The Unofficial Most Interesting Retailers List (May) | Reimagining Retail
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Hello, listeners. Today is Wednesday, May 28. Welcome to Behind the Numbers Reimagining Retail, an eMarketer podcast made possible by Giphy. This is the show where we talk about how retail collides with all of our lives. I'm your host, Sara Lebo. Today's episode topic, it's another one. It's our May unofficial most interesting retailers of the month list.

Let's meet today's guests. First up for this episode is Arielle Fager. Hey, Arielle. Hello. Also with us in the studio is Rachel Wolfe. Hi, Rachel. Hey. And joining us from overseas and by seas, I mean Lake Michigan, is Zach Stambour. Hey, Zach. Hey, everyone. Lake Michigan is a sea. It's so big. It is very big.

It's so big. All right. Let's jump into our unofficial most interesting retailers of the month list. Arielle and I are the committee. We're going to present our list in the first half of this episode. In the second half, Zach and Rachel will have the opportunity to edit our list.

Okay, before we get into today's list, I will be honest. We struggled this month. It's clear that retailers are cautious to make any crazy moves as tariffs take hold. And that was like really evident in May. With that in mind, here is our list.

Number eight, ThredUp. Arielle, why ThredUp? ThredUp is doing some things to help make it easier and more affordable for brands to join their resale as a service offering. So they're removing some upfront and monthly fees, introducing new services, and they're also going to launch their own peer-to-peer resale platform.

And I think this is interesting because as we just mentioned, as you just mentioned, tariffs are really high on the mind of a lot of retailers and resale might be kind of a beneficiary of, you know, kind of higher prices. People might be, you know, seeking out lower priced items, resale. So I think threat of doing this ahead of the tariffs taking effect is just a really smart move to get more people involved in resale.

Yeah, I agree. For more on that, listen to last week's episode on resale and tariffs. We didn't do that on purpose. Yeah, I mean, this move is clearly related to tariffs. Yeah.

And for that reason, it made the list. I also think ThredUp is probably, you know, I think they've been trying to figure out their recipe for success. And, you know, I think this is just another of them, you know, rejiggering their business operations to try to set up for more success. Yeah, I think one of the interesting parts, too, is that, you know, they're really going after brands. They're getting rid of fees for these branded resale shops. And I think that could be a huge boost for them as well if they just get more companies to sell on their platform.

Okay, number seven, DoorDash for bringing drone delivery to North Carolina. Okay, neither Arielle nor I actually think drone delivery is going to happen. Stop trying to make drone delivery happen. It's not going to happen. Maybe it'll sound so crazy like five years from now. It's kind of weird. It's expensive.

But it's interesting having your packages fall down from the sky is interesting. So it's on the list. It's interesting. That's not why I thought you had it on the list. Right. I mean, I do think, what did I miss about DoorDash? Deliveroo. Yeah. You thought so as well. The DoorDash Deliveroo acquisition where, you know, it seems to make sense to me. It

is a risky move. It is an expensive move to combine these two companies, but it is certainly an interesting move that may actually work out. I mean, both companies have been leaning into groceries. They've been beefing up their retail media businesses. So there are synergies there. And so it kind of makes sense.

Okay, let's say that's why we have to run with this. I think sometimes when we talk about mergers and acquisitions, interesting becomes kind of a hard word to pin down, I think.

To me, it seems a little par for the course that two delivery companies would be. Yeah, but Deliveroo is like UK based. That's true. It's clearly a global expansion. All right. Yeah, I think the international aspect of that. They also bought another company as part of that sort of acquisition spree. Ariel, don't argue against our own list. I'm sorry. I stand corrected. Number six, American Eagle. Ariel, why this?

So American Eagle has launched a sub stack. I think it's kind of interesting. It's called Off the Cuff. It's in collaboration with Casey Lewis, who has her own sub stack called After School, which I actually subscribe to and I really like. And so it's it's really it's it's targeting Gen Zers. It's

kind of meant to be more of a dialogue, less of a product catalog. And I think it's just an interesting way for a brand to try to reach Gen Zers in a different way. I thought it was really interesting. But my question is how many Gen Zers are on? That's what I said.

Now I'm arguing against our list. But I was like, Substack feels like a little more millennial to me. I don't know. I'm looking at Substacks, but I'm not a Gen Z-er. I feel like it's a specific. I think there's like a lot of fashion. There is a lot of fashion on Substack. Substack. And I think that that's like where the Gen Z-ers are.

who are really interested in fashion are going to be, you know, congregate. I don't think it's meant to be like reaching every Gen Z. It's just a way to cultivate kind of a niche audience. Yeah, I think, I mean, it's interesting, right? Because Substack, so much of it is the personality writing the Substack. And if it's a brand, I don't know if you can sort of build that same level of trust that individual contributors like Casey Lewis have.

So, you know, I think it's an interesting move. I was surprised to see how many brands are launching sub stacks. Rare Beauty being one of them. Okay, Selena. So, you know, maybe it could work for them. Rare Beauty is Selena Gomez's beauty brand, if you didn't catch that. Look out, amateur writers of Brooklyn. Oh, yeah.

American Eagles coming from your crowd on Substack. All right. Number five, Walmart. Walmart launched a small business program called Grow With Us or Grow With U.S., depending on how you read the capitalized U.S. This is interesting to me because like U.S.,

This is a clear post-tariff play to me. Walmart is positioning itself both in the eyes of its consumer and also the U.S. government as an incubator of U.S. business. Whether or not the actual products that are being sold are U.S. manufactured, results may vary, but clearly they're trying to associate themselves with U.S. small business. The one other thing about Walmart quite clearly

obviously and prominently is that they said they're raising prices. And I think that is a bold, very interesting move that attracted the eyes of the White House. Yeah, the president is not happy with Walmart for not eating their own costs. That actually brings up something that didn't make the list because it was like a little too much of a

slippery concept to make the list but Amazon this month maybe it leaked that they were going to add a like tariff what do you call it like a like a surcharge or a tariff like surcharge item on their website Amazon claims that this was never the case that this was like an incorrect rumor it's unclear if this ever was the case the

administration was also upset with Amazon. So, yes. Well, I think what they said was they were kicking it around as a suggestion, but it never would have made it. But, you know, I think that's up for debate, right? I think it would have probably made sense in that specific, well, specifically related to Hall. Yeah. So. Yeah. I mean, the big companies are deciding how to position themselves to make themselves more

A friend to consumer and regulator alike. Number four, David's Bridal. Arielle, why them? So David's Bridal has opened up a high-end boutique. It's called Diamonds and Pearls. Kind of like that name. I don't know why. I don't. You don't like it? You don't like Diamonds and Pearls?

It sounds like a 2012 Tumblr. Yeah, that's why I like it. Okay, keep going. You forget that I was famously on Tumblr in 2012.

And Stelia. But anyway, so this is like a smaller store. It's a more curated experience, a more curated assortment. It's also got like touchscreens and customers can consult Pearl, the brand's AI-powered wedding planner assistant.

So, you know, it's obviously kind of definitely aiming at Gen Z brides, Gen Z weddings, and also just kind of people who are looking for a little higher end assortment or a more curated store experience. I feel like they're trying to do like a reformation. This is really similar to how reformation stores operate. Reformation is a really popular higher end store.

wedding guest dress destination and regular listeners to this pod will know that I am currently trying to find a bridesmaid's dress and can't find anything good. So it's an interesting move to me.

Yeah, I think there's a lot of space here for David's Bridal to grab between largely the mass retail David's Bridal space and the independent boutiques. And so if they can go slightly upscale, I don't think they're going to actually capture that high-end space. But occupy that middle ground, there's a big space and big market opportunity for them.

Okay, number three, Urban Outfitters. Also a Gen Z play. They did a few things. They did a cool out-of-home scavenger hunt in Manhattan. But the thing that I'm most excited about is Urban's new on-rotation store program, which will feature installations from brands, the first one being Nike. Susie and I did an... Wow, I'm really promoting all our old episodes. Susie and I did an episode a few months ago on the new Print Humps store in...

the financial district in Manhattan. And they had something they called a Nike residency in the store, which was like kind of like a Nike shop and shop, but like high end, similar function. Urban Outfitters has clearly chosen one of Gen Z's favorite brands. And Nike is clearly finding new ways to be featured in store, which is definitely part of a years long now pivot away from a D to C push they made. Yeah.

New drinking game, take a sip every time we say Gen Z in this episode. Do we sound like so old when we're like, they're doing it for Gen Z. But I also think it's true. They are doing it for Gen Z. Well, I mean, I think a lot of what appeals to Gen Z also appeals to older shoppers as well. That is correct.

explicitly called out that this is for Gen Z as well. So I don't think we're going out on a limb or shoehorning this into a broader trend. This is what they are doing. It's interesting that they're partnering with Nike because this is a rotating concept given the name on rotation. It's not just a clever name. It is going to rotate.

Interesting to see them go with Nike first. Also interesting to have this be a rotating concept so that you do regularly visit the store and see what's happening in the space. That's a great point. Yeah.

Okay, number two, Instacart. Arielle, you're particularly excited about this one. Why? I think I just wish that this was around when I was in college. So I think that's why I'm so excited about it. So Instacart has launched a new standalone app called Fizz. And the whole idea is to help groups kind of plan for parties, order party supplies and pay for party supplies. But I think the kind of

one of the most interesting parts is that, you know, one person starts a cart, everyone throws in the drinks, they sell alcohol and party snacks, they throw in whatever they want and each person pays for what they added. So there's kind of no need to split payments afterwards, which I think is just kind of

a nice skipping a step. There's also, you know, something called snack bucks. So brands can kind of feature rewards for certain alcohols and, you know, consumers get money off snacks. I think it's just really fun. Again, something that I think

is great to kind of help you plan and throw a party. Yeah, you can split the cost of rides on other kind of like similar intermediary-ish apps like Uber. So it makes sense to me that like the next sort of move in that would be splitting the cost of delivery.

Yeah, I think, you know, the branding is fun. They partnered with Partyful. So that basically gives them a guaranteed audience right there. I just wonder, it is a standalone app. So I wonder what the benefits to Instacart will be. Will they be able to get those choppers to get to its main platform?

I did have the chance to talk to them about this and it is like all connected, particularly when it comes to ads. They still like brands are still getting all of that data, which is kind of cool that it's like all connected. It may also be like an entry point to Instacart for like a younger audience. I don't know. Anecdotally, I don't feel like I feel like Instacart is maybe skews like it's not older, but like not like.

college kid age and so this is like an Instacart for beginners. Yeah, I think that they've said that their target demo tends to be families. So yeah, for sure this is a way to get younger shoppers aware and using Instacart.

Number one, Kraft Heinz. This one's controversial. Heinz teamed up with Uber Eats to launch Heinz Verified, which singles out restaurants that serve Heinz products. To me, this is a really cool top of funnel commerce media play where Heinz gets its brand on people's minds, even if they're not actively shopping for ketchup. And restaurants may be incentivized to use Heinz products. So also like a wholesale incentive there.

I also think this is a good idea because Heinz does have the best ketchup product. I'm not like a Heinz loyalist. They just do have the best ketchup. So it's helpful for customers from my perspective. Also, a few hours before we started recording this, there was a rumor swirling that Heinz was looking at M&A opportunities after it announced it was considering, quote, strategic transactions to unlock shareholder value.

So there's that. You really had to get that in there, didn't you? That giant has not been doing very well. They're just throwing a lot of spaghetti at the wall, including this endeavor. A lot of Kraft mac and cheese at the wall. Yeah, for sure. And offering that mac and cheese in different size packaging, trying to just find some way to drive consumers to buy their brands rather than trade down.

And it's not going that well.

I don't know. That's all I've got. Cliffhanger. I mean, I'm a Heinz loyalist, Heinz ketchup forever. I just saw you earlier today put so much ketchup on your fries. I didn't say anything. It was so much ketchup. Honestly, I was holding back, Sarah. I was like, that's crazy. I could have put so much more on there. Wow. Yeah. I hide my ketchup consumption for until you really know me. Okay.

But I mean, I think this is fine. It's cool. Like, you know, do I think it's going to be like, I will say it must be a very hard thing for such an established brand to continue to, you know, get new customers and find new ways to get your brand in front of customers eyes. So I, you know, I will give it that it's trying and, you know,

Okay, so that concludes our list. To recap, we have number eight, ThredUp. Number seven, DoorDash. Number six, American Eagle. Number five, Walmart. Number four, David's Bridal. Number three, Urban Outfitters. Number two, Instacart. And number one, Craft Times. Now it's time for the second half where Rachel and Zach get to tell us where we went wrong. And I'm guessing they have a lot to say about that. ♪

Each of them will have a chance to move a brand up or down on our rankings list and to add a new brand entirely. So, Rachel, why don't you go first and make a move? All right. I'm going to go for the obvious choice and move Kraft Heinz. That's not obvious to many of us. Where are you moving it? Let's see. I will move it. I'll be generous and move it above Walmart. Okay. So to number five. Yes.

So, you know, I think as we, you know, kind of mentioned, it's I think it's a good move for them. It gets Heinz in front of a lot of people. But whether that's actually, you know, the thing that gets them to order from a restaurant, I don't know. So for that reason, I'm going to downgrade them a bit. I know I'm going to lose this argument. I agree with Rachel. I think that it's, you know.

a pretty standard play for a CPG brand. All right. The betrayal. All right. We will move them down. Zach, what is your move? I think I will move American Eagle down to just...

Well, at the very back of the list. I think it's interesting-ish. It's interesting-ish. I just don't know that it'll work. We talked about how does this align with our customer base? And that's where I'm just not quite sure. And so for that reason, I'm going to move it to the back of the list.

I wasn't sold on American Eagle either. And my reason was it's like interesting. They're launching a sub stack. But at the end of the day, it's it's a brand launching a newsletter like sub stack is like fancy, but it's a newsletter. So, yeah, I'm fine with moving them back. I feel like you need to find the content medium that aligns with your brand. And I think like Trader Joe's does this really well with their podcast.

But like this sub stack align with American Eagle in any sort of way. See, I think you guys are. I don't know. Maybe maybe I'm just like.

I think because I really do like Casey Lewis. I don't know if you guys have ever... Her after school sub stack is really great. And I think she has a lot of knowledge about... I think it's backed. I think it's backed by facts. She has a lot of Gen Z knowledge. She's very in on what Gen Z is doing. So I feel like with her kind of involved, it's going to be better than if it was just like...

their marketing team doing it i do think that there is at least some kind of research and thought going into it will it reach all of the gen zers i don't know but i i'll long story short i will accept the move but i think you're all wrong under protest all right

So we'll make some changes based on that. Now let's see who you all wanted to add to the list. I'm super curious because, like we said, it was...

It was a slow month. So, Zach, what is your wild card? Where are you putting it? I am putting my wild card right at the top of the list because I cannot believe that you left out Dix. Dix made such a bold, interesting move announcing plans to acquire Foot Locker. I know your apprehension at including merger and acquisition deals.

But this is not just a merger and acquisition deal. This is a massive play. It will take Dix from about, I think it's about 850 stores to like 3,000 locations.

It will enable Dick's to move into some urban locations, some international markets that it was not in previously. And that will more than double its total addressable market. It will enhance its position as a Nike partner.

And it merges two very large loyalty programs together, which should provide a decent boost to its retail media network. And then that doesn't even factor in the M&A stuff of just the synergies there across merchandising and marketing and all of that sort of stuff. Now,

I acknowledge that this deal is like certainly not a sure thing, either in terms of like actually going through, will it pass regulatory muster or will it actually work? I don't know. But this list is about being interesting. And this is certainly an interesting high stakes, high reward bet.

I'm so convinced by Zach's tone of voice. I'm so convinced by Zach talking to me like a motivational speaker. There's just so much there. I thought this was such an interesting deal. I appreciate Zach's enthusiasm. I definitely will agree it can have a spot on the list. I would not put it first. Think about if someone said to you, Dick's Sporting Goods acquired Foot Locker. You'd be like, oh yeah, that makes sense. But I'd be like,

I don't know what it'd be like. Interesting to me evokes something a little bit surprising, something a little bit unexpected. I don't feel like neither. Like this is not unusual or unexpected. And so I just I'm not interested by it. I'm like, OK, what if we put them in number three right below Urban Outfitters and above David's bridal?

That's fine. Okay. Here we go. I'll take it. All right. Rachel, what is your wild card? Okay. So my wild card is, I guess, kind of two companies, but basically it's Family Dollar beginning to sell on Uber Eats. Oh, I was really hoping it was going to be the Khloe Kardashian popcorn. I was considering that, but I heard bad reviews. Yeah.

So I think this is interesting for a few reasons. One is that if you look at this list, right, a lot of these moves involve food delivery companies of some sort. And it's clear that that's where the growth is, right? So it's in that sense, it's not surprising that companies are rushing to jump on Uber Eats or the DoorDash bandwagon.

But for Family Dollar to do it, I think it's interesting for a few reasons. One is that people who use these delivery platforms tend to skew a little more affluent. So this would be an opportunity for a struggling retailer to get in front of that customer base, especially when those customers are now looking for deals. And for Uber, it's kind of the opposite, right? It's a way to sort of make your offering more appealing to less affluent people who are looking for deals and looking for ways to stretch their dollar.

Yeah, I mean, I think similar, this isn't necessarily a surprising move. I think it's a smart move. But like a company selling on Uber, like a grocery and stuff company selling on Uber, I don't know, that's what there is there. Yeah, I feel like I also have like concerns about like,

You know, typically, you know, the the family dollar consumer, the people who shop at dollar stores are very focused on value and deals. And, you know, with with Instacart comes extra fees and maybe basket sizes. So, you know, I do have like a hesitancy of like, is this really going to work?

you know, work for kind of lower income consumers. I think to your point, more affluent consumers who are looking for really good deals, this could be a pretty big hit with. So I don't know. I'm torn. What do you think, Sarah? I don't think I'd add it to the list. Okay. Fair enough.

And our actual list is number eight, ThredUp. Number seven, DoorDash. Number six, Walmart. Number five, Kraft Heinz. Number four, David's Bridal. Number three, Dick's Sporting Goods. Number two, Urban Outfitters. And number one, Instacart. Congrats to the intermediaries, which really made their way onto that list. Okay, well, thank you for being here today, Zach. Yeah, thanks for having me.

Thank you, Rachel. This was fun. Thanks. And thank you, Arielle. Thank you. Thanks to our listeners and to our team that edits the podcast and always ranks high on our lists. We'll be back next Wednesday with another episode of Reimagining Retail. And on Friday, join Marcus for another episode of the Behind the Numbers Daily, an e-marketer podcast made possible by Giphy.