The trends that will dominate Black Friday and Cyber Monday, from AI search to experiential pop-ups
Cyber Week is here and the Modern Retail Podcast is breaking down the biggest shopping and trends to watch during this all-important shopping period.
This week, Modern Retail senior reporter Gabriela Barkho is joined by staff from our sister site, Glossy, including senior fashion reporter Danny Parisi and Glossy West Coast correspondent Lexy Lebsack. Now that the sales week has officially begun, the trio discusses a number of brand strategies and shopper behavior they have spotted this season, including the first big test for AI chatbots assisting with gift search.
On this week’s show, the staff’s roundtable covers topics such as:
The modern gift guides and where shoppers are looking for holiday gift ideas, from brands’ own gift guides to ChatGPT suggestions.
The non-discounting marketing strategies, in which brands are instead offering shoppers perks like exclusive access to products and in-person pop-ups.
Other ways brands are standing out beyond traditional marketing sales, including limited-edition collaborations and even advent calendars.
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How Gen Z builds brands, with CharCharms' Charlotte Trecartin
This week on the Modern Retail Podcast, co-hosts Gabriela Barkho and Melissa Daniels dive into all the brand moments Barkho saw on a recent trip to BravoCon in Las Vegas. The event had a record number of shoppable activations, ranging from Wayfair studios to special-edition Reebok sneakers. Then they analyze the latest earnings from TJX, which showed net sales of $15.1 billion. That marked a 7% increase from a year ago, boosted by more foot traffic and value-driven shoppers.
Then, in this week's featured segment, Daniels sits down with CharCharms founder and CEO Charlotte Trecartin to discuss the art of publicly building brands as a Gen-Z entrepreneur. While founders have been "building brands in public" for years, the strategy is becoming paramount for digital-native business owners who are sharing their wins and fails on TikTok, Instagram and Substack. Their discussion gets into:
Why virality can help drive sales but doesn't indicate long-term viability
Understanding what to share and what not to share when building your business
Future-proofing ideas and concepts with legal and intellectual property safeguards
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How ButcherBox uses a loyalty program to drive more meat sales
This week on the Modern Retail Podcast, co-hosts Gabriela Barkho and Julia Waldow kicked things off by discussing Amazon’s plan for a new Whole Foods store concept. The new layout, currently being tested in select locations, will allow shoppers to purchase more mainstream brands like Pepsi and Chips Ahoy while they do their Whole Foods shopping. The team also broke down the growing popularity of Advent calendars and why every brand from Dior to Kraft Mac & Cheese is releasing them.
And in this week's featured segment, Modern Retail’s Melissa Daniels sat down with Reba Hatcher, the chief revenue officer at subscription brand Butcher Box, where the two spoke about the company’s growing loyalty program.
Their discussion covers:
The company’s decision to segment its subscriber base to personalize offerings to different customers.
Building a two-tiered loyalty program that rewards customers for the amount of dollars they spend and how often they order.
How features like add-on products are helping grow cart sizes
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Inside the private equity playbook to revive Claire’s
This week on the Modern Retail Podcast, co-hosts Gabriela Barkho and Melissa Daniels unpack the news that Amazon is laying off about 14,000 people from its corporate workforce. They discuss what this says about how corporate America is responding to economic circumstances as well as the role of AI in reshaping workflows. Next, they talk through Lululemon's NFL collaboration and what it reveals about the athleisure giant's attempts to win over new audiences.
From there (15:40), Barkho and Daniels sit down with Lawrence Berger, the co-founder of private equity firm Ames Watson that recently acquired Claire's following its Chapter 11 filing. Berger explains how the company's experiences reviving Lids, another legacy mall brand, are helping inform its Claire's playbook as it looks to update the stores and brand for a new era.
Their discussion covers:
The challenges Claire's faces with outdated merchandising and inefficient corporate practices
The behind-the-scenes fixes, like merchandising and store refreshes, that Ames Watson is planning
Why Ames Watson sees itself as an “atypical” private equity firm that aims for long-term brand revival rather than quick flips
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How Bobbie's brand playbook led to landing Cardi B
On this week's episode, co-hosts Gabriela Barkho and Melissa Daniels get into the news of Quince dodging claims from Ugg's parent Deckers Brand that it unlawfully copied two of its best-selling styles. Next, they discuss the announcement from cosmetics company E.l.f that it will be offering live shopping on streaming service Twitch, and what that says about the potential resurgence of streaming in social commerce.
Then during the featured segment (12:50), Daniels is joined by Kim Chappell, the chief brand officer at infant formula company Bobbie, to go behind-the-scenes of its latest campaign with Cardi B (Bobbie named her as its "chief confidence officer") and how the company infuses brand across all parts of their business.
Chappell discusses:
Why having a strong brand has helped grow Bobbie and gain customer trust
The combination of gut instinct, humor and parenting realities that goes into crafting big campaigns
How to know when and whether to weigh in on social or political issues
The Modern Retail Podcast is a podcast about all the ways the retail industry is changing and modernizing. Every Saturday, senior reporters Gabi Barkho and Melissa Daniels break down the latest retail headlines and interview executives about what it takes to keep up in today’s retail landscape, diving deep into growth strategies, brand autopsies, economic changes and more
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