The Modern Retail Podcast

Young consumers have always been a sought-after demographic for retailers — but what they value is always changing.

Over the past several decades, Pacsun has sought to maintain a strong pulse on the evolving tastes of teenagers. 

From viral jeans to strategic partnerships with creators, the mall-based retailer is once again winning over young people. For the first time in 18 years, the company is opening more new stores than it is closing.

Pacsun's digital strategy is heavily weighted toward customers’ personal interests and influences. The brand says it remains relevant through four key pillars: fashion, music, sport and art. And so in 2025, the company began releasing an annual Youth Report and announced its Youth Advisory Council. The two programs are an example of Pacsun leaning into customer participation and what it calls “consumers as co-creators.” 

On this week’s Modern Retail Podcast, senior reporter Gabriela Barkho is joined by Pacsun CEO Brie Olson, who recently released a new book called “Co-Created: The Cultural Strategy That Redefined Pacsun.” 

In this interview, Olson discusses:

The brand’s early bet on TikTok Shop.

Pacsun’s new Youth Advisory Council and Youth Report.

The brand's latest investment in a new mobile app as a hub for product drops and rewards.

Late May saw a slew of first-quarter earnings reports that reflected meaningful growth for companies like Target and Walmart, but also revealed some bigger shifts in consumer behavior and operational costs.

While shoppers dealing with higher fuel costs are pulling back in some areas, like DIY home projects, they're also showing up to treat themselves for limited-edition collabs or deals at off-price retailers.

This week on the Modern Retail Podcast, special projects editor Melissa Daniels is joined by reporter Mitchell Parton to unpack some of the biggest hits and misses of earnings season, from Target's comeback to the threat of rising fuel prices.

In the era of the viral vertical video, there is a seemingly endless appetite for new content. And brands are getting in on original content trying by creating their own series for social media.

In January, Gap Inc announced it was creating a new role, a chief entertainment officer, where Pam Kaufman will lead their “fashion-tainment” strategy. This year, David’s Bridal launched “Breaking Bridal,” a series documenting nontraditional weddings.

And since September, New York-based Prince Street Pizza has been putting out episodes of “Delivering Happiness,” a YouTube series starring actor Nick Turturro. Lawrence Longo, the CEO of Prince Street Pizza and Irv’s Burgers, is the brainchild behind “Delivering Happiness,” having gotten his start as a film producer before getting into the restaurant industry. Prince Street Pizza is in the middle of expanding nationwide – new locations are opening soon in Nashville and Charleston – and the show is part of the company’s brand awareness strategy.

This week, Longo joins senior reporter Gabriela Barkho and special projects editor Melissa Daniels on the Modern Retail Podcast. Longo breaks down his approach to storytelling and why he’s bullish on original content fueling Prince Street’s growth. "I think every brand is their own media company," Longo said.

This episode gets into:

The time and investment needed to create consistently viral moments.

The logistics behind pulling off a project like “Delivering Happeniness."

Why brands should not expect authentic content to drive instant sales.

For this week's Modern Retail Podcast, co-hosts Gabriela Barkho and Melissa Daniels were joined by Katie Thomas from the Kearney Consumer Institute to discuss how shoppers' financial stress is showing up in their shopping habits.

KCI recently released its latest Consumer Stress Index, which monitors 24,000 consumers across 12 countries. It looks not only at consumers' financial picture but also at their stress related to geopolitics and government, innovation and technology, food and the environment, and health and education.

What's different this year is that it's not just one factor causing consumers to feel stressed. It's the compounding effect of inflation, geopolitical instability and overall uncertainties.

"Put these two analyses together — historic stress levels and a population that feels starved of joy — and you get a consumer landscape that continues to defy the standard recessionary playbook," the report said.

On this week's episode of the Modern Retail Podcast, co-hosts Gabriela Barkho and Melissa Daniels are joined by Modern Retail's platforms reporter Allison Smith to dig into why TikTok Shop is becoming a more legitimate sales channel in the eyes of bigger brands.

Less than three years old, TikTok Shop now makes up roughly 20% of all social commerce sales, according to data from eMarketer. The rest of the category is dominated by Meta. Last year, the company drove $500 million in sales during the four-day stretch from Black Friday to Cyber Monday.In response, more established legacy brands and mid-sized companies are popping up on TikTok Shop. Smith reported this March that sales from big-name brands — those with at least $30 million in annual revenue — increased 97% year-over-year on TikTok Shop.The conversation discusses:

How affiliates and discounts are powering acquisition.

What it's like operating on TikTok Shop as a big corporation versus a smaller startup.

What it takes to succeed on TikTok Shop.