Today In Retail: Walmart GoLocal Lands First Retail Client; Retailers Adopt Early Holiday Shopping

In today’s top retail news, The Home Depot has partnered with Walmart’s new GoLocal service to provide same-day or next-day delivery, while Mastercard says retail sales grew year-over-year last month as consumer spending continues to rebound. Also, retailers are welcoming holiday shoppers earlier than ever to combat inevitable out-of-stocks later in the season, and influencers aren’t seeing eye-to-eye with brands as social commerce grows in importance.

Walmart GoLocal Signs Home Depot as First Retail Client

The Home Depot has signed a deal with Walmart to utilize the box store giant’s GoLocal service for same-day or next-day delivery on many of its home improvement products. Walmart GoLocal was launched in August as a white-label, last-mile delivery service to help other retailers’ meet their customers’ delivery demands. The Home Depot is the platform’s first retail client.

Mastercard: September Retail Sales Growth Led by Apparel, Jewelry

Retail sales across the country — excluding automotive and gasoline — were up 5.4% year over year last month and up 11.5% from two years ago as consumer spending continues to recover ahead of the holiday shopping season, according to the latest Mastercard SpendingPulse. The report found eCommerce sales were up 11.5% year over year and 72.4% from two years ago, showing more evidence of the continued growth of digital commerce.

Retailers Embrace Early Holiday Shopping to Combat Tangled Supply Chains

Retailers are rolling out holiday shopping deals earlier than ever as inflation continues to push prices higher and myriad supply chain issues lead to inventory shortages across the board. Next week, for example, Target is launching its three-day Target Deal Days event online and in stores, and earlier this week, Amazon unveiled “Black Friday-worthy deals” that were immediately available on its site and through its app.

Social Media Influencers, Once Mocked, Now ‘A Core Strategy’ for Brands

Stacy DeBroff, founder and CEO of Influence Central, said as social commerce continues to grow, influencer marketing “has become more and more a core strategy as part of brands’ integrated marketing mix.” But as brands ask influencers to do more and influencers see stock market gains as evidence that companies are flush with cash, there’s a growing disconnect about what influencers should be paid, causing some tension between the two sides.