That increase led to net sales of $185.3 million (CAD) and gross profit of $73.6 million for the same period. For the same period, however, the company recorded a net loss of $4.6 million (CAD). That was smaller than the net loss of $7.4 million (CAD) that it saw in 2023.

Birks Group earnings for fiscal 2024

For its full fiscal year, Birks Group saw an increase in comparable store sales of 7.5%, and an improvement in gross profit of 8.2%. It also reported a positive operating income.

In addition to robust product demand, Jean-Christophe Bédos, president and chief executive officer of Birks Group, touted enhanced customer experience at the store level for boosting sales.

“We are pleased with the store renovation projects that were undertaken last year at our Chinook and Laval stores, which resulted in higher sales post opening,” Bédos said, adding that the company is continuing to invest in product mix and customer experience.

Among risks and uncertainties cited in forward-looking statements, the company noted that it plans to “evaluate the productivity of existing stores, close unproductive stores and open new stores in new prime retail locations, and invest in its website and ecommerce platform.”

Digital Commerce 360 reached out to The Birks Group for more comment and context but did not hear back.

Birks ranks No. 1766 in Digital Commerce 360’s Top 2000 Database of the largest North American e-retailers by online sales. Digital Commerce 360 classified Birks in the Jewelry category.

Inflation and other conditions

Bédos commented that the strong sales are especially noteworthy given the inflationary headwinds that consumers have been facing.

The Birks Group is a staple of the luxury jewelry market in Canada, operating 24 stores under the Birks brand in most major metro markets in Canada. They also operate stores under the Brinkhaus, Graff and Patek Philippe nameplates. Birks jewelry is also available at some U.S. retailers, such as Saks Fifth Avenue.

Other highlights from Birk’s annual earnings report included:

• Selling, general and administrative (SG&A) expenses in fiscal 2024 were $65.7 million (CAD), or 35.5% of net sales. That compares to $66.1 million (CAD), or 40.6% of net sales in fiscal 2023, a decrease of $0.4 million (CAD).
• The earnings report cited that the main drivers of the decrease in SG&A expenses in fiscal 2024 include lower marketing costs of $1.3 million (CAD) and lower non-cash stock-based compensation expenses of $2.0 million (CAD) due to the fluctuations in the Company’s stock price during the fiscal year.
• The company’s earnings before taxes interest and depreciation (EBITDA) for fiscal 2024 were $10.0 million (CAD), an increase of $6.2 million (CAD), compared to an EBITDA of $3.8 million (CAD) for fiscal 2023.

The company’s reported operating income for fiscal 2024 was $1.2 million (CAD), an increase of $5.0 million (CAD), compared to a reported operating loss of $3.8 million (CAD) for fiscal 2023.

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People popping the question helped drive revenue, according to the company.

“We delivered quarterly results within our guidance and are seeing momentum in the business driven by the accelerating engagement recovery,” said Signet chief executive officer Virginia C. Drosos.

One continued weight on the company earnings is the negative impact of up to 2.0% on sales caused by continued digital integration issues generally related to the 2022 addition of the Blue Nile brand to the Signet Jewelers stable.

Signet Jewelers Ltd. is No. 55 in the Top 1000. It is also the highest-ranked retailer in the database’s jewelry category. The Top 1000 Database ranks North America’s largest online retailers by their annual web sales. Before Signet acquired it, Blue Nile ranked No. 143 in the Top 1000.

Signet Jewelers earnings

The earnings report indicated Signet Jewelers expects problems to be resolved by the second half of 2024. Other brand banners under the Signet umbrella include Kay Jewelers, Jared, Zales, JamesAllen.com and others.

Q1 sales were 9.0% from Q1 of FY24 to $1.4 billion. This reflects a decrease of 1.6% in total average transaction value (ATV) due to a lower number of transactions.

Other notable figures from Q1 earnings included:

• Operating income of $49.8 million, down $51.9 million from Q1 of FY24.
• Adjusted operating income of $57.8 million, down $48.7 million from Q1 of FY24.
• Cash and cash equivalents, at quarter end, of $729.3 million, compared to $655.9 million in Q1 of FY24.
• Year-to-date cash used in operating activities of $158.2 million, compared to $381.8 million in Q1 of FY24.

Digital sales

While Signet doesn’t break out their online sales from the rest of their sales, same-store sales, which include their digital channels, were down 8.9% to Q1 of FY24. Digital Commerce 360 research estimates that Signet’s 2023 web sales totaled $1.64 billion.

Other economic headwinds

The post-pandemic period introduced challenges for Signet as consumer preferences changed. While jewelry and accessories were popular during the pandemic, Signet says that tastes have shifted toward more experiential outlays, such as travel.

According to Signet’s earnings report, other macroeconomic factors that could weigh on earnings this year include:

• Availability of and demand for diamonds, gold and other precious metals, including what Signet referred to as “any impact on the global market supply of diamonds” due to Israel’s ongoing war on Gaza.
• The potential sale or divestiture of the De Beers Diamond Company and its diamond mining operations by parent company Anglo-American plc.
• Ongoing Russia-Ukraine war.
• Expiration of student loan moratorium.
• Inflation.

In the meantime, Drosos expects that as 2024 progresses, some of these challenges mentioned in Signet Jewelers’ latest earnings will subside.

“We expect continued momentum in the second quarter, leading to a positive same-store sales inflection in the second half of Fiscal 25,” she stated.

Other leaders expressed confidence in Signet’s continued growth, navigating some of the macroeconomic challenges.

“Our flexible operating model continues to work as designed, leading to adjusted merchandise margin expansion of 100 basis points, continued working capital optimization, and improved free cash flow over the prior year,” said Joan Hilson, chief financial, strategy and services officer at Signet.

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Parentheses indicate the merchant’s ranking in the Top 1000, unless otherwise stated.

This week’s ecommerce earnings takeaways

• The Lovesac Company reported a 6.1% decrease year over year in net sales for the quarter, focusing on upcoming launches to boost results later in the year.
• Signet Jewelers shared that net sales fell 9.4% year over year but indicated that a new loyalty program was being received well by customers.

Academy Sports + Outdoors (No. 144)

Q1 2024 earnings: Academy Sports + Outdoors net sales fell 1.4% to $1.36 billion in its first fiscal quarter of 2024 ended May 4. Steve Lawrence, the chief executive officer at Academy Sports + Outdoors said “customers remain under pressure in the current economic environment” but said the sporting goods retailers was “pleased that we drove a positive comp in our new stores and omnichannel business.”

Read more on Academy Sports + Outdoors earnings results here.

The Lovesac Company (No. 389)

Q1 2025 earnings: Lovesac reported that net sales decreased 6.1% year over year to $132.6 million for its first fiscal quarter of 2025, which ended May 5. For the same period, online sales fell 9.0% to $36.6 million.

Lovesac CEO and founder Shawn Nelson called the quarter’s results “in line to slightly above the high end of our expectations” and characterized them as “continued outperformance compared to the industry.”

In the meantime, he expressed optimism about the furniture retailer’s omnichannel efforts and upcoming product launches.

“We believe through our omni-channel infinity flywheel, designed for life platform and advantaged supply chain, we are well positioned to continue to deliver results and capitalize on the tremendous opportunity still ahead,” Nelson said in a release statement. “With the recent launch of our PillowSac Accent Chair, we are continuing to expand our offering and see opportunity to further widen the aperture with exciting innovative launches yet to come.”

Signet Jewelers Ltd. (No. 55)

Q1 2025 earnings: Signet Jewelers net sales fell 9.4% to $157.2 billion in its first fiscal quarter of 2025 ended May 4. Signet CEO Virginia Drosos cited positive customer responses to the jewelry retailer’s “new product offerings and loyalty program,” saying the company expects “continued momentum in the second quarter, leading to a positive same-store sales inflection in the second half of Fiscal 25.”

Other recent ecommerce earnings results

Alibaba Group Holding Limited

Q4 2024: Alibaba said it grew revenue 7% year over year in its fiscal fourth quarter ended March 31, 2024. Meanwhile, net income decreased 96% compared to the prior Q4.

Alibaba owns the world’s two largest online marketplaces by gross merchandise value (GMV), Taobao and Tmall. Taobao ranks No. 1 in the Global Online Marketplaces Database, Digital Commerce 360’s ranking of the largest such marketplaces by third-party GMV. Tmall ranks No. 2. Both operate in China.

Read more on Alibaba’s earnings here.

Amazon.com Inc. (No. 1)

Q1 2024 earnings: Amazon net sales increased 13% to $143.3 billion in its fiscal first quarter. Meanwhile, its operating income more than tripled.

It ranks No. 1 in the Top 1000, Digital Commerce 360’s ranking of the largest North American online retailers. Amazon is also No. 3 in Digital Commerce 360’s Global Online Marketplaces Database, which ranks the 100 largest such marketplaces by third-party gross merchandise value (GMV).

Read more on Amazon’s earnings results here.

Bark, Inc. (No. 201)

Q4 2024 earnings: Bark reported a 3.6% year-over-year decrease in revenue to $121.5 million for its first fiscal quarter of 2024, which ended March 31. It also recorded $490.2 million in revenue for its 2023 fiscal year, which was down 8.4% from the previous year.

Read more about Bark’s earnings here.

Bath & Body Works, Inc. (No. 62)

Q1 2024 earnings: Bath & Body Works said it saw a 0.9% year-over-year decrease in net sales, which totaled $1.4 billion during its first fiscal quarter of 2024 ended May 4.

Gina Boswell, CEO at Bath & Body Words, shared during its June 4 conference call that “there has been and continues to be significant work required to bring the company’s technology systems to where we need them to be for a leading omnichannel retail business of our size.” Looking ahead, she expects to be able to share more about these efforts later in 2024.

“We remain focused on investing in the foundational tools and systems need to support future growth, and have been engaging with world-class partners to do so,” Boswell said. “We continue to evolve the digital experience for our customers, and we look forward to sharing big wins from these efforts later in the year.”

Big Lots, Inc. (No. 237)

Q1 2024 earnings: Big Lots reported a 10.2% decrease in net sales year over year to $1.0 billion for its first fiscal quarter of 2024, which ended May 4. The company cited a “challenging consumer environment” as it announced a $205.0 million loss for the period.

The retailer is in the middle of a turnaround effort. It cited improved online promotions and experience as priorities as it looks to change course.

“We’re continuing to enhance the online experience and showcasing extreme bargain deals through the weekly ad, big bargains and big buyout sections, heavily featured on the site,” said Bruce Thorn, president and CEO at Big Lots, during the company’s June 6 earnings call. “We remain focused on influencing her home shopping journey through enabling customers to browse more products online and now offer a coming-soon preview, in-store inventory and have started the ability to preorder for core big-ticket items in furniture and seasonal at the end of Q2.”

Costco Wholesale Corp. (No. 6)

Q3 2024 earnings: Costco net sales grew 9.1% to $57.39 billion in its third fiscal quarter of 2024 ended May 12. During the same period, ecommerce sales grew 20.7%.

Read more on Costco ecommerce sales here.

GameStop Corp. (No. 35)

Q1 2024 earnings: GameStop said its net sales were down 28.7% year over year to $881.8 million for its first fiscal quarter of 2024 that ended May 4. The same period included a net loss of $32.3 million, which was smaller than its loss of $50.5 million a year earlier.

The company did not hold an earnings call after announcing earnings days earlier than previously scheduled. In addition, it shared that it would sell 75 million shares, following the sale of 45 million shares announced in May. That initial sale brought in about $933.4 million, Reuters reported. GameStop returned to the news spotlight ahead of its earnings release as meme-stock influencer and online streamer Keith Gill, who goes by the name “Roaring Kitty,” began sharing his recent trading activity publicly.

Lululemon Athletica, Inc. (No. 25)

Q1 2024 earnings: Lululemon Athletica announced net sales increased 10.4% to $2.2 billion in its first fiscal quarter ended April 28.

“In the first quarter, we saw strong momentum in our international markets, demonstrating how our brand continues to resonate around the world,” said Calvin McDonald, chief executive officer at Lululemon. “Guests responded well to our product innovations across categories, and we are pleased by the progress we are making to optimize our U.S. product assortment.”

During the company’s June 5 earnings call, Meghan Frank, its chief financial officer, noted that Lululemon ecommerce sales were up significantly, contributing to the quarter’s results.

“In our digital channel, revenue increased 8% and contributed $906 million of top line or 41% of total revenue,” Frank stated.

The Home Depot Inc. (No. 4)

Q1 2024: Home Depot reported that sales declined 2.3% in its fiscal first quarter of 2024 ended April 28 due to challenges in the broader economy. B2B and Pro sales were equally impacted, while online sales grew.

Target Corp. (No. 5)

Q 1 2024: Target reported that total revenue declined 3.1%. That’s down to $24.5 billion in the first quarter of its fiscal 2024 ended May 4. However, online sales did increase slightly. Declines in discretionary categories were partially offset by continuing growth in the beauty category.

Read more on Target’s earnings results here.

Walmart Inc. (No. 2)

Q1 2025: Walmart grew U.S. online sales 22% for its fiscal 2025 first quarter ended April 30, 2024. Consolidated revenue grew 6.0% to $161.5 billion in Q1.

Read more on Walmart’s earnings here.

Ecommerce earnings calendar

Here’s when other ecommerce earnings are scheduled to report this quarter:

• Levi Strauss & Co.: June 26
• H&M: June 27
• Nike: June 27

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These digital issues have continued into Signet’s fiscal 2025, Drosos added. The challenges with integrating subsidiary Blue Nile with production partners resulted in lower conversion rates in the last six weeks of Signets fiscal Q4. That reduced overall North American same-store sales by one point, she said.

Signet Jewelers Limited reported that total sales for its fiscal Q4 were $2.5 billion. That’s down $168.6 million year over year, or 6.3%. Same-store sales — which include those from physical stores and ecommerce — decreased 9.6% in the period. Signet began including Blue Nile in same-store sales in Q3 of its fiscal 2024.

For the full year, Signet sales decreased to $7.17 billion from $7.84 billion in its fiscal 2023.

In North America, Signet’s Q4 total sales were $2.4 billion, which is a $152.9 million (or 6.1%) decrease. Meanwhile, same-store sales declined 10%, 1% of which Signet attributes to the digital integration issues.

Digital integration issues hold down two Signet brands

“These issues are solely related to the James Allen and Blue Nile integration and are not tied to, nor are they impacting the ecommerce channels of our core banners which are performing well,” said Joan Hilson, chief financial, strategy and services officer.

Drosos said the digital operational issues with its James Allen and Blue Nile were related to replatforming.

“Frankly, we thought we had it all wired and that the pipes were connected well but they weren’t,” Drosos said. “And we had, unfortunately, some problems integrating Blue Nile with its production partners, which caused us to see a dip in conversion with much longer fulfillment times.”

Signet acquired Blue Nile for $360 million in August 2022.

“We are working to resolve these issues and expect to have fixes implemented later this year,” Drosos said.

Hilson elaborated slightly, saying that Signet expects to resolve the issues in its digital banners in the second half of the year.

Signet Jewelers Ltd. is No. 60 in the Top 1000. It is also the highest-ranked retailer in the database’s Jewelry category. The Top 1000 Database ranks North America’s largest online retailers by their annual web sales. Before Signet acquired it, Blue Nile ranked No. 143 in the Top 1000.

Signet holiday sales

Early Valentine’s Day shopping was down mid-teens, Hilson said, adding that that’s consistent with January’s performance.

“Since Valentine’s Day, same-store sales have improved notably up 2 to 3 points to the fourth quarter and a further point when excluding our digital banners,” she said.

New stores and investments

Signet expects $160 million to $180 million in 2024 capital expenditures, Hilson said. That includes opening 20 to 30 new stores and renovating about 300 locations. The renovations will mostly be for 200 Kay stores and 50 Jared stores.

Signet also intends to invest between $40 million and $50 million “in digital and technology in support of our consumers and team member experiences,” including connected commerce capabilities.

In the U.K., Signet is closing up to 30 Ernest Jones locations as part of an effort to shift those sales to digital, Hilson said.

“As we look to Fiscal 2025, we are expecting sequential same store sales improvement over the year as engagements gradually recover,” Drosos said in a statement. “We believe we’re positioned to win new customers through our marketing personalization, growing consumer inspired product newness, and aggressive expansion of our service business.”

She also said Signet expects the jewelry category overall to be down mid-single digits in 2024.

Signet Jewelers earnings

For its fiscal Q4 ended Feb. 3, 2024, Signet reported:

• $2.49 billion in sales, down from $2.67 billion in the year-ago quarter.
• Same-store sales decreased 9.6%.
• In North America, Signet same-store sales — which include digital — decreased 10% for a total of $2.35 billion.

For its fiscal year ended Feb. 3, 2024, Signet reported:

• $7.17 billion in sales, down from $7.84 billion the prior year.
• Same-store sales decreased 11.6%
• In North America, Signet same-store sales — which include digital — decreased 11.9% for a total of $6.70 billion.

Percentage changes may not align exactly with dollar figures due to rounding. Check back for more earnings reports. 

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At the panel, speakers from DoorDash, Kendra Scott and Alimentation Couche-Tard swapped stories about what they have achieved. In doing so, they offered tips for setting teams up for success when merchants begin leveraging data to tackle personalization.

Data best practices for setting a foundation

Just because data is already there does not necessarily mean that a company is ready to begin using that data to begin a personalization project, suggested Kamanasish Kundu, vice president, head of digital and ecommerce, for Kendra Scott. Speaking to the audience, the panelists each shared their own priorities and choices to consider carefully early on.

“When I joined Kendra Scott in January 2023 last year, I think one of the biggest challenges was data,” Kundu said. “We didn’t have enough confidence in terms of the data integrity.”

For Kundu, that presented a problem for the jewelry seller.

“Typically, that’s the foundation of any testing and personalization program,” Kundu explained. “So fast forward six months, we completed our data cleansing and brought in the experts. And we created a full–funnel view, identified or pinpointed all the friction points in the journey, and that became the foundation of our testing and personalization program.”

Kendra Scott is No. 670 in Top 1000 Database, where Digital Commerce 360 categorizes it as a jewelry retailer. The database ranks North America’s leading online retailers by their annual web sales.

Protecting data

Meanwhile, Kevin Lewis, chief growth officer at Alimentation Couche-Tard, the parent company of Circle K, gave some advice for retaining ownership of company data, even when a partner or vendor presents a tempting offer.

“There’s gonna be a time when someone is going to say, ‘Hey, give us your consumer data and we’re happy to pay for stuff,’” Lewis said. “For those of you who may not be of the size and scale, that’s a tempting trade-off: ‘Help us fund the future by selling the consumer stuff.’ I will tell you, I think that’s a false trade-off.”

What Lewis proposed instead was valuing that data as part of what makes a company competitive and safeguarding it accordingly.

“I’m pretty clear that anybody can build a store and anybody can load it with the stuff that we sell,” he stated. “But at the end of the day, there’s probably two things that will make us unique and differentiated. One, I believe, is our culture, and we’re not going to sell that. Two — over time — is going to be the data we have that allows us to do things that no one else can.”

The consequence, he posed, could be giving another company what it needs down the road to replicate what someone else has accomplished.

Data best practices for creating value

Jessica Lachs, vice president of analytics and data science at DoorDash, echoed Lewis’s sentiments. She noted her own perspective on demonstrating data’s value by prioritizing business impact.

“Data is at the core of everything we do at DoorDash and is why I love my job so much,” Lachs said. “We measure everything we possibly can, and I think that that is one way you can make a really great case for investing in the data, which is to show that when you do, you see real business impact that you can quantify and that can help you make some of these trade-offs.”

At DoorDash, that may involve A/B tests, switchback tests or what Lachs calls “quasi-experimental methods to be able to size the impact of product features.” DoorDash handles hundreds of thousands of SKUs on its app.

Ultimately, she considers this approach a differentiator for the company.

“I think that that’s something that is really unique to us and something that is a competitive advantage for us,” Lachs said.

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That data excludes automotive sales. Mastercard SpendingPulse says it measures in-store and online retail sales across all forms of payment and is not adjusted for inflation.

“This holiday season, the consumer showed up, spending in a deliberate manner,” said Michelle Meyer, chief economist at the Mastercard Economics Institute. “The economic backdrop remains favorable with healthy job creation and easing inflation pressures, empowering consumers to seek the goods and experiences they value most.”

Did online holiday sales grow in 2023?

Online holiday sales in 2023 grew from Nov. 1 through Christmas Eve, Mastercard found, and so did in-store sales.

And to give more detail, online retail spending increased at a faster pace than in-store spending. In-store sales grew 2.2% year over year, according to Mastercard SpendingPulse. Yet online retail sales increased 6.3% year over year in the same period, taking “a considerably larger portion of total retail spending.”

“Retailers started promotions early this season, giving consumers time to hunt for the best deals and promotions,” said Steve Sadove, senior advisor for Mastercard and former CEO and Chairman of Saks Incorporated. “Ultimately it was about getting the most bang for your buck as consumers spent on a variety of goods and services, resurfacing spending trends from before the pandemic.”

Online holiday sales growth by category

Mastercard SpendingPulse broke out year-over-year data for key retail categories. It did not differentiate online and in-store sales growth and declines. Instead, it provided year-over-year changes in total sales for each category.

Among the five categories it broke out, restaurants grew the most, at 7.8%. Apparel grew 2.4%, closely followed by grocery at 2.1%.

That grocery sales growth extended to web sales as well. Online sales accounted for 11.7% of total weekly grocery spending in the last week of November, according to data from the monthly Brick Meets Click and Mercatus Grocery Shopping Survey. United States online grocery sales reached $8.1 billion in November. That’s 5.2% growth over November 2022’s online grocery sales, which reached $7.7 billion.

Conversely, Mastercard found, electronics sales decreased 0.4% year over year, and jewelry sales decreased 2.0%.

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The data, from fraud management and chargeback protection services vendor ClearSale, found a decrease in attempted fraud between Black Friday and Cyber Monday. Notably, whereas ClearSale data showed attempts at fraud (or fraud avoided) decreased 37% year over year, order volume and order value also fell among the same group of online retailers.

Bruno Farinelli, senior director of risk at ClearSale, said there are a couple feasible possibilities for the decreases in order volume this year. The first is that many online retailers started their Cyber 5 sales and promotions weeks—and in some cases months—before the actual Black Friday weekend.

“This could have spread out the order volume that would normally happen in one weekend to a broader number of days,” Farinelli said. “The other very reasonable assumption that we could make is that the economic slowdown and the interest rate hikes in the U.S. and across the globe have seen shoppers more cautious in their spending and more frugal with their wallets during seasonal shopping.”

ClearSale’s network includes more than 35 online retailers in the Top 1000, including eight that rank among the largest 100 retailers. The Top 1000 is Digital Commerce 360’s database ranking the largest ecommerce retailers in North America based on their web sales. ClearSale ranks third in the Payment Security and Fraud Prevention category in Digital Commerce 360’s new report, 2024 Leading Vendors to the Top 1000 Retailers.

2024 Leading Vendors to the Top 1000 Retailers Report

Analysis of the leading vendors that serve North America's Top 1000 online retailers. Includes rankings of the Top 10 leading vendors across 24 categories, including Customer Relationship Management, Ecommerce Platforms, Fulfillment Services, Marketing Automation Platforms, and more.

View Details

Fraud decreases from Black Friday to Cyber Monday

ClearSale found that from Black Friday to Cyber Monday, order volume decreased 41% year over year. Order amount decreased, too, down 27% year over year.

The percentage of fraud attempts in relation to total orders also decreased slightly, according to information shared by ClearSale. It decreased to 1.5% of orders being fraud attempts during the Cyber 5 in 2023, from 1.75% last year.

“While fraud is extremely dynamic, economic pressure is one of the drivers behind it, which is why we are seeing a general increase over the last couple of years of attempted fraud in ecommerce,” Farinelli said.

As a rule of thumb, he said, an increase in order volume and value means an increase in fraud, and vice versa. This year’s data followed this formula, he said, but the overall rates of fraud are increasing.

Watches and glasses led as the categories with the highest percentage of fraud attempts during the 2023 Cyber 5, according to ClearSale. 12.83% of orders in the category were subjected to fraud attempts. The next-largest category was computers, at 4.84%. That’s about a third of the rate of the watches/glasses category.

The top categories of fraud attempts in 2023:

1. Watches/glasses: 12.83%
2. Computers: 4.84%
3. Phones/Electronics: 4.47%
4. Digital: 4.44%
5. Jewelry: 2.71%

Three of those categories were also in the top five last year, according to ClearSale data. However, none of the categories ClearSale tracked in 2022 reached 10% of its orders being fraudulent.

The top categories of fraud attempts in 2022:

1. Accessories: 7%
2. Computers: 5.49%
3. Jewelry: 4.56%
4. Phones/Electronics: 4.52%
5. Luxury apparel (over $200 ticket value): 3.14%

The computers, jewelry, and phones/electronics categories all remained in the top five this year. However, the rates of fraud for each decreased year over year, with the jewelry category’s fraud decreasing the most.

Data consistency

The decrease in fraud during the Cyber 5 is consistent with data from Signifyd, another cybersecurity vendor. Signifyd’s network includes 115 retailers in the Top 1000. It found that fraud attempts during the Cyber 5 decreased 20% year over year.

J. Bennett, chief customer officer at Signifyd, said that’s because last year, there was a big and sophisticated wave of fraud attempts engineered by a crime ring in Southeast Asia, and that has not been repeated this year.

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That was a mistake—and not one he plans to repeat. 

“I was trained and worked for very big global brands for a very long time. And I think I took a bad habit from working with them: They don’t do promotions,” Dousset says.

Before founding his lab-grown diamond company, Dousset worked for jewelry retailers Chaumet, Boucheron, and Van Cleef & Arpels.

Jean Dousset sells luxury jewelry primarily online, though it just opened a showroom in West Hollywood in September. The retailer has exclusively sold lab-grown diamonds since April 2023.

Dousset learned that just because a retailer sells luxury products, that doesn’t mean promotions and discounts shouldn’t be part of the plan.

“While I consider myself a luxury brand because of the content and the quality [of the products], I’m not a global brand like Chanel, and I should absolutely use promotional levers for the growth of the business,” he says.

Jean Dousset reconsiders promotions

Though Jean Dousset didn’t run any promotions specifically tied to Cyber 5, the retailer did briefly test a promotional strategy at the beginning of November. The jewelry retailer offered new customers 10% off their first order if they shared their email address. The results were “shockingly positive, to the point where I should have done this many moons ago,” Dousset says.

The promotion led to Jean Dousset’s highest sales month since it started selling lab-grown diamonds in 2021. The conversion rate increased by about 200%, he says without revealing the exact rate. Dousset considers the promotion “extremely effective.”

Jean Dousset also offered the same promotion to subscribers, with different results. Customers who were already part of the email subscriber base also got an offer of 10% off their next purchase. However, it was much less successful, he says. 

Still, the success with new customers was enough to convince Dousset that he should engage in the heavy promotional period next year when Cyber 5 rolls around.

“I’m a changed man,” he says. 

“Promotions don’t devalue brands,” Dousset says, contrary to his prior belief. “It’s part of the retail landscape.”

The vast majority of retailers used promotions over Cyber 5

Cyber Monday is one of the biggest shopping days of the year, and retailers traditionally offer large discounts to entice consumers. This year, 92.0% of  Digital Commerce 360’s panel of 100 online retailers from the 2023 edition of the Top 1000 advertised some type of offer on Cyber Monday. That was an increase from 79.5% of retailers offering promotions in the control period two weeks earlier. 

Jewelry retailers aren’t exempt from promotions, either. Three out of four jewelry retailers in the panel held promotions on Cyber Monday. And jewelry retailers saw large sales over the shopping period. Adobe Analytics found that online jewelry sales on Black Friday were up 114% over sales on an average day in October. On Cyber Monday, sales were 99% higher than the average day.

Among retailers offering Cyber Monday promotions, a percentage off the stated price was most popular. 87.0% offered a percentage-off promotion, with discounts ranging from 3% off to 90% off. The median smallest discount was 25%, and the median largest discount was 50% off. Jean Dousset’s promotion, which did not fall during this period, was outside the median at 10%.

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Parentheses indicate the merchant’s ranking in the Top 1000.

Amazon.com Inc. (No. 1)

Amazon recorded its highest operating income ever in its fiscal third quarter ended Sept. 30. Operating income nearly quadrupled year over year, growing 343%.

Read more about Amazon’s earnings here.

Bath & Body Works Inc. (No. 56)

Bath & Body Works reported net sales declined 2.6% to $1.6 billion in its fiscal third quarter ended Oct. 28. The retailer has a “strong profitable digital business,” CEO Gina Boswell told investors without sharing specific details. However, the retailer sees opportunity to expand its digital footprint by “moving from a largely transactional website and app, to more personalized, experiential, and integrated platforms,” she said. Conversion, including the use of BOPIS (buy online, pick up in store), grew 4% in Q3 over Q2, the retailer said.

Brilliant Earth LLC (No. 201)

Brilliant Earth reported net sales grew 2.5% to $114.2 million in the third quarter ended Sept. 30. Order volume increased 17%, the jewelry retailer said. So far, Brilliant Earth is seeing “strong momentum” at the start of the holiday season, CEO Beth Gerstein said.

The Gap Inc. (No. 20)

Gap reported net sales decreased 7% to $3.8 billion in its fiscal third quarter ended Oct. 28. Online sales declined 8% and made up 38% of total sales. Old Navy had the highest net sales of the retailer’s four brands, at $2.13 billion, down 1% year over year. Gap, Banana Republic, and Athleta sales declined 15%, 11%, and 18%, respectively.

Grove Collaborative (No. 281)

Grove Collaborative reported net revenue declined 20.6% to $61.8 million in the third quarter ended Sept. 30. Direct-to-consumer orders declined 26.2% to 917,000 in the quarter, though net revenue per order decreased. The decline was due to lower advertising spending, the retailer said. 

The Home Depot Inc. (No. 4)

Home Depot reported sales declined 3% to $37.7 billion in the third quarter ended Oct. 29. Online sales grew 5%, the retailer said without revealing more. Nearly half of online orders were fulfilled by stores, Home Depot said.

The retailer also noted it achieved record Halloween sales both in stores and online.

Macy’s Inc. (No. 17)

Macy’s reported net sales declined 7% to $5 billion in the third quarter ended Oct. 28. Digital sales and brick-and-mortar sales declined at the same rate. Macy’s online marketplace is growing, with GMV (gross merchandise volume) up 22% over Q2, the retailer said.

The average customer “continues to be under pressure and discerning and how they spend in discretionary categories we offer,” CEO Tony Spring told investors.

Sally Beauty Supply LLC (No. 522)

Sally Beauty reported net sales declined 4.3% to $921 million in its fiscal fourth quarter ended Sept. 30. Net sales declined 2.3% to $3.7 billion for the year. Ecommerce amounted to $87 million in Q4 sales, 9.4% of net sales. It also made up $348 million in annual sales. 

Target Corp. (No. 5)

Third-quarter sales declined 4.9% for the mass merchant, to $25 billion from $26.12 billion in its fiscal third quarter ended Oct. 28. Meanwhile, Target online sales decreased 6% year over year. Moreover, Target online sales declined 6.7% year over year for the first nine months.

Read more about Target’s earnings here.

TJX Cos. Inc. (No. 69)

TJX reported net sales grew 9% to $13.3 billion in its third quarter of fiscal 2024 ended Oct. 28. Comparable store sales grew 6%, driven by increases in traffic, the discount retailer said.

“Customer traffic was up across all divisions, our overall apparel sales remained very strong, and home sales were outstanding and accelerated sequentially versus the second quarter,” CEO Ernie Herrman said in a written statement.

Ecommerce remains a “very small percentage” of TJX’s total business, Herrman told investors. He said the retailer was pleased with ecommerce sales trends on its brands’ websites in the third quarter without revealing more. TJX shut down its ecommerce arm for HomeGoods in October.

Walmart Inc. (No. 2)

Walmart reported that U.S. online sales grew 24% for the fiscal 2024 third quarter ended Oct. 27. Global ecommerce sales grew 15% over the same period, while international ecommerce declined 3%.

U.S. comparable sales grew 4.9%, and total revenue grew 5.2% to $160.8 billion.

Read more on Walmart’s earnings here.

Williams-Sonoma Inc. (No. 22)

Williams-Sonoma reported net revenue declined to $1.8 billion in its fiscal third quarter ended Oct. 29. Comparable brand revenue declined 14.6%. The retailer didn’t share specific ecommerce figures, but it noted plans to improve the online experience for potential customers.

“We see many opportunities for our business from developments from AI. And as early adopters of integrating AI, we look forward to leading the retail industry in this area, and we will focus on quality, authenticity, and responsiveness of this new technology,” CEO Laura Alber told investors. 

So what does it mean?

• Retailers offering discounted prices, like Walmart and TJX, are still reporting growing sales and customer acquisition. That shows inflation and budgets remain top of mind for many consumers.
• Retailers, especially those selling discretionary items, are counting on holiday purchases in Q4 after lackluster quarters.

Ecommerce earnings calendar

Here’s when to expect other ecommerce earnings this quarter:

• Amazon.com Inc.: Oct. 26
• Best Buy Co Inc.: Nov. 21
• Chewy Inc.: Dec. 6
• Costco Wholesale Corp.: Dec. 14
• The Gap Inc.: Nov. 16
• The Home Depot Inc.: Nov. 14
• Lowe’s Cos Inc.: Nov. 21
• Macy’s Inc.: Nov. 16
• Target Corp.: Nov. 15
• Walmart Inc.: Nov. 16

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The post Ecommerce earnings recap: What you missed from Brilliant Earth, Gap, and more appeared first on Digital Commerce 360.

The OpenAI consortium released its generative AI bot ChatGPT for public use during Q4 2022, and it quickly became the hottest topic around. Months later, everyone in the online retail industry is still buzzing about generative AI, but how many businesses are actually using the technology today? And how many would want to talk to us about it?

Turns out, quite a few.

While many merchants we talked to are still just piloting and exploring how best to use the burgeoning technology, many brands have live generative AI programs up today. This Strategy Insights, “6 ways retailers are using AI right now and how generative AI will change ecommerce,” showcases examples of many large retail brands (and a few smaller ones) and how they are using generative AI right now.

Below is just a sampling of examples you’ll find in the rest of this report. Download the entire Strategy Insights here.

1.) Stitch Fix taps generative AI to write  ad headlines and product descriptions

Apparel retailer Stitch Fix uses generative AI to write headlines for Facebook and Instagram ads. In the past, it would take about two weeks to develop a creative campaign and draft copy. But now, human copywriters can evaluate a headline created by the generative AI system in less than one minute — and they approve the machine-created content 77% of the time, Stitch Fix says.

2.) Babylist uses generative AI to write email subject lines

Baby products marketplace and registry says its marketers are expected to use generative AI to help create ideas, content and copy, says Lee Anne Grant, chief growth officer. Babylist finds that ChatGPT-generated subject lines increased open rates for marketing email in half of their tests. It concluded that ChatGPT is a “great resource for when the team needs subject line inspiration or help writing one,” Grant says.

3.) J’evar uses generative AI to create product models

Online-only jewelry merchant J’evar has its product designers use generative AI to speed up how it creates custom jewelry pieces. Instead of going through dozens of product mockups over the course of weeks, genAI can help its designers produce product samples in minutes, says J’evar founder and CEO Amish Shah.

4.) Newegg uses generative AI to summarize customer reviews

Online electronics retailer Newegg built a generative AI tool in house that creates one product summary for a product based on all of the published customer reviews. This review is published at the top of all the reviews. Reviews are an important feature for Newegg, as 20% of Newegg.com shoppers read reviews, and these shoppers spend 40% more money on the site than non-review reading shoppers, says Andrew Choi, director of brand and website experience for Newegg.

5.) UrbanStems creates images with genAI

Online flower merchant UrbanStems is using generative AI in multiple ways, including having it create images of potential products it wants to sell. For example, the brand can tell its generative AI software to create an image of a 10-stem red and white arrangement of peonies in a glass vase and white background — and send that image to its merchandising team to create the product in real life. This helps the brand quickly experiment with new designs, without having to purchase flowers and conduct a photo shoot just for a design mock up, says Katie Hudson, content director for UrbanStems.

6.) EBay enables its marketplace sellers to use genAI to write product descriptions

Marketplace giant eBay built a tool based on Open AI’s ChatGPT that creates a product description based on data sellers provide about a product’s category, condition, color, brand and more. Roughly 20% of sellers shown the generative AI tool use it, and of those, 90% accept at least part of the description, says Xiaodi Zhang, vice president of seller experience at eBay.  

Download the free Digital Commerce 360 October Strategy Insights, “6 ways retailers are using AI right now and how generative AI will change ecommerce” here.

—April Berthene, Editor, Strategy Insights

Additional reporting from Digital Commerce 360 editors Don Davis, Gretchen Salois and Abbas Haleem.

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