Company performance often differs across geographies. Often, more than one data source is needed to get a complete view. CE Transact provides this view in both the US and the UK. For a company like Abercrombie & Fitch, the data has been highly predictive in both markets. In today’s Insight Flash, we compare channel trends and brand growth across the two geographies. For the most part, online spend growth has surpassed offline spend growth for Abercrombie & Fitch in both the US and the UK since January 2020.
Affirm recently announced a partnership with Amazon to offer its Buy Now, Pay Later services on the site. While partnering with the world’s largest retailer outside China seems an easy choice to make, many other companies that offer services to retailers struggle with finding the kind of rapidly growing brands who need partners in their ecosystems to continue a strong trajectory. Be they payment, marketing, or logistics companies, these brands can find such partners on the CE Vision platform.
The beauty industry worldwide has been evolving over the past few years, with social media and changing definitions of attractiveness driving forces. In today’s Insight Flash, we dig into how the Beauty Products subindustry has been changing in the UK, focusing on online versus offline sales for direct-to-consumer brands, top spend growth, and average ticket sizes. Like many sectors, UK Beauty Products saw a decline in spend at the beginning of the COVID-19 pandemic last spring.
Amidst the shortages in toilet paper and hand sanitizer last year, out of stocks at animal shelters were perhaps one of the more curious side effects of the COVID-19 pandemic. But how different is this new breed of pet owners from previous cohorts? In today’s Insight Flash, we dig into trends for new shopper adoption, demographics of those new shoppers, and whether the new cohort of pet owners is more or less attractive for the industry based on average spend.
Luxury sales are all about brands – aspiration for different labels to signal a level of taste and fashion. But . . . what if they’re not? Recently, a number of new players specializing in multibrand luxury have entered the space to give shoppers the ability to shop luxury brands side-by-side as they look to purchase the latest trends. In today’s Insight Flash, see how these merchants are faring in both the US and UK markets.
Last week, Abercrombie & Fitch announced Zappos as its exclusive e-commerce partner in the U.S., with a footwear collaboration on the horizon. In today’s Insight Flash, we dig into the collaboration, comparing growth rates, demographics, and cross-shop to see where the benefits might lie. While Abercrombie & Fitch has seen spend growth steadily outperform the Apparel, Accessories & Footwear industry over the last two and a half years, Zappos has consistently underperformed.
Consumer Edge’s UK data managed to capture Greggs’s sales growth for 2021H1. In today’s Insight Flash, we see how the company’s spend growth is stacking up versus other UK Limited-Service restaurants. Spend has been steadily growing for Limited-Service Restaurants in the UK since the beginning of the year amidst easing pandemic restrictions. Spend in May and June was up around 50% from January 2020, accelerating to a 60% increase in July.
As more offices reopen, they are reopening with one important change from pre-pandemic workstyles – fewer days on site. Many companies have shifted from a Monday through Friday in-office week to more common work from home Fridays or even Fridays and Mondays. This shift has left many downtown businesses dependent on commuter dollars empty and overstaffed on Fridays.
Video streaming is changing the global media landscape. In today’s Insight Flash, we look at how this disruption differs in the US versus the UK, comparing market share and growth rates for streaming. In the US, Video Streaming has continued to grow its share of total media spend among tracked companies since the beginning of 2019. Share in June 2021 was almost double that of January 2019 at 13%. In contrast, the UK history of publicly provided television and radio has led to very different trends as private services have become closer to the norm.
Last month, the US government made one of what will become several monthly payments to households with children, meant to spur spending and reduce economic hardship. In today’s Insight Flash, we take advantage of our unique demographic capability to isolate households with children, and to cross-reference that by income, to evaluate the impact of this payment. Households with children began ramping spending in advance of the payment, moving from lower spend growth than shoppers without children the week of June 6 to slightly higher growth the weeks ending June 13 – July 11.
Social media has birthed several viral trends since its inception. TikTok-driven purchases have become so prevalent that the phrase “Tik Tok Made Me” has become part of the English lexicon. In today’s Insight Flash, find out if the buzz actually boosts the sales of the mentioned retailers, looking at transaction trends in the US and UK as well as US new shopper behavior. Today’s flash takes a deep dive into three TikTok trends that exploded in Spring 2021. These encompass Aeropostale’s Tiny Tops, Coach’s Tabby Bag, and Zara’s Pink Jeans.
The UK Grocery industry has been in a state of transition for the past several years. Much earlier than their counterparts in the US, Grocers in the UK had to contend with online competition from Ocado and an influx of deep discount competition. In today’s Insight Flash, we do a pulse check on the industry to see what’s been leading growth most recently and where future opportunities may lie.
Fast fashion has become an enduring trend in both North America and Europe. But early innovators like Zara and Forever21 can’t rest on there laurels, as there are even faster e-commerce brands looking to take the crown. In today’s Insight Flash, we look at the performance on Romwe, Shein, and Wish in the US and UK to see which of these brands are most disruptive. Of these brands, Romwe’s UK business has seen the biggest explosion in the last 18 months off a very small base.
Last month’s heatwave in the Pacific Northwest created unbearable conditions in an area where many homes don’t even have air conditioners. But as the temperature soared higher, some companies saw their sales melt while others were boosted along with the thermostat. In today’s Insight Flash, we dig into which companies benefitted and suffered the most, including a deep dive into surprising gains for Uber and Lyft.
Nordstrom recently announced that it was taking a stake in four brands owned by UK retailer ASOS: Topshop, Topman, Miss Selfridge, and HIIT. As part of the agreement, Nordstrom will be the exclusive North American retailer for Topshop and Topman, making it the only brick-and-mortar outlet for these brands. Additionally, shoppers will be able to pick up online Asos purchases at Nordstrom stores. In today’s Insight Flash, we look at US sales of these brands and whether the relationship makes strategic sense, focusing on cross-shop and overlapping demographics.
Meghan Markle, the former _Suits_ actress and Duchess of Sussex, is a favorite feature for tabloids in both the US and UK. Her fashion choices are especially of interest, and items she is seen wearing often sell out on the retailers’ websites soon after she is photographed wearing them. But how much of a sales boost are these shops really getting? And does a sighting produce more interest in the US or UK? In today’s Insight Flash, we look at whether US or UK shoppers are more likely to be influenced by Royal fashion trends, and which demographics in the US respond the most.
Prime Day is akin to Christmas in June for many Amazon fans. But how much benefit does the company really get from its promotion? In today’s Insight Flash, we look at whether Prime Day sales have a bigger impact on overall AMZN spend in the UK or the US, how much of those sales go to third-party sellers in each country, and whether the exclusivity for Prime members actually encourages sign-ups. Both the UK and the US saw an acceleration in AMZN spend growth the week of Prime Day versus the prior week.
With this summer promising to be a Super Shot for Amusement Parks after their recent Free Fall, we take a Flying Swing at what May trends indicate for the Fun House to come. In today’s Insight Flash, we look at recent trends in the overall industry, the mix for each park of in-state vs. out-of-state visitors, and whether this summer’s attendance will be driven by loyalists or new visitors. In May 2021, Amusement Parks overall saw a decline of over -30% in the number of individuals making a purchase versus 2019.
The idea of shops anchored by a price point is an international phenomenon, with Dollar Stores opening up more new locations than any other retail concept in the US and One Pound Shops popular in the UK. In today’s Insight Flash, we compare these “Dollar” Stores across both geographies. In the US, Dollar Store Growth outpaced the larger Discount/Club industry throughout 2019 and 2020. Since February, however, that growth has slowed and “Discounters” are seeing higher spend growth.
As outdoor activities continue to grow in popularity, stores selling hiking and camping gear are preparing for a busy summer season. In today’s Insight Flash, we dig into performance among the top players in the Outdoor space, focusing on changes in market share, how much of the business is driven by the most loyal customers, and what average transaction size implies about product mix. Spend growth in Sporting Goods has been booming in 2021. Spend in January was up almost 50% y/y, followed by almost 30% spend growth in February.
