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AI Agents Trusted or Transactional
Technology

AI Agents: Trusted or Transactional?

AI assistants could do what retail media networks promise but often fail to deliver: increase basket size without making shoppers feel relentlessly barraged by transactional ads. The macro-opportunity for any retailer is to connect a shopper to information that changes a purchase decision and deliver a better customer experience. If an AI assistant can do that, the tool is an asset, not a gimmick.

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Phil Lempert August 31, 2026
Retail Unwrapped Podcast Art 9
Retail Unwrapped Podcast

How to Revive Personal Attention With Customers

Join Shelley and David Wachs, founder of Handwrytten, as they reveal why personal attention beats personalization. They unpack what scalable tools retailers can use to keep customers feeling valued.

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Retail Unwrapped August 28, 2026
The Consumer Anxious Financially Stretched and Driving Retail Growth
Finance

The Consumer: Anxious, Financially Stretched, and Driving Retail Growth

Although a convergence of economic and geopolitical pressures is souring consumers’ outlook and pulling sentiment down, when looking at their actual spending—especially heading into the back-to-school and college season—they seem to put those concerns aside if you’re looking for a correlation between sentiment and spending.

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Pam Danziger August 26, 2026
Will Going Public Change Reformation
Finance

Will Going Public Change Reformation?

So many DTC companies have struggled after going public; Reformation’s IPO comes at a time when its customer base has significantly diminished, and the brand may no longer inspire the same confidence that fueled its rise. Can Reformation transcend younger consumers’ newfound negative perceptions?

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Jaisel Cherry August 25, 2026
The China Tariff Punishment Failed
Operations

The China Tariff Punishment Failed

The latest sourcing choice for U.S. importers? Surprise! It’s China. The Trump tariffs were supposed to punish China by driving American companies to shift their buying to other countries. It hasn’t quite worked out that way. So, it’s back to the tariff future.

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Warren Shoulberg August 24, 2026
Nike The Robin Report Retail Miss of the Week 8. 22. 26
Operations

Nike: The Robin Report Retail Miss of the Week, 8. 22. 26

Hey, don’t get us wrong, we’re all in favor of retailers testing new store concepts and experimenting with different formats. But how long is it going to take Nike to get anything right? The report that they are shutting down their Nike Live—rebranded as Nike Well Collective (whatever that means)—it’s another dead end for a brand that was once king of the footwear and sports apparel sectors; now it seems in a foot race to failure.

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Warren Shoulberg August 22, 2026

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