Retail Strategies & Supplier Insights

There was a time when private label mostly meant “cheaper alternative.” Not anymore. Private label sales in the U.S. reached a record $282.8 billion in 2025, and store brands grew 3.3%, nearly triple the growth rate of national brands at 1.2%. They also hit all-time highs of 21.3% dollar share and 23.5% unit share. In food and beverage specifically, private label now holds about 23% market share. That is not a side story. That is the story. 

March is when everybody starts talking brackets. In supplier finance, though, the real tournament is happening in accounts receivable. It is not flashy. It is not on TV. But it can absolutely wreck your season.

Walmart didn’t pick John Furner to “hold the line.” They picked him to press the advantage—and to do it in a very Walmart way: operator-first, merchant-minded, and increasingly platform-powered.

On Feb. 9, 2026, Kroger appointed Greg Foran as CEO—effective immediately—ending an unusually long stretch of interim leadership after Rodney McMullen’s exit in 2025. And this isn’t business as usual for Kroger. Foran is widely described as Kroger’s first external CEO hire. That matters because it signals the board doesn’t just want stability. It wants a reset.

In late February 2026, the headline finally flipped: Amazon reported $716.9B in 2025 revenue, edging past Walmart’s $713.2B for its most recent fiscal year. That doesn’t mean Walmart “lost.” Walmart’s online business is still growing fast (its global ecommerce sales are now $150B+ annually, with a recent quarter showing ~24% ecommerce growth).

Promotions are supposed to drive velocity. But for many suppliers, promotions also drive something else: short pays. That’s when the retailer pays less than your invoice—often tied to promotional allowances, bill-backs, scanbacks, markdown funds, or price file mismatches. And the money isn’t small.

Valentine’s is one of those holidays that looks small on the calendar… until you feel it in the PO volume. For 2026, the National Retail Federation (NRF) expects Valentine’s spending to hit a record $29.1 billion, with shoppers budgeting $199.78 on average.

Late January is when many supplier teams have the same quiet moment. You look at Q4 shipments and sales. You feel good about demand. Then you look at the bank balance… and it doesn’t match the story. That gap isn’t bad selling. It’s netting. It’s the reality that in retail, revenue can be real and still not be cash—at least not yet.

You’re trying to close Q4. Retailers are resetting priorities. Customers are returning gifts, disputing charges, and testing policies. And suddenly your finance team is staring at a number that feels… unfair.

Google announced the Universal Commerce Protocol (UCP) —an open standard designed to enable AI “agents” to communicate with retailers and commerce platforms throughout the purchase journey. And it didn’t show up alone. Google highlighted partnerships with  Walmart, Shopify, and Target  (among others), with the goal of letting customers complete purchases in  Google Search and Gemini  without hopping between apps and retailer sites. If you supply retail, here’s the simple take

Discover how the blocked Kroger merger impacts the grocery landscape, with Walmart emerging as a key player. Explore the Kroger merger dynamics.

You can have a strong sales year and still feel broke. That usually means one thing: money is leaking out after the sale—through deductions, chargebacks, and short pays.

If 2026 had a supply chain slogan, it would be: “Nice single-source you’ve got there. Hope nothing happens.” Most suppliers don’t dual-source because it’s fun. They do it because retail punishments for inconsistency are real: out-of-stocks, missed promotions, and sometimes lost shelf space.

2026 looks like a year of modest top-line growth, more challenging profit math, and more “systems-driven” retail. Translation: retailers will still want growth, but they’ll increasingly demand it through automation, tighter compliance, and pay-to-play visibility.

If you’re a retail supplier, 2025 probably felt like you were fighting margin with both hands tied behind your back. Not because demand disappeared. Not because your product suddenly got worse.

By early December, most suppliers are looking at the same thing: big, beautiful holiday sales numbers… and a deduction report that feels like a crime scene. Retailers are forecasting more than $1 trillion in U.S. holiday sales this year, with November and December accounting for around 19% of annual retail sales. That’s the good news.

Cyber Monday has become the Super Bowl of online retail. In 2024, U.S. shoppers spent $13.3 billion online on Cyber Monday, up 7.3% year over year—the biggest single online shopping day ever recorded. During the peak hours of 8:00–10:00 p.m. Eastern, consumers were spending about $15.8 million per minute.

From the outside, Black Friday is all about doorbusters. From your side of the table, it’s about something way less glamorous: data integrity.

If retail felt slow this year, you’re not imagining things. Big banners plan category resets months ahead; most categories are refreshed at least annually.

Private label (store brands) isn’t “coming.” It’s here—growing, confident, and better funded than ever. In 2024, U.S. store brands set record shares and surpassed $270B in sales; 2025 projections push even higher.