Today in Retail: Levi’s Direct-to-Consumer Sales Continue Growth; Amazon and Walmart Wage War on Grocery Front

Today in retail, EU retailers are trying to combat cart abandonment with choice-based one-click checkout while fast fashion and circular fashion are finding their way to the sustainability runway. Plus, Cabinets.com calls on 3D modeling to help consumers redesign their kitchens from anywhere, and wait lists are getting longer for luxury watches.

Fast Fashion, Circular Fashion Square Off on Sustainability Runway

It’s inexpensive and looks good just long enough, but fast fashion is taking flak for its environmental impact, potentially making circular fashion the next big thing in apparel. Pushback against fast fashion is taking on legal dimensions starting in the European Union (EU), where the “EU Strategy for Sustainable and Circular Textiles” bill was proposed in March.

The problem, as laid out in the EU proposal, is that “the trends of using garments for ever-shorter periods before throwing them away contribute the most to unsustainable patterns of overproduction and overconsumption. Such trends have become known as fast fashion, enticing consumers to keep on buying clothing of inferior quality and lower price, produced rapidly in response to the latest trends.”

The Financial Times reported in June that labels are taking the proposed EU action seriously, saying that “brands such as Decathlon, Uniqlo and H&M say they are working with Asian producers from China to India to prepare for the new rules from Brussels, but not everyone is on board.” A big workaround is to make the old new again via recycling, or the “circular fashion” trend that’s gaining steam as more supporters join the cause.

Levi’s Closing in on 50-50 Split as Direct-to-Consumer Sales Accelerate

If the current uptrend continues, by this time next year, every time Levi’s sells a pair of jeans at one of the 3,200 stores or shop-in-shop locations in its massive 110-country global retail network, it will also sell another pair online.

While this 1:1 physical-to-digital ratio is still a way off, the San Francisco-based denim giant is getting closer and closer, as redesigned stores, improved websites and apps and changing consumer habits combine to drive growth in digital the likes of which Levi Strauss & Co has never seen.

“Our relentless focus on our strategic priority of being brand-led, DTC-first and diversifying the portfolio has delivered strong results, even with continued macro-economic uncertainty and persistent inflationary pressures,” Levi’s CEO Chip Bergh told investors on the company’s second-quarter earnings call Thursday (July 7). Levi’s saw a 15% increase in total sales, eclipsed by a 22% advance in its direct-to-consumer (D2C) sales, which finished the quarter at 37% of total revenue.

Cabinets.com Shoppers Can Remodel Their Kitchens Fully Online With 3D Imaging Tech

Cabinets.com customers can pick out their new kitchen cabinets from the comfort of their homes — or anywhere else, for that matter — through a partnership with Dassault Systèmes that creates a cloud-based 3D design portal, according to a press release.

It’s the latest example of giving buyers a direct-to-consumer (D2C) option rather than forcing them to go into physical stores, but this one also could affect how contractors nail down deals with customers and has important considerations when it comes to the installation of those cabinets as well.

Dassault Systèmes’ HomeByMe for Kitchen Retailers platform offers a fully online business model that allows Cabinets.com customers to choose from a selection of kitchen cabinets and design their kitchens online through 3D space planning, automation and artificial intelligence (AI), the release stated. Customers can create and modify door styles and colors, accessories and custom options according to their needs and budgets and make faster decisions based on 3D renderings of the expected finished look, the release stated.

Amazon vs Walmart Weekly: Grocery Fight Complicated by Inflation and Delivery

As much as the ongoing saga of Amazon swiping Walmart’s retail market share in category after category is not new, the fact that the battle has now shifted to the final frontier — groceries — is significant.

If five prior examples of category leadership change over the past decade were not precedent enough, the sheer fact that this last, lone, lagging segment stands out like a sore thumb for Amazon would suggest that it is on the top of the eCommerce giant’s to-do list.

Like it did with electronics and appliances, furniture and home furnishing, clothing and apparel, and more, Amazon steadily worked to erode Walmart’s lead before ultimately pulling ahead.

Rolex Dealer Says Luxury Watch Shortage Is Spreading

Not only are consumers being scared off from buying luxury watches as the cryptocurrency market continues to crater, but it’s becoming harder to find those big-name timepieces than ever before, a Rolex watch seller in the United Kingdom told Bloomberg.

While it’s been a struggle for a while to keep up with the demand of Rolex, Audemars Piguet and Patek Philippe watches, the supply is now dwindling for other brands too, including Zenith, Omega and IWC, Watches of Switzerland Group CEO Brian Duffy said in the report.

Watches of Switzerland is the U.K.’s top Rolex retailer and is among the largest in the U.S., with a market share of about 9%, according to the report. Among the most-wanted items for those on the wait list are Zenith chronographs, IWC pilot watches and Omega’s James Bond Seamaster and Speedmaster models. In-store and online sales grew by 48% in the U.S. to $512 million in fiscal 2022, a number that Duffy said could’ve been higher if there were more supply available. Meanwhile, watch prices are up 4% to 5% this year.

EU Retailers Pivot to Seamless One-Click Checkout With Choice

According to Jérémy Pinto, co-founder of French retail tech firm JUST, research shows that of the 70% of online carts abandoned in France, half of them are abandoned due to an overly complex purchasing journey, which often includes setting up an account and filling in the same information and forms repeatedly with each purchase.

For eMerchants, that abandonment amounts to an average of 42% of their customers lost in the process, a high cost to pay in these tough economic times.

To address these overlooked customer pain points, JUST offers a one-click purchasing solution which spares online buyers the burden of having to create an account, while democratizing the shopping experience for online merchants.

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