Retail & Ecommerce

Amer Sports pursues IPO as demand for performance athletic gear soars: The company’s three flagship brands, Wilson, Salomon, and Arc’teryx, are all on track to generate $1 billion in sales this year.

Cara Pratt, SVP of Kroger Precision Media, is right when she says that “retail media is media.” While the fast-rising ad format may draw its unique power from retail—specifically the first-party consumer purchase data used for high-octane targeting and closed-loop measurement—it’s not a physical product sold on store shelves and shouldn’t be treated as such.

The stat: 84% of US marketers say that they are more likely to invest in retail media because of third-party cookie deprecation, per a LiveIntent survey.

Key stat: Ads for products on sale are the most effective form of retail media advertising, with 51% of US digital shoppers saying they pay attention to them and 44% of digital shoppers saying they purchase from them, per Integral Ad Science.

While dollar stores struggle, off-price retail is thriving: The latter’s treasure hunt experience is winning over shoppers, while retailers like Dollar General are running into trouble as discretionary sales soften.

Brooklinen is putting an emphasis on authenticity and relatable, real-world experiences in its paid social creative.

Medical bills are paid faster via portals: Patients want digital channels like text messages and emails over phone calls and paper statements. But clear messaging is growing in importance.

The number of high-net-worth people in India is rapidly growing: Luxury brands such as Hermès and Christian Louboutin see the region as a significant growth opportunity.

Butternut Box raises $345 million for its premium fresh pet food offering: The UK-based startup is banking on the pet parenting boom to drive subscriptions for its “human-quality” products, but inflation could dampen its prospects.

Details surrounding the increases are sparse—and Mastercard rebuffed the report as untrue. But the outcry may be overstated

Klarna’s cost-cutting measures and diversification strategy are starting to pay off

Shopify merchants can access Amazon’s logistic business and buy button after Shopify sold its logistics arm

Social commerce and livestream shopping are playing a larger role on TikTok as the platform builds out its ecommerce business, though influencers still have a lot of sway in purchase decisions, especially among Gen Z. To be successful on TikTok, marketers need to lean into discovery and put content at the heart of their strategy.

On today’s podcast episode, we discuss the challenges the credit card industry is looking at over the next year. • In our “Headlines” segment, we focus on an Insider Intelligence article published at the end of August about Macy’s private label credit card sales and consider if it’s a harbinger of problems in the credit card industry overall. • In “Story by Numbers,” we center the conversation on what will happen to consumer credit card spending if—or when—there’s a recession. • And in “For Argument’s Sake,” we take up sides to discuss whether there will or will not be a recession, which is a critical issue for the credit card industry. Tune in to the discussion with host Rob Rubin and our analyst David Morris.

The current department store model isn’t working: Macy’s, Kohl’s, and JCPenney are among the chains seeking to find a new formula that clicks with consumers.

“Little treat” culture has taken over TikTok. The hashtag #littletreat has amassed 41.4 million views, and video after video shows users justifying their small purchases because they “deserve a little treat.” But little treats can add up. So Gen Z and millennial consumers are using rewards apps to pay for their little luxuries, according to Wes Schroll, CEO of the rewards app Fetch.

Shopify looks to competitors for help as growth slows: The company’s partnerships with TikTok and Amazon should help with customer retention and acquisition.

UK BNPL usage rises as shoppers struggle to keep pace with inflation: More consumers are using the service to pay for groceries and other essentials.

Fewer than a third of US shoppers turn to department stores’ websites (31%) or brick-and-mortar locations (24%) when conducting beauty research, according to a May survey conducted by PowerReviews. In contrast, 71% turn to a specialty retailer’s website when researching new products.

Target is taking a page from Trader Joe’s: The retailer is adding over 20 new seasonal private label food items this fall, such as apple pie-filled cookies and honey-pumpkin goat cheese ravioli.