How to read the monthly US retail sales report properly
The monthly retail sales release drives headlines that often misread it. This is how to interpret the numbers, revisions and control group.
Yuki Tanaka
How Gen Alpha shops and what retailers should prepare for
Gen Alpha is arriving with different discovery habits and no card of its own. Here is what is observable today and what it implies for retail.
BNPL refunds and disputes: what happens when an order goes wrong
Returns and disputes on BNPL orders follow the provider’s rules, not the card network’s. Here is what merchants need to get right.
Grocery shrink in fresh departments and how to bring it down
Fresh departments carry most of a grocer’s shrink. This is how to measure it by category and fix ordering before markdowns pile up.
Why the next wave of retailer marketplaces will be curated, not open: 3 signals
Signals from Target Plus, Best Buy and marketplace-platform vendors point to a cluster of curated, invitation-only retailer marketplaces launching before the 2026 holiday season. Here is why curation, not breadth, is likely to define the next wave.
Why US buy-now-pay-later is converting into deposit-funded banking: 3 charter signals
Klarna and Affirm are both pursuing US industrial bank charters, and the pattern points to buy-now-pay-later converting from securitization-funded lending into deposit-funded banking. Expect the first hard tells before year-end 2026 and product moves in 2027.
Why the UK’s new BNPL rules will shrink checkout volumes this half: 3 regulatory signals
The UK’s BNPL regime went live on 15 July 2026, and the signals point to a measurable contraction in transaction volume across Q3 and Q4. Expect at least one major provider to acknowledge the drag by early 2027.
Shein’s IPO Price Tag Is Sinking as the EU Crackdown Finally Bites
Shein walked into its final pre-IPO hearing in Hong Kong today carrying a much smaller number than it once expected. The fast-fashion giant is chasing …
UFLPA and forced-labor import rules: a compliance primer
Tariffs & Customs deep dive: UFLPA and forced-labor import rules: a compliance primer.
Why all-in checkout pricing spreads across UK and EU retail before the 2026 holidays: 3 enforcement signals
Three regulators are converging on drip pricing at once, and June 2026’s CMA fines signal the enforcement net widening into mainstream online retail. The pattern points to all-in ‘total price’ checkout becoming the default across major UK and EU platforms before the 2026 holiday peak.