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Sara Lebow (00:00):

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(00:19):

Hello, listeners. Today is Wednesday, April 30th. Welcome to Behind the Numbers: Reimagining Retail, an EMARKETER podcast made possible by Kinective Media by United Airlines. This is the show where we talk about how retail collides with every part of our lives. I'm your host Sara Lebow. Today's episode topic is our April unofficial most interesting retailers of the month list.

(00:47):

Before we get into that, let's meet today's guests. Everyone is in studio with me today. Joining me first up is Arielle Feger. Hey, Arielle.

Arielle Feger (00:57):

Hi. Lovely to be here.

Sara Lebow (00:58):

Great to have you. Also with us, Blake Droesch. Hey, Blake.

Blake Droesch (01:02):

Hello, good to be back.

Sara Lebow (01:04):

Good to have you. And finally, in studio is Suzy Davidkhanian. Hey, Suzy.

Suzy Davidkhanian (01:09):

Least but not last.

Sara Lebow (01:11):

Don't say that!

Suzy Davidkhanian (01:12):

You just said finally.

Sara Lebow (01:14):

Not least but not last.

Arielle Feger (01:15):

You switched it.

Sara Lebow (01:16):

It's last but not least.

Suzy Davidkhanian (01:17):

Oh, shoot.

Sara Lebow (01:18):

Least but not last would be ... First of all-

Suzy Davidkhanian (01:19):

I'm having one of these days. Last but not least is what I wanted to say. Please start from the beginning.

Sara Lebow (01:26):

Definitely keep that in there.

Suzy Davidkhanian (01:28):

No, in the outtakes, but not-

Sara Lebow (01:30):

Certainly keep that in there.

Suzy Davidkhanian (01:32):

No. Talk about my LinkedIn profile posts. Thanks for having me, Sara.

Sara Lebow (01:36):

Thanks for being here. Let's jump into the unofficial most interesting retails of the month list. Arielle and I, we're the committee. We'll present our list in the first half of the episode, and in the second half, Blake and Suzy will have the opportunity to edit our list. Here is Arielle and my list for April.

(01:55):

At number eight, we have Hershey's. Hershey's is following in the steps of Mattel to make a movie directed by the director of Mean Girls, the original one. But unlike The Barbie Movie, this one I think is a biopic telling the story of founder Milton Hershey. This made the list because I personally thought it was pretty interesting.

Arielle Feger (02:15):

Yeah, I like it. I think it's fun. I would be interested to see how it comes out. The director of Mean Girls, that's an interesting take on it, so we'll see.

Sara Lebow (02:26):

Well, they have some relatively well-known people doing it. I think they're leaning into the love story. I didn't know what this was, so I looked it up. They're leaning into his love story and it's a bit of a tragedy love story.

Arielle Feger (02:36):

Oh, I didn't know that.

Sara Lebow (02:36):

Which I think it'll be much more movie-friendly than just the history of Hershey's.

Arielle Feger (02:41):

Yeah.

Sara Lebow (02:42):

But it is definitely an expensive way to stay top of mind.

Arielle Feger (02:45):

It is. The talent I recognized was Alexandra Daddario. I did not recognize the male actor. I thought it was the kid from Stranger Things-

Sara Lebow (02:52):

He's apparently been in a lot of movies.

Arielle Feger (02:53):

... but it's actually a different Finn.

Sara Lebow (02:55):

He's been in a lot of movies. They weren't ones that I knew.

Arielle Feger (02:58):

Okay.

Sara Lebow (02:58):

I just think I'm different.

Arielle Feger (03:00):

Yeah. It's an expensive advertising play, so fascinating.

(03:06):

At number seven, QVC, which launched the first-ever 24/7 live shopping stream in the US on TikTok. This is interesting to me because for a while, we talked about TikTok as the new QVC, almost as if they were rivals. Although clearly, TikTok has more attention, although it's attention from different age groups. This shows us that TikTok is a distribution channel for QVC. They can have a symbiotic relationship and TikTok is almost like a network for QVC.

Suzy Davidkhanian (03:40):

Yeah. I think it makes sense, I think it's a smart move.

Arielle Feger (03:42):

It is clever that they're doing a livestream there and they're trying to bring people to this platform and they're using the network effect. What I think is the most interesting part about this is that with the looming ban, they're still leaning in super heavily. They're probably thinking, "Whatever, we'll give it a try. If not, we'll at least introduce ourselves to this whole new generation who may then come to our TV."

Sara Lebow (04:06):

TikTok and its partners are behaving like there is no ban. TikTok is readily hiring in the US. They're just operating business as usual for the most part.

(04:16):

Number six is Target. Arielle, why'd we put Target on the list?

Arielle Feger (04:20):

This is an interesting and maybe a not so great way. As of April 7th, Target had its 11th week of foot traffic declines, according to Placer AI data. The CEO, Brian Cornell, did meet with Reverend Al Sharpton, who is a civil rights leader, to discuss the company's DEI policies. Sharpton apparently called the meeting "very constructive and candid." Obviously, Target's taking steps to try to rectify this, but I am not 100% sure it's really going to work.

Sara Lebow (05:00):

Yeah. Target hasn't had its identity-related messaging right in a couple years now. They had a whole Pride fiasco where they leaned into Pride and then leaned out of Pride last year. They abandoned DEI this year. Foot traffic diminishing has been attributed to that. Yeah, this one's on the list, less because of something Target did ... Well, the DEI back up is something Target did, but more because of the impact that it's had.

(05:27):

Number five, Ben and Jerry's. Arielle, tell us about this.

Arielle Feger (05:31):

This is actually an interesting opposite almost to Target. Ben and Jerry's, part of Unilever currently, but they want to be separate from Unilever. They are trying to find some investors to buy the Ben and Jerry's brand to separate. This is all stemming from a lot of disagreements about politics and where they stand on certain social issues. I just think it's really great to see a brand that social justice is embedded in what they do really standing up for themselves and for the messaging they want to put out there.

Sara Lebow (06:12):

Yeah. Progressive politics has always been part of Ben and Jerry's brand. A classic Vermont brand, they're like the Bernie Sanders of ice cream. Something that our colleague Emmy said to me was she was like, "I wonder if Ben and Jerry's can get away with more of this behavior because it tastes so good." I think that's an over-simplification, but I also don't think it's wrong. People who are brand loyal to Ben and Jerry's because they like The Tonight Dough might not stop eating it even if they disagree with the politics because they like the flavor.

Arielle Feger (06:43):

Yeah, I think Ben and Jerry's has such a loyal cult following that ...

Suzy Davidkhanian (06:47):

It is interesting that Target probably thought the same and it didn't work out for them.

Arielle Feger (06:51):

That's true.

Sara Lebow (06:52):

Yeah.

Suzy Davidkhanian (06:53):

I'm just surprised it's on the list because Ben and Jerry's is a quick service restaurant, just saying.

Sara Lebow (06:59):

Ben and Jerry's is a food brand.

Arielle Feger (07:02):

They're a food brand. I would call that a food brand.

Suzy Davidkhanian (07:06):

Would you?

Arielle Feger (07:06):

Yes, I would.

Suzy Davidkhanian (07:08):

Chipotle sells mayo.

Arielle Feger (07:08):

They're sold in stores.

Suzy Davidkhanian (07:11):

I'm sure Chipotle sells random CPG things. No, Blake?

Arielle Feger (07:13):

But Ben and Jerry's is a very well-known, well-documented product in stores.

Suzy Davidkhanian (07:21):

Just asking for a friend.

Arielle Feger (07:22):

I appreciate your-

Sara Lebow (07:23):

The debate we're having here is that we try to avoid having quick service restaurants on this list. Suzy's accusing us of breaking our own rule. We'll move on.

(07:32):

Number four, Walmart.

Suzy Davidkhanian (07:34):

Now I'm definitely going to lose. You're welcome.

Sara Lebow (07:36):

Walmart's retail media network, Walmart Connect, is now letting advertisers buy on CTV inventory from Vizio, which it bought last year. This was the whole point of buying Vizio, both to sell retail media inventory on the CTV network and also probably in-store as out of home retail media advertising. It's not super surprising to see this, but we're definitely seeing what we expected to be Walmart's play in action.

Arielle Feger (08:04):

Yeah. Not a surprising move, but certainly a very powerful move and something that's going to serve Walmart's retail media business well.

Blake Droesch (08:14):

Interesting timing though, because there's a lot of speculation that CTV ad spending is going to be hit pretty hard by the impact of the tariffs as advertisers shift to really hammering performance over brand. It could be not super ideal, but definitely a longer term play.

Arielle Feger (08:31):

Yeah. I think for Walmart, it's okay. Walmart's got no shortage of money to pull out and invest in these types of things. I would say if it was a smaller network, I would be a little more concerned. But I think for Walmart, you got to have all of your bases covered. CTV is certainly an important base.

Sara Lebow (08:50):

We should check back in on CTV in a couple of months, because we're not projecting it to be hit as hard as linear, which is not surprising. It was told by someone on a research team that what's happening with CTV is incredibly complicated right now and that I did not get a follow-up on that. We should definitely check back in and see how it's reacting.

(09:15):

Number three, Sephora. Sephora partnered with WNBA team The Golden State Valkyries for advertising. Marcus talked with Nielsen on a podcast a few weeks ago about the WNBA's ad potential, which is really strong. We're seeing this with Sephora. We're also seeing this with Coach, which became the unofficial handbag of the WNBA.

(09:36):

The other reason Sephora is on this list is it took the top spot among Gen Z teens as a beauty brand on Piper Sandler's semi-annual Taking Stock with Teens survey. That happened even as Ulta and Target lost share with that group.

Arielle Feger (09:49):

Yeah. Women's sports, it's hot, it's what's now. It makes sense and I love it.

Sara Lebow (09:54):

If you haven't listened to that episode with Marcus, you should give it a listen. Something that Charlene Polite Corley from Nielsen said that was interesting is that they have data that shows that while there are fewer WNBA viewers than the NBA, those WNBA viewers are more engaged with advertising and more likely to react to ads they see.

(10:13):

Number two, we have Temu and Shein. We also broke our rules by putting two brands on the list. Arielle, why did we do that?

Arielle Feger (10:20):

As of last Friday, Temu and Shein are raising their prices to combat the rising costs of imports and any tariffs that are going to be applied to Chinese goods coming into the US. It's a really interesting question because the reason that so many consumers have really flocked to these marketplaces is because of their low prices. It's really we don't know what's going to happen if now the prices are rising, will consumers still stick with these? Will they still shop there? It's a good question.

Sara Lebow (10:56):

Yeah, I'm not really sure why they would. Temu and Shein's advantage is that their prices are so cheap, but the goods take a while to get here and they're not particularly high quality. Once the prices go up, there's not as much reason to shop there.

Suzy Davidkhanian (11:10):

Though you could argue that everybody's prices on that random tchotchke will also go up.

Sara Lebow (11:15):

Yeah.

Arielle Feger (11:16):

Yeah.

Suzy Davidkhanian (11:16):

Why not get it from here? Instead of being $2, it'll be maybe max four-

Sara Lebow (11:20):

That's a good point.

Suzy Davidkhanian (11:20):

... if it goes 200% increase.

Arielle Feger (11:22):

I do wonder though-

Suzy Davidkhanian (11:24):

Or, 100. Take out my math please.

Arielle Feger (11:27):

I wonder though if there's going to be a more US-forward sentiment that plays into this as well. Obviously, Temu and Shein have Chinese associations. Amazon's products, also from China, but because Amazon is a US company, I'm not sure if that's going to make a difference in how people shop.

Suzy Davidkhanian (11:50):

It's such an interesting point because ... We were talking about this the other day when we were prepping for something else. That there are many more, including Walmart, commercials talking about American made, or manufactured here, or American branding. But at the end of the day, I really think if there is a recession and people's budgets are tight, and they need a plastic pot and it's cheaper at one of these companies, I think they're going to have no choice but to do it or forego the pot altogether.

Arielle Feger (12:19):

Yeah, I think you're right. I think the question is going to be who can offer the cheapest price.

Sara Lebow (12:26):

Some of these American made or American manufactured companies are also under fire. Tesla most recently for saying their Cybertrucks are manufactured in America.

Suzy Davidkhanian (12:36):

Yeah.

Sara Lebow (12:36):

Assembled in America, that's what it is. Because even if they're assembled in America, what does that mean about the materials?

Blake Droesch (12:43):

Yeah. There are a lot of just raw materials that are simply just impossible to source in the US, even if they wanted to. These companies that are continuing to rely on maybe American manufacturing so they can slap a tag are still going to be susceptible to tariffs on the raw goods that are coming into the US. It's not necessarily going to make the end cost for the American consumer any cheaper because those tariffs are already happening, plus the additional labor costs that are associated with things being assembled in America is going to mean that basically that manufactured in the USA label is going to come with a pretty hefty price tag along with it.

Sara Lebow (13:31):

Okay, at number one we have Amazon. Arielle, why Amazon?

Arielle Feger (13:36):

Amazon's testing a new feature, it's called Buy For Me. Essentially, what this feature is is if a user goes onto the Amazon mobile app and types in, "Hane's underwear," some of them now will get a button that says, "Buy for me." That essentially will make a purchase for the consumer that is off of the Amazon site. It's using agentic AI to process their size and all of that, and then fill in the payment details, the mailing address. Consumer just has to check if it's right and then say, "Buy."

Sara Lebow (14:17):

This is so the future is here and I get that. I wrote a piece last week on machine-to-machine marketing, which you should check out on our website. At the same time, is this not just the, "I'm feeling lucky" button, but for buying a good on Amazon? I guess it's not, because it doesn't give you the first thing, it gives you the thing that's tailored for you.

Arielle Feger (14:38):

Yeah, I think it's a little more personalized, but I do agree that there could be some trial and error that happens. I think that's why it's currently in testing mode. But this is built on their other tests that they have been doing, which is including outside links in their search results. It does seem like they are really just trying to get everyone to start their shopping search on Amazon, whether or not they're actually making that purchase there.

Blake Droesch (15:04):

But I agree, how much time is that realistically going to save? Because when I go on Amazon now, I can basically find the product I want and buy it within one click because it already has all of my information. A lot of the time, if it's something that I'm restocking that I've already purchased, then it requires even less time for it to find it. I see maybe there's a world where, okay, Amazon knows what type of toothpaste I use because I bought it there before, so I type in toothpaste and it buys it for me, which is saving me a couple of seconds out of my day. Which seems like pretty marginal, when you think about all of this potential that we're talking about with agentic AI.

Sara Lebow (15:45):

Yeah.

Blake Droesch (15:46):

The use case in its practicality right now doesn't really seem that revolutionary.

Sara Lebow (15:52):

Let's keep moving into our second half. This is the time where Suzy and Blake get to tell us where we went wrong. Each of them will have a chance to move a brand up or down our rankings, and to add a new company entirely.

(16:03):

Also, in our honorable mention spots, we have Costco for actually having foot traffic pick up as they hold strong to DEI. And Michaels, for introducing party goods, which is interesting as Party City files for bankruptcy.

(16:17):

Blake, why don't you go first and make a move?

Blake Droesch (16:19):

My first move would be to take the QVC TikTok collaboration off the list. To me, that seems like something that QVC should have done two years ago instead of now. It's a little bit too little, too late. I also don't really understand what QVC is really bringing to the table here, because their brand is not super well-known among TikTok users I would imagine. It's not something that it's really super alluring. They're not necessarily bringing recognizable personalities onto the platform. I'm just really not sure how fruitful this partnership is going to be, unless TikTok Live shopping really continues to ramp up and QVC can ride that wave. But I don't know if that's really a certainty at this point still.

Suzy Davidkhanian (17:17):

I actually wonder if they're doing it now and not two years ago because TikTok didn't want them on. They weren't cool enough for TikTok, but now that the ban is looming and potentially there are people walking away, by people I mean brands, walking away from TikTok, this is a no-brainer for them. There's the potential of a new audience that's not already coming to TikTok. Plus, QVC is getting maybe, although unlikely, because it sounds like even though it's net new original content, it's still not quite Gen Z and Alpha.

Sara Lebow (17:48):

Yeah. The reason I would argue to keep QVC on is, first of all, because it could help bring more Boomer women to TikTok. And also, because this is something that Sky, our colleague, is really bullish on, is TikTok adopting live shopping in the US the way it's been successful in China. The 24/7 aspect of that is really important to that I think. If you are scrolling in the middle of the night and you see that the only content on in the middle of the night is QVC, you might be watching it.

Arielle Feger (18:19):

I don't know. I am a little more on Blake's side. I do think that this is something that they should have done two years ago. To Suzy's point, maybe it wasn't possible for many other reasons. But I don't think that the audience that scrolls on TikTok in the middle of the night is going to be the same audience that's going to buy something from a QVC livestream.

Sara Lebow (18:46):

I don't know. Boomer women are having trouble sleeping often.

Blake Droesch (18:50):

But why do they need to change the medium if they're already watching it on TV?

Sara Lebow (18:55):

Yeah, that's fair. I'm fine with moving QVC down to eighth place and moving Hershey up.

Arielle Feger (19:03):

Okay.

Sara Lebow (19:03):

All right.

Arielle Feger (19:04):

I'll allow it.

Sara Lebow (19:05):

QVC has been moved down.

(19:06):

Suzy, make your move.

Suzy Davidkhanian (19:08):

Well, I would like to take Ben and Jerry's off because I think trying to spin yourself back into your wholly owned company is been there, done that. Lots of brands try and do that for many different reasons. But I would really like to move Walmart up to number one because, although yes, the Vizio ads is interesting to see what they're doing.

(19:25):

I don't know if you guys caught that, in the recent weeks, they're doing two really new things that I think are really important to highlight. They're ramping up their beauty event. It's not new, but they're trying to elevate the beauty category at Walmart, which it's not known for, through their marketplace. But also, getting some premium brands that are part of their core assortment. They're implementing virtual try on for colors, they're doing sampling. They're piloting a 40-store truly elevated experience with sampling, and experts, and a bunch of other things. I thought that was very, very cool. It's from April 18th to May 31st, so there is some sort of sense of urgency to go see it.

(20:06):

They're also doing a whole new thing, I don't know if you saw the delivery, where they're doing some sort of grid work.

Blake Droesch (20:13):

Yeah, like the beehive.

Suzy Davidkhanian (20:13):

Yeah.

Blake Droesch (20:14):

Yeah.

Suzy Davidkhanian (20:15):

Whereas before-

Sara Lebow (20:16):

I didn't see this. Tell me about this.

Suzy Davidkhanian (20:17):

Before, one store delivers and then it's probably a distribution center. But now, they have this sophisticated technology that's new that helps close the gap, so that if you have three Walmart stores that are within a radius but one store doesn't have everything you're looking for, they can ship it from multiple stores instead of going out to a distribution center. Which is very different than the way they were doing it now, which means that as a shopper if you shop Walmart, you'll have access to way more SKUs for same-day deliver than ever before.

Sara Lebow (20:46):

Okay, Suzy's breaking the rules by trying to do two things.

Suzy Davidkhanian (20:50):

Oh.

Arielle Feger (20:50):

We've broken the rules though already.

Sara Lebow (20:52):

We broke the rules already.

Suzy Davidkhanian (20:53):

I stand behind Walmart moving up to number one.

Sara Lebow (20:55):

All right.

Suzy Davidkhanian (20:55):

I think they're doing some very cool things.

Sara Lebow (20:57):

Let's talk Walmart. I don't have much to say other than that you convinced me with all that.

Arielle Feger (21:02):

Yeah, I think all of those things all add up to some really interesting stuff. Less on the beauty sale itself, but definitely on the more experiential in-store stuff and the delivery faster. Because I think fast delivery is one of the places Amazon really still holds power over Walmart, so if Walmart can speed that up, it could make a big difference.

Sara Lebow (21:25):

Okay, so Walmart's up to number one, knocking Amazon, Temu and Shein, and Sephora down a peg. That's fine with me.

(21:32):

Let's now hear what your wild cards are. Suzy, what is your wild card?

Suzy Davidkhanian (21:37):

I wanted to add Lids, which I know very well because they have stop-and-shops at Macy's. But they're also doing some very cool things. A couple years ago, they launched a hatdrop.com website that was all about limited editions and collectibles that they have now turned into physical stores. They just opened one and are planning to roll out 20 completely new, custom hub. It's two different types of stores that they're leaning into. These customization hubs where they understand that people who are buying for the most part sports memorabilia are probably not super budget-conscious, so they're willing to pay for more personalized items that are localized, that are really part of a whole experience.

(22:25):

The space, if you saw the pictures, I sent the article to Sara. If you guys see the pictures, it looks so sleek and so easy to navigate, and it screams energy. I just think it's cool.

Blake Droesch (22:36):

I'd be interested to see some research on if people are wearing hats as much as they used too. I feel like it's less.

Sara Lebow (22:45):

Wait. You think people are wearing hats less?

Blake Droesch (22:45):

I feel like you don't see-

Sara Lebow (22:47):

Is it because they're all getting hair transplants now?

Blake Droesch (22:49):

You know, maybe.

Sara Lebow (22:49):

Awesome.

Blake Droesch (22:50):

I feel like you just don't see as many people wearing baseball hats as you used to.

Arielle Feger (22:53):

I'm always wearing a baseball hat.

Blake Droesch (22:57):

Around the city, it's really only Europeans wearing Yankee and Dodger hats.

Suzy Davidkhanian (23:03):

It's an interesting question because their HD, the hat drop concept, is all about hats. They started online, they're clearly getting enough traffic that they're putting it into stores. They did a lot of research. The whole piece that I read, I think it was Chain Store-

Sara Lebow (23:23):

Age.

Suzy Davidkhanian (23:24):

Sorry, Chain Age, was around how they use their customer research to see what are the different adjacent categories, too. The store isn't just about the sports merch, but also this new concept store, which I didn't catch the name of the new store.

Sara Lebow (23:38):

This is very hard for me to weigh in on because I'm not super familiar with sportswear or street wear. Podcast Producer Stu, does this sound exciting to you?

Stu (23:49):

Yes.

Suzy Davidkhanian (23:50):

Oh.

Sara Lebow (23:50):

Stu said yes, if you didn't get that.

Blake Droesch (23:52):

I've also noticed that Podcast Host Marcus Johnson wears less hats than he used to as well.

Arielle Feger (23:58):

Oh, anecdotal.

Sara Lebow (23:58):

But he's European, but he lives in the US.

Blake Droesch (24:00):

Well, not on the continent though.

Arielle Feger (24:05):

For me, I know we don't judge things on how successful they could be, but I feel like this time period ... I know you said people who are enthusiasts of sportswear are not necessarily going to be budget-conscious, because that's how they're choosing to spend their money. But considering where we're going in terms of tariffs and budgets, it just feels like an extravagance that I don't know if it's going to really take off.

Suzy Davidkhanian (24:33):

It's possible. It's interesting though.

Arielle Feger (24:33):

Yeah.

Suzy Davidkhanian (24:35):

The store looks so nice. You know what I thought maybe the objection would have been? How many Yankees hats do you need?

Arielle Feger (24:40):

Well, yeah.

Suzy Davidkhanian (24:40):

Which is where I was going to come in and say, but they're personalized so that's going to make you keep buying more random stuff.

Blake Droesch (24:47):

There's also the sports leagues are constantly ... There's this new thing in the MLB over the last couple of years, which is called the City Connect jersey.

Suzy Davidkhanian (24:53):

Oh, yeah, the different color.

Blake Droesch (24:53):

Which is basically an alternative jersey that they wear.

Suzy Davidkhanian (24:56):

Also, they do that in NHL, too.

Blake Droesch (24:57):

There's a whole new reason to go out and buy new gear.

Arielle Feger (24:59):

I'm always buying memorabilia from weird minor league sports teams.

Suzy Davidkhanian (25:04):

Yeah.

Arielle Feger (25:04):

The fact that we've been talking about this for a while, I'm going to say-

Sara Lebow (25:07):

All right, let's put them at number eight and knock off QVC. Honestly, it was Stu saying yes that made this happen.

(25:15):

Blake, what is your wild card?

Blake Droesch (25:18):

My wild card ... What is currently eight right now?

Sara Lebow (25:22):

Eight is Lids.

Blake Droesch (25:24):

Okay. I almost feel conflicted because I think Suzy put forth a really good argument for Lids. Can you tell me what's seven?

Sara Lebow (25:32):

Hershey's.

Suzy Davidkhanian (25:33):

That's easily knocked off.

Blake Droesch (25:35):

Hershey, I predicted that in my 2025 retail trends, saying that brands were going to use more of their intellectual property to create premium video content, so I have to keep that in there. What's six?

Sara Lebow (25:48):

Target.

Suzy Davidkhanian (25:49):

Oh, that's [inaudible 00:25:50].

Blake Droesch (25:50):

All right. See, this is even more confusing because-

Sara Lebow (25:53):

Tell us what you want to put on the list.

Blake Droesch (25:54):

I wanted to talk about Butcher Box and selling on Target.

Sara Lebow (25:58):

Okay.

Blake Droesch (25:59):

I'm going to keep Target where it is, but I'm going to say the reason-

Sara Lebow (26:01):

Oh!

Blake Droesch (26:01):

I'm going to turn the negative into a positive. And say that Butcher Box collaborating with Target was a good mutually-beneficial move for both companies. Because Butcher Box, which is a subscription meat company, subscription ecommerce has been on the outs for a long time. People just do not want to pay for these subscription prices for these routine deliveries that they don't want to commit to. I think economic hardship is probably going to pull down this industry even more.

(26:35):

But Butcher Box actually is doing fairly well, given the economic climate for subscriptions. They have 400,000 subscribers, which is a lot when you-

Sara Lebow (26:45):

Is it Omaha Steaks?

Blake Droesch (26:46):

Yeah, it's basically Omaha Steaks.

Suzy Davidkhanian (26:47):

It's just meat.

Blake Droesch (26:48):

It's just meat delivery. But they have these subscribers, but now they want to grow by going on Door Dash and Target's marketplace, and not having any subscription aspect. You can just go on one-off, buy the box. Which I think is smart for them, because if you look at EMARKETER forecast, frozen and fresh foods ecommerce is the fastest-growing segment of food and beverage. On Target's side, they've been struggling a little bit in their grocery, the digital grocery race, and having a more diversified offering can really only help them and it's a marketplace offering.

(27:28):

I thought it was interesting. It's not going to be a huge needle mover, but something that's just a good example of a partnership that adds a little bit of value to both sides.

Sara Lebow (27:39):

I'm saying yes to this for two reasons. The first one is you found a backdoor way to get it on the list without really shifting-

Blake Droesch (27:44):

Thank you.

Sara Lebow (27:45):

... anything around, which was just really good strategy.

Arielle Feger (27:47):

Really, a theme of this episode of breaking rules.

Sara Lebow (27:49):

The second one is that we put Costco in the honorable mentions as a juxtaposition for Target on DEI. I was at my parent's house a few weeks ago and I discovered that once a month or so, they go to Costco and they buy so much frozen meat to put in the freezer. This is a play against that by Target. I think it's a smart move. Yeah, I'll give it to you.

Arielle Feger (28:15):

Yeah, it's a yes from me.

Sara Lebow (28:17):

Okay, so that gives us a final list, with honorable mentions Costco and QVC at the bottom. Then, we have number eight, Lids. Number seven, Hershey's. Number six, Target/Butcher Box. Number five, Ben and Jerry's. Number four, Sephora. Number three, Temu and Shein. Number two, Amazon. And number one, Walmart.

(28:39):

Wow. Once again, Walmart and Amazon take the top.

Arielle Feger (28:42):

Yeah.

Blake Droesch (28:43):

What a world.

Sara Lebow (28:43):

Thank you so much for being here, Suzy.

Suzy Davidkhanian (28:47):

Thanks for having me.

Sara Lebow (28:48):

Thank you, Blake.

Blake Droesch (28:49):

Always a pleasure.

Sara Lebow (28:50):

And thank you, Arielle.

Arielle Feger (28:51):

This was fun.

Sara Lebow (28:52):

Please give us a rating and review wherever you listen to podcasts. Thank you to our listeners and to our team that edits the podcast. We'll be back next Wednesday with another episode of Reimagining Retail, an EMARKETER podcast made possible by Kinective Media by United Airlines. On Friday, join Marcus for another episode of The Behind the Numbers Show. If you're my parents, sorry I brought up your Costco shopping habits.