It also publishes podcasts, brand breakdowns, and reports. It covers retention strategies and creative trends, with a focus on the news of the day rather than broad commentary. DTC is delivered every weekday morning with ecommerce tactics and market updates for direct-to-consumer (DTC) businesses. Compared with the trade publications in this list, Retail Diary has a more personal format, reflecting Shapiro’s perspective on retail and fashion. It also includes commentary on brand strategy and consumer behavior. The newsletter covers retail, merchandising, and fashion trends.
Three-quarters of retail executives surveyed agree that their company is focused on what they can control and not spending resources on factors in the macro environment. Of the 95% of executives anticipating an increase in costs, 76% say their company is likely to adjust investment priorities, and 82% expect their organizations to shift capital allocation toward more profitable ventures. But rising costs will also push retailers to adopt a financial approach that impacts the core of their business. For example, 67% foresee an increase in the threshold for free shipping, 72% plan to shift their product mix toward higher-margin or value-added https://neuralooms.com/articles/exploring-spectrum-485-n-keller-rd/ items, and 73% intend to gradually adjust retail prices upward. Currently, 30% of retailers surveyed leverage AI for supply chain visibility, and this figure is expected to climb to 41% within the next year. As gen AI makes creative technologies more accessible, differentiation will likely depend on how effectively retailers blend creativity, data, and AI-driven insights to deliver distinctive brand experiences in an increasingly crowded market.
In 2025, the increase in Thanksgiving meal prices is expected to be closer to historical norms, but that’s unlikely to knock consumers out of their value-seeking mindsets The survey polled 330 executives, with 86% employed at retailers generating at least US$1 billion in annual revenue and 41% at companies with annual revenues of US$10 billion or more. Value-oriented consumers, AI-driven commerce, reimagined marketing, resilient supply chains, and smarter margin management are converging to reshape how the industry competes and grows. With 95% of retail executives surveyed anticipating rising costs due to global trade policies, the focus appears to be shifting toward reimagining supply chains to manage cost pressures and operational complexities. With three-quarters of retail executives surveyed planning to reduce reliance on external agencies, the move to in-house, AI-enabled marketing will require retailers to develop the capabilities needed to unlock the full value of their data, boost marketing agility, and personalize the customer journey at scale.
PepsiCo revs up experiential marketing with five-year Silverstone deal
RILA convenes the nation’s leading retailers to tackle industry challenges, influence public policy, and drive innovation across the retail industry. Some retailers are still focused on hiring for the busy holiday season though. “October’s pace of job cutting was much higher than average for the month,” said Andy Challenger, workplace expert and chief revenue officer for Challenger, Gray & Christmas.
US Consumer Sentiment Improves in July, But Still Remains Lower Than in 2025
- The temporary Section 122 global tariff at 10% that began in February will expire July 24, but a new round of tariffs regarding forced labor are expected to be imposed by the Trump administration as early as August, per the industry group’s report.
- Retail publications track corporate finance, supply chain changes, and consumer trends across online and physical stores.
- Deloitte’s 40th Holiday Retail Survey finds shoppers keeping the holiday spirit alive, turning to discounts, digital conveniences, and festive experiences amid economic uncertainty
- A recent study found that customers who belonged to a retail brand’s loyalty program reported an average of 61% higher trust in that brand than non-loyalty program members.
- Visa’s tokenized identity verification allows agents to pay without exposing card data.
- McCarthy has advised department, specialty, mass, and grocery retailers through growth strategy and business transformation engagements, including merchandising and supply chain transformation, assortment, organizational structure design, process redesign, inventory management, and capacity planning.
Retail TouchPoints publishes retail reports and research on topics like store operations, customer experience, and in-store technology. It scores brands on online shopping systems, shipping speeds, and corporate earnings. Visitors can read a small number of articles per month for free before seeing subscription options for unlimited digital access.
- A January 2026 comparison of leading fast-fashion websites using estimated worldwide monthly visits.
- He has more than 25 years of experience in retail and CPG strategy, digital transformation, growth, and operational efficiency across sectors including fashion, food, beverages, department stores, home improvement, luxury and electronics.
- And with the opportunity to utilize first-person data from loyalty programs to create additional revenue, it’s no wonder retail executives’ most cited growth opportunity for 2024 was strengthening loyalty programs.
- Retailers invest heavily in front-end capabilities while underestimating the complexity of data governance, quality and interoperability.
- In this role, he is responsible for developing the global sector strategy and integrating businesses and go-to-market solutions across the Deloitte network.
- At the same time, shopping is moving to AI intermediaries, with chat-based tools already driving 15% to 20% of referrals for some retailers and forecasts suggesting agents could influence up to 25% of global e-commerce sales by 2030.
Download our full 2024 retail industry outlook to learn more about the biggest focus areas for retailers in the year ahead. Based on what we’re hearing and seeing, 2024 will be the year to rewrite the loyalty playbook by putting trust at the center. And with the opportunity to utilize first-person data from loyalty programs to create additional revenue, it’s no wonder retail executives’ most cited growth opportunity for 2024 was strengthening loyalty programs. With bargain-hunting consumers skipping from source to source and customer acquisition costs increasing 222% in the past decade, loyalty programs remain a hot topic. In fact, consumers continue their consumption binge, with some benefiting from wage increases while others are presumably burning through savings and accumulating debt even as economic uncertainty continues to loom. However, consumers have endured, surprising analysts by challenging conventional wisdom.
Our research shows that as much as 40% of consumer perceptions of a brand’s value stems from factors other than price.16 Depending on the subsector, factors such as quality, customer service, ease of checkout, loyalty programs, and even employee attitudes can sway consumers. But retailers will have to focus on more than just affordability to win over customers in this environment. At the same time, retailers surveyed are prioritizing growth, the customer, and https://www.faststartfinance.org/e-commerce-logistics-by-oex-fulfilio-streamlining-your-online-business-operations/ investment in operational and digital transformation (figure 2). Tariffs will likely boost inflation in 2026, thereby reducing consumer purchasing power.4 Immigration policy could mean slower employment growth and labor shortages in key industries. The industry faces significant shifts in commerce, customer engagement, and operational discipline, with artificial intelligence at the core of these disruptions. Over the years, retailers have been able to anchor their strategies around a set of fundamentals, including unwavering customer centricity, rigorous financial prudence, operational excellence, data-driven insights, and continuous adaptability to help ensure resilience and sustained success.