STORES

Goodwill

Just minutes from downtown in Seattle’s Chinatown-International District sits the world’s largest Goodwill, a 70,000-square-foot flagship that has increasingly become a destination for travelers looking to score everything from vintage clothing to unique souvenirs.

The Evergreen Goodwill store sees about 18,000 visitors a week, while its donation center—the busiest of any Goodwill globally—averages “one car [load] every 55 seconds” when open, Alyssa Grigg, senior director of marketing and communications at Evergreen Goodwill, told Retail Brew.

As younger consumers increasingly look to secondhand stores for one of a kind gifts or even build vacations around it—a trend often dubbed “thrift tripping”—Evergreen Goodwill is leaning into it by touting the location as a place where shoppers can pick up anything from travel essentials, to souvenirs to take back home.

Keep reading here.—JS

      

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TECH

Illustration: Morning Brew Design, Photos: Adobe Stock

Walmart wants to get faster at shipping, sorting, and delivery.

The retail giant has been building its e-commerce business for years, powered largely by its ability to deliver groceries almost anywhere in the US within hours. Walmart’s global e-commerce business grew 26% in Q1. In the US, online sales were also up 26% thanks in part to Walmart shipping out orders at high volume and growing its marketplace.

Walmart is using what it calls “intelligence layers,” which sit at the heart of its AI models, to better predict what customers are going to order and when, and put the right product in the right part of its supply chain so it gets to people faster.

Experts say advances in large language models (LLMs) have made this possible, particularly Walmart’s improved ability to run predictive analysis that helps with things like supply chain planning.

During Walmart Associates Week, Suresh Kumar, Walmart’s global CTO and CDO, said the company is pouring investments into AI models that handle everything from inventory forecasting and order replenishment to scheduling, transportation, and route optimization.

Keep reading here.—VC

      

CONSUMER BEHAVIOR & TRENDS

CVS

They say good things come in small packages—and lately, that’s been particularly true for CVS, where mini beauty products have meant big business.

While the drugstore chain has long offered travel-sized products, last October, it elevated its mini experience across 2,700 stores. It created a dedicated beauty mini section that spans 55 brands, from mass to prestige, with more than 125 SKUs across categories like skin care, hair care, fragrance, and sun care. Since then, its beauty mini category sales have climbed 140% YoY, and this summer, it’s expanding its beauty mini assortment to 1,200 more stores.

The minis strategy shift comes as consumers turn to the smaller sizes as a cheaper way to try out new beauty products without committing to the full-sized price tag, establishing a “best-in-class discovery funnel” in stores, Michelle LeBlanc, VP of merchandising, beauty and personal care, and Hispanic Strategy at CVS Health, told Retail Brew.

Keep reading here.—EC

      

Sponsored By Bazaarvoice

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swapping skus

Some of our favorite recent retail reads from our sibling Brews.

Time will tell: A look inside Shinola’s first-ever brand campaign and new marketing strategy. (Marketing Brew)

The brand’s pajamas: How Petite Plume found success focusing its marketing and design efforts on one best-selling product. (Revenue Brew)

In the bag: Caraa’s collaboration with USA Fencing. (Founder Brew)

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