Retail Channels
30 March
Kohl's grows third-party marketplace following pilot phase
The retailer is also working to expand its retail media network.
Kohl's marketplace. (Courtesy photo)
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Kohl’s is making more items available on its marketplace as the department store retailer seeks to drive digital growth.
The news: Kohl’s is moving its marketplace out of pilot mode. With the official launch following what it called a "successful" test period, the retailer is adding more items to the assortment of thousands of items from third-party marketplaces.
What’s available? Kohl’s said it is opening the marketplace to sellers in all years. In particular, it is looking to emphasize the following categories:
- Apparel & Accessories: Men’s, women’s, kids, bags, backpacks, sunglasses, gloves, hats & scarves
- Sports & Fitness: Exercise equipment, sporting goods, health & wellness
- Pet Supplies: Beds & furniture, bowls & feeders, toys
- Home: Furniture, kitchen, home decor, patio & garden
- Toys: Baby, kids & toddler, backyard fun
- Baby gear: Furniture, carriers & strollers, health & cleaning
- Electronics: Computers, computer accessories, gaming consoles, mobile accessories
How are they identified? On its ecommerce store, Kohl’s denotes marketplace items with a badge. Items are shipped directly from sellers.
Key quote: On the company’s Q4 earnings call, Kohl’s CEO Tom Kingsbury talked about the retailer’s push to grow a digital business that accounts for 30% of sales. “Two of our key digital growth initiatives include expanding Kohl's Marketplace and Kohl's media network," Kingsbury said. "Kohl's Marketplace is broadening our product offering online to capture incremental sales opportunities, and Kohl's media network is leveraging our digital platform and site traffic to partner with more of our key brands and capture more advertising dollars.”
Marketplace moment: Kohl’s is the latest retailer to stand up a third-party marketplace in recent months, joining Macy’s and Michaels, among others. Amazon perfected the marketplace model as a means to grow its assortment and in turn drive price advantages. Now, retailers with well-trafficked websites are adopting it across the industry. The marketplace also opens up advertising opportunities. It wasn’t a mistake that Kingsbury talked about Kohl’s marketplace and media network in the same statement. More items on a marketplace will bring more of a desire for brands to stand out. That means they are more likely to buy advertising to improve placement. For Kohl’s the retail media network opens up a high-margin, digital business line that can exist alongside selling physical goods.Subscribe to The Current Newsletter
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Economy
4h
Job market keeps booming as employers add 339K roles in May
A key indicator of consumer demand is still running hot.
Photo by Eric Prouzet on Unsplash
The U.S. economy continued to post job gains in May, even as the unemployment rate ticked up.
Data released for May 2023 by the U.S. Bureau of Labor Statistics showed the following:
Employers added 339,000 new jobs this month. The gains crossed the 300,000-mark for the first time since January. That’s in line with the average of 341,000 jobs added over the last 12 months.
Retail employment remained relatively unchanged for the month.
The unemployment rate ticked up by 0.3 percentage points to 3.7%. It remains within the historically low range of 3.4%-3.7% seen since March.
Average hourly earnings rose by 11 cents, or 0.3%, to $33.44. Over the last 12 months, earnings have increased by 4.3%.
What it means for brands and retailers: The job market is a key indicator of consumer demand. If people have job stability, it means they are likely to feel more confident about spending. In the prior three months, there were signs that job gains were beginning to decelerate after months of growth over the last two years. But this report shows that the robust labor market remains intact. Even though unemployment ticked up to its highest point since October 2022, it is still historically low. When it comes to jobs, this was a bounceback month to the roaring upward trendline.
What it means for the Fed: As it has raised interest rates repeatedly over the last year in an effort to contain inflation, the Fed has focused on rebalancing the booming labor market as a key priority. This report doesn’t deliver the data that would show progress on that front, creating an environment where it could choose to raise interest rates that have the side effect of curtailing demand. Still, the Fed has maintained that it may pause the rate hikes when it meets later this month, and that option will remain on the table. The central bank has slowed down interest rate hikes in recent months, even as the labor market continued to show strength. The decision will likely be down to the wire, as key inflation data in the Consumer Price Index will arrive just as Federal Open Markets Committee members are gathering for their meeting on June 13.
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