News Briefs

New shopping metrics provide insight into just how popular Amazon is with U.S. shoppers.

According to new analysis from Numerator, 83% of U.S. households made at least one purchase from Amazon during the 12-month period ended June 30, 2024. Households averaged 71 orders during the course of that year, spending an average of more than $2,700.

In other good news for Amazon, Numerator data also shows that in comparison to all U.S. consumers, Amazon shoppers are more likely to be mid-career millennials or Gen X and make impulse purchases. 

[READ MORE: Forrester: Amazon and Walmart to capture one-fourth of U.S. retail sales by 2029]

Numerator also provided the following data points about consumer behavior at a number of major retailers across multiple verticals:

• Among club stores, 46% of U.S. households shop at Costco, compared to 43% shopping at Sam’s Club.
• Costco shoppers have an annual buy rate over $3,000 and are more likely to be high income, urban, Asian, and committed to buying organic.
• Among home improvement stores, Home Depot sees higher household penetration (71% of U.S. households) and more urban and suburban shoppers, while Lowe’s over-indexes with rural shoppers.
• Shoppers of Whole Foods and Trader Joe’s are more likely to be high income, urban millennials committed to buying organics. 
• Eight-in-10 U.S. households shop at Dollar Tree annually, compared to 60% for Dollar General. However, Dollar General shoppers tend to spend more annually – $513 vs. $288.
• Dollar General shoppers are 51% more likely to live in a rural area and 17% more likely to be boomers or older. 
• Walgreens captures 69% of US households, who average 13 trips and spend a little more than $300 annually. 

Poag Development Group, which acquired Oak Court Mall in Memphis last year for $14.25 million, has acquired a department store at the property. 

Poag and its investment partners have acquired the 400,000-sq.-ft. Macy’s at the center for $7 million. According to the mall’s website, it is the largest Macy’s store in the region.

“Macy’s approached us after our acquisition of Oak Court Mall to see if we would be interested in acquiring their store and leasing it back to them,” said Poag. “Our group of investors was eager to jump at the opportunity, as we have already invested in the mall to ensure that the property stays in local hands to be maximized for its highest and best use in the future.”

[READ MORE: Poag Development acquires super-regional mall outside of Grand Rapids]

The Memphis-based developer will work with JLL, its strategic leasing partner, to maximize the potential of the property at the two-story shopping center. Poag added that with Macy’s now under its control, it will determine how to move forward with any potential redevelopment at the property.

“Our redevelopment plans [of Oak Court] were put on hold as we worked through the Macy’s acquisition,” said Poag. “Now that we know what we can control for the long term, we will solicit feedback from stakeholders and neighbors as to what they feel is needed in the community before any major redevelopment decision is made.”

A regional grocery wholesaler and co-op is customizing shopper interactions at individual stores.

Associated Food Stores (AFS), which operates corporate and member stores across the Intermountain West is utilizing the Birdzi customer intelligence and engagement platform to provide personalized engagement and advanced customer insights on a store-by-store basis.

"The flexibility of the Birdzi platform enables AFS to customize engagement strategies for individual stores, allowing both us and our members to operate with greater efficiency in today’s competitive grocery landscape," said Jason Sokol, VP of marketing, Associated Food Stores. 

The implementation includes the Birdzi shopper analytics platform, coupon flyers and audience engagement tools. AFS will also deploy the Birdzi Visper personalization engine to use entire store catalogs to strategically generate custom promotional offers for each shopper.

AFS will also utilize the analytics suite to gain an enhanced understanding of customer responses, engagement and interactions. Other regional grocery retailers leveraging Birdzi personalization technology include Tops Friendly Markets and Strack & Van Til. 

Full rollout of the Birdzi platform is expected to be live across AFS in time for the 2024 holiday season.

"In partnering with one of the country’s largest grocery wholesalers, Birdzi showcases the unique flexibility of our platform, which can be crafted to fit the needs of any individual retailer," said Shekar Raman, CEO and co-founder, Birdzi. "We’re honored to earn the confidence from our first wholesale customer and are confident that our platform will work seamlessly with more than 400 AFS member retailers."

Founded in 1940 and headquartered in Salt Lake City, AFS currently serves nearly 450 retailers across Arizona, Colorado, Idaho, Montana, Nevada, New Mexico, Oregon, Utah and Wyoming.

Merchants have a favorite day when it comes to dropping coupons for shopping.

Friday emerged as the day with the highest number of new coupon releases, offering shoppers the best opportunity to find fresh deals when shopping online, according to a study by SimplyCodes, a social savings and AI-powered promo code platform. Saturday and Sunday showed a significant drop in coupon activity, while Sunday consistently had the lowest number of new coupon releases.

The study, which analyzed coupon release patterns in marketing emails from 30,000 merchants, found that a noticeable surge in coupon releases occurs midweek, specifically on Wednesdays and Thursdays. Women's clothing, skin care and adult beverage stores were identified as the categories with the most active coupon releases on Fridays.

"In today's digital age, consumers are bombarded with promotional emails, often missing valuable savings hidden within," said Allison Mac, VP of marketing at SimplyCodes. "Our study reveals a clear pattern in coupon releases, with Friday emerging as the prime day for deals. Retailers typically release new offers towards the end of the week to capitalize on the weekend shopping rush. Since many people receive their paychecks on Fridays, stores aim to capture that fresh spending power."

SimplyCodes recommends that consumers don't be so quick to delete promotional emails received Wednesday through Friday, and consider making planned purchases on Fridays and through the weekend to access more valid coupons.

The full study can be found here.

 L'Occitane en Provence has launched  a new store design that offers a more personalized shopping experience. 

The updated design was unveiled at the brand’s remodeled store on the Upper West Side of Manhattan. It’s one of five locations set to open this fall, including remodeled spaces at The Mall at Short Hills, Short Hills, N.J.; Newark International Airport, Newark, N.J.; and Madison Avenue in Manhattan. A new store will open at Belmont Park Village in Elmont, N.Y.

The Upper West Side boutique has been redesigned in the spirit of the brand's birthplace: Provence, France.  Upon entering the shop, storytelling envelopes the customer through a luxurious palette of authentic Provençal materials and a series of archways, a nod to the ever-present arches found throughout Provence.  

A herringbone pattern of terracotta tiles, reminiscent of the craftsmanship local to the Provence region, lies beneath the archways.  The traditional cashier counter has been replaced with a mobile POS system that allows  for frictionless checkout anywhere throughout the store. 

The store also offers an array of curated services designed to enhance customers’ connection with the brand, including mini-facials,  hand massages and detailed skin analysis using a magnifying skin scanner.  Customers can also take advantage of complimentary gift wrapping and remote private shopping with a beauty host.

"We are very excited to expand our presence in New York City through the opening of this boutique, in the heart of such an iconic neighborhood," said Yann Tanini, managing director of L'Occitane North America. "This store offers a distinctive experience, immersing visitors in the essence of L'Occitane’s origins. It encapsulates everything that makes our brand exceptional—the sense of community, the rich heritage of Provence, and the passionate people who bring our products to life."

Costco Wholesale Corp. is giving some app users a sneak peek at in-stock items.

According to Fox Business, the membership-based warehouse club retailer is beta testing a tool on its mobile app that lets customers click a "warehouse" button, located between the "account" and "cart" buttons at the bottom of the app, to bring up a search bar.

The search bar enables customers to enter the names and/or descriptions of items they wish to buy to see if they are in stock at a selected store. Costco reportedly began testing mobile store inventory search in June 2024, and there have been a number of posts from customers on X (the social network formerly known as Twitter) referring to the new app feature.

Read more Fox Business coverage here.

Other recent moves from Costco include installing membership scanning devices at the entrances to all its stores and increasing its annual membership fees by $5 in the U.S. and Canada.

Costco currently operates 884 warehouses, including 611 in the United States and Puerto Rico, 108 in Canada, 40 in Mexico, 33 in Japan, 29 in the United Kingdom, 18 in Korea, 15 in Australia, 14 in Taiwan, seven in China, four in Spain, two in France, and one each in Iceland, New Zealand and Sweden.

Costco also operates e-commerce sites in the U.S., Canada, the U.K., Mexico, Korea, Taiwan, Japan and Australia.