SCOOP: Starbucks is shutting down its rewards program, "Coffee Loop." The pilot launched in October and operated on a premise of "buy nine drinks, get one free." ☕️ www.modernretail.co/marketing/st...

💰NEW: I spoke to half a dozen brand execs about their experiences applying for a #tariff refund this week -- and why there's still a long road ahead. @modernretail.bsky.social www.modernretail.co/operations/i...

📣 Call for sources! Are you a business owner who applied for a tariff refund this a.m.? Please drop me a line at [email protected]! Thanks so much. 😊 #JournoRequest

First on @modernretail.bsky.social: @babylist.bsky.social is coming to the Big Apple! 🍎 🍼 The baby registry company is opening its second showroom this summer in Soho. The space will focus on product education, content creation, events & raising a kid in NYC. 🚕 www.modernretail.co/operations/b...

⭐ New this morning: Customer reviews are becoming even more important to brands, thanks to #AI engines scraping product testimonials and user feedback. Now, brands are stepping up how they solicit reviews. www.modernretail.co/technology/c...

🥾 "We’ve been in this business now for 60 years & product is king. Product is ultimately what drives the consumer to us & brings them back." It was great to speak to Mephisto USA's new CEO Logan Bird about all things merchandising, marketing & tariffs: www.modernretail.co/operations/p...

🍬 🍭 New this a.m.: On Whatnot, the next big thing in livestream shopping isn’t sneakers or Pokémon cards — it’s sour gummies and seafood. Some more food for thought in my latest for @modernretail.bsky.social: www.modernretail.co/operations/f...

"Right now, my unemployment benefits are all messed up. I have no idea what to do, because now it’s like, ‘Well, you might get the money, but you might not.'" I spoke with a former Saks worker whose severance payments were cut off amid the bankruptcy: www.modernretail.co/operations/c...

NEW: Consumers are calling to boycott Frida Baby over its use of sexual innuendos in some of its packaging and marketing. A Frida spokesperson told me, "We’re never trying to offend, push boundaries for shock value, or make anyone uncomfortable." www.modernretail.co/marketing/fr...

🏈 Happy almost #SuperBowl day! Wrote about the many brands doing pop-ups on the ground in the Bay Area, from BÉIS to Abercrombie & Fitch Co. to while on earth™ 🏆 www.modernretail.co/marketing/th...

New: Wrote about the brands speaking out against ICE raids in Minneapolis and the broader U.S. for @modernretail.bsky.social: www.modernretail.co/marketing/br...

NEW: Saks Global's bankruptcy filing was a turning point for the struggling retail giant. But for its smaller vendors, the fallout is still playing out. I spoke to 3, who told me they're out up to 6 figures & aren't sure if they'll work with Saks again. www.modernretail.co/operations/s...

#JournoRequest: Looking to speak to Saks vendors for an upcoming article. (Can be anonymous.) Please get in touch via DM or [email protected] — thanks! 🙌

ICYMI: Walmart has launched or relaunched 10 private apparel brands since 2020. Now, 40% of Walmart Fashion customers belong to a $100K-plus household. More on how Walmart's fashion push is paying off with higher-income shoppers: www.modernretail.co/operations/w...

Today's members-only Brands Briefing is straight from the halls of the NRF Big Show. 👀 Here's how leaders at Fabletics, PayPal, PACSUN, and more are thinking about the agentic #AI opportunity, as explained in sessions and one-on-one interviews: www.modernretail.co/technology/b...

⛷️ 🏂 ❄️ We're less than a month out from Milan-Cortina 2026, and apparel and footwear brands are looking to nab a win in the fashion capital, too. My latest: www.modernretail.co/marketing/in...

Despite the Trump administration’s efforts to memory-hole Jan. 6, thousands of videos from the riot live on ProPublica’s website and other places. Additionally, much of the deleted DOJ database can be found on the Internet Archive’s Wayback Machine. (Published Jan. 2025)

IYCMI: BAGGU is planning price hikes of $2-$8 on "select styles" as soon as next month. The brand alluded to supply chain challenges, saying that "rising production costs" are a factor. On its website, Baggu says it manufactures in Cambodia, Vietnam and China.

"It’s not a completely new challenge, sources said. When it comes to AI-enabled checkout, retail brands are now finding themselves in a situation familiar to other industries, like air travel and dining, where more customers have started buying from middleman platforms like DoorDash or Expedia."

Happy New Year! My first story of 2026 is now up 👉 Why 2026 will prove whether #AI checkout is here to stay. Featuring Forum3, Bain, Brooklinen, Everlane and Winx Health. www.modernretail.co/technology/2... .

Consumers don’t know if their medications came from factories that used dirty water, were infested by insects or birds, or were outright banned from shipping drugs to the U.S. Our new app provides answers that the FDA won’t.

👖🏄 2025 marks a major milestone for the Y2K-favorite brand Pacsun: It’s the first time in 18 years that it’s increasing its store count, rather than decreasing it, the company told me. For @modernretail.bsky.social 👇 www.modernretail.co/operations/f...

Lol, love reading @juliawaldow.bsky.social on the tired fake apologies trend @modernretail.bsky.social www.modernretail.co/marketing/fa...

New: While some companies are touting “bigger than ever” discounts for Black Friday and Cyber Monday, others are dialing back deals from the year before. ⬇️ www.modernretail.co/marketing/yo...

👗👚 First on @modernretail.bsky.social: Urban Outfitters stores will now accept Nuuly returns. More on the program here: www.modernretail.co/operations/u...

Deck the halls with ... #Substack newsletters! 🎄 Brands including Rare Beauty, M.M.LaFleur and Loftie are making Substack an important part of their marketing mix during the busiest — and, for many, the most lucrative — time of the year: the holidays. www.modernretail.co/marketing/br...

⚽ With 48 participating nations, 104 matches & 16 host cities, the 2026 #FIFA #WorldCup will be the biggest one yet. From official products to soccer-forward marketing campaigns, here's how Adidas, Nike, Soccer.com, Coca-Cola & more are getting in on the hype: www.modernretail.co/marketing/br...

🎁 #JournoRequest: Are you a brand that's adjusting your BF/CM promotions from last year, particularly in terms of percent off? I'd love to talk to you! Please DM me here or email me at [email protected]. Thanks! ❄️

Could big font and bold colors be the key to upping product sales on TikTok Shop? Pure Daily Care thinks so. The skincare company developed packaging for its new Zap Patch specifically with TikTok scrollers and creators in mind. 👇 www.modernretail.co/marketing/ho...

✈️ Exclusive: Set Active, a Los Angeles-based activewear brand, is picking a much-visited destination this holiday season for its biggest out-of-home campaign: the airport security line. 👜 #OOH www.modernretail.co/marketing/se...

SCOOP: Starbucks is quietly testing a "buy nine coffees, get one free" pilot for loyalty members. Details here: www.modernretail.co/marketing/st...

New this a.m.: Kenneth Cole's new CEO, Jed Berger, told me he’s laser-focused on “differentiation” — namely, in terms of products and purpose — as he assumes the top job at the 43-year-old apparel and footwear company. www.modernretail.co/operations/k...

New for @modernretail.bsky.social: I spoke with multiple #Etsy sellers about the platform's new partnership with #OpenAI, which allows shoppers to browse and buy products directly within #ChatGPT. Here's what they told me: www.modernretail.co/technology/h...

🍁 Anthropologie is entering autumn with a focus on its burgeoning private label business. The company's owned brands -- which include Daily Practice & BHLDN -- made up a record 71% of sales last quarter. My convo with COO Candan Erenguc on what's next: www.modernretail.co/operations/a...

🤖 My latest, this time from #Shoptalk: After years of retooling their businesses for #SEO, brand and retail leaders are getting ready for a new frontier: #GEO. www.modernretail.co/technology/h...

In late August, dozens of postal carriers temporarily stopped shipping packages to the U.S. after the elimination of de minimis. They did so to give themselves time to adjust to new rules & costs -- but they also left small businesses around the world in a lurch: www.modernretail.co/operations/b...

🤠🐴 With live music, cowboy karaoke, hand-painted murals, and a full-on Texas-style dance hall in Grand Central Station, Tecovas says it's going "bigger than ever before" with its new paid marketing campaign in New York City this week. www.modernretail.co/marketing/br...

🐐 Exclusive: White & Warren, a cashmere brand known for its colorful $300 travel wraps, is embarking on a major rebrand today as it attempts to woo older millennials, grow its e-commerce penetration, and double its overall revenue in the next 3 years. www.modernretail.co/operations/c...

I'm back on the earnings train! 🚃 Here's what fashion companies like Crocs, Urban Outfitters, Gap, and Allbirds have had to say about hot-button issues like tariffs, manufacturing, pricing, and the holidays, as summer comes to a close: www.modernretail.co/operations/i...

New: It was Labor Day weekend... but brands didn't get time off when it came to tariffs. Companies are still facing fallout from the de minimis exemption going away last week -- and many are pulling back on product development or raising prices, as a result. www.modernretail.co/operations/m...

Canadian intimates brand Knix, now in its 12th year in business, is opening its first-ever permanent store in the U.S. today, in NYC. The company is eyeing additional locations across Manhattan & Brooklyn, not far from its home base of Toronto. More here: www.modernretail.co/operations/c...

Today in Las Vegas, #eBay is set to announce a new #AI tool to help sellers answer buyer questions. The company told me it sees AI seller tools as a "virtuous flywheel" that can lead to increased revenue & traffic. More here on @modernretail.bsky.social 👇 $EBAY www.modernretail.co/technology/h...

I've written about Claire's many times for @modernretail.bsky.social, and executives were always excited about the future. They hoped that initiatives like Roblox & a loyalty program could boost growth. But, as we saw earlier this week, the changes weren't enough: www.modernretail.co/operations/w...

American Eagle says its jeans ad with Sydney Sweeney "is and always was about the jeans. Her jeans. Her story. We’ll continue to celebrate how everyone wears their AE jeans with confidence, their way. Great jeans look good on everyone.” Statement on IG: www.instagram.com/p/DM0tMjaTBl...

SCOOP: American Eagle appears to be working with a crisis PR firm following backlash to its "Sydney Sweeney Has Great Jeans" ad. More here: www.modernretail.co/marketing/am...

ICYMI: This week's @modernretail.bsky.social Brands Briefing covers how brands are rethinking their social playbooks in light of a new Google Search-Instagram integration. Some are retooling their captions & using posts as "micro landing pages" for products. www.modernretail.co/technology/b...

🤖 Checkout via ChatGPT is on the way, & brands are feeling uneasy about the unknowns. What if ChatGPT uses old information to recommend new products? Will this become a "pay to play" marketing channel? And what will this all mean for loyalty? My latest: www.modernretail.co/technology/i...

Simply had to put the most bananas anecdote I've ever heard into my story for @modernretail.bsky.social today:

Really enjoyed my one-on-one with Crocs chief brand officer Terence Reilly about his plans to scale both Crocs & Heydude! Here's what he's planning, from TikTok Shop to celebrity partnerships: www.modernretail.co/marketing/no...

New: The Children's Place is branching out from private-label products and pairing up with properties like #HelloKitty, #Disney and #Minecraft. The retailer hopes these collaborations will help it to capture market share and appeal to millennial parents. www.modernretail.co/marketing/th...