Kroger, Other Retailers Take Part in New Shopping Event
Amazon’s Prime Day isn’t the only game in town. A new shopping event this week aims to spark a revitalization of retail during this pandemic year.
The inaugural 10.10 Shopping Festival, organized by New York-based Coresight Research, will take place on Oct. 9–12, when about 100 participating retailers and brands will offer deals and rewards to online and in-store consumers during a time when holiday offers are about to start.
The event’s name is an imitation of the massively popular Singles’ Day shopping event in China, which takes place every year on Nov. 11 (that is, 11/11). Last year, Singles’ Day brought in some $38.4 billion — that compares with about $16.8 billion for Black Friday and Cyber Monday, according to Coresight.
The research firm estimates that more than four in 10 U.S. shoppers expect to participate in the 10.10 Shopping Festival — that includes shopping and browsing.
"The extra time before December will help alleviate every retailer's nightmare in a year involving skyrocketing online sales: order processing, fulfillment, and shipment delays," said Coresight CEO and founder Deborah Weinswig.
The Kroger Co. is the only announced grocery store operator taking part in the event, which also features specialty and apparel retailers, among other merchants. The event comes just before the start of Amazon’s Prime Day, which runs Oct. 13-14 after being delayed because of the pandemic.
Coresight conceived the idea of the 10.10 Shopping Festival in June as a way to bring fun and excitement back to the industry, it said. At the time, many nonessential stores were still closed and unemployment was high, so it was clear that a spark was needed, according to Coresight.
The company spearheaded the festival in collaboration with shopping rewards app Shopkick and two-sided online fashion marketplace Fashwire. The festival will let all consumers shop for gifts for others and themselves (in other words, no invitation code required), and have the opportunity to contribute to charities directly or indirectly when they shop from retailers and brands. In addition, supporting partners have come on board to support their retail partners and charities.
As this new event kicks off, other retailers are ready to launch their own holiday deals. Richfield, Minnesota-based Best Buy, for instance, said it will offer Black Friday deals on Oct. 13 and 14 — a signal of how eager retailers are to attract shoppers and revenue during what promises to be a unique holiday shopping season.
As for the food retail world, delivery services are also gearing up for the season. For example, Birmingham, Alabama-based Shipt is hiring an additional 100,000 shoppers this holiday season amid unrelenting demand for grocery delivery from the American consumer.
Cincinnati-based Kroger employs nearly half a million associates who serve 9 million-plus customers daily through a seamless digital shopping experience and 2,800 retail food stores under a variety of banner names. The company is No. 3 on The PG 100, Progressive Grocer’s 2020 list of the top food and consumables retailers in North America. Shipt is a wholly owned subsidiary of Minneapolis-based Target, No. 7 on PG's list.
