Know What's Happening in Retail
Know What's Happening in Retail
AI start‑ups deploy virtual‑try‑on tech to slash $850 billion retail return losses
AI start‑ups such as Catches are launching virtual‑try‑on platforms that create realistic digital twins of shoppers, aiming to reduce the retail sector’s $850 billion return problem. The National Retail Federation reports that 15.8% of U.S. sales – 19.3% online – were returned in 2025, eroding margins. Generative AI and cheap cloud compute now make these tools cost‑effective.
Also developing:
Boucheron has opened its first Chinese flagship in Shanghai’s Xintiandi district, occupying a 278 sqm space in a restored 19th‑century shikumen building. The store is the brand’s third global flagship after Paris and Tokyo, blending Chinese and Western design cues. Its launch underscores Asia’s central role in Boucheron’s growth strategy and reflects a broader luxury trend of tailoring physical stores to local cultures. The boutique follows a recent Thailand opening that also married local architectural motifs with the Parisian heritage.
On March 13, the Trump administration issued an executive order tightening "Made in America" labeling rules, demanding that any product bearing the claim be verifiably produced in the United States. The order targets a wide range of consumer goods, including...
TikTok Shop is emerging as both a discovery engine and a conversion platform for beauty brands, influencing purchases across in‑app, e‑commerce, and physical retail channels. The platform’s halo effect has generated double‑digit growth in brick‑and‑mortar sales and a measurable lift...
TikTok Shop partnered with Fishermen Integrated to launch the Ramadan‑Raya campaign “Bazar Direka Untuk …”, turning the shopping journey into a curated shoppertainment experience. The initiative runs from 1 March to 13 March 2026 and blends product curation, creator‑led content, original music and...
Baroma, an editorial‑driven retailer, is creating a dedicated platform for under‑represented Asian niche fragrance brands, especially from China. By curating collections that embed authentic cultural narratives, raw‑material provenance, and small‑batch craftsmanship, it offers export‑ready packaging and storytelling infrastructure. The company...
Meijer announced a May 6 opening for a 159,000‑square‑foot supercenter on the former Geauga Lake amusement‑park site in Bainbridge Township, Ohio, marking its 59th store in the state and part of a three‑store rollout that also includes locations in Indiana and...
The ASEAN Product Safety Portal is being rolled out across member states to share real‑time data on unsafe goods, enabling regulators to swiftly remove hazardous items from online marketplaces. Technology‑driven monitoring and web‑scraping tools aim to cut flagged unsafe products...
Where you discover ≠ where you buy. People use ChatGPT to research what to buy. Then they leave to actually buy it. Instant checkout converts 3x worse than clicking out to the store.
Michaels announced price cuts on more than 3,000 items, spanning arts and crafts, DIY, party supplies, sewing and home décor. Discounts average roughly 10% and represent the final stage of a multi‑month value‑driven initiative. The retailer also rolled out an...
Meta has signed a 10‑year lease for the entire five‑story, 15,000‑square‑foot townhouse at 697 Fifth Avenue in Midtown Manhattan. The space will serve as a permanent retail showcase for Meta’s virtual reality headsets and Ray‑Ban smart glasses, following a successful...
Shopify has embedded USDC stablecoin into its core payments stack, allowing merchants to accept digital dollars at checkout without new providers. The integration, built with Stripe and Coinbase, lets shoppers pay via crypto wallets and gives merchants the option to...
Artificial intelligence for IT Operations (AIOps) is helping retailers keep e‑commerce platforms running smoothly by automatically detecting and fixing order‑flow glitches, pricing mismatches, downtime, and data‑sync issues. Machine‑learning models surface anomalies before customers notice them, enabling proactive remediation. A real‑world...
Jennifer Beatty, vice‑president of sales at Emerson Group, announced the next Future of Commerce event, which will focus on the supermarket industry. The two‑day conference is scheduled for June 9‑10 in Nashville and will feature program highlights drawn from previous...
Google introduced the Universal Commerce Protocol (UCP) in January 2026, creating a standardized, machine‑readable layer for product data, pricing, carts, payments and order tracking. UCP already powers AI‑driven purchases on Google Search’s AI Mode and Gemini for retailers like Etsy...
Publix announced its entry into the cookie market with a spring launch of four private‑label flavors. The lineup includes Double Cookies & Cream, Vanilla Celebration, Double Chocolate, and Raspberry Cream Cheese, with more varieties slated for summer. The rollout follows...
The National Retail Federation (NRF) projects U.S. retail sales to rise 4.4% in 2026, reaching $5.6 trillion, outpacing the 10‑year pre‑pandemic average of 3.6%. The forecast, built with Oxford Economics, attributes growth to resilient consumer spending, especially among higher‑income households, and...
More isn't always better. Better is better. Forecast more accurately, grow contribution more consistently all while saving money with the Prophit Engine from CTC. Big love to the boys: @Seanfrank @iamshackelford @Jaredorkin @stevenborrelli @steviej @SJohnson_89 for the acting brilliance. This one is a...
United Natural Foods (UNFI) is accelerating its AI and digital transformation by expanding the RELEX supply‑chain planning platform across its distribution network, with a dozen centers slated to go live next week and a full rollout expected by the end...
Doba announced a verified integration with Walmart Marketplace, using OAuth 2.0 to automate product listings, inventory syncing, and order processing. The connection replaces legacy APIs, reducing manual errors and ensuring compliance with Walmart’s strict performance standards. Walmart ranks #2 among U.S....
Xandres has launched its second‑hand platform, Xandres Preloved, via a dedicated website covering the Benelux region and Germany. After pilot programs in Ghent and Bruges, the brand is rolling out the service nationwide, allowing customers to buy and sell pre‑owned...
Coca‑Cola has launched a nationwide FIFA World Cup 2026 campaign in Canada, featuring limited‑edition collectible cans, QR‑code contests, and Panini sticker‑tied bottles. The brand will also operate fan‑zone experiences in Toronto and Vancouver, offering product sampling, apparel customization, and social‑media‑ready installations....
Marks & Spencer has launched David Gandy Wellwear on its Brands at M&S platform, becoming the brand’s exclusive digital wholesale partner. The partnership adds the designer’s best‑selling T‑shirts, loungewear, underwear and robes to M&S’s expanding third‑party menswear portfolio. Gandy, who...
Swipe fees in the United States surged to a record $198.25 billion in 2025, a 5.9% increase over 2024 and an 80% jump since the pandemic began. Credit‑card fees dominate, with Visa and Mastercard alone accounting for $118.8 billion, while total credit‑card...
Shopify has upgraded its POS Smart Grid editor to include a dropdown menu for selecting discount codes when building Discount tiles. The change replaces the previous free‑text field, which was vulnerable to typos and mismatched codes. Each tile now pulls...
eBay has begun beta‑testing a video‑enabled version of its Promoted Listings Priority in Australia. The feature allows sellers to attach 5‑ to 60‑second videos that auto‑play in eligible ad placements, reverting to static images where video isn’t supported. Pricing remains...
A Fortune 100 retailer overhauled its mobile architecture, adopting a unified deep‑linking and QR‑code framework to accelerate app installs and transaction volumes. The new foundation integrated privacy‑first measurement tools, allowing the retailer to track cross‑channel performance without compromising user data....
Family Dollar, now a private company after a venture‑capital buyout, announced plans to roll out an extra‑small box (XSB) store format aimed at dense urban markets. The retailer, which operates 7,250 locations, reported fiscal 2025 revenue of $13 billion and a...
Dutch online home‑furnishings retailer fonQ is facing collapse after its holding company filed for a stay of payments. An administrator will now assess options to keep the business afloat. The company, which also owns brand Naduvi, saw CEO Itai Gross...
Whole Foods Market will open a new 43,130‑square‑foot store in Los Gatos, California on April 15, 2026, relocating from its 30‑year‑old location. The space is nearly double the size of the former store and adds a coffee‑and‑juice bar, expanded seating,...
Nikon is running a week‑long experiential pop‑up beside SXSW in Austin from March 12‑19, offering free photo walks, studio sessions, light programming and panels. The brand targets about 2,000 experienced photographers and creators, hoping 60% will post on social media....
Retailers have spent a decade chasing Amazon‑style speed, but a Locus survey shows only 9% of shoppers believe promises are consistently met. Missed windows and silent delays erode trust, with 92% of customers abandoning a brand after just a few...
Global Media has struck a data partnership with Sainsbury’s Nectar360, merging first‑party shopper information with its own listener data on the DAX digital audio platform. The integration lets advertisers target UK audio audiences using anonymised purchase insights and directly measure...
Ikea will launch its digital secondhand marketplace in Belgium on April 29, extending the service to six European countries. The free platform lets Ikea Family members scan items, receive auto‑generated pricing, photos and details, and sell for cash or a 15%...
Bain’s 2026 analysis shows insurgent FMCG brands, representing less than 2% of the market, contributed 36% of the sector’s 2% aggregate growth in 2025. However, half of that growth stems from household and population increases, not genuine brand‑driven expansion. Established...
Canadian small‑business owners are moving from AI experimentation to everyday use, according to a 2026 Square survey showing 60 % of respondents already employ AI tools and 74 % are familiar with them. Commerce platforms such as Square, Shopify and Lightspeed are...
Kohl’s announced the closure of 27 underperforming stores and its San Bernardino e‑commerce fulfillment center in early 2025, completing the shutdown by April. The closures spanned 15 states and followed a slump in comparable store sales during 2024. In November, Michael...
The Criteo 2026 Commerce & AI Trend Report shows AI is reshaping product discovery, with 47% of shoppers using it for comparison and 39% for finding new items, yet only 8% rely on AI to finalize purchases. Consumers crave “relevant...
Food‑delivery aggregators such as Talabat, Deliveroo and Careem have turned into digital shelves for restaurants across the UAE and wider Middle East. Visibility on these apps—driven by algorithmic rankings, menu presentation and promotions—now determines a brand’s ability to attract orders,...
Kiabi is extending its newly launched online marketplace beyond France to Spain and Italy, introducing third‑party brands alongside its own apparel line. The rollout adds complementary categories such as children’s products, baby gear, and home essentials, creating a broader family‑focused...
Revlon has signed a licensing agreement with Salt Life, the ocean‑focused apparel brand owned by Iconix International, to develop its first fragrance collection. The debut line, inspired by Salt Life’s “ocean‑driven lifestyle,” is scheduled to hit retail shelves in 2027....
Case Study: Spotting Opportunity in Underutilized Businesses: A Seaside Retail Example I recently had an interesting conversation that highlights a great opportunity for those of you looking to buy a business rather than start one from scratch. The Situation A friend of mine...
"The ice cream machine is broken." Those are six very depressing words. McDonalds had a 19-click process for marking ice cream as unavailable. Now with IoT and tech solutions, there's failure detection and response. https://t.co/w6mR84wNiX https://t.co/2ufj3Zp3MB
Macy’s Inc. reported a stronger fourth‑quarter performance, with comparable sales increasing 1.8% and net sales of $7.6 billion, surpassing its own guidance. The company’s Bloomingdale’s division led growth, posting an 8.5% rise in net sales and 9.9% comparable‑sales growth, while re‑imagined...
The 2026 Klaviyo Email Benchmark Report is here 📊 We analyzed: • 600+ brands • 740M emails • $300M in 30 days ($3.6B annualized) And found a massive gap between top performers and everyone else. Most ecommerce brands have no idea where they actually stand. https://t.co/N9YXthbeeI
Faherty, the premium American coastal lifestyle brand making waves in the U.S. fashion market, is launching its international expansion in Biarritz, France. Surfing-Inspired Faherty Rides A Wave To Open In Biarritz, France via @forbes https://t.co/RAy0CmcnN8
Revive Collagen has appointed Spice Girls icon Mel B as the ambassador for its new menopause product range. The 50‑year‑old MBE, known for her advocacy of women’s health, said the brand’s focus on supporting women during menopause resonated with her. The...
Square’s inaugural Local Economy Report shows that repeat customers—defined as shoppers who visit four or more times a year—generate nearly six times more annual revenue for Canadian neighbourhood businesses than one‑time visitors. In Montreal, regulars produce seven times the value,...
Seats and Sofas, a Dutch furniture retailer, has agreed to reimburse nearly 1,500 customers a total of €100,000 after the Dutch Consumer Authority ruled that its warranty‑related fees were unlawful. The disputed charges included €75 for home pick‑up, €49.95 for...
Battersea Power Station’s leasing director says social influence has become a critical leasing KPI, reshaping how landlords curate retail mixes. Gen‑Z now turn to social media before search engines, prompting landlords to prioritize brands with strong digital followings. Battersea leverages...
Plaud is finally selling in India through Amazon. The company is now officially selling its new Plaud Pro device for ₹19,490. The device sells for $189 in the U.S. https://t.co/O2S52C07LL
