Big Lots Inc. on Friday (Aug. 27) reported that eCommerce demand was up 10 percent in the second quarter compared to the same time last year and 400 percent from two years earlier. The company also saw 1.7 million people added to its rewards program in the three-month period.
Big Lots attributed the boost in eCommerce sales largely to “strong sell-through” in the company’s lawn and garden assortment.
Net sales for Big Lots were down 11.4 percent in the second quarter of fiscal 2021, from $1.644 billion to $1.457 billion, but up 16.4 from the second three months of 2019. Comparable sales were down 13.2 percent in Q2 of 2021 after they jumped by a record-setting 31.3 percent last year. Two-year comparable sales were up 14 percent for Big Lots.
“We have completed another solid quarter that demonstrated the strength of our Operation North Star strategic initiatives, with continued focus on our growth drivers — customer growth, merchandise productivity, eCommerce, and store count growth,” said Bruce Thorn, president and CEO of Big Lots, in the company announcement.
Thorn noted that the retailer’s The Lot and Queue Line strategies are now rolled out to 1,225 stores and continue to drive a 3 percent rise in sales.
The retailer saw two-year comp sales growth across all of its merchandise categories apart from food, with double-digit two-year growth in furniture, home products, apparel and electronics. Furniture sales were up over 30 percent compared to 2019.
The company also launched Project Refresh, a multi-year program to upgrade about 800 stores not included in the prior Store of the Future program, to enhance the customer shopping experience.
Related: Big Lots’ Quarter-To-Date Comp Sales Rise Approximately 7.5 Pct
Columbus, Ohio-based Big Lots runs more than 1,400 retail locations in 47 states.
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