Retail Unwrapped from The Robin Report

Placer’s 10 Brands to Watch + 3 Surprises

Placer.Ai — Tue, 18 Feb 2025 05:01:00 +0000

Despite economic challenges, some brands have demonstrated strong market positioning, consumer engagement, and strategic innovation, setting them apart in an increasingly competitive landscape. So, if you’re looking for role models for retail success in our disruptive, unpredictable marketplace, Placer.ai has an enlightening report on 10 Top Brands to Watch in 2025. The 10 brands demonstrate significant potential to grow in 2025 – plus the report includes three iconic brands that faced challenges in 2024 and appear poised to make a comeback. Who are they?

Sprouts Farmers Market continues to outpace the grocery sector with a 7.2 percent year-over-year increase in visits, driven by its commitment to high-quality fresh products and small-format stores that bring its offerings closer to core audiences.
CAVA has emerged as a leader in the Mediterranean fast-casual segment by capitalizing on evolving consumer preferences for healthier, globally inspired dining options. Its success is fueled by strategic suburban expansion, digital drive-thru innovations, and strong operational efficiencies.
Ashley Furniture is redefining home retail by integrating experiential marketing, community engagement, and industry collaborations to drive store traffic and connect with younger consumers.
Nordstrom remains a standout in the department store sector by prioritizing service, experience, and customer loyalty, with its potential privatization offering even greater flexibility for future growth.
Sam’s Club is leveraging its membership model to drive strong customer retention, attract younger shoppers, and maintain high basket sizes, ensuring sustained expansion.
Raising Cane’s continues its rapid rise in the QSR industry by focusing on operational excellence, site selection, and a simplified menu that delivers strong sales per location.
Barnes & Noble is seeing a resurgence by reinventing the in-store experience, personalizing customer engagement, and offering more than just books, positioning itself as a “third place” for consumers.
H Mart is tapping into the growing demand for Asian cuisine and cross-cultural grocery experiences, expanding its footprint while appealing to a broad and diverse audience.
Bluemercury, part of Macy’s portfolio, is thriving in the beauty sector by blending premium retail, expert knowledge, and in-store services to differentiate itself in a competitive market.

Surprising Comebacks

Starbucks faces rising competition from emerging coffee brands and changing consumer behavior but is poised for a resurgence with a renewed focus on experience-driven retail, improved digital operations, and leadership changes.
Adidas is regaining relevance through high-demand classic styles and celebrity collaborations, reaffirming its brand strength despite retail sector challenges.
Gap Inc. is undergoing a transformation, revitalizing its core brands with strategic collaborations, fresh marketing efforts, and updated store experiences to re-engage consumers.

Key Takeaways

The variety of success strategies highlighted in this report—ranging from small-format store expansion and operational efficiency to experiential retail and consumer-centric innovations—demonstrates the multiple pathways brands can take to achieve growth in 2025. While some thrive through category dominance, others reinvent themselves to stay relevant in an evolving market. To download and read the full report click here.

Costco and Wawa Build Up Retail Media Networks

Robin Lewis — Thu, 18 Jul 2024 10:00:00 +0000

Retail media is one of the buzziest trends in retail. Circulars, coupons, and print advertising have evolved into a sophisticated digital platform that is content-driven as well as promotional. All the savvy majors have jumped on their own Retail Media Network (RMN) as part of a unified commerce strategy to inform customers wherever they are whenever they want. And this now-established trend has spawned any number of media brands catering to retailers. Costco and Wawa have cracked the RMN code and Placer.ai has the full report.

Today, as retailers jump on the bandwagon in the hope that their solution can motivate their shoppers to purchase more or switch brands, CPG marketers are faced with the challenge of evaluating RMNs with different criteria than they used to evaluate traditional media outlets.

Screen Time

Every retailer is promoting their own RMN to CPG brands to shift their ad dollars to their proprietary retail platform. Media and personalized technologies have advanced since 1996 when Walmart first launched their in-store TV network, “Walmart TV.” Their pioneer network brought brand advertising directly to Walmart shoppers through screens placed within their stores. We’ve come a long way since then.

Today an estimate from various marketing research firms suggests that the average person in the U.S. might see anywhere from 4,000 to 10,000 ads in total daily, including all forms of advertising across various media channels — screens, smartphones, computers, digital billboards, and in-store displays. The challenge for marketers is to have their message break through.

As retailers jump on the bandwagon in the hope that their solution can motivate their shoppers to purchase more or switch brands, CPG marketers are faced with the challenge of evaluating RMNs with different criteria than they used to evaluate traditional media outlets. With pressure from retailers to participate, conventional media metrics won’t cut it. It takes a systemic analytical approach to leverage an RMN holistically.

The Information Age

We’ve reported on the power of next gens to shift the conversation at retail. They want transparency in everything from sourcing and manufacturing to the sustainability footprint of every product. But in an era of misinformation, fake facts, and blatant promotionalism, who to trust? Will customers rely on their retailer of choice? How will shoppers deal with the impending deluge of in-store screens, where some retailers have installed over 100 screens per store? Is this new in-store media destined for success or will screen-overload make it dead on arrival?

The good news is that Placer.ai, one of The Robin Report’s Innovators, has a new report on the successes of Wawa’s and Costco’s retail media efforts that gives both retailers and CPG brands a roadmap to build their own RMN platforms and learn from these two leading retailers how to achieve success. Read the report to find out the key advantages Costco and Wawa bring to the retail media table, how Wawa’s expansion strategy can be harnessed by partners to reach more diverse audiences … plus more. Download a free copy of the report to get your actionable RMN playbook.

What Happened to Retail First-Half 2024?

Robin Lewis — Tue, 02 Jul 2024 10:00:00 +0000

Some days it feels like getting a firm grip on how retail is doing requires a crystal ball. Admittedly, in a digital age with so much data providing relevant intelligence, that may sound pretty stupid. The bigger issue is who do you trust to give you the information that matters? I, for one, assume no one wants to be held captive to GenAI to make critical business decisions. Or rely on forward-thinking speculation based on a bunch of algorithms.

We’re observing pragmatic shoppers, and we dive into why certain retail sectors are excelling and others are taking a hit. We invite you to watch this fascinating conversation to learn about how Walmart, Macy’s, Homegoods, and Ulta are good at navigating a disruptive digital marketplace, and whether return to work is working for local retail that is so dependent on office workers.

Tracking physical retail growth, or not, through the lens of location data is one of the most reliable ways to diagnose and predict the current state of retail. The number of in-store visits by shoppers throughout the entire retail ecosphere is revealing and can identify who’s winning and who’s on the downslide. And this data is based on real people visiting real stores.

Our Robin Report Innovator Placer.ai is a pioneer in analyzing geo-location data as it reflects trendlines and the overall health of physical retail. How does it work? Simply stated, Placer.ai observes a portion of the visiting customers for any location in the U.S. They take all this observed data aggregate it and use it to generate insights into any venue as well as provide visibility into consumer behavior. And by tracking it over time, real patterns emerge that can guide all levels of decision-making.

Looking at this type of data at the halfway point in retail for this year can be useful in predicting trends for the rest of 2024 and finding opportunities in response to consumer behavior shifts. Our latest webinar with Placer.ai reveals customers’ ongoing drive for value. We’re observing pragmatic shoppers, and we dive into why certain retail sectors are excelling and others are taking a hit. We invite you to watch this fascinating conversation to learn about how Walmart, Macy’s, Homegoods, and Ulta are good at navigating a disruptive digital marketplace, and whether return to work is working for local retail that is so dependent on office workers. And, no surprise, what is extreme weather doing to help and hinder retail across the country? Watch and learn!

10 Top Brands to Watch in 2024

Placer.Ai — Mon, 04 Mar 2024 11:00:00 +0000

Everyone loves a winner. And we’re all intrigued by why top retail brands are scoring big with consumers, and why legacy brands are experiencing renewed growth. The reasons behind any retail brand’s success are complex and influenced by next-gen behavioral trends, cultural memes, the power of value, and more recently, migration patterns. In 2023, retail beauty and self-care retailers outperformed as did value-driven dollar stores. The membership warehouse clubs held their own. And no surprise, second-hand, resale brands are growing. In a new report, Placer has identified 10 top retail brands poised to take off in 2024 in a new report, available to Robin Report readers.

Ever heard of Harbor Freight Tools? Well, it sells tools and equipment in 1,400 locations in 48 states and was founded by the Smidt family 46 years ago. They bill themselves as the “go-to store for low prices on power tools, generators, jacks, toolboxes and more.

There are valuable lessons for all retailers in the analysis and back stories of how each of these brands is ready for growth this year. Each is a litmus test for what factors into retail success. Here’s a sneak preview of a selective sampling of their top picks to pique your curiosity about what it takes to be a winner.

Everyone recognizes the distinctive N logo on New Balance sports shoes. They are becoming new sneaker selects for next gens while not losing their popularity with older customers. Read about why this American icon established over a century ago is experiencing a renaissance.
Ever heard of Harbor Freight Tools? Well, it sells tools and equipment in 1,400 locations in 48 states and was founded by the Smidt family 46 years ago. They bill themselves as the “go-to store for low prices on power tools, generators, jacks, toolboxes and more.” Find out how their local store strategy and value positioning are on point for their growing base of loyal customers.
On trend with the demand for secondhand discoveries and its role in supporting sustainable retail, Winmark franchises five retail resale brands. With a diversified portfolio, Winmark focuses on musical instruments, kids’ clothes and toys, sports equipment. and women’s apparel. Learn how they mastered the resale market, developed niche customer bases, and are on a growth trajectory for 2024.
And veteran Trader Joe’s, a Californian pioneer in alternative grocery when Joe Colombe named his new venture as a riff of Trader Vic’s, is on a roll with a new generation of savvy customers. With a stake in social and sustainable responsibility, Trader Joe’s feeds into the sweet spot of next gen consumers.

Placer.AI’s Top Retail Brands to Watch In 2024

Download your complimentary copy of Placer’s 10 Top Brands to Watch in 2024 to learn about the macro trends influencing retail as it continues to evolve in a disruptive, digital marketplace. You’ll get insights and information you can apply to your own brand to fuel high performance in 2024.