Whining in Retail
Yeah, should be winning, but it’s not. It's definitely whining.
The Home Depot “Competition from both traditional and digital-first retailers, particularly Amazon.com…contributed to pressure on our comparable sales and gross margins.” (3/24)
Lowes: “We operate in a highly competitive environment that includes online retailers such as Amazon.com… whose promotional activities have impacted our comparable sales and margins.” Lowes 3/24
Walmart: The U.S. retail market remains intensely competitive, and competition from large online retailers, including Amazon.com, continued to exert pricing pressure on our market share and profit margins.” (3/24)
I own two vacation rentals in Tucson, AZ and often need last-minute supplies.
This time it was a new patio umbrella, whose predecessor flew away in the monsoon winds. Sure Amazon sells them, but I wanted my handyman to pick one up that day, since we had guests checking in.
→ The Home Depot had zero 8’-9’ beige or red umbrellas in stock.
→ Lowes “did” but when my handyman went to pick up my BOPIS order, there was no umbrella.
Umbrella before the monsoon
Here are two companies that should be leveraging their physical stores to surprise and delight, yet they left sales on the table and frustrated a would-be customer.
They’re blaming Amazon for being Amazon while failing at what they should be doing best - physical retail.
Similarly - as a Walmart Plus member, I usually love the convenience and low prices. However, during my last order, several items were out of stock, and the shopper texted that no substitutions were available. I saw many substitutions on the app, which Walmart customer service confirmed and sent to me within an hour as a separate delivery. That's a big expense for Walmart and an inconvenience for me. Same day ordering from a store is the single most important area for Walmart to get right, yet they still struggle.
As Malcolm Gladwell said in David and Goliath: Underdogs, Misfits, and the Art of Battling Giants: “Giants are not what we think they are. The same qualities that appear to give them strength are often the sources of great weakness.”
If Home Depot, Lowes, Walmart etc don’t want to win at same-day delivery, then pick something else that leverages physical stores. Something novel, something delightful.
I was a Trek retail store last week and discovered they have a whole area dedicated to local routes for gravel, road and MTB rides, along with a schedule of employee-led rides from the store. This is novel, delightful, and fun.
Two big retailers that get this? IKEA and Costco. They have each gone their own directions in leveraging their physical stores in ways that are unique, defensible, and effective. (If you haven’t yet, check out the Acquired podcast episodes on both retailers - they’re super: IKEA & Costco)
When omnichannel retailers learn to leverage their physical stores in unique ways that delight customers, they’ll do less whining, and more winning.
And if you want to stay in Tucson, you can check out our places here.
Just don’t let the umbrella fly away. I can’t handle that trauma again .
