The Lunar New Year drove up Chinese consumer spending in February: That contributed to prices rising, rather than flatlining or falling, for the first time since August 2023.
Dynamic pricing is taking hold in restaurants: Adoption is rising as operators look to offset delivery costs and match prices to demand.
Import cargo returning to normal despite Red Sea disruptions: While several signs suggest the retail industry continues trending in a positive direction, there are some potential pitfalls ahead.
Retailers need to take note—not having a customer’s preferred payment method can increase cart abandonment
On today's podcast episode, we discuss what the hell happened—and is happening—to online ads, whether the video streaming boom is officially over, the next big wearable category, what happens when the First Amendment collides with social media, what the world would look like if there were only 100 people, and more. Tune in to the discussion with our forecasting writer Ethan Cramer-Flood and analysts Ross Benes and Blake Droesch.
Consumers care about sustainability, but often aren’t willing to buy environmentally friendly products if they’re deemed lower quality, especially if it costs more. One solution for retailers and consumers is resale, an industry worth $108.64 billion in 2024, per our December 2023 forecast. Not all environmental initiatives have to be at the consumer level, though.
Old Navy returns to growth: That momentum, along with Gap’s overall gross margin growth of 5.3 percentage points, are signs that the company’s turnaround plan is bearing fruit.
Meta, Google rake in ad dollars from Temu’s spending spree: Wall Street loves to see tech giants grow their ad revenue, but not all funding streams are sustainable.
Brands put a lot of thought into how to get consumers to discover and buy their products, but not as much into what happens after a purchase is made. However, data suggests that the post-purchase experience, which includes everything from shipping to customer feedback surveys, may have more of an impact than retailers think.
Consumers appreciate AI-driven innovation but are wary
This puts Citi and Barclays in the hot seat—losing out on this volume would be a significant loss for the issuers
The card’s redemption scheme compares well with other popular travel cards, but it lacks features that would make it stand out
Card-linked offers are especially popular among younger consumers, Chime’s core user base
Following performance measurement is the most important factor in allocating budget to retail media, according to 56% of US consumer packaged goods (CPG) manufacturers, per a December 2023 survey from Skai and Path to Purchase Institute.
Last year, Kroger found success embracing omnichannel shoppers and personalizing digital promotions, which helped it grow its identical sales (without fuel) 0.9% YoY. Looking ahead, the retailer is counting on its digitally engaged customers to fuel its retail media network, which Kroger expects to grow 20% next year.
Matchesfashion runs aground as losses pile up: The retailer is the latest to fall victim to the headwinds facing luxury ecommerce.
The Home Depot touts unique first-party data approach in pitch to non-endemic advertisers: The retailer is emphasizing its ability to reach consumers at critical life stages.
Walmart leans into speedy delivery: Days after Target updated its membership program, Walmart launched an early-morning on-demand delivery service that fulfills orders within an hour.
Off-price’s momentum continues as shoppers’ trade-down behaviors intensify: Nordstrom Rack, Burlington, and Ross are among the beneficiaries of consumers’ cost-of-living pressures.
Kroger is bullish on the year ahead: The grocery chain expects 20% growth in its retail media business, and its identical sales without fuel to rise 1.75%.