Driving Growth Through Omnichannel Excellence

Walmart’s omnichannel strategy is more than just a buzzword; it’s the backbone of the company’s approach to meeting the evolving needs of its customers. As consumers increasingly demand flexibility and convenience, Walmart is doubling down on its efforts to integrate in-store and online shopping experiences seamlessly. This approach has allowed the retail giant to capture a broader audience, from tech-savvy millennials to traditional shoppers who still value the in-store experience.

“We’re not just responding to trends; we’re shaping them,” said Doug McMillon, CEO of Walmart. “By offering our customers multiple ways to shop—whether it’s in-store, online, or through our app—we’re creating a shopping experience that’s tailored to individual preferences. This not only drives sales but builds deeper customer loyalty.”

Leveraging Stores as Fulfillment Centers

One of the key drivers of Walmart’s omnichannel success is its ability to leverage physical stores as fulfillment centers. With thousands of stores strategically located across the country, Walmart can offer faster delivery and pickup options, a critical advantage in today’s retail landscape. “Our proximity to customers gives us a unique edge,” explained John David Rainey, CFO of Walmart. “We’re able to fulfill online orders quickly and efficiently from our stores, which not only improves delivery times but also enhances the overall customer experience.”

Moreover, Walmart’s investment in technology has been pivotal in enhancing its omnichannel capabilities. The integration of GenAI-powered tools and AI-driven analytics allows the company to offer personalized shopping experiences, ensuring that customers find exactly what they need, when they need it. “Our goal is to make shopping as intuitive and seamless as possible,” said Tom Ward, Chief eCommerce Officer for Walmart U.S. “By harnessing the power of AI, we can better understand our customers’ needs and preferences, offering them a tailored experience that sets us apart from the competition.”

Significant Growth of Walmart+

Walmart’s success in omnichannel retailing is also reflected in its ability to attract and retain customers across various income levels. The retailer has seen significant growth in its Walmart+ membership, particularly among higher-income households, who value the convenience of delivery services and the broad assortment of products available online. “We’re seeing strong engagement across all demographics,” added Rainey. “Our ability to meet customers where they are—whether they prefer shopping in-store, online, or a mix of both—is driving our growth and solidifying our leadership in the market.”

As Walmart continues to innovate and expand its omnichannel offerings, it remains focused on providing value at every touchpoint. Whether it’s through faster delivery, enhanced in-store experiences, or personalized online shopping, Walmart’s commitment to omnichannel excellence is clear—and it’s paying off. “Our strategy is simple: make shopping easier, faster, and more enjoyable for our customers,” McMillon emphasized. “And as we continue to evolve, we’re confident that our omnichannel approach will keep us ahead of the curve in the retail industry.”

Innovation in Action: From Drone Delivery to AI Shopping Assistants

Walmart’s commitment to innovation is evident in its continuous efforts to integrate cutting-edge technology into its operations. From drone delivery services to AI-driven shopping assistants, the retail giant is redefining convenience and setting new standards for customer service.

Drone delivery, once considered a futuristic concept, has become a reality for Walmart customers. Since the company began trialing drone delivery in 2021, the service has rapidly expanded, with over 30,000 successful deliveries to date. “Our customers love the speed and convenience that drone delivery offers,” said Tom Ward, Chief eCommerce Officer for Walmart U.S. “It’s a game-changer, especially in situations where time is of the essence. We’re thrilled to be at the forefront of this technology, and we’re continually exploring ways to expand and improve the service.”

Walmart’s drone delivery system is designed to integrate seamlessly with the Walmart app, enhancing the overall shopping experience. Customers in select areas, such as Dallas-Fort Worth, are already benefiting from this integration, allowing them to order items via drone delivery directly through the app. “The feedback from our customers has been overwhelmingly positive,” Ward continued. “They appreciate the flexibility and the ability to get what they need in a matter of minutes, whether it’s last-minute snacks or essential household items.”

Leveraging Artificial Intelligence

Beyond drone delivery, Walmart is leveraging artificial intelligence to create a more personalized and efficient shopping experience. The company’s GenAI-powered shopping assistant, currently in beta testing, represents the next evolution of customer engagement. This AI assistant engages customers in natural, conversational interactions, helping them find the perfect product based on their specific needs. “We want shopping to be as intuitive as having a conversation with a knowledgeable friend,” explained Ward. “Our GenAI assistant can recommend products, answer questions, and guide customers through their shopping journey, making it easier than ever to find exactly what they’re looking for.”

The AI shopping assistant goes beyond simple product recommendations. It uses advanced algorithms to understand customer preferences, making suggestions that are tailored to individual tastes and needs. For instance, if a customer is shopping for a gift, the assistant can offer ideas based on the recipient’s age, interests, and previous purchases. “Our goal is to provide a truly personalized experience,” said Doug McMillon, CEO of Walmart. “We’re not just helping customers find products; we’re helping them find the right products, faster and with greater confidence.”

Walmart’s integration of these innovative technologies demonstrates its commitment to staying ahead in a rapidly evolving retail landscape. By embracing drone delivery and AI-powered shopping assistants, Walmart is not only enhancing the customer experience but also setting new benchmarks for the industry. “Innovation is at the heart of everything we do,” McMillon emphasized. “We’re constantly looking for ways to improve and elevate the shopping experience, and these technologies are just the beginning of what we have in store for our customers.”

Financial Performance: Strong Sales, Higher Profits, and a Positive Outlook

Walmart’s financial performance for the quarter reflects a robust and resilient business model, driven by strategic investments and a customer-centric approach. The retail giant reported strong sales growth, accompanied by even higher profit margins, signaling a positive outlook for the remainder of the fiscal year.

In the latest quarter, Walmart’s total net sales grew by 4.9% on a constant currency basis, surpassing expectations across all three operating segments. This growth was primarily fueled by a 4.2% increase in U.S. comparable sales, highlighting the company’s ability to attract and retain customers even in a challenging economic environment. “Our performance this quarter demonstrates the strength of our business model and our ability to adapt to changing market conditions,” said John David Rainey, Walmart’s Executive Vice President and Chief Financial Officer. “We’re seeing consistent sales momentum across our stores and digital channels, and our focus on delivering value is clearly resonating with customers.”

Ecommerce Growth is Key

One of the key drivers of Walmart’s financial success has been its e-commerce operations, which saw a remarkable 21% growth globally in the quarter. This was complemented by a significant uptick in store-fulfilled delivery, which increased by 50%. “Our omnichannel strategy is paying off,” Rainey noted. “By leveraging our extensive store network to fulfill online orders, we’re not only improving delivery times but also enhancing the overall customer experience. This approach is a win-win for both our customers and our bottom line.”

Walmart’s gross margin also expanded by 43 basis points, driven by a favorable business mix, cost management initiatives, and the strength of its private brand offerings. The company’s focus on efficiency and cost discipline has enabled it to maintain competitive pricing while also improving profitability. “We’re committed to everyday low prices, and we’re managing our costs effectively to ensure we can deliver on that promise,” Rainey said. “At the same time, we’re making strategic investments in areas like automation and technology that will drive long-term growth and profitability.”

Solid Foundation for Sustained Growth

Looking ahead, Walmart has raised its full-year sales and profit guidance, reflecting confidence in its ability to navigate the economic landscape and deliver continued growth. The company now expects net sales to increase by 3.75% to 4.75% for the full fiscal year, up from its previous estimate. Adjusted earnings per share are also projected to grow, with an expected increase of $2.35 to $2.43, up from earlier guidance. “We’re in a strong position to achieve our financial goals for the year,” Rainey emphasized. “Our diverse and durable business model, combined with our focus on innovation and customer satisfaction, gives us a solid foundation for sustained growth.”

Walmart’s positive financial outlook is further supported by its ability to gain market share across various categories, particularly in general merchandise and consumables. This is a testament to the company’s strategic initiatives and its ability to meet the evolving needs of consumers. “Our results this quarter are a clear indication that we’re on the right track,” said Doug McMillon, Walmart’s President and CEO. “We’re not just delivering strong financial performance; we’re also building for the future, ensuring that we continue to grow and create value for our customers, associates, and shareholders.”

Looking Ahead: Innovation and Expansion

As Walmart continues to solidify its position as a retail leader, the company is setting its sights on future innovations and global expansion to sustain its growth trajectory. The focus is not only on maintaining momentum but on strategically exploring new avenues that align with the evolving demands of customers and the broader market.

One of the key areas of focus for Walmart is expanding its capabilities in emerging technologies, particularly in artificial intelligence and automation. “We’re committed to leveraging the latest technologies to enhance our operations and improve the customer experience,” said Doug McMillon, Walmart’s President and CEO. “From AI-driven shopping assistants to advanced supply chain automation, these innovations are integral to our strategy for future growth.”

GenAI Shopping Assistance Are Just the Beginning

Walmart’s investment in technology is evident in its ongoing efforts to integrate AI into various aspects of its business. The introduction of GenAI-powered shopping assistants and enhanced search capabilities on Walmart.com and its mobile app are just the beginning. “AI allows us to offer more personalized and efficient services to our customers,” noted Tom Ward, Chief eCommerce Officer at Walmart U.S. “We’re not just reacting to trends; we’re setting new standards in retail with innovations that redefine convenience and customer satisfaction.”

In addition to technological advancements, Walmart is also eyeing further international expansion as a key growth driver. The company’s success in markets like Mexico, China, and India demonstrates the potential for growth beyond U.S. borders. “Our international operations are a critical component of our long-term strategy,” McMillon explained. “We’re seeing significant growth in these markets, and we’re committed to expanding our footprint and bringing Walmart’s value proposition to more customers around the world.”

Enhancing Omnichannel Offerings

Walmart’s approach to expansion is not just about entering new markets but also about deepening its presence in existing ones. The company is focused on enhancing its omnichannel offerings and building stronger connections with customers through localized strategies. “We’re not just exporting our U.S. model; we’re adapting and innovating to meet the unique needs of each market,” said Kath McLay, President and CEO of Walmart International. “Whether it’s through localized e-commerce platforms or tailored product assortments, we’re committed to delivering value in ways that resonate with customers globally.”

As Walmart looks to the future, its leadership is confident that the company’s blend of innovation, technology, and strategic expansion will continue to drive growth. “We’re building a business that’s not just resilient but also adaptable and forward-thinking,” McMillon concluded. “The investments we’re making today in technology, people, and global markets will ensure that Walmart remains a leader in retail for years to come.”

A freshly minted report, “The State of CMS 2024,” has laid bare the escalating struggle of marketers grappling with the relentless demands of omnichannel campaigns. Commissioned by industry heavyweight Storyblok and surveying 1,719 businesses across five nations, this eye-opening study shines a harsh light on the growing chaos within the realm of content management.

According to the findings, a staggering 27% of organizations are now juggling between four to five Content Management Systems (CMSs) to keep their marketing strategies afloat—a dramatic surge from a mere 11% reported in 2023. This uptick signifies a seismic shift in the approach to content management, with only a paltry 19% of companies sticking to a single CMS—a far cry from the 43% who embraced such simplicity back in 2022.

But why the sudden fragmentation in CMS usage? The answer lies in the relentless pursuit of omnichannel excellence. With consumers expecting seamless experiences across multiple touchpoints, a whopping 67% of organizations cite the need for omnichannel capabilities as the driving force behind their CMS proliferation. In a bid to stay ahead of the curve, more than half (53%) deem omnichannel as the paramount feature when selecting a CMS—a clear sign of the times.

Yet, even amidst this frantic scramble for content supremacy, a glaring issue persists: 43% of respondents still lament the lack of easier and improved content scaling from their CMS—a sobering reminder of the uphill battle marketers face in meeting the ever-evolving needs of the digital age.

But it’s not all doom and gloom. As the industry hurtles towards a future dominated by IoT technologies, respondents foresee a significant shift from traditional websites to emerging platforms like AR/VR, voice-activated speakers, and smartwatches. This seismic transition underscores the urgent need for a future-ready content approach—a sentiment that Storyblok CEO and Co-Founder Dominik Angerer echoed.

“A large CMS migration has been underway for years now, and our latest data confirms that it’s only going to accelerate,” remarked Angerer. “Companies are tired of being locked into CMSs that don’t offer the flexibility, productivity, and performance they need.”

Indeed, with 74% of non-headless users poised to make the switch to headless CMS in the next two years, the tide seems to be turning in favor of adaptability and innovation. And for those who’ve already taken the leap, the rewards are plentiful, with a staggering 99% reporting improvements, including increased ROI and productivity gains.

As the digital landscape continues to evolve at breakneck speed, one thing remains abundantly clear: in the relentless pursuit of consumer engagement, content chaos may be inevitable, but with the right tools and strategies, victory is within reach.

A journey that began in 1994, where the mere mention of Stanley Cups in the same breath as hot products of the future would have drawn laughter, has culminated in a staggering revenue surge for the company. From $74 million in 2019 to a staggering $750 million in 2023, the trajectory of Stanley’s success is nothing short of remarkable.

But beyond the numbers lies a masterclass in effective product marketing and the art of harnessing cultural momentum. As one observer notes, “with the Stanley Cup brand, you’re not just buying into a product, you’re buying into a community.” This sense of belonging, of being part of a tribe united by hydration, is a powerful draw that transcends mere utility.

With their blue-collar, utilitarian roots, Stanley Cups have managed to reinvent themselves for a new generation, thanks in no small part to the visionary leadership of Terrence Riley, the company’s president. Riley, no stranger to transforming the mundane into the desirable, previously worked his magic at Crocs, turning them into a fashion statement during his tenure as Chief Marketing Officer.

The secret to Stanley’s success lies not just in the quality of its products but also in its ability to cultivate a sense of exclusivity and community. Limited editions, scarcity, and the power of social commerce have all contributed to fueling the brand’s meteoric rise. While success has not been without its challenges, including instances of uncivilized behavior and concerns over product safety, Stanley remains undeterred.

In a world where brands vie for attention in an increasingly crowded marketplace, Stanley Cups have managed to cut through the noise by tapping into something deeper than mere consumerism. It’s not just about owning a product; it’s about being part of a movement, a cultural phenomenon that transcends boundaries.

As one industry insider muses, “We are all desperate to connect, belong, express who we are.” In Stanley Cups, many have found not just a water bottle, but a symbol of identity, belonging, and aspiration. And in a world where authenticity is currency, Stanley Cups are the real deal.

Lee Odden, CEO of TopRank Marketing, discusses how B2B influencer marketing can be a highly effective force in driving leads and conversions for companies. Lee was interviewed by Tim Washer at the 2019 Content Marketing World Conference & Expo:

Influencer Marketing Is Powerful Because Of Influence Itself

Influencer marketing is powerful because of influence itself, not about the people. Influence has always been a factor in being persuasive and being effective as a communicator, as a marketer, and really being able to tap into the dynamics of that. The psychology and sociology of that is something that is everlasting, it’s evergreen. While there are trends in terms of tactics that come and go, there’s this consumerization of B2B. B2C influencers are misbehaving and have fake followers, etc. and some of that’s leaking over into B2B. But I think that’ll reconcile a little bit and kind of clean itself out. In the future brands are going to be looking at influence as a really key component of their holistic marketing strategy internally and externally.

A lot of people when they think of influencer marketing they think of a Kardashian or some people think of something like Baddiewinkle, a 90-year-old woman who wears hip-hop clothes and now has her own makeup line on Sephora versus someone like Tamara McCleary interviewing an executive at Dell about the right IT infrastructure for doing edge computing. That’s really what it’s about in B2B.

B2B Influencers Actually Have To Have The Main Expertise

One of the big differences between B2B and B2C influencers is that in B2B you actually have to have the main expertise. You actually have to be knowledgeable and have a depth of that expertise in what it is that you’re influential about. It’s also important to have a network for distribution and a place to publish your content. It’s great to have a personality and that’s less common in B2B, where you have charisma. Well, lack of personality is a form of personality I suppose. 

The good thing is that we’ve figured out ways to coach folks that have that domain expertise and an active following but they’re not necessarily used to being social. We are coaching them in how to activate themselves and to pull out the best of what they have to share in a way that’s very promotable. Many of them start to open up a little bit after we show them how to do it.

B2B Influencer Marketing Adds Up To Nurture and Conversion

In the planning stages (with a client looking to promote something) we’ll look at the topics that are important around the announcement and how it affects customers and how customers will think of that news and how it’ll affect or change their lives. Those topics are then what we want to be influential about. We’ll use those keywords or topics to search our network using influencer marketing software to find who is influential around those topics, who’s publishing content, who self-identifies around that topic, and whose audience is actually activated around that topic. We find those people who have trusted voices with an active community and we invite them to collaborate on content and give their opinion about the announcement. 

We co-create content with them in concert with brand messaging. So now instead of people just ignoring the press release we actually have storytelling happening with these different voices. You have this intersection of one or two or three or four influencers talking about this topic and those audiences intersect and cross. They intersect across channels too. Your customer is hearing this credible message not only from the brand but also from people that they trust in different channels. That all adds up to yes. That all adds up to nurture and ultimately conversion.

Scott Tousley, Senior Team Lead of User Acquisition for all products at HubSpot, was recently interviewed on the B2B Growth Podcast by David Kelly, General Manager at Sumo Dojo. Tousley discusses how HubSpot is using Surround Sound Marketing Strategy to drive leads and sales:

Surround Sound Marketing Strategy Starting to Take Off

There is a very smart individual at HubSpot named Alex Birkett based out of Austin, Texas. He is working on this concept that is really starting to take off called Surround Sound Strategy. Essentially what that means is that it runs with the notion that marketers are selfish. All we care about is how do we drive more traffic to our website. I don’t care where it comes from. Whether it comes from search or social or referral traffic or email, it doesn’t matter. You’re always looking at how do I get more traffic to my website? The reality is that when we are trying to buy something you don’t go to one website. You go to multiple different websites when you are trying to make a purchasing decision.

For example, I’m in South Lake Tahoe right now. One search I just did recently was “best bars in South Lake Tahoe.” I wanted to see a list and I wanted to see some reviews from a couple of different websites. I also like to surf, so let’s say I’m in the market for a new shortboard. So I search for “best shortboards 2019.” First, I’ll read a listicle, then I will go back to Google and I will click on the next list. Then I will go back again and click on the next list. Then I will start to narrow my decision based on seeing the same thing over and over. Once I narrow it down I will do a versus search such as “lost puddle jumper” vs. “channel islands average joe.” I’ve narrowed my decision at that point.

We Want To Be At All Stages of the Purchasing Decision

What we are trying to do at HubSpot right now is figure out how to be everywhere. We want to be at all stages of that purchasing decision when people are searching for “what is the best blank that exists today.” Well, there are a ton of lists that are out there and a ton of review sites and HubSpot’s B2B software (has to be there). There are a lot of review sites just dominating search engines right now like Capterra, G2 Crowd, and Software Advice. A lot of those are pay to play. You have got to pay to get listed on what appears when you land via search. Most of them are.

But listicles are free. Not only are they free to get added to, but they are free to create. That’s one of the biggest things we are working on right now. How do we change our mindset from being so obsessed at driving traffic to our website? How do we make sure that HubSpot’s brand is everywhere when you are doing your product research and you are on many different websites? We actually sometimes prefer that we drive traffic to multiple different websites where we are listed versus just to our own. It’s good for social grouping.

Listen to the full interview with HubSpot’s Scott Tousley.

From promoting a product or service, increasing engagement with clients, or extending their reach on social media platforms, video content marketing is flexible and accessible. In addition, it presents an influential lead over your competitors when executed right and built with a superior online video editor.

Significance of Video Marketing For Your Business

Video digital marketing engages your potential clients by conveying a compelling story about your product interactively and bringing life to your products.

While a high-quality photo and a brief description provide a fundamental view of your product, a video can convey all of the elements and advantages, explaining why the clients should be interested in purchasing your product. Listed here are some reasons why video marketing can prove beneficial for your business growth.

Videos Are an Excellent Way to Describe Your Product

Online video content assists potential customers in learning more about your product. According to a recent report, 94 percent of online marketers believe using video content helps improve user knowledge of a product or service.

In addition, clients will only purchase your goods when they know better about your product and how they can use them. Unsurprisingly, video content exceptionally provides better visuals and helps companies clearly describe how things work.

Video Content Provides a Higher Return on Investment

The return on investment (ROI) from your video marketing depends on numerous factors, including how well you have managed your content design and the quality of your promotional videos.

However, 83 percent of respondents say that video marketing provides them with a higher return on investment. In addition, while many online marketers think of video as a costly and time-consuming process, you can use a video maker or an online video editor, making it effortless to create video fast without a considerable budget.

Video Marketing Can Help Boost Your Conversion Rates

Yes, it is a fact. Recent research indicates that using videos in your online marketing campaign can help boost your conversions by around 14%. An excellent way to use video on your landing page can be an explainer video for your products or services. This is an excellent option for your client to watch a quick video to know all about what your product or service does, usually in an entertaining or eye-catching way.

Therefore, it is valuable to hold your finger on the pulse here. In addition, video content invariably changes. Key trends that you can try include a product video (a live demo) and product reviews. This content becomes engaging for clients, and by having them on your online marketing, you can drive sales and boost your conversions more than you would ever expect.

The Future of Video Marketing Is Bright

As technology proceeds to pivot and change, how we employ it too. For video marketing, that implies more forms than ever to make your online audience receptive and engaged to you and your business.

It is crucial to understand how videos can be deployed to significantly influence one-to-one promotional videos to live streams. With the future of AR, VR, and online video streaming services at your disposal, it is the ideal time to get into video content marketing, remaining updated on the most advanced ways you can convey your message to your audience.

Video Content Engages Even the Laziest Audience

Video content has become an excellent tool for understanding, but it is also effortless to consume. Modern life is too busy to go through lengthy product descriptions or explore in-depth services. The contemporary client likes to see their preferred product in action.

Video preference is one of the most significant driving forces of employing video in your video content marketing. In addition, video marketing can help you attract a wide base target audience, and it operates on numerous levels.

Video Marketing Is Your Email Campaign’s Best Friend

Compelling viewers to open your email in this fast-paced, modern world is a significant challenge. However, according to a study, just using the word ‘video’ in your email subject line can improve your CTR (Click-through rate) by 200-300%

It is why more and more online marketers are now using interactive video content in their email campaigns. This could indicate anything from showcasing a product that a client has rejected to a welcome email for your first-time clients to build a relationship.

In addition, engaging video content within your email marketing strategy can assist you in engaging, persuading, and informing your target audience. Also, as it is well-known that online users love watching videos over any form of media, why not leverage its benefits to boost your business growth.

Google Prefers Optimized Video Content

Apart from videos being excellent elements in numerous online marketing campaigns and being a fantastic tool to provide information, another significant advantage for online marketers is better ranking on search engine results pages.

In addition, if you take the time to guarantee that your video content remains SEO optimized, with an engaging and appropriate thumbnail, good quality content, and eye-catching title, your video marketing can bring plenty of organic traffic to your website. It can likewise improve your search engine ranking and earn higher views in the process.

Final Words

In a nutshell, video marketing online businesses is a significant factor. It is a reinforcement mechanism for those companies that have just started their online journey. The most meaningful side of video marketing is that it transforms how online users see your products or service. Therefore, while creating exceptional video content, it is better to understand your strengths and execute them.

This way, you can drive on your way towards achieving heights and growth you never imagined. Also, video marketing can help you drive higher organic traffic to your website that boost your business visibility, and help you become more profitable.

1. Increases brand awareness: By consistently creating and distributing valuable content, companies can increase brand awareness and establish themselves as thought leaders in their industry.
2. Builds trust and relationships: By providing valuable and informative content, companies can build trust with their audience and create a loyal customer base.
3. Cost-effective: Content marketing is considered to be more cost-effective than traditional forms of advertising, as it doesn’t require large budgets for ad placements.
4. Generates leads: By providing valuable and informative content, companies can attract and generate leads, by making it easy for potential customers to learn more about the company’s products and services.
5. Long-term results: Content marketing can generate long-term results, as the content that is created can continue to be shared and consumed by the audience even after it’s initially published.
6. Versatility: Content marketing can take many forms: Blog posts, infographics, videos, webinars, e-books, white papers, social media posts, and more. This allows for a variety of ways to reach and engage with the target audience.
7. Inbound: Content marketing is an inbound marketing strategy, meaning that it helps to attract customers through valuable and informative content, rather than interrupting them with traditional forms of advertising.
8. SEO: Content marketing can also improve search engine rankings by providing valuable and relevant information that search engines and users find useful.
9. Measurable: Content marketing allows to track and measure the results through analytics, which helps to evaluate the effectiveness of the strategy and optimize it accordingly.

In summary, content marketing is great because it helps to increase brand awareness, build trust, generate leads, and provides long-term results in a cost-effective and versatile way, aligning with the way people consume and engage with information today. It also allows for measurable results and helps to improve SEO.

As usual, some opinionated Redditers expressed their thoughts on the ads:

1-800 Flowers CEO discusses the company’s growth that was accelerated by the pandemic:

Ecommerce Growth Accelerated During Pandemic

What we’ve seen is an acceleration of growth in our company that began back in 2018 and really then accelerated even further in 2020 with the pandemic. It’s driven by the need for us as people to connect and express ourselves. As a company whose vision is to inspire more human expression, connection, and celebration, and as an ecommerce leader, we’re well-positioned in the trends that we see coming out of this pandemic. We think these trends are sustainable going forward.

We started out as one flower shop many years ago. What we’ve done is created this e-commerce platform for growth, a platform for expression, connection, and celebration. It starts with this all-star family of brands that we have led by Harry & David, 1-800-Flowers, Cheryl’s Cookies, Shari’s Berries, and our recent acquisition just this past August of Personalization Mall. You see us now as a company in the expression and connection business with a leadership position in floral, a leadership position in gourmet food gifting, and certainly now leadership and position in expressions and personalized items which is a fast-growing market.

You’ll continue to continue to see us grow by organic product development of products that help customers express and connect. And as we’ve done through acquisition, adding to that platform and leveraging that platform that we’ve built.

Need To Express and Connect Is a Lasting Trend

Hopefully, the vaccines accelerate and we turn to some sense of normalcy sooner rather than later. As we look at our business, the momentum we saw began in 2018 and 2019 and then accelerated with the pandemic. We’ve been on a good momentum growth even before the pandemic and we really see ourselves now as a bigger stronger company than we were prior to it. We’ve acquired Personalization Mall just this past August and by putting it on our platform and leveraging our digital marketing expertise we accelerated the growth of that company. It grew by 50 percent this last quarter.

A year ago August we acquired Shari’s Berries and took a business that was stagnant and losing money to now one that’s got a nice growth rate and is generating a nice contribution margin as well. If we just keep our focus on what the consumer is looking for to help express and connect then we’ll be continuing to see double-digit growth for some time to come. That trend that we’ve all learned from being isolated, our need to express and connect is a lasting trend coming out of this pandemic along with the shift from offline to online.

“We can’t wait for customers to use Walmart+ as a way to keep more time on their calendars and money in their pockets,” said Janey Whiteside, chief customer officer, Walmart. “We designed Walmart+ to be the ultimate life hack for customers, pulling together benefits they told us would be most helpful to them today and in the future. Its usefulness will only grow from here.”

The initial list of Walmart+ benefits is below. The company says that the list of benefits will continue to grow over time:

• Unlimited free delivery: In-store prices as fast as same-day on more than 160,000 items from fresh produce, to milk, eggs and bread to tech and toys to household essentials. This service was previously known as Delivery Unlimited – a subscription service that allows customers to place an unlimited number of grocery deliveries for a low, flat yearly or monthly fee. Current subscribers will automatically become Walmart+ members.
• Scan & Go: Unlock Scan & Go in the Walmart app – a fast way to shop in-store. Using the Walmart app, customers can scan their items as they shop and pay using Walmart Pay for a quick, easy, touch-free payment experience.
• Fuel discounts: Fill up and save up to 5 cents a gallon at nearly 2,000 Walmart, Murphy USA and Murphy Express fuel stations. Sam’s Club fuel stations will soon be added to this lineup.

Bill Simon, former CEO of Walmart, discusses the launch of Walmart+ designed to take on Amazon by combining free delivery of groceries and general merchandise within a paid subscription service:

Walmart+ Goes Head To Head With Amazon

Walmart has long coveted a subscription service to go head to head with Amazon. They tried three or four times but this one is different. Walmart+ combines both their grocery and their general merchandise strength which is really trying to recreate the supercenter online through a subscription service. If they can use the frequency of their food business to also help sell their general merchandise line they can mix it out better and hopefully get to profitability sooner.

Retail has actually been better (this last quarter) than most people have expected. It’s not been even. There have been categories and retailers who have struggled. By and large, its help up pretty well. The pandemic accelerated digital ecommerce development by five to ten years. If you were not up to speed on that or didn’t get up to speed very quickly you would be behind. As we head into the fall it will be really interesting to see how it goes.

Holiday Selling Season Uncertain

Typically, Black Friday and Cyber Monday, that weekend has been really critical to the selling season. If you missed that it would be very difficult to have a really good holiday selling season. With the delayed openings now and Thanksgiving not on the line, the focus is going to be online and there won’t be as many in-person Black Friday deals. It’s going to be difficult for retailers to make up all that volume online. The holiday selling season is going to be a bit uncertain.

I’m really speaking from the consumer perspective when I say that digital ecommerce accelerated by five to ten years in the last six months. It accelerated at that pace and people had to head in that direction. That is likely where retail is going to head but it is going to still be a mix. The vast majority of retail will remain brick and mortar but ecommerce will take a larger role in the facilitation by online pickup in store. Customers are now completely blending the omnichannel retail experience.

The Amazon Effect: Digital Sales Rule!

There’s also been really a change from an investment standpoint. This has been really more the Amazon effect than anything I can think of. Five years ago, it used to be, grow your profit faster than your sales and your share price would move forward. Now, if you’re not growing digital sales at a hyperactive rate it’s really hard to get a good valuation on your company. Walmart is a great example of a retailer employing this strategy.

They’ve invested a ton of money, almost a third of their operating income they’ve given up in order to build an ecommerce business. Yet, investors have rewarded them by buying their stock. It’s near historic highs.

Real estate is also unique in that there is never a fixed price. Prices fluctuate based on factors that have little to do with the seller or the property itself. Potential buyers may negotiate to get a better price, based on nothing more than their own instincts or ability to afford the home.

In addition, buying a home comes with a lot of associated costs. As such, the agents marketing the home need to know about everything from insurance coverage for new homeowners to the legal ins-and-outs of property transfers. There is no bluffing your way through a sale.

For people in the marketing industry, there is therefore a lot to learn from real estate advertising. Real estate agencies have found ways to manage a whole host of issues most marketers don’t need to think about. These strategies can come in handy no matter what you’re selling.

Here are some of the most important lessons marketing firms can learn from real estate advertising.

Consider how customers pay for goods

A realtor needs to take into account how potential buyers are going to pay for a home, as some will buy cash while others will get decades-long loans. Most marketing does not require such a consideration, but it is definitely worthwhile. This is because you are far better positioned to sell to someone if you know how they can afford the product.

Think about the most simple form of marketing: hawking wares on the street. Traditionally, a vendor would hape that the passersby are able to pay for their product in cash. Few people carry cash any more, and those vendors that recognize this are able to find alternatives, whether using portable PoS machines or smartphone apps.

This knowledge does not only make it possible for vendors to receive payment, but also puts them in a good position to make the sale. A passerby who uses their lack of cash as an excuse not to buy the product is suddenly in a sticky position when the vendor pulls out a card machine.

Knowing the potential ways people pay for the specific goods you are selling allows you to push through with the sale. In more typical scenarios to that of the street vendor, this may mean offering payment plans or using a buy-now-pay-later system.

Get on board with the associated admin

When it comes to selling property, agents need to know a lot about how the sale will work and what the new homeowner requires from the start. Most products are far more simple. A sale requires nothing more than an exchange of goods and cash.

However, there are many products and services that do require some more insight, at least on the customer’s part. Marketing a fancy new fridge as having instant-freezing capabilities sounds great, but customers may be intimidated by the thought of having to figure out how to use the feature.

With more knowledge of the associated admin, you can make it clear in your marketing that customers have nothing to worry about. You give them the basic information they need to know so that they embrace the complexities.

Understand what customers need

Finally, there is a common mistake marketers make that would never fly in the real estate market. They forget to consider what the customers need. When selling a fancy new product, they list all of the exciting features. But this is basically asking the product to sell itself. Certain features may be technologically incredible, but won’t make much difference to the customer experience.

Realtors need to understand why potential buyers are looking at the home. This way they can sell it based on a family’s needs, the earnings potential for an investor, or the potential for design projects for DIY-lovers.

You should have a similar understanding when selling anything else. By pinpointing what it is the customers truly need, you can focus on selling that aspect of it. Your marketing is relevant to your customers’ lives, and you are more likely to get them to buy the product.

Real estate agencies have to deal with factors that most marketers don’t need to consider. However, by learning some lessons from the realty market, you can improve your marketing prowess.

As usual, some opinionated Redditers expressed their thoughts on the ads:

1-800 Flowers CEO discusses the company’s growth that was accelerated by the pandemic:

Ecommerce Growth Accelerated During Pandemic

What we’ve seen is an acceleration of growth in our company that began back in 2018 and really then accelerated even further in 2020 with the pandemic. It’s driven by the need for us as people to connect and express ourselves. As a company whose vision is to inspire more human expression, connection, and celebration, and as an ecommerce leader, we’re well-positioned in the trends that we see coming out of this pandemic. We think these trends are sustainable going forward.

We started out as one flower shop many years ago. What we’ve done is created this e-commerce platform for growth, a platform for expression, connection, and celebration. It starts with this all-star family of brands that we have led by Harry & David, 1-800-Flowers, Cheryl’s Cookies, Shari’s Berries, and our recent acquisition just this past August of Personalization Mall. You see us now as a company in the expression and connection business with a leadership position in floral, a leadership position in gourmet food gifting, and certainly now leadership and position in expressions and personalized items which is a fast-growing market.

You’ll continue to continue to see us grow by organic product development of products that help customers express and connect. And as we’ve done through acquisition, adding to that platform and leveraging that platform that we’ve built.

Need To Express and Connect Is a Lasting Trend

Hopefully, the vaccines accelerate and we turn to some sense of normalcy sooner rather than later. As we look at our business, the momentum we saw began in 2018 and 2019 and then accelerated with the pandemic. We’ve been on a good momentum growth even before the pandemic and we really see ourselves now as a bigger stronger company than we were prior to it. We’ve acquired Personalization Mall just this past August and by putting it on our platform and leveraging our digital marketing expertise we accelerated the growth of that company. It grew by 50 percent this last quarter.

A year ago August we acquired Shari’s Berries and took a business that was stagnant and losing money to now one that’s got a nice growth rate and is generating a nice contribution margin as well. If we just keep our focus on what the consumer is looking for to help express and connect then we’ll be continuing to see double-digit growth for some time to come. That trend that we’ve all learned from being isolated, our need to express and connect is a lasting trend coming out of this pandemic along with the shift from offline to online.

John Copeland of Adobe, predicts that ecommerce spending could be $930 billion, or just under $1 trillion, in 2021:

COVID was a catalyst to the ecommerce channel last year. What we saw when you look at the full calendar year of 2020 was $813 billion dollars in ecommerce spending, 42 percent growth over 2019. That’s like combining two years’ worth of growth into a single year. Consumers have really embraced the online channel to meet their needs during these challenging times.

We’re all kind of wondering what (the vaccine rollout) is going to do in terms of ecommerce. We’re forecasting this year somewhere between $850 billion, only a 5 percent over last year, and up to $930 billion, which would be a 14 percent increase over last year. The 5 percent increase would be if everybody gets vaccinated and rushes out and we see kind of a slowdown. The $930 billion, 14 percent increase, would be more typical of what we see year over year in the ecommerce channel.

Buy Now Pay Later Up 215 Percent Over Last Year

Buy Now Pay Later is very much good for retailers. In fact, what we’ve seen in February this year relative to February 2020, which is kind of on the cusp of the pandemic, is a 215 percent increase year over year in buy now pay later orders. In terms of retailers, it comes along with larger average order values. What we’re seeing is 18 percent larger orders when customers are using that service. Unlike layaway, with buy now pay later you actually get the goods upfront, you don’t have to wait until the payment’s done.

Another trend is Buy Online, Pick Up In-Store, also known as BOPUS. In February of this year, we’re already seeing it growing 67 percent year on year. It’s always been huge and growing during the holiday season but now people are clearly working it in as part of their fulfillment options. Picking up in the store gives consumers the ability to schedule it according to their availability and knowing that stock will be there for them when they want to pick it up.

Facebook has reached a deal to acquire Kustomer, the maker of a “customer service CRM platform built for today.”

The deal, rumored to be worth at least $1 billion, would be a departure from Facebook’s traditional acquisitions. The company usually buys companies aligned with its consumer-oriented focus, whereas Kustomer’s software is aimed at businesses.

The move demonstrates Facebook’s interest in monetizing some of its existing businesses, specifically WhatsApp. The company looked at integrating ads in the platform before abandoning the idea due to backlash. Instead, the company has focused on providing businesses with a way to communicate and support their customers via the platform.

Executives Dan Levy, Facebook VP of Ads and Business Products, and Matt Idema, COO, WhatsApp, made it clear Kustomer is integral to those goals:

As businesses adjust to an evolving digital environment, they’re seeking solutions that place people at the center, especially when it comes to communication. Any business knows that when the phone rings, they need to answer it. Increasingly, texts and messages have become just as important as that phone call — and businesses need to adapt.

Kustomer’s platform will help businesses better support and engage with their customers:

Kustomer is an omnichannel CRM platform that brings customer conversations from various channels together into a single-screen view. It helps businesses automate repetitive tasks so their agents can maximize the time and quality of interactions with customers. Facebook plans to support Kustomer’s operations by providing the resources it needs to scale its business, improve and innovate its product offering, and delight its customers. That way, more people will benefit from customer service that is faster, richer and available whenever and however they need it, whether it’s phone, email, web chat or messaging.

Facebook is already under scrutiny over antitrust concerns. It remains to be seen if there will be any obstacles to Facebook’s latest acquisition, especially with the incoming Biden/Harris administration.

Jeff Gennette, Chairman and CEO of Macy’s, says that the iconic 2020 Macy’s Thanksgiving Day Parade will be happening over two days but without a live audience:

Macy’s Thanksgiving Day Parade Is Happening

When you think about Macy’s you think about we’re pillars of the communities that we are a part of. We take great pride in that. That’s in our DNA. When you look at what we do to give back and what we’re doing with all of our donations, what we’re doing for meals on wheels with food instability right now, those are things that we’re really proud of. We’re in that with our customers raising millions of dollars for communities in need. If there ever was a time where we need to give thanks it is right now.

For Thanksgiving, we had kind of a dress rehearsal where we did the fireworks. We did the fireworks and we did it in a way that was safe for people who are living in New York City. Expect the same thing with the Macy’s Thanksgiving Day Parade. It’s not going to be a live event but it’s all going to be filmed live. It’s going to be filmed over a two-day window. It’s got the floats, it’s got the balloons, but the talent is different. All the people that were ready to come, the marching bands, the cheer squads that were coming in for 2020, we’ve given them a pass and they’re coming back for 2021. We’re backfilling with other entertainment.

We are really excited about having a great Thanksgiving Day Parade for America this year. It’s just going to be different but it will be going without a hitch.

Being An Omnichannel Retailer Gives Us An Advantage

Is back to school shopping a prequel to how holiday shopping will be? We’re all looking at how’s the traffic going to be between Thanksgiving and Christmas or Hanukkah? How should we expect that? We’re all looking for whatever comes our way. We’ve all got A-B-C. alternatives. We call it the 2020 options because whatever comes our way we have to have flexibility. What I’m expecting is that holiday traffic is going to start much earlier. More than ever, customers want to have a great gift that they either put under the tree or they give in a treasured box.

To make sure that we have that ready for customers no matter when they want to shop we’re pulling the calendar to start addressing those great values at the beginning of November. We’re going to be ready for the customer, for those that want to shop after Thanksgiving. Being an omnichannel retailer, we’re going to have a great advantage to be able to deliver it the day before Christmas by same-day delivery or them coming to a store and through the safety of curbside being able to pick up that great value.

“We can’t wait for customers to use Walmart+ as a way to keep more time on their calendars and money in their pockets,” said Janey Whiteside, chief customer officer, Walmart. “We designed Walmart+ to be the ultimate life hack for customers, pulling together benefits they told us would be most helpful to them today and in the future. Its usefulness will only grow from here.”

The initial list of Walmart+ benefits is below. The company says that the list of benefits will continue to grow over time:

• Unlimited free delivery: In-store prices as fast as same-day on more than 160,000 items from fresh produce, to milk, eggs and bread to tech and toys to household essentials. This service was previously known as Delivery Unlimited – a subscription service that allows customers to place an unlimited number of grocery deliveries for a low, flat yearly or monthly fee. Current subscribers will automatically become Walmart+ members.
• Scan & Go: Unlock Scan & Go in the Walmart app – a fast way to shop in-store. Using the Walmart app, customers can scan their items as they shop and pay using Walmart Pay for a quick, easy, touch-free payment experience.
• Fuel discounts: Fill up and save up to 5 cents a gallon at nearly 2,000 Walmart, Murphy USA and Murphy Express fuel stations. Sam’s Club fuel stations will soon be added to this lineup.

Bill Simon, former CEO of Walmart, discusses the launch of Walmart+ designed to take on Amazon by combining free delivery of groceries and general merchandise within a paid subscription service:

Walmart+ Goes Head To Head With Amazon

Walmart has long coveted a subscription service to go head to head with Amazon. They tried three or four times but this one is different. Walmart+ combines both their grocery and their general merchandise strength which is really trying to recreate the supercenter online through a subscription service. If they can use the frequency of their food business to also help sell their general merchandise line they can mix it out better and hopefully get to profitability sooner.

Retail has actually been better (this last quarter) than most people have expected. It’s not been even. There have been categories and retailers who have struggled. By and large, its help up pretty well. The pandemic accelerated digital ecommerce development by five to ten years. If you were not up to speed on that or didn’t get up to speed very quickly you would be behind. As we head into the fall it will be really interesting to see how it goes.

Holiday Selling Season Uncertain

Typically, Black Friday and Cyber Monday, that weekend has been really critical to the selling season. If you missed that it would be very difficult to have a really good holiday selling season. With the delayed openings now and Thanksgiving not on the line, the focus is going to be online and there won’t be as many in-person Black Friday deals. It’s going to be difficult for retailers to make up all that volume online. The holiday selling season is going to be a bit uncertain.

I’m really speaking from the consumer perspective when I say that digital ecommerce accelerated by five to ten years in the last six months. It accelerated at that pace and people had to head in that direction. That is likely where retail is going to head but it is going to still be a mix. The vast majority of retail will remain brick and mortar but ecommerce will take a larger role in the facilitation by online pickup in store. Customers are now completely blending the omnichannel retail experience.

The Amazon Effect: Digital Sales Rule!

There’s also been really a change from an investment standpoint. This has been really more the Amazon effect than anything I can think of. Five years ago, it used to be, grow your profit faster than your sales and your share price would move forward. Now, if you’re not growing digital sales at a hyperactive rate it’s really hard to get a good valuation on your company. Walmart is a great example of a retailer employing this strategy.

They’ve invested a ton of money, almost a third of their operating income they’ve given up in order to build an ecommerce business. Yet, investors have rewarded them by buying their stock. It’s near historic highs.

TikTok has gone from one privacy and security scandal to the next, culminating in the Trump administration instituting a ban that will go into effect on September 15, unless a buyer can be found. Microsoft has emerged as a frontrunner, although Oracle has also expressed interest.

Now it appears that Walmart is joining Microsoft in its bid, seeing a unique e-commerce opportunity.

“The way TikTok has integrated e-commerce and advertising capabilities in other markets is a clear benefit to creators and users in those markets,” reads the company’s statement. “We believe a potential relationship with TikTok U.S. in partnership with Microsoft could add this key functionality and provide Walmart with an important way for us to reach and serve omnichannel customers as well as grow our third-party marketplace and advertising businesses. We are confident that a Walmart and Microsoft partnership would meet both the expectations of U.S. TikTok users while satisfying the concerns of U.S. government regulators.”

It will be interesting to see what Microsoft and Walmart can make of TikTok, should a sale be successful.

Doug McMillon, CEO of Walmart, discusses how the company has changed to become more digital over the last couple of quarters in response to the pandemic:

Ecommerce Was Very Strong

I would like to say thank you to all of our associates around the world and here in the US. They did a great job. You can imagine how challenging it is in this environment to go to work everyday and serve customers and keep the supply chain moving. Whether it’s in our stores, our Sam’s Club’s, or our distribution centers they have done a great job.

Customers have been responding in waves as we’ve gone through the first and second quarters. Not surprisingly, they got really focused on things they needed to stock up to be at home for a long time at first. Over time, as we got through the second quarter and stimulus checks came in to play and people were at home, we certainly saw them buy things like laptops and tablets and fishing equipment and bicycles. Things that were related to home decor as they were at home thinking about their environment inside and outside the house we certainly saw them respond with what they were buying. Ecommerce, in particular, was very strong.

Technology Phenomena Happening Around the World

I’ve been in retail for almost 30 years and it’s really exciting when so many things can be done using technology. We can save customers time and expose them to so much more choice than we could previously. Our ecommerce assortments are broader as retailers and that’s certainly true at Walmart. We sell first-party owned inventory as well as through our marketplace. Now they can pick up their phone or be at home and open up their laptop and shop in so many different ways and have access to so many different things. It’s a lot of fun to be able to try and serve them in that way. That phenomena is happening around the world.

You can use your app to do pickup and our stores. You can use your app to have the product brought straight to your house. Obviously, you can come in the store and we are learning how to use technology inside the stores in different ways to save you time. It boils down to access to assortment and an ease of shopping here in the US and around the world that people haven’t experienced before. That’s happening in Mexico, Canada, China, India, and all over the world.

We Had To Become More Digital

There have been a lot of changes inside the company. We had to learn to work in different ways to become more digital and to put data to work in different ways. Basically, to create a seamless experience for customers. We don’t want them to sense any difference as it relates to our brand whether they are shopping inside a store, picking it up, or having it delivered. All of those differences and channels that we might have thought about in the past need to be erased and taken away. Our teams have been doing a great job doing that.

The outcome of that is this ease of shopping that’s unique and different. In our case, we’ve got so many stores so close to customers around the country it gives us a big advantage especially in being able to deliver quickly. We’ve got an express delivery system here in the United States that commits to delivering orders from our stores in less than two hours. That’s now in more than 2,000 stores and coming to stores all over the country. We are actually delivering a lot faster than two hours so far. That’s a great experience.

We believe that this is something that we can build on along with having great stores where you want to come in from time to time, stock up, and experience what’s new. Really, we think that this omni world of retail is what will end up being the winning strategy over time.

Scale Can Sometimes Be A Disadvantage

Scale can sometimes be an advantage and sometimes it’s a disadvantage. Speed also matters a lot. Creativity matters a lot. What I’m proud of is how our team is responding to create new solutions for customers. Ultimately, whether Walmart grows or not is all up to them. We are serving families, moms and dads, and customers that have a lot of different choices. Even during the pandemic period with ecommerce and all the chains that were open there was still a lot of choice.

We’ve got to compete to earn their business everyday and that’s the approach we take. Our team has really stepped up during this period and even before the pandemic to drive change and to create more solutions for customers.

The Symphony Technology Group consortium, which includes the Ontario Teachers’ Pension Plan Board (Ontario Teachers’) and AlpInvest Partners (AlpInvest), agreed to an all-cash deal of $2.075 billion. The deal includes RSA Archer, RSA NetWitness Platform, RSA SecurID, RSA Fraud and Risk Intelligence and RSA Conference, and should be completed in the next six to nine months.

RSA currently has 12,500 customers and provides “risk, security and fraud teams with the ability to holistically manage digital risk, including threat detection and response, identity and access management, integrated risk management and omnichannel fraud prevention.”

Dell is looking at the deal as a way of focusing its business and better aligning its portfolio with its long-term strategy.

“This is the right long-term strategy for Dell, RSA and our collective customers and partners,” said Jeff Clarke, Chief Operating Officer and Vice Chairman, Dell Technologies. “The transaction will further simplify our business and product portfolio. It also allows Dell Technologies to focus on our strategy to build automated and intelligent security into infrastructure, platforms and devices to keep data safe, protected and resilient.”

Anders Gustafsson, CEO of Zebra Technologies, discusses how their tracking technology is being integrated deeply within sports and business in an interview with Jim Cramer on CNBC:

Our Tracking Technology Works Particularly Well With Football

We’ve learned now this past year that the tracking system we have with the NFL is actually considered to be the best by the broadcasters, coaches, and the fans. The NFL owns the data so we can’t give (fantasy players) access to the data. I think they give access to some of the data but not all the data. Then you would have all the information you could possibly want to have about every player on all of the teams. 

Our type of technology works particularly well with football but it would also work for basketball, ice hockey, and soccer. With ice hockey, the challenge is the puck. How do you track the puck and put the tag inside the puck? We can do it but it’s more costly. With basketball, they have been more focused on the ball than the players. 

We Are Becoming An Essential Part of Retailers’ Strategies

Savannah is our data platform. We can connect all sorts of devices or sensors on the south side and on the north side we can have APIs to all sorts of other applications. We can provide a lot of analytics around what’s happening there. We integrate with a lot of independent software vendors. If you look at large companies like Oracle, SAP, Manhattan, and JDA, they’re all partners of ours. We exchange data with them and we provide data that they use for their operations. We also have our own software capabilities. We bought a company called Profitect. It does any predictive analytics. This is a good example of this but we have other software capabilities also.

We are now becoming an essential part of retailers’ strategies for building omnichannel and ecommerce capabilities. Historically, we were probably viewed a bit more as a tactical device supplier. Today we’re much more of an integral part of enabling them to execute on their strategy. We moved ourselves up the solution stack to be able to deliver more value to them.

Companies are now tracking employees, patients, assets

Today, more and more things are being tracked and there are more and more efficiencies out of this. Companies are now tracking employees, patients, assets, all of these things. We said we provide the performance edge to the front line of business by having every employee, device, and technical thing being connected and optimally utilized and visible to the network. 

Tableau (a company recently bought by Salesforce) would more than likely integrate our data. We could be a source for data insight analytics for them. We aspire to get those kinds of valuations (and the higher multiples that Tableau got when they sold to Salesforce). We also overlap (with Honeywell) in a number of areas but we do quite a few different things also. We have our own strengths and we compete with them but not everywhere.

Charles Bergh, CEO of Levi Strauss, discusses how technology and innovation are driving increased sales and market share in an interview with CNBC coinciding with their IPO:

We Are Denim and We’re the Market Leader Globally

We are denim and we’re the market leader globally. A lot of people as we were doing the (IPO) roadshow said aren’t you guys just riding the denim wave? We’re creating the denim wave. We’ve been driving the category with innovation across our men’s business and our women’s business. We’ve expanded to other categories. Last year we finished with 14 percent growth coming off of 8 percent growth the prior year. The business is really humming right now.

I believe this is sustainable for the long term. Maybe not double digits forever. But we’ve got clear runway for growth across the categories that we’re competing in. We’re building share in our core categories and expanding to new categories. Last fiscal year, when we finished the year our growth was really broad-based. If you looked at it in the categories where we competed we grew every single category. If you looked at it by geography we grew every single geography. If you look at it by channel we grew across wholesale, including US wholesale, which is a little bit of a melting iceberg right now. We grew in our own brick-and-mortar and ecommerce. It was very broad-based growth last year and we’re confident we can continue that.

We Have Built a Very Big Platform for Big Data

First of all, to be successful it does come down to strong brands. Consumers at the end of the day love an emotional attachment with their brand. We’ve recreated that that love for Levi’s. We have built a very big platform for big data. In fact just a couple of weeks ago we announced that we’ve hired a head of advanced analytics and machine learning who will sit on the executive team and report directly to me. We are mining the data that we do collect and really turning it into revenue.

Our strategies are working and one of the key strategic choices that we made seven years ago, shortly after I joined, was to become a leading world-class omnichannel retailer and it is working. The mix has shifted to omnichannel. When I joined the company it was about 20 percent of our business. Today, it’s almost a third. It is faster growing than our wholesale business and we’re continuing to invest in it. Most of our capital investment is going into retail and ecommerce and knitting that seamless consumer experience together.

Implemented New Instance of SAP and Investing in RFID

It (IPO funds) is going to go into continued investment in building out our omnichannel. So both brick-and-mortar retail as well as our ecommerce business and then knitting it together with technology. For example, we’re implementing a new instance of SAP and investing in RFID (radio frequency identification). We’ve implemented RFID across our business in the US and UK and that’s actually really turning into money. Every one of the products in our store is tagged with RFID.

I’ve actually had this experience happen to me myself in our new Times Square store. There was an item I wanted to buy and they didn’t have it in my size. A stylist came over and scanned the tag and she could see that my size was available in the back room. Just two minutes later I was in the dressing room trying it on. A year ago before our RFID that would have been a lost sale. That just wouldn’t have happened. It gives us instant clear visibility to the inventory in our store, both in front of house as well as back of house.

Levi’s Driving Market Share Through Product Innovation

Back in 2013 and 2014, the headlines were the death of denim. It was all about athletic tights and Lululemon tights. It became a throwdown moment for us as a company. We have an innovation center a couple of blocks from our office. We brought our suppliers, the mills that make denim for us, into that innovation center. We understood what women were really telling us by wearing tights. That used to be a denim occasion. They wanted soft stretchy comfortable material that made them look great and gave them confidence. That was what was driving that conversion. So we innovated around soft stretchy comfortable denim which we can now do. We developed proprietary four-way stretch so that women don’t get baggy knees, which is their biggest dissatisfier.

We relaunched our business in the middle of 2015 and we’ve grown 14 quarters in a row and in the last eight quarters at double-digit rates. It has been a huge part of our growth. We were under $800 million just on women’s bottoms about three years ago. We’re over a billion dollars today. We are number one globally with a nine percent market share, but we’re not number one in a number of markets including right here in the US. So I really do believe we can continue to grow at an accelerated rate on our women’s business. There are lots of what I like to call share donors out there for us to build share while we’re building the category.

We haven’t seen any (backlash to being an American brand). This brand stands for everything good about America. Freedom, democracy, and allowing people to express themselves. Authentic self-expression is what the Levi’s brand is all about. We’ve not seen any backlash. None. We think there are lots of opportunities still for us. I am not worried at all about denim. We are denim and we’ll continue to drive this category through great innovation and marketing that connects with consumers and sends them into our stores.