Retail News — 17th May 2019

1. YouTube targets DTC brands — well, about time?

In April this year, Youtube met with execs from DTC brands including TechStyle, Savage x Fenty to discuss their target customers, and understand how priorities such as raising brand awareness and driving sales to stack up in the grand scheme of things. The meeting comes as the DTC sector’s advertising dollars are seeking avenues besides Facebook and Instagram which have become expensive.

2. Brandless — the lone wolf

Brandless, the digitally-native CPG company which was recently valued at half a billion dollars hasn’t yet forged partnerships with retailers or opened a store of its own. According to the company’s former CEO Tina Sharkey, going offline would go against the company’s value proposition and that staying online has its perks such as price transparency. Sharkey was also quoted as saying that the company was ‘building for ship and not shelf’.

3. Retail earnings this week

Macy’s on Wednesday beat analyst estimates for Q1, reporting a revenue of $5.5 billion in revenue with comp store sales up 0.7%. CEO Jeff Gennette pointed out that the company’s e-commerce business was growing in double-digits. Walmart on Thursday beat analyst estimates for Q1, reporting a revenue of $123.9 billion with comp store sales up 3.4%. CEO Doug McMillon was quoted as saying that the company was increasingly transforming itself into a digital enterprise.

4. 80% of all internet traffic will be videos

Cisco predicts that 80% of all internet traffic will be video content in 2019. Speaking of which, AdRoll has introduced AdRoll Video Ads to help marketers reach shoppers through targeted video ads on devices. The ads are powered by the AI, which leverages machine learning to determine the optimal bid price for each impression and analyzes user behavior to target the right ad to the right customer at the right time.

5. Google collaborates with Stella McCartney

Fashion house Stella McCartney is collaborating with Google Cloud on a machine learning and data analytics pilot project aimed at improving the sustainability of the fashion industry’s supply chains. According to the UN, the fashion industry currently accounts for 20% of the wastewater and 10% of the carbon emissions produced across the globe, which are the kind of environmental impacts the project is looking to address and drive down.