Today in Retail: Mattel, Disney Expand Licensing Agreement; Online Sales Can’t Keep up With Rising Retail Return Rate

Today in retail, Mattel and Disney sign a licensing agreement that includes Princess and Frozen product lines, and Oscar de la Renta won’t be the last luxury clothing brand to get into the resale market. Plus, Walmart eyes super app status with pair of FinTech acquisitions.

Mattel and Disney Launch Multi-Year Global Licensing Deal for Princess and Frozen Lines

Mattel and Disney have inked a multiyear global licensing deal for the Disney Princess and Frozen franchises that gives the toy maker global licensing rights on future toy lines under the Disney Consumer Products, Games and Publishing umbrella for fashion dolls, small dolls, figures and more. The new collection is expected to debut at retailers around the world next year.

Called It! Why Oscar de la Renta’s Embrace of Luxury Resale Won’t Be the Last

Fashion and design brand Oscar de la Renta is getting into the resale of its gowns and other high-priced apparel as a “valuable tool” to gain new customers and keep existing ones. Well, PYMNTS CEO Karen Webster predicted it more than two weeks earlier. “2022 will be the year that luxury brands strike back and use payments to help them reinvent the reCommerce experience,” Webster wrote in her 10-point digital transformation outlook that was published Jan. 10, pointing to an explosion of sales and a thirst for luxury.

Walmart’s FinTech and Super App Future Takes Shape With Pair of Purchases

Walmart’s FinTech startup (Hazel FinTech, a joint venture with Ribbit Capital), is close to acquiring two firms and relaunching as ONE as part of a plan to build super apps that bring all digital activities under one roof. Hazel FinTech will soon acquire Even Responsible Finance, which enables companies to offer employees earned wage access (Walmart is a customer), and ONE Finance, a neobank complete with a debit card. It will then start its relaunch as ONE, targeting “financial services super app” status.

Rising Retail Returns Outpace Growth of Online Sales

The National Retail Federation said retail returns for 2021 were at $761 billion, larger than the entire gross domestic product (GDP) of Switzerland, and the growth of this segment is about five times faster than the 11% increase in online sales that PYMNTS research projected for retail’s holiday shopping season. The total rate of returns jumped 6 percentage points in 2021, to 16.6% from 10.6% the year before, according to the NRF’s survey of 57 retailers conducted between mid-October and mid-November. The retail trade group also reported that the 20.8% rate of online returns held steady from 2020, although the dollar value of those sales and returns continues to grow.