Loss Prevention Research Council Weekly Series Episode 139 - The Top 250 Global Retailers, Amazon No-Go, and Retail Fatalities 2022
With Dr. Read Hayes, Tony D'Onofrio, and Tom Meehan
This week, our hosts cover retail trends in 2023 and tech trends. Hear about top retailers in 2023, retail fatality numbers and demographic changes, unidentified flying objects on headlines again, and civil unrest.
Deloitte Global Powers of Retailing 2023
https://www.deloitte.com/global/en/Industries/consumer/analysis/the-global-powers-of-retailing.html
Let me start this week with one of my favorite annual research reports, this one from Deloitte analyzing the global top 250 retailers. It’s called the Global Powers of Retailing and this summary is from the 2023 edition just published in February.
First the predictions from Dr Ira Kalish, the Chief Economist from Deloitte Global on what to expect in 2023. Here I will only summarize the headlines and you read the details in the report.
- Inflation should recede
- Supply chains should stabilize
- Labor markets should remain tight
- Central banks should stop tightening
- USA may avoid a recession
- Europe may experience a recession
- China may rebound only modestly
- Japan should stabilize
- India should grow strongly
The top 10 global retailers of 2023 are:
- Walmart which remains the number 1 global retailer
- Amazon
- Costco
- Schwartz Group from Germany which operates Lidl stores
- Home Depot
- Kroger
- com which is a China online retailers moving up two spots in the top 10.
- Walgreen / Boots which dropped one in the top 10
- Aldi also from Germany which dropped 1 in the top 10
- Target
The top 10 retailers represent a whopping 34% of the total revenue of all the top 250 global retailers.
This year’s edition of the top 250 provides some insights on technology and the future store.
As the post-pandemic world emerges, the integration of technology in the retail industry has become increasingly important in attracting customers back to physical stores and creating immersive shopping experiences. The use of advanced technologies such as virtual and augmented reality, artificial intelligence, and data analytics helps enable retailers to personalize recommendations, streamline checkout processes, and engage customers in unique ways. In this new era of retail, the innovative application of technology will be crucial in fostering customer loyalty and driving business success.
Additionally, retailers are seeking to enhance the shopping experience by offering a range of human-centered services beyond product sales, such as concierge assistance, on-site repairs, valet parking, and personal styling. These added touches of convenience and personalization can differentiate physical stores from online retailers, who may not be able to offer such services.
The Global Powers of Retailing 2023 report shows the top 250 companies posting 8.5% year-on-year growth in retail revenue, up from 5.2% in the previous year. The apparel and accessories sector achieved the highest annual sales growth with 31.3%. The top 250 retailers achieved an average net profit margin of 4.3%.
Apparel was the fastest growing sector in the latest report of 31.3% and the highest profit margin at 9.8%. The fast moving consumer goods which includes supermarkets / hypermarkets is the largest representing nearly 64% of total retail sales of the top 250 retailers. Net profit margin for this sector was only 2.6%.
In the latest report, 15 retailers joined or re-entered the Top 250. Ten of the new entrants are from either the US or the UK, and six are apparel and accessories retailers.
This report is a great read on the state of the world’s biggest retailers and urge this audience to read it in full.
Amazon to close 8 Amazon Go stores in a cost-cutting move
https://www.cnbc.com/2023/03/03/amazon-to-close-eight-go-convenience-stores-in-cost-cutting-move.html
Switching topics and following up on a store I did a few weeks ago on Amazon halting expansion of their Amazon Fresh and Amazon Go stores, the company just announced that it is now closing 8 Amazon Go stores in a cost cutting move.
As reported by CNBC, the company will shut two Go stores in New York City, two locations in Seattle, and four stores in San Francisco. The stores will close on April 1.
Amazon CEO Andy Jassy has been taking steps to curtail expenses in its grocery unit and elsewhere as it grapples with slowing sales and a worsening economic outlook. In January, the company said it would lay off as many as 18,000 employees, and some of the cuts were felt in Amazon’s grocery business. It has shed warehouse and brick-and-mortar retail space in recent months after a period of rapid expansion fueled by a surge of e-commerce spending during the pandemic.
The first Amazon Go store opened to the public in 2018 at the company’s Seattle headquarters. Amazon outfits the stores with cameras and sensors that enable customers to purchase products without waiting in the cashier line.
The 2022 Retail Violence Report from D&D Daily
http://d-ddaily.com/archivesdaily/2022-Q4-Fatalities-Report.htm
Finally, let me close with some somber news from the latest retail violence report from D&D Daily.
For 2022, violence incidents were up 17% and alarmingly fatalities were also up 17%. Retail fatalities have gone up 86% since 2016 and have registered an increase every subsequent year.
A total of 694 people were killed in retail in 2022. 16% were suspects, 55% were customers which were up 18%, 24% were store associates which were up 12% and 5% were law enforcements / loss prevention / security professionals which was up an astounding 73% in 2022.
Parking lots at 53% had the highest fatalities followed by instore at 43%. 89% of the fatalities were males and 11% were females.
Convenience stores had the highest percentage of fatalities at 32% followed by restaurants at 19% and Gas Stations at 8%.
Top 3 USA states for fatalities were Texas, California and Georgia. Top 3 cities were Houston, Memphis and Chicago.
This is a concern for all of us and we need to keep working together including here at the LPRC to address this increased violence.
