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

Not that anyone needed reminding that pets are increasingly treated like 

 in their households, but Halloween spending suggests the trend continues apace. Americans 

 an estimated $860 million on pet costumes for the holiday this year, a 22.9% increase over last year’s 

 million, according to the National Retail Federation.

And retailers are helping to fuel the trend.

PetSmart hosted Halloween events for—sorry, bearded dragons—“your 

 friends” in its stores on October 26. Along with treat stations situated throughout the stores, the in-store grooming salons featured “Spritz Stations” to keep pets, as the brand put it in an Instagram 

 Tompkins Square Halloween Dog Parade in New York City’s East Village was cancelled in 2023 until the Get Joy pet food company resurrected it with a last-minute 

. This year it was sponsored by another pet food brand, 

, and by a pet insurance company that’s a natural fit for the holiday: 

 sponsored no fewer than four events at city dog parks, culminating with a parade and dog-costume contest at Washington Square Park.

Other brands kept the pet costume contest online, including 

, which makes invisible fences and dog-training collars.

Now that pets have survived the ordeal of being dressed up as a 

, let the winter holiday shopping for them begin. Among pet owners, 70% purchase holiday gifts for the cutie pies, with 27% of those purchasers spending north of $100, according to a 2023 

A corgi dressed up as a subway car at New York’s Tompkins Square Halloween Dog Parade.

Spending on pet costumes rose 22.9% this Halloween 

Americans spent an estimated $860 million to dress up their pets, per NRF.

Vidhi Choudhary

As beauty brands face pressure to produce more content faster, Estée Lauder’s cosmetics brand Too Faced launched its first fully AI-generated campaign in March for its Ribbon Wrapped Lash Mascara product.

The campaign comes amid swirling rumors of a 

 sale by parent company Estée Lauder. Founded by Jerrod Blandino and Jeremy Johnson in 1998, Too Faced was acquired by Estée Lauder in 2016 for $1.45 billion, becoming one of the beauty giant’s younger-skewing brands with cheeky product names like Born This Way foundation.

Warissara Muangsaen, VP and global creative director at Too Faced, spoke with Retail Brew about Too Faced’s new campaign created in beta using Adobe’s AI-powered Firefly Video Model—which creates video content by converting text prompts and still images into visual clips or animation—before the tool’s public release.

In the ad, a ballerina spins in a music box as a black ribbon unfurls, expanding through the room until it wraps around a woman’s eyelashes. The bulk of the ad was created in roughly two weeks, Muangsaen said, adding “AI can be useful to you if you’re an expert in the field you’re using it for.”

In this case, Firefly helped speed up the overall creative workflow. “It makes us faster,” Muangsaen said.

Many of these highly specific, storytelling-driven concepts, Muangsaen explained, don’t exist visually yet. Phase one of the ad involved ideation and prompting, followed by storyboard and frame generation in phase two, video animation in phase three, editing and assembly in phase four, and finally, app testing and functionality checks in phase five.

“The editing takes shorter times,” she said. “We did a holiday shoot this year; it usually takes four days [to edit].” However, with Firefly it took one day, she added.

Too Faced also trained Firefly on its existing product imagery—foundation swatches, mascara textures, glitter finishes—so the AI could accurately replicate the brand’s visual look and feel. This allowed Too Faced to amplify existing creative assets rather than investing in additional content, which freed up budget. “What that means is I could have one extra day shooting a model,” Muangsaen said. Money saved usually gets repurposed on getting, say, a top beauty influencer for Too Faced, she added.

The larger idea was also to get members within her team, including visual merchandisers and photo retouchers, to get excited about a completely new way of working, Muangsaen said. “That was a part of the experiment itself that, ‘Hey, there's no right or wrong. Let’s just jump into it. Let’s see what it can help you [with], and let’s see what it comes out looking like.’”

 “We’ve seen that using AI tools to enhance content, video, and photography is really one of the top use cases for generative AI,” Sky Canaves, eMarkater principal analyst for retail and e-commerce, told Retail Brew. “It’s become pretty advanced.”

“Brands have to be increasingly agile, particularly in this very competitive and trend-driven space like beauty,” she said. “These kinds of tools can really help them to keep their content fresh and appealing to audiences.”

However, Canaves added, there is the risk of creating content that looks generic: “That’s where the human touch really comes in to really refine that content and enhance it and guide the AI tools to get the desired output.”

Estée Lauder’s Too Faced first AI ad campaign with Adobe

AI tools to enhance content, video, and photography are becoming one of the top use cases for generative AI.

How Estée Lauder’s Too Faced created its first AI ad campaign with Adobe

 spotlight Retail Brew’s readers. Want to be featured in an upcoming edition? Click 

Jason Jacobs is VP of programmatic media and partnerships at digital advertising company Captivate.

How would you describe your job to someone who doesn’t work in retail?

 I work in the digital out-of-home (DOOH) space, which means any digital screens you see in public that are not your phone, computer, or TV. Within DOOH, the retail media side is growing quickly. At Captivate, we help influence shoppers’ buying decisions by showing brand and product messages on screens in places like office buildings and residential complexes. My role is to help brands and agencies connect with these consumers in the right place at the right time.

One thing we can’t guess about your job from your LinkedIn profile? 

One thing you can’t guess from my LinkedIn profile is how much time I spend troubleshooting campaigns and resolving client issues. I also create new collateral that helps tell our story and showcase our capabilities.

What’s your favorite project you’ve worked on?

 One of my favorite projects was developing a cross-venue retail media package that combined office, residential, and other high-traffic environments into a single offering. It required collaboration across multiple teams, creative problem solving to align inventory and targeting, and gave brands a way to reach consumers throughout their daily routines.

Which emerging retail trend are you most excited about right now, and why? 

I am most excited about the growth of retail media beyond traditional e-commerce channels and into real world environments like digital out-of-home. Retailers are finding new ways to reach shoppers during their daily routines, not just when they are browsing online. This opens the door for more targeted, contextually relevant messaging that can influence buying decisions in the moment, and I think this blend of digital precision with physical presence is where the biggest opportunities lie.

Iced coffee, heavy on the flavored creamer!

Worst piece of advice you’ve received? 

The worst piece of advice I ever received was “Don’t rock the boat.” I believe that asking questions, challenging the status quo, and pushing for better solutions is how progress happens, both for businesses and for personal growth.

What was your favorite retail product when you were 15, and what’s your favorite retail product now? 

When I was 15, my favorite retail products were definitely clothing and sneakers. Now, it’s probably my smartwatch. I love tech gadgets and I use it to track my activity as I try to hit 10,000 steps a day.

Coworking with Jason Jacobs

He’s VP of programmatic media and partnerships at Captivate. 

The history of American workwear brands that have also been embraced as fashion brands spans generations. Levi Strauss 

 its rivet-enforced denim pants for laborers in 1873, and Carhartt 

 its sturdy bib overalls in 1889. More so than Levi’s, Carhartt still 

 its popularity with hammer-swingers, but the brand has leaned into decidedly non-workwear lines, too, with popular products for 

But Eric Girouard, founder and CEO of Brunt Workwear, the 5-year-old DTC brand, is doing everything he can to 

 become a fashion brand. And that stems from his upbringing in Bristol, Connecticut.

“I grew up roofing and landscaping when I was 14 [and] 15,” Girouard told Retail Brew. “All my childhood buddies went into the trades right out of high school.”

Girouard took a different route, working for fashion brands including Rue La La and M.Gemi, which features Italian-made shoes and handbags, but he remained close with those boyhood friends.

And they let him know they had little use for fancy 

“‘You should start a brand for us,’” Girouard recalled his buddies saying. “And I was like, ‘Well, what does that mean?’ And they were like, ‘I don’t know, something that we could at least use. We don’t care about Italian shoes or all this stuff.’”

Brunt launched in September 2020 with workboots, each line named for trade workers, including some of Girouard’s childhood pals. The namesake for the Marin boot, for example, is Matt Marin, who Girouard has known since nursery school and today is a union foreman carpenter. Marin’s story is featured on the boot’s product 

Today, along with boots, Brunt includes a head-to-toe apparel line. The company, whose headquarters are outside of Boston, has in recent months inked partnerships with two sports franchises in Massachusetts: The Boston Bruins and New England Patriots.

True to form, along with sponsoring the teams, Brunt sponsors the crews of employees who maintain the facilities where they play. With the Bruins, for example, Brunt is sponsoring and outfitting the crew known as the “

,” which maintains the rink at its venue, TD Garden, as well as 

 the rink into a basketball court for the Boston Celtics, who share the venue, and a stage for concerts and other performances.

Ditto for the Patriots, where along with the team, Brunt is the official partner for Gillette Stadium and its 

, which it also is outfitting with work boots and apparel.

The brand also is sponsoring a Bruins defenseman 

 and chose him not just for his feats on skates but for his ties to a trade: His father, also named Charlie, 

 McAvoy Plumbing & Heating, a century-old, multigenerational family business.

The brand is active on social media, where along with these partnerships, it highlights trade workers talking shop while outfitted in its products. It also produces a podcast, 

, named for work crews’ custom of taking a break on overturned buckets, that features workers jawboning about their crafts and trades.

In 2024, Brunt launched a wholesale program, and today its products are sold in 850 stores, and wholesale accounts for 20% of its revenues, per Girouard.

With retail, too, Girouard said rather than fashion-oriented stores, the brand targets workwear-focused retailers.

 in the middle of the country,” Girouard said. “We’re in 

 [Shoes] in Pittsburgh, which is the boot store if you’re in Pittsburgh you go to get your work boots from.”

The retail strategy is yet another way, along with only using “real-deal workers” rather than models on its e-commerce site, that Girouard said Brunt’s marketing focuses on making functional products for workers, not fashion statements for hipsters.

“Heritage brands have left this customer behind—a lot of them have moved into the fashion space for growth,” Girouard said. From the beginning, he determined Brunt “had to be incredibly authentic..”

“It had to look like my buddies look, talk like they talked, [and] hang out in the places they hung out.”

Photo of Eric Girouard, founder and CEO of Brunt Workwear.

Brunt Workwear stays focused on workers, not fashion

Bruins and Patriots partnerships highlight crews who maintain venues.

Why Brunt Workwear stays focused on workers, not fashion

Jeena Sharma

Don’t look now, but high prices might be sucking the sweetness out of Halloween. According to a survey by Shopkick and Trax, while excitement for the holiday is as high as ever, rising costs have shaken shoppers’ candy budgets.

In fact, 86% of consumers noticed seeing candy prices increase, while 79% said they had scaled back on how much they spent overall because of it.

Of the 6,000+ shoppers surveyed, 83% said they’re capping their candy spending at $100, while 69% plan to keep it closer to $20—a notable dip from past years’ averages of $30–$50.

With shoppers hunting for discounts—41% of consumers were planning ahead and doing “early bird candy hunts”—brands may need to rethink their Halloween playbook. As Trax CMO Brittany Billings put it, “The traditional late-October candy buying frenzy is evolving into extended, deal-driven purchasing windows that began much earlier this year. Brands and retailers must reassess their pricing and promotional structures to align with today’s price-conscious consumers hunting for deals.”

, while consumers are definitely going to spend for Halloween, 79% are expecting prices to be higher because of tariffs.

Overall, the spooky season spending shift mirrors broader holiday shopping behavior. Consumers are still opening their wallets, but only when they see value. 

 found that deal hunting and buy now, pay later use are on the rise, while Bankrate 

 that more shoppers are getting an early start this year to hedge against higher prices.

Candy inflation has shoppers capping their Halloween spend

According to Trax, 86% of consumers have noticed that candy prices are increasing.

Candy inflation has shoppers capping their Halloween spend: survey

, but new research suggests they’re actually more financially savvy than they often get credit for.

In a consumer survey conducted by Affirm, Gen Z was found to be approaching money with intentionality and discipline, with a big focus on value in an uncertain economy.

For instance, nearly 24% of Gen Zers chose to thrift or DIY their home decor. Others (40%) opted to blend new with secondhand. Even with apparel, 23% shopped secondhand, while 35% mixed thrifted with new clothing.

Meanwhile, about one-third identify as planners who make budgets and track spending, while a quarter call themselves “value seekers.”

Overall, the younger generation is getting smart with their spending, even those who favor buy now, pay later options. Affirm found that “nearly all Gen Z borrowers pay Affirm back in full across all loans.”

The finding that Gen Zers tend to be big savers shouldn’t come as a big surprise. A recent 

 that took stock of about 1 million consumer transactions found that Gen Z slashed their spending by 13% between January and April this year, with apparel, accessories, and electronics being some of the top categories they were pulling back spending on. 

 showed that Gen Z’s spending power was projected to rise to $12 trillion by 2030, impacting a range of manufacturers and retailers in the future. 

Cinema Light Box and Jewelry Case on Table at Thrift Store

Gen Z is thrifting everything from home decor to apparel

New data from Affirm suggests the youngest generation is managing money more wisely than you think.

Gen Z is thrifting everything from home decor to apparel: survey

The future of fashion production, according to Dominic Kaffka, is adaptability.

For the creative director and executive producer of event creative and production agency Focus Grp, that means constantly reimagining what a live show looks and feels like. The agency is responsible for grand activations and sets at global fashion and retail events—including New York Fashion Week.

Kaffka said he believes that regardless of a shifting economic and political climate, the need for “live moments” is here to stay. While he admits that event producers need to constantly innovate on the job, he said “that live experience you cannot replace with an AR or a piece of content.”

It’s why at NYFW last month, the company was hired to produce six runway shows, including for top designers and fashion houses such as Jason Wu, Grace Ling, and Toteme.

 Each show, Kaffka said, starts with its own creative DNA—often six months before showtime.

“We worked with Jason Wu and the Robert Rauschenberg Foundation on his show the other week, and that process started in February this year,” he told Retail Brew, adding that the company had access to original artwork from Rauschenberg, which it incorporated into the set for the runway show. The result was “part runway, part retrospective, part museum exhibit,” according to Focus Grp.

Likewise, for Swedish luxury retailer Toteme, Kaffka and his team built a custom set at “The Pool,” an event venue at the Seagram building in Manhattan.

“It was really about creating something customized for the room, with custom fabrics, custom carpets, custom benches—everything was custom made for a nine-minute show,” he said. “It was such an intimate show.”

While it may seem like once the process is in motion, these shows and events come together rather quickly, Kaffka said there are many moving pieces. Coordinating lighting designers, set builders, and other creative specialists is a production feat in itself.

“That’s really what our role is,” he said. “It’s a little bit like a conductor of an orchestra that changes every day.”

 Of course, the final outcome has to align with the designer’s vision. In the case of Wu, for instance, Kaffka said the process involved daily calls for weeks with the designer.

He said the company starts with “very detailed” briefing, creative and brainstorming calls, “so all our clients are working very closely with us on a weekly or bi-weekly basis—video calls, mostly,” he said. “Then [there are] in-person site visits in the show locations once you’re closer to the actual show date.”

Lately, Kaffka said, what has made the job more complex is trying to find non-traditional venues. “It’s like designers, or especially the fashion industry people, always want to get something that others can’t have,” he said.

He cites the example of Toteme again, whose September 2024 show took place inside the Solow Building, “the most exclusive office building in the world” where “no one ever before had done any event,” Kaffka told us.

“Our clients always come to us [saying,] ‘Do you have any venues? Do you have a space where no one ever brought the fashion crowd?’ That’s super important,” he added.

That hankering for novelty, or doing something no one else has done, has become part of the culture of fashion events, where the right venue can help spark a viral TikTok moment.

“A lot of brands are really not creating the show just for the purpose of doing an eight- or 10-minute show,” Kaffka said. “[But] because the content goes so viral and it lives online so much longer, really the return of investment you’re getting building an elaborate set or finding a really unique venue pays off because it lives online, and you reach so many more people if you do something very unique or special.” 

Grace Ling SS26 show set designed by Focus Grp