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China Retail Insights: The Rise of Virtual Influencers as an Innovative Marketing Tool

Virtual influencers are a growing phenomenon in China. We explore the evolution of the concept, the different types of virtual influencers, and how brands and retailers can use these digital characters to increase engagement with young consumers in China—including through livestreaming. We present notable examples in the market and consider the benefits and drawbacks of virtual influencers.

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Six Months to Singles’ Day: Set 11.11 on Your Retail Calendar

Singles’ Day is the world’s largest online shopping event in terms of GMV, with Chinese e-commerce giants Alibaba and JD.com being the two major players. With six months to go until this year’s event, we discuss the reasons why brands and retailers should set Singles’ Day 2021 in their retail calendar—covering the recent performance of the annual shopping festival, examples of success by international brands, and the actions that brands and retailers can take now to plan for the event.

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Three Chinese Platforms Set To Gain Traction in Beauty, Luxury and Streetwear in 2021

The Chinese e-commerce market is huge and diversified, with opportunities for emerging app players to gain share. In this report, we focus on one platform from three growing, brand-driven discretionary categories—beauty, luxury and streetwear. We discuss the opportunities these platforms provide for brands and retailers to increase traffic and drive sales in 2021.

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Retail Robustness Index: April 2021 Update—Relative Stability Amid Renewed Temporary Closures and Management Changes

Coresight Research’s Retail Robustness Index evaluates the 100 largest US retailers (by revenue) on their ability to weather dramatic shifts in demand amid the Covid-19 pandemic. The April 2021 update revises the scores based on financial reports and store- and management-related announcements. Alongside the report, our infographic summarizes key changes since the previous Retail Robustness Index update in January 2021.

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4Q20 US Earnings Season Wrap-Up: Discretionary Sectors See Mixed Recovery

We assess the recent performance of selected US-based retailers, brands, e-commerce platforms and REITs in terms of revenues, earnings per share and comps for the fourth quarter of 2020, considering consensus estimates and year-over-year changes. Just over half of the companies covered beat revenue consensus estimates, with home and home-improvement retailers, discount retailers, e-commerce companies and mass merchandisers enjoying a particularly strong quarter.

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Weekly US and UK Store Openings and Closures Tracker 2021, Week 12: US Openings Continue To Outpace Closures

Our Weekly US and UK Store Openings and Closures Tracker reports on store closures, openings and bankruptcies. This week, there are highlights from 7-Eleven, Alimentation Couche-Tard, At Home, Designer Brands, Fabletics, Hobby Lobby, Kroger and Signet Jewelers in the US and Beales, Decathlon, Dunelm, John Lewis, Joules and Mango in the UK.

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Playbook: Alternative Models in Retail

The new Coresight Research Playbook series provides recommendations for brands, retailers and marketplaces seeking to tap growth segments and emerging trends. In this Playbook, we present six key strategies for retail players to capitalize on gradually maturing alternative models in retail: collaboration, DTC (direct to consumer), rental, resale and subscription. We discuss examples of the strategies and models across multiple categories, with a focus on the US market.

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Weekly US and UK Store Openings and Closures Tracker 2021, Week 9: TJX Companies To Open 81 Net US Stores in 2021

Our Weekly US and UK Store Openings and Closures Tracker reports on store closures, openings and bankruptcies. This week, there are highlights from Amazon, Bath & Body Works, Bob’s Discount Furniture, Casper Sleep, Dick’s Sporting Goods, Hudson, Macy’s, Paper Source, Payless, Sprouts Farmers Market, TJX Companies and Victoria’s Secret in the US and Amazon, Sainsbury’s, Tesco and Thomas Pink in the UK.

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