Last week, the RTP
editors identified
the bad and the ugly of retail in 2018, highlighting key instances
where retailers and others fumbled the ball. But as the year concludes and the
holiday season spreads plenty of cheer, the team wanted to end on an
appropriately high note by sharing retail’s positive stories —
especially given that 2018 was considered a bounce-back for the industry. What did
you think were the best retail decisions of 2018? Let us know in the comments
below.
Debbie Hauss,
Editor-in-Chief: I am going to take the same route I did with the “bad
news” Q&A from last week and share a personal story that I think should be
a lesson-learned for all retailers. We adopted a puppy in July and I quickly
started ordering food, snacks, toys, etc. via Chewy.com. I found the ordering easy and the prices right.
Additionally, my packages always arrive within a few days. Overall, a very good
customer experience. Then I had a return challenge. I bought a few items that
just didn’t work, so I looked on the Chewy.com site for return directions.
Turns out I had to call customer service to discuss the issue, which I first
was put off by. But after a very brief chat with the customer service rep, I
was granted a full refund and I didn’t actually have to return the items. The
rep told me I could keep them or donate them at my discretion. Now that is good service —
and smart business. It probably would have cost the company money to process
the return and attempt to resell the items; and it would have annoyed me. They
now have a more loyal, long-term customer.
Adam Blair, Executive
Editor: My vote for the most positive
move by retailers this year: the decisions made by DICK’s Sporting Goods, REI, L.L. Bean, Walmart and Kroger to
limit rifle and gun sales in the wake of the Parkland, Fla. massacre on Feb.
14. These retailers’ actions were particularly admirable given that they risked
both backlash and boycotts from the NRA and gun enthusiasts. For DICK’S at
least, the financial impact was negligible: net income and sales rose in the
quarter following the announcement, according to Forbes, though the retailer has continued to
struggle against the headwinds facing the sporting goods category. In fact,
it’s the NRA that seems to be in financial trouble, according to USA Today, although it’s often hard to know how
much of the association’s cries of pain are actually fundraising tactics. I
wish the retailers’ actions had stopped the dozens of shootings that took place
since Parkland, but at least they took a step in the right direction.
Glenn Taylor, Senior
Editor: While they’re not entirely out of the woods yet, the turnaround of
experienced by major department stores, including Macy’s, Kohl’s, Nordstrom and Dillard’s, has been
impressive. I’ve noticed the change, particularly after writing about the poor
performance of department stores in the two years prior. All four of these
retailers saw Q3 comparable store sales increase at least 2.3%, with Macy’s leading the way at 3.3%. While these numbers don’t exactly pop the way a 9.5% increase at Costco does for
its most recent quarter, the numbers are a significant turnaround from Q1 2017,
when all four saw comparable sales declines (Macy’s posted a then-alarming 4.6% dip). It appears these retailers
have gone a long way to adjust
experiences that fit all channels, whether it’s Kohl’s
growing its partnership with Amazon
to include product returns in stores; Macy’s partnering with
experiential brands like Story
and b8ta;
or Nordstrom acquiring
conversational commerce and digital selling startups. These efforts,
as well as many others, give these companies their own differentiation points,
as well as a fighting chance against the continued growth of competing retail
players across channels.
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Bryan Wassel,
Associate Editor: The most positive move for me was Nike’s embrace of former NFL player Colin Kaepernick in
its late-summer ad campaign. Like the limit on rifle sales, the move was risky,
but it paid off even more clearly: the retailer first reported a 31% e-Commerce sales bump between
Sept. 2 and Sept. 4, followed by a report of 61% more merchandise being
sold out further into the month. This showed that
Nike knows its audience (young, more socially liberal shoppers), and that the
company wasn’t afraid to take a chance on a stand that appeals to them. This
sort of moral commitment is more important than ever in a retail space where
shoppers have an endless array of competitors to choose from: whether
it’s closing on Thanksgiving or committing to
an ethical, transparent supply chain, retailers that
are willing to stand for things they believe in will be
rewarded with greater loyalty — provided they are sincere about it.
