Today in Retail: Dollar General Says No to Raising Prices; Apple Notes Slower iPhone Demand

In today’s top retail news, U.S. consumers plan to do half of their remaining holiday shopping online, while Dollar General executives say they don’t plan to raise core product prices in contrast to rival Dollar Tree. Also, Apple is warning suppliers that demand for the new iPhone is slower as customers postpone upgrades, and direct-to-consumer brands are expanding beyond the core products that made them famous.

US Consumers Say They’ll do Half of Their Remaining Holiday Shopping Online

Holiday shoppers say that 47 cents out of every dollar they spend this holiday season will be used online, putting merchants on the hook to provide them with the digital payment and ordering features they want. Additionally, 44% of consumers — 228 million people — plan to make most of their holiday purchases between Black Friday and Christmas, providing ample opportunity to expand and enhance their digital capabilities to drive sales this holiday season.

Dollar General Says No Plans to Raise Core Product Prices, Unlike Dollar Tree Rival

Dollar General is planning nearly 3,000 real estate projects for 2022, including 1,110 new stores that will vastly expand the retailer’s Popshelf store concept and see the company expand internationally for the first time. The move to invest in new store concepts rather than raise prices at its core stores stands in contrast to rival Dollar Tree, which last month said it would be raising prices to $1.25 across the board after months of tests on various items at different locations.

iPhone Demand Flagging During Holiday Shopping Peak

Apple has alerted its component suppliers that it’s seeing slower demand for its suite of iPhone 13 phones, in part because shoppers are planning to wait to update their smartphones when the company releases the next version of its flagship product. Despite lower demand, Apple could still achieve record sales this holiday shopping season, with projections for a 6% increase to almost $118 billion in the last three months of 2021.

Direct-to-Consumer Brands Become Platforms as They Expand Beyond Core Products

Allbirds executives said earlier this week that they envision creating “a global lifestyle brand” centered on sustainability and natural materials. Last year, the company introduced a line of apparel, its first venture outside of footwear, that includes shorts, shirts, sweaters and socks, and Tim Brown, co-founder and co-CEO, said the next two to three years have “the most exciting product pipeline in the history of the company,” including new lifestyle and performance product launches as well as new types of material.