Retail Monoculture & Direction of the Leaders in General Merchandise
In the past, retail was more heterogeneous. With the bankruptcies in the past 5-10 years that are continuing to accelerate, we are facing a retail "monoculture" between Walmart, Target, and Amazon in general merchandise. All are growing like crazy, but in what direction?
Target could continue to improve its position by heading slightly up-market, exclusive, and ever-more curated. What can you find at Target that is unique, special, and higher quality than the public marketplaces?
Walmart is about two things - chasing Amazon selection and protecting grocery.
Amazon, I feel is trying to (slowly) figure out brands as its next step, and becoming the largest logistics company in the world.
Target could become something more unique and exciting for consumers on a relative basis. Improved trust and unique merchandise (not more of the same), but also the essentials.
And eBay? It needs to head for its fountain of UNIQUENESS. Let 1000 niches flourish.
Joe Pak had some thoughts about Target: “…has a good opportunity to grow in the lucrative upper-middle class. The the ‘collab’ generation getting a little older and not so hooked on super luxury (versus more unique), Target should heavy up on exclusive Collabs which they've tested in the past (eg: Philip Lim, Missoni). Take a page out of Nike / Uniqlo and bring out some interesting Artist collabs as well, Sneakers App is a great example. Amazon and Walmart will have a tougher time doing something as ‘cool.’” I think collabs could be done by eBay also - not necessarily fashion design, but collectors? In each community there are tastemakers.
Ashley Hogan agrees on the collabs, adding: “Target should continue to capitalize on its accessibility by refining in-store pick-up; UX still struggling here) and more designer collaborations- particularly in home!”
Dossy Shiobara offered a totally different perspective: “Target just feels like Macy’s 2.0, and we all see where Macy’s is headed...I think that strategy is too pre-dot-com and modern ecommerce will continue to lose its appetite for it. If Amazon acquired Wish.com but continued to operate it as a separate and independent brand, and used it to identify what products from Alibaba had enough sales volume to actually hold inventory in the US and offer Prime-speed shipping on the items, they could put all of the small niche dropshippers out of business (goodbye Oberlo, goodbye Shopify customers)...Always an interesting time to see how these things unfold.” I would argue that Amazon doesn’t need Wish - it already is Wish! But Dossy has a point that Wish is sort of the “dollar store” version of Amazon and has its own brand and customer relationships.
Interested to see how these companies continue to grow and evolve…and whether there will be room for anyone else.
