Target Digital Sales Grow 195%
Target Corporation reported its 2Q results, which reflect the continuation of heightened sales volume and significant investments in response to the COVID-19 pandemic. Second quarter comparable sales grew 24.3 percent, the strongest the company has ever reported. Store comparable sales increased 10.9 percent, and digital comparable sales grew 195 percent, accounting for 13.4 percentage points of Target’s comparable sales growth.
Stores fulfilled more than 90 percent of Target’s second quarter sales. Same-day services (order pick up, drive up and Shipt) grew 273 percent and accounted for approximately 6 percentage points of total company comparable sales growth.
“Our second quarter comparable sales growth of 24.3 percent is the strongest we have ever reported, which is a true testament to the resilience of our team and the durability of our business model,” says Brian Cornell, chairman and chief executive officer of Target Corporation.
“We remain steadfast in our focus on investing in a safe and convenient shopping experience for our guests, and their trust has resulted in market share gains of $5 billion in the first six months of the year”
Walmart Hints About Walmart+ Membership Program
Walmart CEO Doug McMillon spoke this week about the strategy behind the anticipated Walmart+ membership program during an analyst’s call, but didn’t share the date of the launch or the perks it will include.
“There has been a lot of buzz recently about membership at Walmart,” says McMillon. “We've been testing membership with Delivery Unlimited subscriptions since late last year. That customer offer was limited to a grocery and consumables delivery service as the reason to sign up. Since that launch, we've proven to ourselves that we can pick and deliver a broad set of categories across the supercenter, not just food and consumables, but a wide assortment of general merchandise.
The retailer had previously confirmed it was preparing to debut the service, called Walmart+.
“We think that assortment breadth and our ability to deliver with speed nationally combined with a few other benefits for customers will result in a compelling proposition,” McMillon says.
Marriott Data Breach Results in UK Lawsuit
A class action style suit has been filed in the UK against hotel group Marriott International over a massive data breach that exposed the information of some 500 million guests around the world, Techcrunch.com reports, including around 30 million residents of the European Union, between July 2014 and September 2018.
The representative legal action against Marriott has been filed by UK resident, Martin Bryant, on behalf of millions of hotel guests domiciled in England & Wales who made reservations at hotel brands globally within the Starwood Hotels group, which is now part of Marriott International.
Hackers gained access to the systems of the Starwood Hotels group, starting in 2014, where they were able to help themselves to information such as guests’ names; email and postal addresses; telephone numbers; gender and credit card data. Marriott International acquired the Starwood Hotels group in 2016 — but the breach went undiscovered until 2018.
Consumers Expect More From Brands to Earn Loyalty
Jack Germain from CRMBuyer says new studies reveal how solidly personalization in marketing drives brand loyalty, but consumers feel brands fail to do enough to recognize them as individuals.
Germain says that Formation, a company using artificial intelligence to drive loyalty programs for brands like Starbucks and United Airlines, released a report with data that shows that the more personalization tactics a brand uses, the more loyal a consumer is to that brand.
One of the main takeaways from the study is just how significant personalization in marketing has become. For instance, 81 percent of consumers are willing to share basic personal information in exchange for a more personalized experience.
Survey Says Majority Of U.S. Employees Report Improved Work Experience
According to a second pulse survey by KPMG, the U.S. audit, tax and advisory firm, 79 percent of U.S. workers from organizations with more than 1,000 employees indicate that over the last four months, the quality of their work has improved, 70 percent say that their productivity has increased, and 67 percent indicate their work-life balance has improved. Eighty-four percent are also satisfied with their employer's response to the pandemic.
“American workers have demonstrated remarkable resiliency under the pressures of COVID-19 and against the backdrop of events signifying racial inequality," says Lisa Massman, KPMG's Human Capital Advisory leader. "Now, organizations must design a new model of work for tomorrow, by presenting new approaches for teams to effectively work from home, leveraging technology and innovative ways to increase collaboration, and fostering an environment of inclusion and belonging - to build a more loyal, productive and sustainable workforce.”