Focus on Suppliers Lists Top 8 Retail Stories of 2015

Each year, KNWA-TV’s “Focus on Suppliers” (previously “Saturday Morning Meeting for Suppliers”) counts down the top retail and Wal-Mart Stores Inc. news stories for the year, accompanied by expert commentary. Here’s a summary of the Top 8 stories for this year, as chosen by the “Focus on Suppliers” team:

 

No. 8 Store Format Changes

Walmart stores are no longer one-size-fits-all. Now they come in all shapes and sizes, including tiny on-campus stores selling necessities to students, urban Neighborhood Markets bursting with organic produce, and, of course, mammoth supercenters that offer everything from a deli counter to an in-store health clinic.

 

No. 7 Walmart Puts its Values into Action

Over the past several years, Walmart has been making some big changes in how it does business, including efforts to ensure safe conditions for garment workers, reducing the use of potentially harmful chemicals in its products, and establishing tough animal welfare policies. In 2015, Walmart continued this trend by increasing wages for entry-level workers, promoting the hiring of veterans and sourcing made-in-the-USA goods.

 

No. 6 Walmart Around the World

Walmart raised a few eyebrows when it announced in July that it was now the full owner of Yihaodian, a Chinese e-commerce firm. Rick West, CEO and co-founder of Fayetteville firm Field Agent, had this to say about the acquisition and its impact on Walmart’s global footprint:

“[Walmart] recently became 100-percent owner of Yihaodian, an e-commerce company in China today that’s done amazing things from a digital standpoint. It makes sense strategically to make that happen in China, but look at the global impact of that, increasing that global footprint digitally for Walmart today. So they can bring that technology in to do “search and reapply” and to bring that not only to the U.S., but around the globe.”

 

No. 5 Everybody Dance: Mergers,

Acquisitions and Partnerships

Family Dollar took over Dollar Tree, Target and CVS Pharmacy teamed up to offer pharmacy services, and Kroger took over the popular Chicago-area Mariano’s grocery chain.

Staples tried to buy out Office Depot, but it looks like it has a fight with the Federal Trade Commission on its hands.

2015 was a year for business tango.

 

No. 4 Amazon Takes off The Gloves

Amazon and Walmart have been duking it out for a while now, but things got particularly hot this year with competing free shipping offers, Black Friday deals and even talk of drone delivery. Here’s what Matt Crampton, co-founder and chief technology officer of Gigwalk, had to say:

“Something in 2015 that Amazon.com has launched is Launchpad. It’s a platform for startups. I think it’s something that’s going to be challenging to Walmart and other brick-and-mortar retailers. How do they compete with those kinds of quick-to-market platforms like Amazon.com, where it makes it a lot easier for startups to bring new and innovative products to market.”

 

No. 3 E-Commerce: Its Future is Now

Not only is it now, but simple e-commerce, such as just ordering from a website, is old hat. Retailers are stepping up to the new world of omnichannel. As Stan Zylowski, president and co-founder of Bentonville firm Movista, explained:

“Online is in itself an antiquated way. I’m ordering from anywhere, anything I want, to get it whenever I want. The more that we can evolve that process, the better we can serve the customer, the happier everyone in the process is going to be. It’s a highly efficient model.”

 

No. 2 Organics Go Mainstream

Not long ago, finding organic produce was tough: You’d have to join a co-op or seek out a health food store. You also had to pay a premium price for it. Fast forward to 2015, however, and organics are now available in mainstream markets, at mainstream prices.

While this change has been positive for consumers, upscale grocer Whole Foods Market has had its share of well-publicized struggles as it seeks to re-establish itself in a sea of healthy eating options. It will be interesting to see what Whole Foods does in 2016 in response to the increasing prevalence of organic foods offered by its competitors.

 

No. 1 In-Store Technology Explodes

Mobile technologies and apps continued to grow in 2015, and retailers found new ways of encouraging customers to shop with their smartphones … even while in the store.

Jessica Hendrix, CEO of Saatchi & Saatchi X in Springdale, had some interesting observations about how retailers and customers are combining mobile technology with old-fashioned shopping circulars to get their shopping done.

“You might assume that because mobile technology and going online and having access to all of the information at all times would lead to circulars or tabs, inserts in newspapers going away completely. It hasn’t,” Hendrix said. “In fact, if you looked in your Black Friday edition, you probably saw more tabs and circulars than you’ve ever seen before. But what’s happening is that the shopper is using that as a part of her strategic approach to the shopping environment. So she’s looking at a tab, she’s looking at her mobile device, she’s going online, she’s making sure that she understands all of her options when she’s shopping and then she’s also taking that device and that technology in-store.”

 

2015 was an exciting year for retail, and 2016 promises more of the same. Time will show which of these trends continues and which will be replaced by new ideas, technologies and challenges.

“Focus on Suppliers” is produced by 8th & Walton, a Bentonville-based education and service provider for suppliers. It broadcasts at 6:30 p.m. Saturdays and 5 a.m. Sundays.

The countdown episode first aired on KNWA, a local NBC affiliate, on Dec. 13. Shows are available for viewing on YouTube and Vimeo, and the audio is available as an iTunes podcast download.