Lidl is working to make a big impact on the US grocery industry.

Owned by the Schwarz Group, Lidl is one of Europe’s largest grocers, with 11,550 stores across 32 countries. But it’s less known stateside, opening its first US store in 2017 and relaunching last October with the tagline “The Super-EST Market,” in an effort to build brand recognition.

This year, the discount retailer moved up to the top spot in Newsweek’s Best Supermarket rankings, has worked its way into Dunnhumby’s annual Retailer Preference Index, and is seeing notable foot traffic gains. It’s also been growing its footprint, now at more than 185 US stores, with new locations including Atlanta and Manhattan’s Lower East Side, and is hoping this expansion, along with low prices (including its signature 49-cent croissant), will reel in value-conscious consumers.

Lidl US CEO Joel Rampoldt, who took the reins at the discounter in 2023, spoke with Retail Brew about the company’s growth strategy.

What has Lidl’s expansion strategy been, specifically within urban areas?

New York is a natural fit for us, but it’s also a brand-building exercise. Many, many retail brands have gone through this thinking process. We’re like, “If we want to be known, we need to be in New York, right? We need to be recognized and be seen in New York.” And so that’s one of the reasons why we’ve expanded into New York. The customers are there. Our customers are there. The operational complexities can be very tough…but it’s worth it for us to be in those high visibility locations where literally millions of people will, of course, be able to see us.

Keep reading here.—EC

Consumers aren’t feeling quite so jolly about this holiday shopping season.

According to a new Deloitte Holiday Retail survey published this week, 57% of consumers believe that the economy will weaken in the next year. That’s the most negative economic sentiment since Deloitte began tracking it in 1997, surpassing the 54% who said so amid the 2008 recession.

Consumers’ average planned holiday spend is down 10% year over year to $1,595, per Deloitte. Largely due to higher cost of living, 27% plan to spend less on retail categories, with planned spend on retail products declining nearly 14% after two years of growth. Average spend on non-gifts (like clothing and decor) is set to decline 22%, compared to a 6% drop for gifts. And some consumers are whittling down their shopping lists; the average number of gifts consumers plan to buy has dropped from nine to eight this year.

Keep reading here.—EC

Wayfair is launching a new tool for a growing customer base: professionals.

An extension of Wayfair Professional, a B2B business which serves professional furniture buyers and saw double-digit growth in Q2, My Projects is a platform for integrating project management, design services, and purchasing into a centralized hub.

Margaret Pierson, chief commercial officer at Wayfair Professional, said in a statement the tool will help customers “plan, collaborate, and deliver with ease—saving time and reducing costs.”

The novelty of the offering, according to Wayfair, is that it combines project management tools with its sourcing platform, making it possible to switch between workflows seamlessly.

Keep reading here.—AV

The feeling of getting a 5/5 on the Brew’s weekly news quiz has been compared to getting a company-wide shout out from your boss. It’s that satisfying.