STORES

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At warehouse clubs, less is often more when it comes to assortment. Indeed, value over variety is a guiding principle for companies such as Costco, which pioneered the idea of customers paying a membership fee in exchange for a limited selection of bulk goods sold at wholesale prices.

However, not every major warehouse store has stuck to this philosophy.

In a recent earnings call, BJ’s Wholesale CEO Robert Eddy admitted the company had become “over SKUed” and was in need of a powerful pallet cleanser.

Over the next couple of years, the company plans to reduce SKUs by 20% from the current average of 7,500 items per store to around 6,000.

• For comparison, Costco carries around 4,000 SKUs per store.

Past attempts to cut back didn’t work out, Eddy told shareholders. Removing SKUs just reduced sales, and then the company ended up adding back items, making the situation a lose-lose for the warehouse store.

“What we’re doing now is removing unnecessary choice,” Eddy said. However, as BJ’s own failed attempts to reduce SKUs shows, removing choice sometimes hurts sales, and with such a large number of items hanging in the balance, which SKUs ultimately get cut could determine if such an ambitious plan ends up helping or hurting the bottom line.

Keep reading here.—AV

      

Sponsored By Klaviyo

With 73% of B2C marketers reporting rising customer acquisition costs, post-purchase checkpoints are being reevaluated and revamped.

Klaviyo’s 30-Day Post-Purchase Customer Journey Audit reveals where revenue opportunities sit and what checkpoints can help you capitalize on them.

Elevating your brand’s checkpoints can have the kind of effect your finance team loves to see. Just take a look at what at some of Klaviyo’s partners accomplished:

• Titan Fitness saved 75 developer hours a month after moving their post-purchase messaging onto Klaviyo.
• Every Man Jack’s predictive-analytics segments generated 12.4% of Klaviyo-attributed revenue in 90 days.
• A delivery-triggered review flow grew Compass Coffee’s total reviews by 70.5% in its first quarter with Klaviyo.

Sound like the kind of results you’d like to see for your brand? Check out the audit for details on how you can optimize your post-purchase journey.

CONSUMER BEHAVIOR & TRENDS

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More than 4 in 10 consumers (43%) who used BNPL for groceries or food delivery were hit with a late-payment, overdraft, or insufficient-funds fee, compared with 21% of BNPL users overall, according to a recent report from the Federal Reserve.

BNPL use among those with incomes under $50,000 differs only marginally from overall usage in most categories: Over the prior year, 51% of customers in this income bracket used BNPL for clothing/accessories purchases compared to 49% overall; 33% for electronics purchases compared to 32% overall; and 25% for furniture and appliances compared to 26% overall.

But groceries and food delivery are a different story.

Keep reading here.—AAN

      

Sponsored By Insense

Any plans from September to January? Q4 is a wild time for DTC marketers. That’s why Insense made a comprehensive playbook on what to do, when, and how. It lays out winning BFCM and creator strategies—and none of them involve outspending other brands in November. Check out the playbook.

COMMUNITY

Ashley Raysin

On Wednesdays, we wear pink spotlight Retail Brew’s readers. Want to be featured in an upcoming edition? Click here to introduce yourself.

Ashley Raysin is US sales director at retail communications solution platform VoCoVo, which works with retailers like ShopRite, Goodwill, and Skechers.

How would you describe your job to someone who doesn’t work in retail? I help retailers create a more connected, responsive, and effective in-store environment for both associates and customers. In retail, seconds matter, whether it’s helping a customer find a product, responding to theft, managing curbside pickup, or supporting associates on the floor. My role is about helping retailers connect their people, technology, and store workflows so frontline teams can move faster, feel more supported, and deliver a better experience in the moments that matter.

One thing we can’t guess about your job from your LinkedIn profile? One thing you may not guess from my LinkedIn profile is how much of my job is about translating between worlds: store operations, technology, loss prevention, customer experience, and executive strategy. Retail is incredibly complex, and the best solutions only work when they make sense for the people actually using them in the store.

What’s your favorite project you’ve worked on? One of my favorite projects was working with a national sporting goods retailer to change how they managed and conducted in-store inventory.

Keep reading here.—EC

      

Sponsored By Bazaarvoice

Noticing a shift? Modern buyer habits aren’t what they used to be. The latest Shopper Experience Index from Bazaarvoice found that traditional ads now drive only 16% of purchases. Curious what else their findings reveal? Read the Shopper Experience Index for more details, actionable toolkits, and step-by-step roadmaps.

swapping skus

Today’s top retail reads.

Push your lux: L’Oréal has taken the top spot among France’s listed companies, beating out LVMH, which fell out of Europe’s top 10 largest companies by market capitalization amid a slump in luxury sales. (Reuters)

Parental control: Children’s clothing company Carter’s is rebranding to better market to the growing cohort of Gen Z parents. (CNBC)

In the bag: Handbags and accessories seller Vera Bradley is seeing positive momentum in its turnaround efforts. (the Wall Street Journal)

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Meghan Kelleher

This week’s Coworking spotlight sits down with Meghan Kelleher to talk retail marketing from the inside—part of Retail Brew’s recurring reader-profile series.