Retail insights at the intersection of now and next. Unfiltered. Unbiased
Shelley caught up with five more innovators at NRF 2026 to get their takes on the retail industry and an outlook for this year. Their conversations ranged from the connected store and talent development to geolocation analytics and the need for personalization.
The new Dietary Guidelines for Americans reset the playing field for supermarkets, creating significant opportunities for retailers to lead on health, but also real risks if promotions and advertising simply chase short term sales instead of long term trust.
Gen Z is a politically bifurcated demographic of stressed-out, risk-averse consumers facing career stagnation and uncertainty in 2026. It’s hard to sell the American Dream to a demographic for whom it feels unattainable.
Last month, Prada reopened its flagship boutique in Hong Kong in Alexandra House in Central. This is after years of downsizing and store closures, both for the Italian luxury giant and Hong Kong retailers overall. Prada’s relaunched boutique is now its largest in the region—reportedly some 14,000 square feet over three floors.
How do retailers replace transactions with emotional connection? And the answer is: Retailers need to figure out how to bridge a brand concept to a physical experience, and most are failing.
https://youtube.com/shorts/4RZRxakDN4Y?feature=share Hard to believe but Aldi has been in the American market for 50 years this year. And it’s even harder to believe that when this year closes out it will have almost 2,800 locations in the U.S. en route to
Join Shelley and Sandy DeFelice, Senior Vice President of Revenue and Strategic Accounts at Digital Wave Technologies, as they reveal how clinging to traditional product descriptions and outdated data structures are becoming untenable.
Will 2026 see a continuation of the volatile tariff swings of 2025 and will the U.S. stop importing from. China? And the answer is: It is unlikely that tariffs will stabilize into something more predictable—not free trade, but a stable managed relationship where some doors close while others remain strategically open, especially when it comes to a pragmatic relationship with China.
Is founder Chip Wilson able to save Lululemon, or will his ego push the brand further into irrelevance? And the answer is: One man’s ego is not the soul of a brand, and this founder’s re-emergence can’t dictate a public company board’s fiduciary responsibility to its shareholders.
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