Today in Retail: Warby Parker Aims to Expand Beyond Glasses; China Sees Sluggish Singles’ Day

In today’s top retail news, Warby Parker has laid out plans to expand its offerings and move beyond just the glasses it has become known for, while Coupang said its third-quarter revenue grew faster than the overall Korean eCommerce space. Also, overall growth for merchants on Singles’ Day was lower than in past years, and the CEO of baby registry site Babylist talks to PYMNTS about building trust with customers.

Warby Parker Aims to Be Holistic Eye Care Provider, While Walmart Taps Elton John

Direct-to-consumer (D2C) eyewear retailer Warby Parker laid out plans to vastly expand its offerings and market share in the coming years as it tries to move beyond simply selling glasses and into a full-scale eye care company.

In its first earnings report since going public via direct listing in September, Warby Parker said it achieved over $137 million of net revenue in the third quarter and active customers reached 2.2 million, just a fraction of the 200 million U.S. adults who require vision correction.

Coupang Grows Twice as Fast as Korean eCommerce Segment

Asia-based eCommerce company Coupang, Inc. said its third-quarter net revenue was $4.6 billion, up 48% from the same time a year earlier, and its 44% constant currency revenue growth was more than double the 20% of the overall Korean eCommerce segment.

Active customers for Coupang grew at least 20% year over year for the 15th consecutive quarter, and Q3 spending grew at least 25% year over year for every annual customer cohort back to 2010.

JD.com, Alibaba Sales Not Enough To Boost China’s Sluggish Singles Day

Record online sales posted by JD.com and Alibaba weren’t enough to buoy a sluggish Singles Day in China, the world’s biggest multi-day shopping extravaganza that typically brings in more sales than Black Friday and Cyber Monday combined.

While Alibaba and JD.com posted an estimated $139 billion in Singles Day sales, overall growth for merchants was in the single digits, whereas the past decade saw double-digit gains, Reuters reported.

Baby Registries Pair Advice, Commerce to Help Parents Choose With Confidence

eCommerce site Babylist allows people to create registries from a wide range of retailers, and it also carries its own selection of merchandise, including apparel and gift boxes. Along with the storefront, the website includes a series of guides to help new parents navigate unfamiliar experiences.

Founder and CEO Natalie Gordon told PYMNTS that baby merchandise is “the most interesting retail category” because of the distinct consumer behaviors that emerge when people are expecting a new child.