What Changed Your World Behind The Scenes

To say there is a lot going in the world of retail every week is sort of like saying there is a lot going on with a Category 5 hurricane – the statement is substantially true, but really fails to express the scale and scope of the situation.

And when it comes to data, it’s easy to develop a case of number fatigue and simply tune out any sum that is not followed by six or seven zeros.

But as one wise sage once said, every next big thing started out as a small thing that almost no one had ever heard about before. Luckily for us all, the Internet exists to keep track of everything that happened anywhere, and, luckily for our readers, the SKU staff exists to read as much of the Internet as possible every week to figure out what’s creeping up slowly to change the face of commerce as we know it.

So what’s hiding in the shadows – or in some cases plain sight – this week? Here’s four things you almost missed:

1) Market To Women – They Will Soon Have All The Money…

While the old chestnut about women controlling 80 percent of the retail spend in the United States has more or less been debunked as an urban legend, it may end up being the urban legend that time makes uniquely true – particularly if millennial working females stay ambitious.

A survey conducted by FutureCast of the 6.2 million “affluent millennial” households in the United States (people ages 18 to 34 and making an annual income of $100,000 or more) were mostly headed up by female breadwinners.

In total, 64 percent of high earners under the age of 34 were female. The same study suggests that while a wage gap persists, women’s hourly earnings have approached 92 percent of their male counterparts.

High income earners are also avid shoppers, and they purchase more luxury items than any other demographic group. According to the research, a 59 percent majority is also more likely to rate products online and a third post on brand sites regularly.

2) …Or Fathers – Who Don’t Buy Much, But Love To Pay Full Price

As Father’s Day approaches this weekend, families everywhere argue about whether or not Dad needs another tie or will feel insulted by the golf lessons they are thinking about buying for Dad. But we as a society rarely think about how Dad shops — and that may be a wasted opportunity for retailers anywhere.

Dads may not shop often — but when they do, they strongly prefer to pay full price, in as manly and stoic a fashion as possible.

Only one-third of fathers look for sales, as opposed to 52 percent of mothers. They also really don’t like coupons – as two-thirds feel they make them look cheap – according to recent research.

They are also more brand loyal – as one’s Father is twice as likely as one’s Mother to purchase the brands they believe are best without regard to price. Which is good, because the same study indicates that Dads like expensive brands such as  Apple, Under Armour, Nike, Netflix, iPad, Lexus and Harley-Davidson.

In good news for those buying gifts on a budget, statistically speaking, they are also likely to like Lego and Levi’s as brands as well.

3) How Do You Lose $1.1 Trillion Worth Of Anything?

The short answer? You don’t – unless the numbers are reported broadly.

Which, reportedly, they were in IHL’s monthly report on retail inventory losses.

IHL essentially counts any situation when a store is unable to locate a product listed in a store’s inventory and as a result loses a sale. For example, IHL President Greg Buzek cites an instance when a customer was unable to purchase $1,000 worth of electronic equipment after the physical location’s staff searched for the “in-stock” listed item for about half an hour.

“In consumer electronics, one in three customers leaves without buying something that they intended to buy,” Buzek said as an explanation as to why such ambiguous instances are counted as inventory loss by his firm’s study.

IHL also counted several other factors as part of the loss measurement, including: missed sales and “excess discounts” forced by overstock situations, losses from rival price matching, “marketing not aligned with merchandising,” losses due to inadequate associate training, vendor interactions, food spoilage, empty shelves and shoplifting.

4) Will $4,152.20 End Up Being The Most Expensive Fine In History?

Uber suffered the setback heard round the world – or at least the San Francisco Bay area – earlier this week when it came to light that it is in the process of appealing a California Labor Commission ruling that an Uber driver should not be fairly classified as an independent contractor under California labor law, but instead as an employee.

The board ruled on the specific case of Barbara Ann Berwick – a former Uber driver who worked with the service for an 8-week period (working 60-80 hours a week), during which time she earned approximately $11,000 before expenses and taxes. Berwick, after subtracting out her expenses, determined that she had earned less than minimum wage and filed a claim against Uber last September with the California Labor Commission for overtime, expenses and interest.

The board agreed with Berwick and determined Uber now owes her $4,152.20, agreeing with her contention that Uber’s relationship with its fleet of drivers falls more closely under the legal definition of an employer-employee relationship than that of a relationship between contractors.

“Defendants hold themselves out as nothing more than a neutral technological platform, designed simply to enable drivers and passengers to transact the business of transportation,” the Labor Commisson wrote about Uber. “The reality, however, is that defendants are involved in every aspect of the operation.”

Uber is appealing the decision – and has been quick to point out that the decision was “nonbinding and applies to a single driver.” Those are two facts that will be very important for Uber – and the wave of sharing economy services it has inspired – as well as its future in reshaping the economy.

According the National Employment Law Project (NELP), a workers’ rights group, the change from contractor to employee could amount to an extra 30 percent in labor costs. Uber has 26,000 drivers in New York and 22,000 in San Francisco alone. It is in 300 countries and, according to its founder and CEO, it is growing every day.

“Every single month, Uber is adding hundreds of thousands of drivers around the world,” Uber founder and CEO Travis Kalanick said at a recent presentation.”

Uber has raked in billions in VC money and is valued at north of $50 billion – however that math could quickly change if Uber’s nimble and incredibly scalable army of 1099 employees becomes a pool of W-2 workers who cost 30 percent more.

“With a business model based on offering affordable fares, these companies may not be able to survive a ruling against them in this area,” argued Jennifer Robles of Owen Dunn Insurance. “Without contractor status, it’s likely these companies could not continue at a profit, leaving traditional taxi drivers decidedly happier and thousands of Lyft and Uber drivers out of work.”

Uber has appeared before other labor boards – and had its drivers’ contractor statuses affirmed.

Still, the ruling casts a long shadow considering the number of firms inspired by the sharing economy contractor model. And that, along with power-spending female millennials, coupon avoidant dads and retail stock loss are all trends worth watching going forward.