Online retailers continue to adapt to the ever-changing environment that the coronavirus—called COVID-19—outbreak has wrought. 50% of the 62 retailers in the Digital Commerce 360 Top 100 that operate retail stores have closed all their stores due to the coronavirus pandemic.
Plus, 60% of retailers in the Top 100 have a coronavirus-related message on their site, most often in the form of a banner on the homepage, to alert shoppers as to what they’re doing to support customers and employees during the outbreak.
Examples of homepage banners on HomeDepot.com and Gap.com regarding the coronavirus.
Some have a more vague message, such as Costco Wholesale Corp.’s “Message from our CEO” on its homepage. However, 40% of retailers did not mention the coronavirus at all on their ecommerce sites, including BarnesandNoble.com, QVC.com and Fanatics.com.
Digital Commerce 360 staff checked the ecommerce sites of the Top 100 retailers today from 9 a.m.-12 p.m CT, but even during that time retailers posted changes. This information is up to date as of March 18, 12 p.m CST.
Earlier this week, retailers including Apple Inc. (No. 2 in the Top 100), Nike Inc. (No. 33), Urban Outfitters Inc. (No. 45), Warby Parker (No. 168 in the 2019 Digital Commerce 360 Top 1000), Under Armour Inc. (No. 102), Glossier Inc. (No. 416), REI (No. 96), Tommy Hilfiger (owned by PVH Corp., No 75), Moosejaw (owned by Walmart Inc., No. 3), Lush Cosmetics, Express Inc. (No. 103), Lululemon (No. 82), Patagonia (No. 211), Everlane Inc. (No. 304), and Abercrombie & Fitch Co. (No. 72) announced that they are temporarily closing their stores for at least two weeks in the U.S., and some in other countries as well. The move is an attempt to slow the spread of the coronavirus, retailers say.
Since then, retailers such as Macy’s Inc. (No. 5), Nordstrom Inc. (No. 18), Sephora (owned by LVMH, No. 20), Ulta Beauty and more have announced they will be closing their stores for at least two weeks.
Among retailers that are not closing stores, some are shortening their hours of operation. Target Corp. (No. 16) is closing at 9 p.m. every day to better replenish and deeply clean its stores, CEO Brian Cornell said in an email to shoppers.
Walmart, Kohl’s Corp. (No. 24), The Home Depot Inc. (No. 7) and Best Buy Co. Inc. (No. 13) are reducing their store hours as well to restock and clean their stores, they posted in notes to customers on their ecommerce sites. (Store hours may vary based on the location and on the retailer.)
“Starting Monday, March 23, and at least for the next two weeks, we will serve our customers through limited access to our stores and curbside pickup,” Best Buy wrote. “This will be done with the intent of substantially reducing the number of people in stores (only 10-15 customers at a time).”
Target and grocery chain Albertsons Marketplace (No. 204 in the Top 1000) are giving senior citizens and shoppers with health concerns dedicated times to shop.
“We’ll also reserve the first hour of shopping each Wednesday to support vulnerable guests, including the elderly and those with underlying health concerns,” Target CEO Brian Cornell wrote in an email to customers.
“We are asking our customers to respect these special hours for those who are most at risk in our communities,” said Vivek Sankaran, president and CEO of Albertsons, in a press release. “We thank our customers in advance for their compassion and understanding toward their neighbors and friends, and in helping us maintain this temporary operations guideline.”
Office Depot did not mention the coronavirus specifically on its site. However, there were banners on its homepage that lead to dedicated pages promoting products for work from home and for online learning at home with the messages: “Prepare to work remotely” and “Get prepared to take online classes.”
NewEgg.com went a similar route with a banner that reads, “Working from home? We’ve got you covered.” And Kohl’s also appeals to consumers stuck at home with language on its site that includes, “Skip the gym, not the workout” and “Your new corner office” with links to related products.
Some retailers offer perks to promote online shopping
12% of retailers in the Top 100 are offering free shipping or shrinking their minimum purchase threshold, according to Digital Commerce 360’s research.
Cosmetics retailer Sephora usually offers free standard shipping with a $50 minimum purchase, but it is offering free shipping through April 3. It is also changing its return policy to reflect the changing times: “For product purchases made in-store in the last 30 days as of… March 16th, we will accept in-store returns, with receipt, within 30 days of store reopening,” the cosmetics retailer wrote on its site. “To ease returns for online orders, we have adjusted our current 30-day return policy and increased it to 60 days to be returned to the original method of payment.”
Subscription apparel retailer Stitch Fix Inc. (No. 64) also is extending its return policy by allowing customers to choose “a new, extended return date on your checkout screen, no questions asked.”
On the front-end of delivery, however, retailers’ fulfillment systems are strained. Because of the coronavirus, repair products and distributor MSC Industrial Supply (No. 48) is suspending its same-day shipping service guarantee and its no-cost upgrades of qualifying orders for next-day air shipping.
Because consumer shopping habits are shifting during this period, retailers should strategize how to better accommodate them both online and in-store, says Jennifer Sherman, senior vice president of product at payment technology provider NMI. “It’s also a time to test out new offerings, like a try-before-you-buy, to drive current and future sales from these loyal customers,” Sherman says.
Dick’s Sporting Goods (No. 58), for example, is promoting omnichannel services with “contactless curbside pickup” on its site, even with store closures.
Lowe’s Cos. Inc. (No. 23) continues to promote omnichannel services. “We’re working to keep our shelves stocked as quickly as possible,” Lowe’s wrote on its site. “We continue to offer more ways for you to get the products you need most – whether that’s through buy online, pickup in-store or quick delivery options.”
Meanwhile, Nordstrom encourages shoppers to head online. “We remain open and ready to serve you through our apps and online at Nordstrom.com, Nordstromrack.com, HauteLook.com and TrunkClub.com—including digital styling, online order pickup and curbside services at our full-line stores, as we are allowed by local regulations,” the retailer says on Nordstrom.com.
Retailers increase coronavirus-related emails
Retailers have upped their email communication about the coronavirus to their shoppers starting Saturday, March 14, according to an analysis of thousands of emails from hundreds of brands March 9-17 to MailCharts LLC , a competitor email monitoring vendor. MailCharts analyzed emails from five industries including health and fitness, beauty and personal care, baby, apparel and luxury.
Luxury retailers had the highest percentage of COVID-19-related emails. Between March 14-17, 22 luxury brands sent 17 emails, with 17.6% of them relating to COVID-19.
The health and fitness category had the next-highest penetration with 13.6% of the 59 emails from the 24 brands discussing the coronavirus. The apparel industry had the next-highest penetration with 9.7% of the 702 emails from the 184 brands; followed by beauty and personal care, with 4.2% of the 167 emails from the 61 brands; and lastly, baby products retailers, with 2% of the 102 emails from 24 brands.
Looking at the entire time period—March 9-17—shows that retailers started increasing their emails related to the coronavirus in the latter half of this eight-day period. For example, only 4% of the apparel industry’s 1,831 emails March 9-17 were related to the coronavirus, compared with 9.7% of emails sent on March 14-17. Plus, 20 out of the 26 times an apparel retailer used “COVID” in the subject line March 14-17 were in the latter half of the week.
Other retailer initiatives
In more retail news, Walmart announced it and the Walmart Foundation will donate $25 million to organizations responding to the outbreak. That includes $5 million to support global efforts to help countries prevent, detect and manage the coronavirus; $10 million to support food banks, school meal programs and organizations that provide access to food for underserved populations; and $10 million to support efforts in local communities in the United States and international markets.
Target also plans to set up temporary testing locations for consumers who think they may have the coronavuirus, the retailer said. “We’re currently working with officials and task force partners to identify select Target real estate that can serve as temporary testing locations, and on the specific testing details,” Target wrote.
April Berthene contributed to this reported.
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