” (Retail TouchPoints)
• “Retailers and Consumers Split on Views of AI, Study Says” (Women’s Wear Daily)
• “Gartner: 32% of holiday shoppers will start before November” (Retail Dive)
• ICYMI: “Placer.ai: Health clinics boost traffic at Kroger banners, H-E-B” (Chain Store Age) 

On Wednesday, Roku unveiled Roku Ads Manager, a self-service tool for CTV advertising. Highlights of the solution include the ability for Shopify merchants to launch self-service shoppable ads with on-screen customer checkout using their Roku remote, interactive video overlays and more.  

Previously: “Paramount’s new Ads Manager brings AI-powered TV advertising creative to small businesses,” from the July 19 edition of The Week in Generative AI. 

More e-commerce innovations:

• “Meta Unveils New Ad Tools to Help Brands Drive Holiday Sales” (Retail TouchPoints)
• “Walmart will now let you ‘Shop with Friends’ from home” (Fast Company) 

DTC meal kit brand Home Chef just announced a new collaboration with country music icon Dolly Parton and her sister, Rachel Parton George, spotlighting family recipes from the sisters’ just-released cookbook, “Good Lookin’ Cookin’.” The four-week Home Chef x Good Lookin’ Cookin’ collaboration will include a rotating selection of recipes — from Fried Chicken and Gravy to Sirloin Steak with Blue Cheese Butter — in a variety of formats (the classic Meal Kit, Express Plus and Culinary Collection). Orders are being accepted now through Oct. 18, with meals arriving in a Good Lookin’ Cookin’ co-branded box. Between now and Oct. 18, Home Chef is giving fans the chance to win one of five signed copies of the “Good Lookin’ Cookin’” cookbook and a $150 Home Chef gift card when they comment on the brand’s giveaway post on Instagram, tagging someone they love to cook with. 

Previously:

• “Home Chef partners with ‘PAW Patrol’ on family menu collection,” from the August 16 edition of this column.
• “Conagra Brands to launch expanded line of retail food items with Dolly Parton,” from the January 26 edition of The Week in Consumer Packaged Goods. 

More DTC and retail partnerships:

• “The North Face, Comme des Garçons Launch Second Capsule” (Women’s Wear Daily)
• “Chubbies lands NFL licensing deal, names ‘creative director of football’” (Fashion Dive)
• “West Elm Teams With Christina Ricci On New Collection” (Store Brands)
• “Auntie Anne’s, Cinnabon partner with Spirit Halloween for exclusive costumes” (Bake Magazine)
• “E.l.f. Skin teams up with comedian Megan Stalter on satirical skin care-focused campaign” (Drug Store News)
• “Millie Bobby Brown’s Florence by Mills Fashion launches at Nordstrom” (Retail Dive)
• “Topco’s Crav’n Flavor To Sponsor NASCAR Car In Upcoming Races” (Store Brands)
• “Kenneth Cole Relaunches Women’s Sportswear Collection in Partnership With Kasper” (Women’s Wear Daily)
• “Christian Siriano to collaborate on bridal collection” (Fashion Dive)