A Good Return Experience Triggers the Next Purchase
Join Shelley and Birdie Smith, Head of Sales at Happy Returns, as they reveal how the smart play is to transform returns into a growth lever; retailers that give shoppers options, speed, and convenience can turn a return into the next purchase. They also discuss what happens when AI agents start handling returns for the shopper and why only two percent of retailers believe they can detect return fraud heading into the holidays.
The Latest Retail Industry Insights and Analysis
What’s Behind the French Supermarket Cyberattacks?
The immediate priority for retailers hit by cyberattacks is to understand where critical systems depend on technology that is outdated,
Breakthrough Work In Sustainable Apparel
The work of scientists and researchers deserves celebration, but solid climate, energy, and technology breakthroughs need costly infrastructure and sustained
Retail Exec Mary Jo Pile Leads as a High-Performance Coach
Mary Jo Pile’s well-earned career in retail is a great example of taking what you have learned and then applying
Listen Up
Retail Unwrapped
Our weekly podcast with Shelley E. Kohan, & guests. Available on your favorite podcast platforms.
Experience
Walmart Makes a Fashion-Forward Play
Walmart and Macy’s are inching upward into fashion-forward style, and iconic couture designers are spreading a version of their vision
TJ/TK Maxx: Addicted to the Treasure Hunt
Savvy retailers enhance value through the treasure-hunt experience with a self-rewarding customer journey. The formula can be replicated across other
Patagonia: The Robin Report Retail Hit of the Week, 9. 26. 26
Unlike a certain President of the United States who offered a bordering-on-bribery $5,000 to anyone who voted Republican in the
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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
Who’s Right About Walmart’s Pricing?
After I listened to NPR’s Life Kit broadcast, I drove to Burbank over the weekend to see for myself, and
Spatial Intelligence: Unlocking the Store
By transforming the physical store from a black box into a source of real-time intelligence, spatial intelligence provides retailers with
AI and the Extinction of Retail
The creators of AI are sounding the alarm. No regulatory cavalry is riding over the hill to insulate your business
Management
Neighborhood Intelligence: The Robin Report Retail Miss of the Week, 10. 10. 26
If the name doesn’t ring a bell, maybe you’ll recognize its former name: Bed Bath & Beyond. Not the fabled
Mara Sirhal: Leading Through Self-Reflection
Mara Sirhal is SVP Merchandising Home at Target and candidly describes the retail business as tough; consumer count is declining.
Operations
The Great Value Reallocation
Spoiler alert: Consumers are not simply trading down. They are reallocating trust, loyalty, and wallet share to brands and retailers
A Toy Story of Resilience
Unlike many of the “walking dead” retail brands that went out of business but have hung on in a virtual
Caraway: The Robin Report Retail Miss of the Week: 10. 3. 26
At first, one might think that this DTC cookware company, being sued by two of the biggest players in the