Reference
The Glossary
The words retail runs on, defined accurately and then explained the way we hear them in earnings calls.
Each entry starts with an accurate definition. The part labeled “The Daily SKU take” is satire.
- 1P vs. 3P
Definition: First party (1P) means the retailer buys inventory wholesale and sells it itself; third party (3P) means independent sellers list and sell through the retailer's marketplace.
The Daily SKU take (satire): Whether the store owns the toaster or merely rents the toaster a page and takes a cut of its feelings.
- Agentic Commerce
Definition: Shopping in which AI agents search, compare and complete purchases on a person's behalf, within limits the person sets.
The Daily SKU take (satire): Delegating your impulse purchases to software with even less impulse control.
In the paper: AI Shopping Agent Buys Household 412 Phone Chargers, Notes Each Purchase Was Individually Under Spending Limit
In the paper: Walmart Will Let Your AI Agent Shop With Its Own Allowance, Freeing Americans From The Burden Of Wanting Things Themselves
- AOV
Definition: Average order value: total revenue divided by the number of orders.
The Daily SKU take (satire): Why the free-shipping threshold is always eleven dollars more than your cart.
In the paper: Mercari Offers Free Shipping Over $50, And Shoppers Add A Second Used Sweater To Get There
- BOPIS
Definition: Buy online, pick up in store: ordering online and collecting the order at a physical store, sometimes at the curb.
The Daily SKU take (satire): Shopping in a store, but with extra steps and a parking spot with a number on it.
- Buy Box
Definition: On a marketplace such as Amazon, the box on a product page with the Add to Cart button; when several sellers offer the same item, the marketplace chooses which offer wins it.
The Daily SKU take (satire): A small rectangle for which grown adults reprice batteries every four minutes, all night, forever.
In the paper: I'm The Buy Box, And Now That Agents Need Proof They're Human, I Would Like Some From You Too
- CPG
Definition: Consumer packaged goods: everyday items that are used up and replaced often, such as food, beverages, cleaning products and toiletries.
The Daily SKU take (satire): Things you buy again because you finished them, or because they got smaller.
In the paper: P&G Beats Estimates As Americans Reaffirm Commitment To Being Broke But Extremely Clean
- Depletions
Definition: In the beverage alcohol industry, sales from distributors to retailers, used as a proxy for consumer demand.
The Daily SKU take (satire): How beer companies measure how tired America is.
In the paper: Beer Sales Slip Again As Americans Report Being Too Tired To Cope Recreationally
- DTC
Definition: Direct to consumer: a brand selling to shoppers through its own website or stores instead of through wholesalers and retailers.
The Daily SKU take (satire): A brand cutting out the middleman, then hiring four agencies to replace him.
- Dynamic Pricing
Definition: Changing prices frequently in response to demand, competition, time or inventory, often automatically.
The Daily SKU take (satire): A price that is reading the room, and the room is you.
In the paper: Home Depot Vows Its Digital Price Tags Won't Change Prices On You; Shoppers Stare At Them Anyway, Just In Case
- Electronic Shelf Label (ESL)
Definition: A small digital display on a store shelf that shows a product's price and can be updated remotely.
The Daily SKU take (satire): A price tag with Wi-Fi and, according to shoppers, a look in its eye.
In the paper: Home Depot Vows Its Digital Price Tags Won't Change Prices On You; Shoppers Stare At Them Anyway, Just In Case
- Endcap
Definition: The display at the end of a store aisle, a high-visibility spot that brands often pay for or negotiate to use.
The Daily SKU take (satire): The aisle's front porch, where seasonal candy waits for you like a neighbor with news.
- Fulfillment Center
Definition: A warehouse where online orders are picked, packed and shipped to customers.
The Daily SKU take (satire): A building the size of a small town, staffed by robots who would like a thank-you.
In the paper: I'm A Warehouse Robot, The Seasonal Humans Are Arriving, And I Would Like Them To Know Where The Good Charging Spot Is
- GMV
Definition: Gross merchandise value: the total sales value of goods sold through a marketplace over a period, before fees, returns and discounts.
The Daily SKU take (satire): The biggest number a marketplace can say out loud with a straight face.
- Last Mile
Definition: The final leg of delivery, from a local hub or store to the customer's door, often the most expensive part of shipping.
The Daily SKU take (satire): The mile that costs more than the other two thousand combined.
In the paper: USPS Will Add A Weekly Fuel Surcharge In 2027; Postal Truck Begins Checking Gas Prices Every Morning Like A Retiree
- Markdown
Definition: A permanent or temporary reduction of a product's selling price, typically to clear inventory.
The Daily SKU take (satire): A price tag's midlife crisis. Also our newsletter.
In the paper: I’m A ‘40% Off’ Tag, And I Swear The Original Price Was Real At Some Point
- Omnichannel
Definition: A retail strategy that connects stores, websites, apps and other channels so shoppers can browse, buy, pick up and return across them.
The Daily SKU take (satire): Buy online, pick up in store, return by drone, regret by text message.
- Organic Volume
Definition: Sales growth from selling more units, excluding price increases, currency effects and acquisitions.
The Daily SKU take (satire): The rare quarter when people bought more things instead of paying more for the same things.
In the paper: Nestlé Reports People Are Once Again Buying More Things, Not Just Paying More For The Same Things
- Out-of-Stock (OOS)
Definition: When an item is unavailable to buy on the shelf or online, often measured as an out-of-stock rate.
The Daily SKU take (satire): The product's way of telling you it needs some space.
- Planogram
Definition: A diagram that specifies exactly where and how each product should be placed on store shelves and fixtures.
The Daily SKU take (satire): A seating chart for soup, enforced more strictly than any wedding.
- Private Label
Definition: Products made for and sold under a retailer's own brand, often priced below national brands.
The Daily SKU take (satire): The same cereal in a box that is less sure of itself.
- Retail Media
Definition: Advertising sold by retailers on their own websites, apps, stores and shopper data, such as sponsored product listings on a retailer's site.
The Daily SKU take (satire): When the store you are standing in also sells ads about the store you are standing in.
In the paper: Pinterest Opens Its Doors To Programmatic Media Buyers, Who Promise To Just Look At The Mood Boards, Not Touch
- ROAS
Definition: Return on ad spend: revenue attributed to advertising divided by the cost of that advertising.
The Daily SKU take (satire): A ratio that proves every ad worked, as calculated by the company that sold the ad.
- Shrink
Definition: Inventory loss from theft, damage, administrative errors and vendor fraud, measured as the gap between recorded and actual stock.
The Daily SKU take (satire): Items that leave the store without the formality of a receipt.
- Shrinkflation
Definition: Reducing a product's size or quantity while keeping its price the same or similar, which raises the effective unit price.
The Daily SKU take (satire): The art of selling you less of a thing and calling the bag 'new look'.
In the paper: Party-Size Candy Bag Now Officially Sized For Party Of One, Possibly Zero
In the paper: Protein Bar Gets Smaller, Gains 1,200 Stores; Shrinkflation Experts Call It The One Time It Worked
- SKU
Definition: Stock keeping unit: a retailer's or brand's internal code for one distinct item, including its size, flavor and color variant.
The Daily SKU take (satire): A product's real name. The name on the package is for you.
- Slotting Fee
Definition: A payment a manufacturer makes to a retailer to get a new product placed on store shelves.
The Daily SKU take (satire): Rent, paid by a granola bar, for a shelf it has not yet been allowed to see.
- Trade Spend
Definition: Money a manufacturer spends on retailers to promote its products, including discounts, allowances, displays and slotting fees.
The Daily SKU take (satire): The budget line that pays for the sale price you thought was a coincidence.