Holidays | Digital Commerce 360

Online flower retailer records highest-ever revenue day

Abbas Haleem — Mon, 22 May 2023 19:16:56 +0000

More people have reason to send a gift on Mother’s Day than on Valentine’s Day, said Katie Hudson, content director at online flower retailer UrbanStems.

And whereas UrbanStems typically sells five times more than a usual week in the week leading up to Valentine’s Day, it sells 10 times more than a usual week leading up to Mother’s Day, she said. Moreover, conversion for UrbanStems Mother’s Day sales increased nearly 50% compared with the retailer’s average conversion, she said, without revealing specific figures.

The UrbanStems homepage, captured Friday, May 12, shows a Mother’s Day promotion of up to 30% off for double bouquets.

UrbanStems Mother’s Day sales

The retailer had its best revenue day ever on May 11, the Thursday leading up to Mother’s Day, Hudson said, without revealing a dollar amount. That coincided with its highest site traffic on the same day. Hudson said the retailer has yet to determine if this was its best Mother’s Day period to date, “but most likely. We are still figuring this out due to refunds and redeliveries.”

UrbanStems site traffic in the week leading up to Mother’s Day increased more than 400% compared with non-holiday weeks. Its average order value also increased more than $10 during the sales period.

“Typically we’ll see a spike,” Hudson said. At least for Mother’s Day, people are more likely to do gift sets, which are more expensive with us, or to do add-ons.”

That led Hudson and her team to do A/B tests to determine whether offering add-ons at checkout boosted AOV. She said the retailer did not see a difference in having add-ons appear during checkout, so going into Mother’s Day, it removed the add-on upsell opportunity to improve site speed.

“What we found was that when the add-ons were being shown in checkout, it would cause the site to load a little slower because it was having to call to see what add-ons were in inventory,” Hudson said. “So we removed that, and even then, some people were choosing add-ons before they got to checkout.”

A/B testing

The overall boost in site traffic made Hudson realize she could squeeze in some last-minute testing to optimize landing pages.

“So many people were coming to the site that we could get a result we knew we were 100% confident in — in half the time we normally would,” Hudson said.

On May 11, just three days before Mother’s Day, UrbanStems tested versions of its landing pages from social media with and without customer reviews. But when the retailer removed reviews, it saw conversions decrease 25%, Hudson said.

From there, Hudson said, UrbanStems better understood how much its customers care about reviews.

“They want to see how the actual product arrives,” she said.

Optimizing social media and digital marketing with APIs

UrbanStems also runs design feature experiments using web design vendor Zmags’ Fastr Frontend interface, which connects to the platform via an application programming interface (API).

About 10% of sales during the period came from Zmags custom pages for podcasters and influencers UrbanStems worked with. Those pages averaged an 8% conversion rate, Hudson said.

Hudson said UrbanStems also tested its paid landing page made using Zmags against the Mother’s Day product landing page, which runs on the retailer’s Shopify-powered ecommerce site.

“With that, we saw a 200% lift in conversion when we drove people to the Zmags experience versus just our normal PLP when they’re coming through paid social. We’re constantly testing,” Hudson said. “The conversion rate numbers that week of Mother’s Day in general were insane and not the norm, but we were able to keep testing and getting it better and better.”

The UrbanStems Mother’s Day product landing page on May 12 shows how soon shoppers can receive bouquets.

The UrbanStems Mother’s Day product landing page on May 12 shows discounts, overnight shipping options and an out-of-stock bouquet.

Countdown timers

UrbanStems also used Zmags to include countdown timers across its site, including on product landing pages, even before Mother’s Day. The retailer worked with Zmags to automate the timers to count down to 2 p.m. Eastern Standard Time in cities where it offers same-day delivery, then automatically update each day to count down again. UrbanStems offers same-day delivery in Washington, D.C., New York City and Los Angeles.

Hudson said UrbanStems had never used the countdown timer on its homepage before Mother’s Day, so it ran an A/B test in which 25% of the site traffic had a timer on the page.

“We just wanted to make sure because our homepage was already converting so well,” Hudson said. “We didn’t want to mess with it too much.”

It increased conversion 2%, which Hudson said “wasn’t huge, but it was enough to say it was a clear winner.” Then, the timer went to 100% of UrbanStems’ audience.

UrbanStems also uses Zmags for its landing pages for site visitors coming from social media platforms. Some of those pages touted 11% conversion rates the week of Mother’s Day. Hudson said even though that’s when purchase intent is highest among UrbanStems shoppers, she and her team had not seen an 11% conversion rate for such a page.

Post-Mother’s Day

Hudson said UrbanStems did not run any paid social ads the week after Mother’s Day. Instead, the retailer is using the post-holiday time to reflect on what it has learned.

“We need to have customer reviews,” Hudson said.

Furthermore, UrbanStems must develop a landing page that prioritizes customer reviews higher on the page.

“Taking some of the testing we did and iterating on it after Mother’s Day is going to be really important,” Hudson said.

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Retailers use data to improve web conversion and improve the customer experience

Abbas Haleem — Tue, 14 Mar 2023 20:04:58 +0000

Sometimes, shoppers already know what they want to buy — and when they want it. A prime example is buying flowers for Valentine’s Day, says Katie Hudson, content director at online flower retailer UrbanStems. UrbanStems sells about five times its typical volume in the week leading up to Feb. 14, Hudson says. During this week, a […]

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Lego’s profit grows slightly as other toy retailers see shrinking demand

Mary Meisenzahl — Tue, 07 Mar 2023 21:22:56 +0000

The Lego Group reported its smallest increase in profit in three years even as demand has grown. The world’s largest toymaker faced higher costs and invested heavily in production to meet rising demand.

Net income rose 3.7% to 13.8 billion kroner ($2 billion) in 2022, the Billund, Denmark-based company said on Tuesday. Expenses jumped 22% and revenue rose 17% to 64.6 billion kroner, driving gains in market share. Lego grew online sales by about 10.5% in 2022, according to Digital Commerce 360’s estimates. Lego is privately held and does not release all financial information.

The LEGO Group is No. 129 in the 2022 Digital Commerce 360 Europe Database.

Lego opened stores and produced more toys

The maker of colorful building bricks, which is owned by the billionaire Kirk Kristiansen family, opened 155 new branded stores last year and increased production at three of its five factories. It’s also working on building two new large facilities in Vietnam and the United States. The company said it expects to win market share again this year with “single-digit” revenue growth.

Lego’s results were better than the company had expected, CEO Niels B. Christiansen said.

Earnings momentum “was driven by the investments made during this time, which are both paying off now and establishing a foundation for long-term, sustainable growth,” the CEO said in the statement. “We plan to accelerate investments in strategic initiatives in the coming years.”

Lego plans to hire 500 more digital experts in Denmark, the United Kingdom and China in addition to as many as 6,000 workers for its new factories in the U.S. and Vietnam in coming years, Christiansen said.

Other toymakers see declining demand

Lego’s hiring spree is an outlier in the the toy market, which shrunk last year. Its biggest rivals, Mattel Inc. and Hasbro Inc., both reduced headcount in 2022.

Lego’s U.S. rival Mattel Inc., which owns the Barbie brand, last month said it expects no revenue growth this year, while the other large U.S. toymaker, Hasbro Inc., said it sees a contraction. Hasbro cut its workforce by another 1,000 jobs, about 15% of workers, after a poor holiday season. Hasbro said the digital gaming business, including the Dungeons & Dragons and Magic the Gathering games, performed well. However, its traditional toy business faltered. Both companies said toy sales were down after a boom during the pandemic.

Mattel and Hasbro are No. 203 and No. 534, respectively, in the 2022 Digital Commerce 360 database of the largest North American online retailers by web sales.

Lego as a symbol of resistance

In 2022, Lego made headlines for its symbolism following the Russian invasion of Ukraine. The toy manufacturer said it had “paused shipments of products to Russia given the extensive disruption to the operating environment,” and donated more than $16 million to humanitarian organizations.

Polish illustrator Paweł Jońca was inspired by Lego’s blue and yellow similarity to the Ukrainian flag. He created a poster showing a red bear representing Russia, stepping on blue and yellow Lego blocks representing Ukraine.

“The proportions and colors refer to huge Russia and smaller Ukraine,” Jońca said. “The heaviness of the aggressor and the tenacity and persistence of the defender. Most viewers associated stepping on the block with their own experience and immediately thought, ‘Hope it hurts!’”

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Online flower retailer UrbanStems increases conversion 12% during Valentine’s Day season

Abbas Haleem — Tue, 07 Mar 2023 20:49:16 +0000

Online flower retailer UrbanStems typically sells about five times its typical volume in the week leading up to Valentine’s Day, said Katie Hudson, content director.

“The week of Valentine’s Day, the intent to purchase is so high that we’ve seen — and we’ve tested this a few times — we’ve seen people convert better on our normal shopping experience for that week because they don’t even need to know our story,” Hudson said.

The retailer’s conversion rate increased 12% year over year for Valentine’s Day 2023. A large part of the retailer’s sales come through its customized landing pages, Hudson said, declining to provide dollar figures.

The retailer had its highest sales number on Feb. 12, Hudson said, though she declined to provide a dollar amount.

“We all knew people were going to wait until the last minute, and they did,” Hudson said.

Using a ‘Fastr Frontend’

UrbanStems is always monitoring its conversion rate, and it continually tests design features to improve conversion, Hudson says.

The “normal shopping experience” on UrbanStems.com uses Salesforce’s ecommerce platform and is limited to Salesforce templates. UrbanStems also runs design feature experiments using web design vendor Zmags’ Fastr Frontend interface, which connects to the platform via an application programming interface (API).

The vendor allows Hudson to add new pages or custom-designed sections of pages to UrbanStems.com that aren’t limited to its ecommerce platform’s template, rather than submitting a ticket to the retailer’s web developers each time she wants or needs to make a change.

“It’s for a creative audience to be able to do things on those key parts of the site where your brand vision is paramount,” said Ryan Breen, chief technology officer at Zmags. “You really want to do something not restricted by templates.”

Breen said its typical to see a drop-off after a shopper goes to a landing page that a company put “all their effort into” creating.

“I know the moment. I’ve fallen off,” Breen said. “Hand-designed, cool site, to template hell. It’s usually right around the category page.”

There are often differences in opinion among the merchandisers, marketers and development agencies producing custom pages, Breen said.

“Everything becomes a ticket to another team to another team to another team, and you aren’t doing that in a day,” Breen said.

Changes UrbanStems makes to improve conversion

Some of the changes UrbanStems made include adding a countdown timer, updating promo codes in real time, creating shoppable tiles on the retailer’s blog, and using an inventory badge that indicates how many units of a product are available. Each change helped UrbanStems improve its conversion, Hudson said.

When UrbanStems tested a Zmags landing page versus its normal shopping product listing page, the Zmags landing page always had a higher conversion rate compared with the normal shopping page, Hudson says.

In the case of Valentine’s Day, the Zmags product landing page (PLP) UrbanStems created on its site resulted in a 35% increase in conversion compared with its templated PLP, Hudson said. UrbanStems tested the page from Jan. 24 to 29.

“We weren’t even expecting to run the test so short, but the numbers were so significant,” Hudson said.

The Zmags pages have tested and performed so well for UrbanStems that the retailer now tests one Zmags frontend page versus another to see how well different creative leads shoppers to convert.

UrbanStems top-selling Valentine’s Day products

“Unsurprisingly, red roses were our top seller,” Hudson said.

And the retailer saw the biggest conversion lift on SKUs in the $70 to $100 range, she said. Furthermore, people are more likely to include add-ons such as vases to their Valentine’s Day purchases, she said.

UrbanStems also orders in lower volume SKUs that have a higher price point to experiment with what shoppers are comfortable purchasing. The flower retailer offered a SKU for Valentine’s Day that was over $200 and sold out.

“Granted, we ordered at a significantly less amount, but I’m always honestly surprised to see what people are gravitating toward,” Hudson said. “I think sometimes it could be that when you see a higher price point, it feels like a more luxurious gift, which it certainly is. The over $200 price we offered had a mixture of fresh florals and orchids in it, which we’ve never done before, a bouquet with mixed orchids. It came with a vase as well. The fact that that sold out was a little surprising to me because it was something different that we’ve never sold before.”

UrbanStems also offered peonies during the Valentine’s Day season.

“Peonies overall was a huge win for us,” she said. “We actually sold out of peonies a week before Valentine’s Day.”

All those SKUs led to UrbanStems’ average order value (AOV) increasing 12% year over year around the February holiday.

Making marketing adjustments by channel

Hudson said even though UrbanStems knows the intent to purchase is “really high” leading up to Valentine’s Day, the retailer also wanted to make sure it showcased products at price points it knew shoppers were looking for based on sales data at the end of January and in early February.

It also wants to make sure it’s sorting products that are on sale or have a high buy-to-detail rate. Buy-to-detail rate is an analytic that shows the percentage of people who bought an item on a website after viewing that product’s page.

UrbanStems only used Zmags in its landing pages for shoppers coming to the site from paid social media marketing. The retailer didn’t experience any dips in conversion leading up to the holiday, Hudson said. Additionally, UrbanStems increased conversion on paid social 83% year over year.

Moreover, it spent less on paid social this year compared with 2022. Paid social transactions increased 27% year over year, she said. Those transactions come from Meta, TikTok and Pinterest. UrbanStems targeted the male audience on Meta platforms and found it responded to promo codes and the countdown timer Hudson implemented.

Those performance increases were “pretty wild for us and really exciting,” Hudson said. The next big challenge, she added, is taking those wins and applying them to its next big sales period: Mother’s Day.

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Costco ecommerce sales drop despite total sales increase

Abbas Haleem — Mon, 06 Mar 2023 17:34:04 +0000

Costco Wholesale Corp. reported that for its second fiscal quarter ended Feb. 12, ecommerce sales were down 9.6% from the year-ago quarter. For the first half of the fiscal year, Costco ecommerce sales decreased 6.8%.

Chief financial officer Richard Galanti said in a March 2 call with investors that the retailer’s “online mix of sales” drove the weakness.

“Big-ticket discretionary departments like majors, home furnishings, small electrics, jewelry, hardware — these were down 15% in the quarter and make up 58% of our e-com sales,” he said. “These same departments, by the way, were down 11% in warehouse but only make up 8% of total warehouse in-line sales.”

Costco ranks No. 9 in the Top 1000. The Top 1000 is Digital Commerce 360’s database of the largest North American online retailers by web sales.

Costco Q2 sales

The retailer reported net income for its fiscal second quarter of $1.46 billion. That’s a 13% increase year over year.

Costco net sales for its second quarter increased to $54.24 billion. That’s up 6.5% from $50.94 billion in the year-ago period. Comparable sales in the United States grew 5.7%. For the total company, comparable sales grew 5.2%.

Galanti said the retailer’s average order value increased 0.2% worldwide and 1.9% in the U.S. Its membership renewal rate in the U.S. and Canada grew 0.01% to 92.6%. It also grew 0.01% worldwide, to 90.5%.

Membership growth remains strong, Galanti said. Costco ended its second quarter with 68.1 million paid household members and 123.0 million cardholders, he said. Both memberships and cardholders had more than a 7% year-over-year increase.

Executive members now comprise 45% of paid members, he said, and about 73% of sales worldwide. Executive membership is higher-cost loyalty program ($120/year) Costco offers. Galanti said Costco had 30.6 million paid executive memberships at the end of its fiscal second quarter. That’s up 630,000 from the end of its fiscal first quarter, he said. The other membership is its Gold Star ($60/year), which has fewer perks for shoppers.

Warehouse expansion

Costco opened three warehouses in its fiscal second quarter, Galanti said. Two are in the U.S. and one in Australia.

Next week, he said, Costco will open its third warehouse in China. The retailer plans to later open its fourth and fifth warehouses in China, he said. Furthermore, Costco plans to open 27 warehouses total in its fiscal year 2023, including three relocations. Of the 24 entirely new Costco warehouses, 14 will be in the U.S. The 10 international warehouses include the three in China as well as the first Costco locations each in New Zealand and Sweden, both of which Galanti said the retailer opened in its fiscal first quarter.

Costco ecommerce sales

The drop in Q2 ecommerce sales was a stark contrast compared to what Galanti shared during the company’s fiscal first quarter call with investors in December 2022. Galanti said on the call that, subsequent to Q1, the retailer had its two largest ecommerce-selling days in company history: Black Friday and Cyber Monday.

Although Costco provided percentages of its year-over-year ecommerce sales decline, it did not break out dollar amounts or ecommerce penetration of total sales.

Costco Q2 2023 earnings summary

For the fiscal second quarter ended Feb. 12, 2023, Costco reported:

Total Costco sales increased 5.2%.
Net sales increased to $54.23 billion from $50.93 billion in the year-ago quarter.
U.S. sales increased 5.7%.
Costco ecommerce sales decreased 9.6%.
Membership fees increased to $1.02 billion from $967 million in the year-ago quarter.

For the fiscal first half ended Feb. 12, 2023, Costco reported:

Total Costco sales increased 5.9%. Net sales increased to $107.67 billion from $100.35 billion in the year-ago period.
U.S. sales increased 7.5%.
Costco ecommerce sales decreased 6.8%.
Membership fees increased to $2.02 billion from $1.91 billion in the year-ago period.

Percentage changes may not align exactly with dollar figures due to rounding.

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The Shopper Speaks: How shoppers gain trust in online sellers

Lauren Freedman — Thu, 02 Mar 2023 16:54:33 +0000

In the last few weeks, I made two purchases online that I might regret.

Looking back, aside from the money spent, part of that regret comes from a lack of trust in the retailers. It’s been over 30 days and neither has delivered the goods. In fact, one hasn’t even sent an order confirmation and inquiries to that retailer go unanswered. And at this point in time, I wonder if they will ever arrive.

When I Googled the word trust, words like reliability, truth and strength of someone or something were all part of what surfaced. Making a purchase from an online retailer is about forging a relationship, and ideally those are built on trust.

We asked in our Digital Commerce and Bizrate Insights survey of 1,060 online shoppers in January 2023, “Which attribute or conditions are most likely to lead you to place an order on a retail website or app when shopping online?” One of the top four answers was trust in the brand, which 46% of survey respondents cited. This was behind formidable competition that included free shipping (69%), the right price (66%) and product selection (47%), putting it in important company.

One would also conclude that a prior purchase is a factor in the trust equation as well, with 43% acknowledging its role. A retailer’s loyalty program at 28% is also interesting, as I expect that if someone chooses to belong to such a program, they too would trust the brand.

I want to think out of the box about some of the intrinsic aspects of shopping online that foster trust. In showcasing examples, my goal is for retailers to evaluate how well the site experience they put forth is doing to engender trust, and to evaluate if any of the elements proposed might improve their trust with shoppers.

Satisfaction guaranteed

It’s important that shoppers have positive shopping experiences — 36% chose specific retailers over the holidays because of a previous good experience. Nothing is a bigger booster of trust than a product guarantee. And in the instance of Vuori, an athletic clothing and activewear apparel brand I recently discovered, they have also smartly adopted a customer favorite: free returns. Another Digital Commerce 360 and Bizrate Insights survey of 1,023 online shoppers in January 2023 found that free return shipping led 25% to purchase from a retailer. This is a winning combination.

Values

For once, it feels like there is a shift when it comes to values, and perhaps the younger generation is leading the charge. Regarding sustainability, hardly a day goes by when there is not a headline in the fashion world and beyond.

Vuori offers satisfaction guarantee and free returns shipping.

Many retailers, like allbirds, are providing examples of this. Allbirds introduced its first-ever Plant Leather shoes, which fit the bill. The merchant reinforces not choosing plastic. Sustainability is central to this brand’s value proposition, and its message begins with “Products Born From Partnership.” It adds to this in sharing that, “By offering a carefully curated product range fit for all seasons, we’re able to maintain a small, tight-knit supply chain.”

allbirds highlights sustainability, focusing on a shift from plastic materials.

While branding is serious business, it doesn’t mean retailers can’t bring a sense of humor to the table. Reformation does just that in its irreverent style, sharing, “We have big goals, like reducing more emissions than we make, making all our stuff recyclable, and a bunch more we’ll get into below.”

It is the vision of these companies that will propel us all forward. As the site loads, it indicates, “We’ll be Climate Positive by 2025.”

Reformation delivers on sustainability.

Service

Not surprisingly, service plays a critical role in both establishing trust as well as maintaining it over time. Once again, we surveyed online shoppers to see which types of interactions drove purchasing. With phone calls often leading to dead ends and not solving shopper issues in real-time, chat (with a human) has emerged as a desirable choice.

When I had an issue with a book I purchased, I chose email in hopes that the “paper trail” would be valuable. Additionally, I was able to easily include information in support of my case. I’m happy to report that the company responded and shared a personal story about being a one-man show and equipment failures. On a positive note, after four days’ turnaround time, he said my order was on its way.

Execution

As they say, talk is cheap. Certainly, online reviews have been instrumental in giving shoppers the confidence they need to make a purchase. But what really matters is execution, and not just in the short term. Abt embodies what it’s like to take care of the customer for 86 years. If you’ve done business with them, like I have for many years, you know it’s true. From in-store to in your house, their customers will experience Abt’s award-winning customer service.

abt highlights award-winning customer service.

Belonging is always a good feeling. For those shopping online, that means loyalty programs. Some would argue that Amazon built its business on the back of its Prime program.

Digital Commerce 360’s Top 1000 database reveals that 27.8% of these retailers have such a program. It is not just that a retailer offers such a program, but it’s about a particular kind of tone as can be seen in Tractor Supply’s Neighbors Rewards Club, where for every 500 points one receives a $5 reward.

Tractor Supply delivers loyalty program via Neighbor’s Rewards Club.

Chewy’s autoship is perfectly suited to the pet category, and that’s important in a category where much of what is sold is replenishment-driven. It has built its business on a “no fees, no commitment, no brainer” approach to selling. Shoppers can take advantage of the autoship programs risk-free, and Chewy will let the execution speak for itself.

Chewy’s Autoship is ideal for pet buyers.

Tools

Savvy retailers are incorporating profilers and quizzes into the shopping experience. These help guide shoppers to make the right decisions. Digital Commerce 360 Top 1000 database reports that 13.4% had interactive tools. Stitch Fix is one example. It walks you through a quick profiler that includes reasons to try Stitch Fix, weight, height, sizes in an array of garments, how sizes are working for you (too short, too long), along with a series of style selections from which one can choose. When deciding to try such a service, trust may not be immediate but instead may happen over time.

Retailers in the Digital Commerce 360 conversion survey of 73 retailers in January 2023 reported about what drives conversion. 21% of respondents said interactive product-match tools that educate and profile shoppers to make decisions are very important when it comes to improving conversion rates.

Stitch Fix profiles its customers for a personalized experience.

Price aware

When we asked in our conversion survey what kept shoppers from placing an order most in 2022, half said they didn’t place orders due to higher prices. Price’s role can’t be underestimated. Our post-holiday survey found that right after free shipping, the No. 2 reason shoppers will place an order is the right price.

Being in stock

Online shoppers will certainly be more confident if the products they desire are in stock. When we asked online shoppers what made them choose to shop with specific retailers over the holidays, 43% indicated it was because they had the products they wanted in stock. At the same time, when asked what improvements they would like to see from retailers in 2023 that would lead them to buy even more online, the top answer, along with faster delivery for 32%, was having more inventory in stock.

Trust is personal. Online retailers need to execute delivering exemplary service, with satisfaction guaranteed an optimal scenario. Brands have an opportunity to differentiate through values, a compelling on-site experience and confidence-building tools that effectively guide shoppers. Ensuring products are priced right and ample inventory is available fosters trust and retention that drives growth.

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Valentine’s Day product searches on Amazon rise year over year

Abbas Haleem — Mon, 13 Feb 2023 21:37:14 +0000

Searches for “valentines day decor” increased 51% year over year in January 2023. Searches grew to 2.2 million, making it the most popular search, according to Similarweb Shopper Intelligence data.

“Valentines day gifts” was the next most popular search with 1.7 million. That’s up 74% year over year, according to Similarweb data.

Valentine’s Day-related searches on Amazon.com took the No. 1, No. 4 and No. 11 spots in January, according to Similarweb estimates. Lingerie for women made it into the top 15 product searches as well, which Similarweb said might have Valentine’s Day implications. These rankings are based on a Similarweb Shopper Intelligence analysis of traffic to the main Amazon.com website for the U.S.

A beard oil gift set was the most popular “valentines day gifts” product, according to Similarweb. It captured 5.6% share of search clicks — 44,600. Next was a holiday assortment “care package” gift set, according to Similarweb, with 4% share (33,000 clicks).

However, not all the most popular Amazon searches were for Valentine’s Day items. Apple Watch and iPhone accessories were also high on the list of searches in January 2023. Additionally, searches for “crocs” and “workout sets for women” more than doubled year over year.

Amazon.com Inc. is No. 1 in the 2022 Digital Commerce 360 Top 1000 database. The Top 1000 ranks North American web merchants by sales. It is No. 3 in the Digital Commerce 360 Online Marketplaces database, which ranks the 100 largest global marketplaces.

Leading up to Valentine’s Day: Top five Amazon product searches in January

According to Similarweb, the most popular products when shoppers searched “valentines day gifts” were:

Beard oil five pack from XIKEZAN Store (44,629 clicks; 5.61% share)
Valentine’s Day care package from Cravebox (33,121 clicks; 4.16% share)
Rose bear with box and artificial flowers from DeckTheHalls (19,484 clicks; 2.45% share)
Personalize acrylic photo keychain under Generic (19,092 clicks; 2.40% share)
Valentine’s Day gifts for her him capsule from COVLUROTO (14,167 clicks; 1.78% share)

Reese’s miniatures and hearts and Avidlove lingerie for women each had more than 11,300 clicks and took 1.43% share of product searches.

Although not necessarily tied to Valentine’s Day, other popular Amazon product searches in January were for desks, water bottles, Squishmallows and laptops, according to Similarweb.

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UK retail sales dip in January following Christmas boom

Bloomberg News — Tue, 07 Feb 2023 23:37:16 +0000

UK retail sales disappointed last month as Britons facing higher household bills reined in their spending after splurging on Christmas festivities.

Total retail sales rose by 4.2% year-on-year in January, around half December’s pace and down from 11.9% growth a year earlier, the British Retail Consortium and consultancy KPMG said in a Feb. 7 report. High inflation means the rise in UK retail sales masked a much larger drop in volumes as shoppers get less for their money.

The highest inflation in decades is weighing on retailers’ margins as they attempt to shield shoppers from the full impact of cost rises. Many stores reported better-than-expected sales over Christmas. Now, consumers are battling higher household bills and more expensive mortgages as interest rates rise, leaving little money in hand for shopping.

“With ongoing cost pressures and labor shortages, increases in sales don’t convert into increases in profits or cash. As Christmas cheer subsided, retailers felt the January blues,” said Helen Dickinson, CEO at the BRC.

Inflationary pressures on UK retail sales hit online purchases particularly hard. Non-food sales on the web dropped 3.6% in January amid a revival of brick-and-mortar shopping after the pandemic. Online retailers also lost out in the run-up to Christmas, with sales falling at fast fashion houses Asos Plc and Boohoo Group Plc while online beauty and nutrition firm THG Plc cut its profit guidance.

“Consumers have started the year with a tight rein on spending as they face another period of rising costs,” said Paul Martin, UK head of retail at KPMG.

Tight rein on UK retail sales

A separate report from NielsenIQ went further, showing that grocery sales fell in volume by almost 7% in January. That’s the biggest decline in the past nine months. Shoppers bought less fresh produce, meat and poultry while sales of frozen goods grew.

More than 70% of UK households think they will be affected by the cost-of-living crisis in the first part of the year. That’s up from 54% at the end of 2022.

Consumers chose cheaper big-ticket items, skipping the premium category, and opted for energy-efficient appliances such as air fryers to help bring down their bills, according to the BRC data. In clothing, the strongest categories among UK retail sales were men’s outfits and shoes.

Separate data from Barclays showed a 9.7% rise in spending on credit and debit cards. Still, the figure includes direct debits on utility bills, which rocketed 45%.

For some retailers, the combination of weaker consumer sentiment and higher input costs is proving too much.

Stationery chain Paperchase will likely close around 100 stores in the UK. The company filed for insolvency last week and Tesco Plc stepped in to buy the brand and intellectual property. It follows collapses last year from fashion chain Joules and furniture retailer Made.com, both of which were bought by Next Plc.

“It is likely we will continue to see casualties both online and on the high street this year,” said KPMG’s Martin.

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