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.
The Latest Retail Industry Insights and Analysis
Buc-ee’s: The Robin Report Retail Miss of the Week (Again) 8. 29. 26
We don’t usually call out a company twice in a month, but honestly this deserves it. We recently cited Buc-ee’s
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
Surviving the Latest Trade War … With Canada
And just like that, we seem to be at war with our closest neighbor, best ally, and first or second-biggest
Listen Up
Retail Unwrapped
Our weekly podcast with Shelley E. Kohan, & guests. Available on your favorite podcast platforms.
Experience
Opportunity Knocks: Luxury-Branded Cruises
Luxury brands are recognizing the strategic importance of cruises by investing in experiences that combine “being” with “having” in a
Decoding Hyper Goo Maximalism
A lot of companies think that loud and messy and customizable and, honestly, an unserious aesthetic proves a human actually
Cannabis Dispensaries Taking Dinner Reservations
I’ve spent four decades walking supermarket aisles and restaurant floors trying to spot the next place where food and commerce
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Opinion
What Now? What to Do
Tariff-driven cost inflation is likely here to stay, and now, with an ongoing Iranian war, potentially explosive expense inflation is
Tariff Chaos and the Widening Gyre
How does a business leader who may have just breathed a sigh of post-Covid-19 relief in early 2026, only to
What Now? What to Do
Tariff-driven cost inflation is likely here to stay, and now, with an ongoing Iranian war, potentially explosive expense inflation is
Tariff Chaos and the Widening Gyre
How does a business leader who may have just breathed a sigh of post-Covid-19 relief in early 2026, only to
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The Retail Unwrapped Podcast
Retail insights on-the-go, with Shelley E. Kohan. Available on your favorite podcast platforms.
From Our Partners
Placer’s 10 Brands to Watch + 3 Surprises
Check out Placer.ai’s latest enlightening report on the 10 Top Brands to Watch in 2025 when it comes to retail
How LoveShackFancy and WeWoreWhat Are Crushing Consumer Engagement
Watch and learn LoveShackFancy and WeWoreWhat are building engagement and social media strategies that matter to today’s younger consumer.
Technology
Comments Drive Gen Z’s Purchases
Gen Z is turning to the comment sections for trusted product recommendations. A recommendation from a regular person is more
TikTok Shop: Little Luxury Treats
TikTok Shop has become the ideal environment for this shift toward affordable luxury because it combines product discovery, education, entertainment,
When AI Amplifies Retail Dysfunction
New systems cannot replace bad processes and a misaligned culture to compete for success. When owning a process matters more
Management
Profile in Honor: Kimberly Shenk, Service Before Self
The first thing you learn, especially in the military, is if you make an investment and it’s not working, then
Ryan Cohen: The Robin Report Retail Miss of the Week, 8.15.26
You’ve got to admit: Ryan Cohen, the CEO of GameStop, always thinks big and lives large. His attempt to take
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.
Buc-ee’s: The Robin Report Retail Miss of the Week, 8. 8. 26
We get that companies want to protect their valuable brand names, but Buc-ee’s, really? Over the past few months, they’ve
Return on Experience by Store Design
Are you sure you’re measuring what matters? Talk to the finance team, and they have entrenched benchmarks defining a brand’s