Top 4 Global Retail Ecommerce Articles for the Week of September 19

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For those who are new here, every week(ish) I'll share various topics that I think are important for the modern leader in Retail Ecommerce.

Every Monday, I'll try to share the articles that stood out to me that are worth a few minutes of your time to read.

Article 1:?CommerceIQ announces strong global adoption of its retail ecommerce management platform

I want to take a moment to highlight all the groundbreaking work we’ve been busy with at CommerceIQ so far this year. In March, we reached unicorn status with our series D round of funding led by SoftBank. Then in July, we were proud to bring on the outstanding e.fundamentals team, integrating a truly global approach to digital shelf analytics with our ever-growing offer. Speaking of that offer, we’ve launched a lot of great products in the past several months. Revenue Recovery Automation, Market Share, Market Insights, and several new retail media tools are helping brands grow incremental sales, reach more shoppers, and improve profitability every day. We’ve also onboarded countless new team members to support our growing business, including Kal Raman as President and Frank Ianotti as Chief Revenue Officer.

The response we’ve seen from customers has been tremendous. If you are serious about growing your brand, platform integration is the path forward. Using multiple point solutions leads to miscommunications, missed opportunities, wasted effort, and overworked employees. At CommerceIQ, we’re building the future of Retail Ecommerce Management (REM) with a best-in-class team and product. This means we use more data from across more retailers and internal informational silos to enable better decisions.?I couldn’t be more excited for what’s next!

Article 2:?Walmart-backed fintech to test banking services in coming weeks

Walmart is finally entering the finance sector as its ‘One’ fintech company will pilot checking accounts for some employees and shoppers in the coming weeks. It will likely expand from there. Walmart has been curious about entering the finance space for years, long before its investment with Ribbit.?As the country’s largest retailer by far, this move makes sense.

This news is a great example of why vertical integration is such a powerful facet of Retail Ecommerce Management. Not only could it eventually represent an incremental revenue stream, but it can also be integrated into Walmart’s existing offer. Imagine receiving a discount if you checkout using your Walmart checking account. The more functions that are available under one organization, the more synergies are possible. It’s also why banks should be wary. Walmart already has hundreds of millions of shoppers. Its banking services may be new, but they come with a consumer base primed for conversion. This is only the beginning. I expect any significant advancement to be challenged, legally and competitively.

Article 3:?How is the economy doing?

This piece from the New York Time is great if for no other reason than its graph showing the current health and recent trend of over a dozen economic indicators. Many indicators are positive, but gradually getting worse over time. The key figure here that is preventing a more typical recession is low unemployment. Layoffs have remained muted after they temporarily started to rise a few months ago.

It’s safe to say that our current economic circumstances are unlike anything we have seen before. For brands, forecasting is a nightmare that can be upended by numerous unpredictable variables. Right now, flexibility is more important than accuracy. We know the current situation will change even if we don’t know when, in what direction, or by how much. Having capacity that can quickly grow or shrink to better respond to sudden shifts in demand or supply is the essence of being prepared in 2022.

Article 4:?UK retail sales drop most this year as squeeze tightens

If the US economic situation is uncertain, the United Kingdom could be emerging with a bleaker outlook. Hit hard by rising energy prices and broader concerns about CPG inflation, UK retail sales declined 1.6% in August, far more than expected.?Part of what makes the global economy so difficult to diagnose is that, while some effects have been universal, others, especially those that cause disruptions to the supply chain, can have very local effects. For instance, the UK and the rest of Europe are hard hit by energy sanctions on Russia while the developing world is disproportionately affected by the ongoing food crisis.

Brands that succeed in this environment are those that can keep their overhead costs to a minimum while reinvesting in or reinventing (if needed) their core value proposition. This is where a comprehensive REM strategy is needed. Managing multiple retailer accounts and data sourced under one platform that’s optimized for both reporting and taking action is necessary for brands to take effective action.