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Listen: Target Testing New Distribution ‘Flow Center’

Target is testing the old adage that “Sometimes less is more”, with a new distribution model. The retailer is examining a project called a “flow center”. This small-format, quick-response pilot program is being cultivated in the Perth Amboy, N.J. warehouse. The main goal for this project is to shorten the in-store replenishment cycle from…

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Target is testing the old adage that “Sometimes less is more”, with a new distribution model. The retailer is examining a project called a “flow center”. This small-format, quick-response pilot program is being cultivated in the Perth Amboy, N.J. warehouse.

The main goal for this project is to shorten the in-store replenishment cycle from days down to hours. These flow centers, will also use a shared inventory to refill stores, as well as fulfill online orders.

This program will also debut a new inventory management system, which will integrate both the in-store distribution and online fulfillment databases, which currently use separate systems, even when they are in the same building.

The ultimate goal would be to provide stores with a precise amount of product that can be immediately placed on the sales floor, thereby reducing backroom surplus, while increasing the retailer’s flexibility to fulfill online orders directly from their physical stores.

In an increasing trend, Target filled over 70% of its online orders directly from its brick and mortar locations in 2017.

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Deloitte: Holiday e-commerce to reach up to $319B in 2026–27

Deloitte: Holiday e-commerce to reach up to $319B in 2026–27

Deloitte forecasts U.S. holiday e-commerce of $316.1 billion to $318.9 billion for November 2026 through January 2027, up 7.5% to 8.4%. Total retail is projected to grow 4% to 4.8% to about $1.7 trillion. The faster online growth rate is a planning input for fulfillment staffing and site readiness.

  • 01Last season's total holiday sales grew 4.1% by Census Bureau count, above the 2.9% to 3.4% range Deloitte had forecast in fall 2025.
  • 02Deloitte's 2025 survey found 33% of U.S. consumers expected to use generative AI somewhere in their holiday shopping; product data quality now matters for machine readers as well as human ones.
  • 03Adobe's and Salesforce's holiday projections landed in late September and October last year, so the next two to six weeks should bring corroborating or conflicting numbers to plan against.

Sep 18, 2026

Club stores drove nearly half of the growth in $330B U.S. store-brand sales

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Circana reports U.S. private-label sales reached $330 billion, with store brands holding 24% unit share and 23% dollar share of CPG. Club stores drove nearly half of the growth. Circana expects share gains to continue through 2026 at a slower pace as national brands sharpen pricing and innovation.

  • 01Club channels account for nearly half of all U.S. private-brand growth, so a store-brand program benchmarked only against supermarket peers is missing where the volume is actually moving.
  • 02A one-point gap between store-brand unit share (24%) and dollar share (23%) suggests private label is no longer priced far below the market average, which changes the margin math for premium-tier extensions.
  • 03The EU's 50% private-label unit share is more than double the U.S. figure, a reference point for how much headroom exists even as Circana expects the U.S. pace to moderate through 2026.

Sep 17, 2026

Modern Retail: Meta Lab footprint set to nearly double

Modern Retail: Meta Lab footprint set to nearly double

Meta is nearly doubling the store footprint of Meta Lab, its retail concept for Ray-Ban AI glasses, according to Modern Retail. In November 2025, The Wall Street Journal reported on pop-up stores in Los Angeles, Las Vegas, Burlingame and New York City. The stores are built for lingering and selfies. That design brief matters for any brand selling a wearable people must try on.

  • 01Meta designed its Meta Lab pop-ups around dwell time and photo-taking, with coffee stations and full-length mirrors; its creative director told The Wall Street Journal the company wants visitors to bring friends and stay a while rather than move through quickly.
  • 02For brands launching a wearable that shoppers need to see on their own face, Meta’s planned store expansion is a real-world reference point for solving the try-on problem.
  • 03The signal to watch is whether the new Meta Lab locations keep the pop-up format the Journal described or shift toward longer-term leases.

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