Daily QuickWit (9/8) – Top Retail News of the Day

Fall is officially here. Grab your PSL and give the top retail news a read:

Walmart launches local delivery service. Smart move from Walmart to capitalize on their strengths, network, (eventually) detach themselves from third party reliance, and capture another alternative revenue stream. A white-label service called Walmart GoLocal, it reaches 70% of the US population (for the record, Instacart is ~85%). They will own the data that was formerly collected by other 3P platforms and allows for more leverage in negotiations. Amazon tried something similar and ultimately folded the service this year. If Walmart was watching to learn and improve, they could succeed.

Instacart is developing a digital advertising business. The clock is ticking for Instacart. Simo (CEO) even says so: “We have such a big opportunity. The challenge is executing fast enough to capture it.” And we can see why, with retailers like Walmart developing their own solution and rolling it out to other merchants. See: above. If they can execute, they could extend their runway—but there is a possibility it will become a negative spiral (less share, less traffic, less ads, less revenue) as well. It’s a tough space to compete in.

Hy-Vee is adding eyewear kiosks at stores. Another innovation to expand their non-grocery portfolio, Hy-Vee has continued to make an effort to move beyond grocery. This particular move is a hybrid experience: customers can try on “base frame’s” in-store, while ordering lens and “top frames” through the kiosk. Will customers feel like this decreases friction (physical trial with endless aisle) enough to overcome the alternatives (Warby Parker’s shop and try on 5)? This will be a great CX trend to watch.

2021 Retail Risks from Lisa Goller. A sharp piece of thought leadership that captures the challenges Retailers and CPGs will face for the remainder of 2021 and, likely, heading into 2022. We won’t spoil it too much, but she hit the nail on the head.