Retail Brew delivers the latest retail industry news and insights surrounding marketing, DTC, and e-commerce to keep leaders and decision-makers up to date.

Retail Brew

Andrew Adam Newman

retailbrew.com

Would you buy a secondhand wedding ring? 

Plus, you weigh in on whether retailers should make shoppers buy additional items to get one that’s in high demand.

Hot Topic: Would you buy a secondhand wedding ring?

Erin Cabrey

A retail storefront surrounded by social media icon logos on a field of blue

Three social media marketing tips retailers and brands in 2024

Experts share insights on adjusting strategies for influencer marketing and social commerce.

Three social media marketing tips retailers and brands should keep in mind this year

A four-pound and five-pound bundle of matzo.

Shrinkflation comes for Passover matzo

Matzo brands have offered five-pound bundles of matzo for decades, but now some are down to four pounds.

Marketing

Jeena Sharma

There’s nothing quite like retail therapy, or so seems to be a guiding principle in about half of American shoppers’ lives.

New data from Best Money found that 52% of consumers make “unplanned purchases” after a “stressful week,” while 63% said they did so as a way to “reward” themselves.

But it’s not just stress that’s driving people to spend. The survey, which included responses from 1,200 consumers across the country, reported that 1 in 3 Americans shopped out of boredom, while others often spend due to loneliness and sadness.

The study also found that 54% of those surveyed said they either had a spending budget but just couldn’t adhere to it or didn’t have a budget at all.

Meanwhile, 73% of shoppers admitted to being in credit card debt, averaging $8,550, and about 1 in 4 Americans attributed that debt to several small purchases that resulted from wanting something as opposed to really needing it.

In contrast, only about 1 in 9 people seemed to be in debt because of larger purchases that they wanted to make but didn’t need to.

grocery receipt consumer prices inflation

52% of American shoppers are shopping to relieve stress

A new study by Best Money found that 1 in 4 shoppers are in credit debt simply because of making several small purchases. 

52% of American shoppers are shopping to relieve stress: survey

Sephora and Vogue publisher Condé Nast are looking to cash in on the power of influencers, both unveiling new creator-led marketplaces to compete with affiliate marketing leaders like LTK and ShopMy.

Speaking at the Fast Company Innovation Festival on Tuesday, Sephora President and CEO Artemis Patrick announced the launch of My Sephora storefront, which allows creators and influencers to curate their own shoppable Sephora.com storefront. Patrick said the retailer was inspired to create the platform after receiving 14,000 applications this past year for its content creation program, Sephora Squad, which can only accept 50 annually. The platform, currently in alpha, is set to debut next month, she said.

Condé Nast’s new offering, Vette, also announced this week, allows influencers to operate their own online storefronts filled with products they picked. The platform will use “AI-powered merchandising and marketing tools,” the company said in a statement, which includes recommendations for inventory creators can add to their storefronts, 

. Vette, set to launch in early 2026, will use a revenue share model with creators and brands.

The new platforms are both efforts to get in on the nearly $16 billion 

—used by 40 million monthly shoppers and bringing in $5 billion in annual consumer sales, according to the company—and ShopMy, which scored $77.5 million in funding this year led by investors that previously backed Shopify and Rent the Runway.

Both Condé Nast and Sephora emphasized their new platforms differ from those affiliate marketing competitors because consumers can check out through the platforms themselves, rather than being redirected to the brands’ or retailers’ sites. Patrick said My Sephora is integrated into the retailer’s site on the app, desktop, or mobile devices, creating a “seamless experience,” while Vogue Business reported customers can shop and check out directly via Vette. The platforms more closely align with Amazon’s Storefront, which allows shoppers to convert sales directly though Amazon.

Lisa Aiken, Vogue’s executive fashion director and Condé Nast’s SVP of commerce, said in a statement that Vette will serve as a destination “where influence, distribution, and community come together in one place,” while Condé Nast CEO Roger Lynch said it “sets a new standard for what the future of commerce can be.”

Condé Nast Vette creator commerce storefront

Sephora, Condé Nast announce new creator-led storefronts

The storefronts, which let consumers checkout directly on the platforms themselves, will compete with LTK and ShopMy as well as Amazon Storefront. 

 it will introduce a protein-enhanced cold foam option later this month, meaning these grande-sized drinks will pack as much as 36 grams of protein, according to the company.

Will Starbucks’s new high-protein coffee drinks be a significant revenue-booster for the coffee chain? 

, we told you about the growing trend of brides-to-be asking brands for free products to include in bachelorette party swag bags. We asked if you thought brands should embrace or reject the trend. Nearly three out of you (72.6%) of you voted to reject the trend while 27.4% thought brands should embrace it.

Will Starbucks’s new high-protein coffee drinks boost revenues? 

Plus: Nearly 3 out of 4 against giving free products to bachelorette parties. 

Hot Topic: Will Starbucks’s new high-protein coffee drinks boost revenues?

It is universally agreed upon that the old “I’m sorry you feel that way, but *insert arbitrary excuse*” chestnut pretty much counts as a non-apologetic way to apologize.

 in somewhat the same vein apologizing for “any distress or misunderstanding this may have caused,” following the backlash for its recent 

, a lot of consumers weren’t having it.

“You’re not apologizing for anything,” Scott Markman, founder and president of the global branding agency MonogramGroup, told Retail Brew. “But you’re addressing the issue and potentially owning it and turning it into a positive.”

Social media users echoed Markman’s sentiments, perceiving the apology for the ad, which many 

Still, it’s difficult to speculate what would be the best way to approach the issue for Swatch, which got us thinking: What makes a good brand apology?

It’s not what you say; it’s how you say it

While brand apologies are usually a measured marketing response by the company, it’s still important to choose your words carefully and execute it in a way that feels sincere.

“You can get away with a little bit of softness if it still feels like you’re being authentic to the brand,” Katie Thomas, who leads the Kearney Consumer Institute, an internal think tank at Kearney, told Retail Brew. “A lot of times, it feels like people’s hands feel forced, and they kind of come out with this word salad.”

Citing the Swatch apology, in which the brand called the ad a “misunderstanding,” Thomas added that while it is acceptable to issue a statement that is “short and sweet,” brands should “use some words that are meaningful.”

Choosing the right words and apologizing in a meaningful way goes hand in hand with authenticity—a word modern marketers have written sonnets about but don’t always seem to get right.

“A real apology in real life is actually showing remorse for your actions and really meaning it,” Thomas explained, adding that brands might shy away from it to avoid seeming political, “but it’s also admitting fault, and that’s where brands struggle.”

Markman agreed that authenticity is key, but retailers are often full of empty words and no actions. “You can’t say, ‘Oh, we’re authentic,’” he said. “You just have to ooze and live authenticity and let people come to the conclusion that they can trust you and your intentions are solid.”

He added that when brands react to something damaging, they often dig themselves a hole by simply talking about authenticity, which they can’t “buy back” immediately.

“It’s probably going to be over time, and it’s going to be through a series of communications, a series of actions, as opposed to, ‘Well, to solve this problem, we’re going to make this up, do something in China to make up for it,’” he said. “That’s not going to be received too well. You’re just going to have to let it dissipate, along with maybe some small things that are just hinting in that direction.”

Often brands try to wait out a controversy and let it die without acknowledging it, which Thomas said is a bad idea. Citing internal Kearney statistics that found that 61% of consumers that boycotted a brand go back after a generic apology, she said that “an apology, even one that’s mediocre, is an admission of ‘OK, I can acknowledge something went wrong here,’ and consumers are forgiving.

“I don’t think a bad apology means people will walk away from the brand for that reason alone,” she continued, adding that people are also likely to forgive and forget if a brand is well differentiated and it’s a product they like.

Regardless, it’s important to say something. “If something has happened and has escalated, don’t do nothing,” she said. “I’m still in the camp of ‘Consumers expect some kind of response,’ even if you’re going to take an edgier response, I would still respond.”

We want to hear from you: What do you think makes a good brand apology? Take our 

Andi Owen's remarks to employees captured on video. 

The do’s and don’ts of an effective brand apology

Experts weigh in on what differentiates a good brand apology from a bad one after a controversy. 

This year, the question some might be asking isn’t what’s new at Fashion Week, but what’s 

With top secondhand platforms such as Goodwill and eBay both headed to New York Fashion Week, thrifting seems to be having a high-fashion moment.

 with its pre-loved Endless Runway shows this year, both in New York and London, Goodwill has collaborated with designer Evan Hirsch for its NYFW debut, featuring 20 ensembles exclusively created using garments sourced from 

Per George Burt, COO of ShopGoodwill.com, the relationship with Hirsch came about organically, after the designer known for incorporating upcycled fabrics into his designs tagged Goodwill in an Instagram post.

Burt told Retail Brew that Goodwill never intended to bring the designer into a paid relationship, but it was simply just right for both of them.

“An upcycler, somebody that’s creative, somebody that’s fashion forward, or just thinking more about sustainability that has this type of creative angle, can do so much,” he said. “He’s just a perfect example of that.”

While NYFW, a platform that’s traditionally associated with luxury and the advent of the new, might seem like a surprising choice for a thrift store to make an appearance, Burt said it’s just the “right audience.”

“There’s a lot of people that are thinking about sustainability in a different way now than maybe five or 10 years ago, for sure,” he said. “So this is just really the right moment.”

Marisa Ortega, analyst overseeing the US retail and e-commerce reports at Mintel, agreed, adding that Fashion Week acts as a “hub” for designers, buyers, and retailers to collaborate and network.

“Secondhand platforms are using fashion weeks to get exposure, but at the same time promote sustainable fashion practices and in a way, challenge traditional notions of luxury, integrating secondhand clothing into these high fashion events,” she said.

But aside from making important connections and challenging perceptions, for platforms like Goodwill, an additional benefit of the event is being able to connect with a younger generation.

Burt said broadening its audience is an important part of ShopGoodwill’s strategy.

“We have to attract the next generation of buyers,” he said. “At some point, everybody kind of ages out and you have to stay relevant.”

For Gen Z and younger millennial shoppers with luxury shopping aspirations, on the other hand, this offers an opportunity to have access to designer items without typical designer prices.

“We see that with everything that is going on with the high cost of living and uncertainty about tariffs, consumers are increasingly value conscious, so they are seeking accessible entry points into luxury,” Ortega said.

Meanwhile for designers like Hirsch that have partnered with Goodwill, a fringe benefit of joining with a secondhand retailer is that it demonstrates the brand is “forward thinking” and adaptable to a changing industry, per Ortega.

Ultimately, with pre-owned items becoming more of a common sight on runways, it’s likely to set a trend and influence what we might see both within luxury and at Fashion Week. “This market is set for growth, driven by chief consumer values, but also the economic environment that we are living in,” Ortega said.

“[These partnerships] are a way to show that secondhand fashion can coexist with high fashion. It makes it trendy, desirable, and accessible, and that is exactly what consumers want right now: accessibility.”

Burt added that with the “stigma” around thrifted clothing 

 down, it’s only natural that secondhand or vintage fashion has become somewhat cool for younger consumers.

“Our whole lives, we’ve purchased homes that have been resold. We’ve purchased cars that have been resold,” he said. “So it just is natural to purchase other items that have been previously owned.”

Your favorite thrift store is headed to Fashion Week

With Goodwill and eBay showing at New York Fashion Week this year, secondhand fashion is having a moment on the high-fashion runways.

Brides-to-be increasingly are hitting up small brands for free products to include in bachelorette party swag bags, the Wall Street Journal 

. Some brands welcome the trend as an opportunity for sampling and social-media exposure; others find the trend to be a nuisance and reject the requests.

 Do you think brands should embrace or reject the trend of giving free products for bachelorette parties? 

, we noted that Amazon would expand the number of locales in the US where it would offer free same-day grocery delivery service for Prime members from about 1,000 to 2,300 by the end of 2025.

So we asked if current Prime members who didn’t have the perk yet would take advantage of it if it came to their market. Nearly 3 out of 4 (72.7%) said yes, they would try the free same-day delivery offering, while 27.3% said they wouldn’t.

Should brands give free products to bachelorette parties? 

Plus, Nearly 3 out of 4 Prime members would try Amazon’s free grocery delivery.

Hot Topic: Should brands give free products to bachelorette parties?

Foot traffic fell 1.3% year over year at American Eagle for August, the first full month after it launched its controversial Sydney Sweeney campaign, according to Pass-by data provided exclusively to Retail Brew.

The campaign “Sydney Sweeney Has Great Jeans,” has faced criticism for allegedly having eugenics undertones and being hypersexualized, as we 

American Eagle competitors that also launched denim-themed celebrity campaigns appeared to fare better with foot traffic in August. The Gap, which 

 a viral video featuring the diverse all-female group, Katseye, on August 19 (four weeks after the Sydney Sweeney campaign launch), saw foot traffic climb 2.8% YoY for the month of August, per Pass-by. For the week that began August 25, the first full week after the Gap campaign launched, foot traffic rose 8.5% YoY. At Levi’s, which 

 a campaign featuring Beyoncé on August 4, traffic was up 1.8% for the month over last August.

 to collect and analyze its foot-traffic data, including infrared sensors, pressure mats, and anonymized data collected from smartphones.

The Sydney Sweeney campaign has had vocal defenders in very high places, including 

. The New York Post, dismissed the campaign’s critics as a “

In response to a request for comment about foot traffic, Rebekah Margulis, an associate vice president at Shadow, a PR firm that represents American Eagle, directed Retail Brew to comments pertaining to overall traffic from executives during a September 3 earnings call for American Eagle Outfitters, Inc (which along with American Eagle owns the brands Aerie, Offline by Aerie, Todd Snyder, and Unsubscribed). Margulis pointed out that Sydney Sweeney items for American Eagle, like a jacket and jeans, sold out in one day and one week, respectively, with items curated by the actress “performing four times better than AE’s other women’s items.”

During the earnings call, executives made several references to traffic increasing YoY for the second quarter across its brands, but did not reference in-store 

 traffic more specifically (as opposed to web traffic or a combination of both) .

We asked the company to clarify whether it had internal data that differed with Pass-by’s findings that foot traffic was down at American Eagle’s brick-and-mortar stores. It did not comment on foot traffic.

For Q2, which ended August 2, 10 days after the Sydney Sweeney campaign began, revenues increased 2% YoY for the company overall, but 

 for the American Eagle brand, falling from $827.6 million to $800.4 million, a drop of 3.3%.

 with Marketing Brew, American Eagle CMO Craig Brommers was triumphant about the Sydney Sweeney campaign, stating that it resulted in an “unprecedented spike” of 790,000 new customer acquisitions and nearly 320,000 new social followers.

“Sydney Sweeney is worth every single dollar that we invested,” Brommers told Marketing Brew. “Every single marketing metric that I look at is flashing a green light, and we’re only six weeks in.”

Syndey Sweeney poses wearing denim in an image with the text, "Sydney Sweeney Has Great Jeans."