TikTok Shop looks to woo small businesses with accelerators

Attracted a significant number of shoppers

June 28, 2024

Hello, Retailist Roundup readers! 🎉 As we prepare for another thrilling week, the buzz in the retail and e-commerce world is palpable. This past week has been packed with groundbreaking updates, new trends, and innovative developments that are transforming our industry. Ready to dive into the top stories that have emerged? Join us as we delve into these updates and discover their impact on our dynamic community!

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In the news: Top headlines this week

Walmart, Target, Best Buy pile on as Amazon announces Prime Day schedule. Walmart, Target, and Best Buy are launching their own summer sales coinciding with Amazon's Prime Day, potentially offering some of the best deals of the season. Despite the emphasis on Prime's fast shipping, analysts like Katie Thomas from the Kearney Consumer Institute suggest that consumers may not value rapid delivery as much, often opting to visit physical stores for urgent needs. Additionally, research indicates that summer shoppers tend to be more self-indulgent compared to Black Friday shoppers, focusing more on personal needs alongside back-to-school purchases. [Retail Dive]

H&M sinks on doubts about margin target and June sale drop. H&M's shares plummeted nearly 14% after the company missed quarterly earnings forecasts and anticipated a 6% decline in June sales due to poor weather in Europe. CEO Daniel Erver noted that while H&M remains committed to its 10% operating margin goal for 2024, achieving this target has become more challenging due to unfavorable external factors such as materials and foreign currency impacts. The company emphasized that further strengthening sales growth in the second half of the year is crucial to meeting its margin target.  [Reuters]

Amazon Reaches Historic $2 Trillion Market Cap Milestone. Amazon has surpassed a $2 trillion market capitalization for the first time, joining an elite group of tech giants. This milestone was achieved during intraday trading, with Amazon's stock closing up 3.9% at $193.61. The company's resurgence in its Amazon Web Services (AWS) division, bolstered by the growing demand for generative AI services, has significantly contributed to a 27.5% increase in its stock this year, outpacing the Nasdaq's 18% rise. [Retail Wire]

TikTok Shop looks to woo small businesses with accelerators. TikTok is launching small business accelerator initiatives to support women- and LGBTQIA+-owned businesses despite facing a potential U.S. ban. These initiatives, including the Women-Owned TikTok Shop Accelerator, aim to help participants navigate TikTok Shop and enhance their business skills. Although TikTok Shop is less popular among American consumers compared to Chinese users, it has attracted a significant number of shoppers who also frequent fast-fashion retailers like Shein and Temu. [Retail Dive]

Toys R Us creates first brand film to use OpenAI’s text-to-video tool. Toys R Us is leveraging generative AI tools for its major relaunch, utilizing OpenAI's text-to-video technology. The brand's production arm, Toys R Us Studios, collaborated with Native Foreign and Chief Creative Officer Nik Kleverov, who has early access to OpenAI's Sora tool, to create a one-minute photo-realistic video depicting the retailer's origin story. This video, produced by Kim Miller Olko and directed by Kleverov, illustrates how founder Charles Lazarus conceptualized Toys R Us and its iconic mascot. [Retail Dive]

Target Partners With Shopify To Expand Third-Party Marketplace. Target has partnered with Shopify to enhance its third-party marketplace, Target Plus, by incorporating new and trendy brands from Shopify’s extensive client base. This initiative aims to boost Target’s e-commerce growth, which has been sluggish in recent quarters, by attracting more online traffic and offering unique products. Target Plus, which operates on an invitation-only basis with over 1,200 curated sellers, differs from the more open models of Amazon and Walmart, positioning itself as a platform for carefully selected, diverse brands. [Retail Wire]

Nike set for weak quarterly sales growth as On, Hoka chip away market share. Nike is expected to report its slowest revenue growth in two years for the fourth quarter, due to a lack of innovation and increased competition from brands like Hoka and On. Multiple brokerages have lowered their price targets for Nike, anticipating it will continue to lose market share to these newer, more innovative competitors. Despite this, Nike is hopeful that the upcoming Olympic Games in Paris will help it regain some market share by showcasing performance products like the Alphafly 3 racer and the Pegasus running shoe. [Reuters]

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