Secondhand becomes first choice for consumers

Target posted its 13th consecutive quarter of declining sales. Store traffic fell. Again. Revenue missed Wall Street's already low expectations. The stock dropped 28% in 2025. CEO Michael Fiddelke has announced Target's turnaround plan (fyi, he's a 23-year Target veteran who started as an intern). His vision doesn't involve radical reinvention. It's about greater focus. Target fell from being a retail darling as it became an "everything store." Milk, underwear, home decor, groceries, fashion, board games, etc. They lost their identity trying to appeal to everyone. Now they're refocusing on "busy families." More baby care. More groceries. Less of everything else. They're investing $1 billion in stores—remodeling 130 locations, opening 30 new ones, and adding "hundreds of millions" in store payroll and training. They're testing "baby concierges" to help parents shop. They're pivoting to faster fashion cycles—switching trends every four to six weeks instead of seasonal updates. They're betting that being really good at a few things beats being mediocre at everything. I fell in love with "Tar-zhay" in the early 2000s when they masterfully carved out a distinct identity from Walmart and Kmart. They were Stylish, but affordable. Curated, but accessible. Then they lost it. Their buzz disappeared. Their Canadian foray was a disaster. They haven't had their mojo back since before COVID. Some analysts say Target suffers from "entrenched groupthink and an inward-looking mindset." If they pull off this turnaround, it will be because of expert execution, not a clever new ad campaign. They require better customer service with more staff and training. Rebuilt merchandising authority in categories like home and apparel, where they've been losing market share. Proving to busy families that Target is worth the trip when Amazon delivers everything. Target projects 2% revenue growth in 2026—their first growth in three years. That's a low bar, but a good start. Keep expectations manageable and let performance do the talking. . Time will tell if this new plan hits the bullseye, but I'm rooting for them.

Target is adding “hundreds of millions in store payroll and training “ per the article. If true, it will be interesting to see if there is any correlation to the added payroll and training and increased sales and profits. Something to keep your eye on.

Day 1: Nearly 8 out of 10 fashion shoppers abandon their cart before checkout. Not because they didn’t want the item. Because they weren’t sure it would fit. That’s a confidence problem — not a traffic problem. And it doesn’t stop at the cart. Online fashion return rates run 20–30% on average, with many boutiques pushing 30–40%. Sizing issues alone account for roughly a third of every return. And when that return lands back at the warehouse, it costs the store 20–65% of the item’s original value just to process it. So the leaky bucket looks like this: shoppers who almost converted, and customers who converted — then came back. Both holes drain the same profit. Most stores respond by pouring more traffic in at the top. More ads. More reach. More spend. The bucket keeps leaking and the math never catches up. The fix isn’t more volume. It’s better information at the moment of decision — before the cart is abandoned, before the wrong size ships, before the return is filed. That’s a solvable problem. It just requires treating return data like intelligence instead of administrative noise. I didn’t set out to build a platform around this. I set out to learn. I’ll be back tomorrow to share more. -Pena #fashionecommerce #Shopify #ecommerce #DTC #returns #bootstrapped #buildinpublic

“Sometimes the problem isn’t the product. It’s the name.” Many eCommerce stores lose sales because of something very small. Product names. Founders often upload products with names like: “Premium Cotton Shirt 01” “Women’s Bag Model X23” “Stylish Bottle 750ml” Technically correct. But completely forgettable. Online shoppers don’t experience your product physically. Your words create the first impression. Strong product names instantly communicate: • What it is • Who it’s for • Why it’s special For example: Instead of “Leather Backpack Model B12” Imagine “The Everyday Commuter Backpack.” Suddenly it feels relatable. Because good eCommerce stores don’t just upload products. They position them. And sometimes the difference between browsing and buying… is just better words. — The Store Builder’s Diary ✍️ Day 19 eAllure #StoreBuildersDiary #ecommerce #ecommercegrowth #shopifystore #onlinestore #d2cbrand #ecommercetips #digitalcommerce #conversionstrategy #founderjourney

Target announced Wednesday that it will slash prices on over 3,000 products ranging from apparel to home goods, as the struggling retailer prioritizes affordability. Most prices will drop anywhere from 5% to 20%, the company said, on items including everyday essentials like food and baby supplies. Under new CEO Michael Fiddelke, Target is attempting to reverse several years of disappointing results. Sales grew year over year in February, and the company has committed $1 billion to improving the customer experience. https://lnkd.in/gqbD6d27

eBay just acquired Depop for $1.2 billion to capture Gen Z shoppers. This Fast Company article breaks it down: Gen Z isn't just comfortable with resale. They prefer it. They're already shopping secondhand at record rates on platforms designed around discovery, authenticity, and ease. At Trove, we help brands build circular experiences that feel native to their own ecosystems, seamless, trusted, and designed for the customers who already love them. When resale is branded, Gen Z gets what they want: authentic products, accessible prices, sustainability built in, and the trust of buying directly from the brand. It's never been a better time for brands to own their resale channel. Gen Z is already there. The only question is whether brands will meet them on their own platform or cede that relationship to a third party. https://lnkd.in/eX7v6qdc #BrandedResale #GenZShopping #CircularRetail

You’re purchasing running shoes online. As you complete the transaction, a product appears, not from the shoe brand, but for a sneaker care kit from a specialty cleaning company. Not an ad. Not an upsell. A relevant, third-party  product delivered at the exact moment you need it, seamlessly embedded in the purchase flow. That's distributed commerce. And it's reshaping how ecommerce brands drive revenue and loyalty at the Transaction Moment™. Rokt's Claire Southey and Dhruv Patel spoke with The Wall Street Journal about where this is headed.→ https://lnkd.in/gNhxk7KM

“The sale isn’t the end. It’s the beginning.” Many eCommerce founders think the sale is the finish line. In reality, it’s just the beginning. What happens after the customer places the order matters more than most stores realize. The confirmation email. The order updates. The packaging. The delivery experience. These small moments quietly shape how customers remember your brand. Two stores can sell the same product. But the one that makes the customer feel informed, reassured, and valued after the purchase… is the one they come back to. Because good eCommerce isn’t only about getting the order. It’s about earning the next one. — The Store Builder’s Diary ✍️ Day 20 eAllure #StoreBuildersDiary #ecommerce #ecommercegrowth #shopifystore #onlinestore #d2cbrands #ecommercetips #customerexperience #digitalcommerce #founderjourney

Screwfix just opened its 1,000th store. It is a masterclass in physical availability. { follow me Tom Duchambon to stop shouting at your customers } But for most retailers, a physical footprint acts like a sieve. Thousands of people walk through the doors. They browse, they touch the merchandise, and they leave. Even if they buy something, they often remain a mystery. We get a transaction ID, but we do not get a name, an email, or a preference. We are paying premium rent for anonymous attention. Menkind faced this reality across their 77 stores. They understood that the checkout counter is usually the most boring place in the shop. It is purely transactional. So they turned the queue into a game. Instead of asking for a zip code or a generic newsletter sign-up, they offered a digital "Scratch to Reveal" experience via QR codes situated at the point of sale. They replaced the social friction of "handing over data" with the dopamine hit of "revealing a win." The results were binary. Over 300,000 entries and a 50% opt-in rate. They effectively turned their physical real estate into a high-efficiency lead generation engine. You can focus on opening more doors. Or you can focus on knowing who is walking through them. We documented the Menkind strategy here. T. P.S. The hardware requires zero integration. It is just a QR code and a promise. See the breakdown 👉 https://lnkd.in/eQvrGkHC #retail #omnichannel #shopify #odicci #gamification #ZeroPartyData

Two European secondhand platforms crossed €3 billion in sales. In the same week. Back Market hit €3.5 billion. refurbed crossed €3 billion. This is not a niche. It is a new category. And if you want to know why, look at parents. Zalando just added secondhand kids' clothes across 14 markets. A kid outgrows a €40 jacket in 3 months. People refuse to pay full price for items that lose value fast. We see the same shift in tech. Nearly 50% of Gen Z say their next phone will be refurbished. They buy smart and keep their cash. I write about retail trends here on LinkedIn every day. The real money is moving to recommerce. Traditional brands fight for tiny margins on new goods, but they miss the big picture. If you run a retail business, here is how you start and price used items: - Start with buy-backs. Let customers return items for store credit. It keeps cash inside your business. - Grade items simply. Like New, Good, Acceptable. - Price "Like New" at 50-60% of the original retail price. - Price "Good" condition around 30-40%. - Do not overprice. Buyers want a real deal, not a 10% discount. Consumers want value that makes sense. Give it to them, or lose. #retail ________________________________ Don't have weeks to research? I’ll give you the future of retail in 60 minutes. Private seminars for FMCG and Wholesale teams now open for booking. DM 'SQUAD' for more info. ________________________________