Retail Strategies & Supplier Insights

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.

Discover how to build a Retail Compliance Operating System to control compliance issues. Learn Retail Compliance strategies for 2026 success.

In the first quarter (Q1), promotions are enforced by systems, not people. Here’s how suppliers stop short pays, billback chaos, and trade spend leakage before it repeats all year. Trade spend is one of the biggest checks you write all year. And in Q1 (first quarter), it has a bad habit of turning into a second job—because the retailer’s system starts “auditing” your promotions for you. Not with a person. With rules.

Returns aren’t just a retailer's problem anymore. They’re a supplier profit problem. And January is when you feel it.

Trade spend is supposed to buy growth. In Q1, it often buys you something else: confusion, short pays, and weeks of “Can you resend the backup?” If you’ve ever looked at a deduction and thought, “We already funded that promotion… why are we paying again?”—welcome to the club. Why this matters more than ever in 2026 Retail is entering 2026 with shoppers still seeking value. Retailers are leaning into deals, private label, and “dupes,” and they’re getting more aggressive about

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

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.

The National Retail Federation (NRF) expects 2025 holiday retail sales in November and December to cross the $1 trillion mark for the first time, up about 3.7%–4.2% over last year. And 2024 already set a record, with core holiday sales hitting roughly $994.1 billion, up 4% year over year.  That’s great for headlines. But here’s the question that matters for you as a supplier: Did holiday retail sales actually lift your margin?

Year-end close can feel like a necessary evil. Accruals. Reclasses. Deductions. Spreadsheets everywhere. But here’s the opportunity: the same work you are doing to close the books can help you open the story you tell buyers in 2026.

If you sell into big retail, your year isn’t 12 months long. It’s 12 months… plus the six-week sprint from early November through New Year’s.

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.

Product photography isn’t decoration. It’s conversion, returns, and compliance—rolled into pixels.

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.

Walmart’s Next Play: Trends Suppliers Must Ride Walmart isn’t just remodeling stores—it’s rebuilding the operating system of U.S. retail. From a “store of the future” blueprint in Texas to AI-powered shopping and exit tech, the world’s largest retailer is wiring digital into every aisle, endcap, and app screen. If you sell to Walmart (or want to), here’s what’s changing—and how to line up your game plan now. What Walmart is building (and why it matters) A flagship “store of t

If your brand touches center store, fresh, or private label, the latest SNAP shifts aren’t just policy news—they’re a demand signal.

If Congress misses the October 1 funding deadline, parts of the U.S. government will shut down. Essential services will keep running, but...

A food broker is a contract sales representative who connects food and beverage manufacturers with retail buyers—think grocery chains, club stores, mass, and specialty. They don’t buy or own your product; they sell it, manage the relationship, and help move it through existing retail channels.

Food brokers aren’t just matchmakers between brands and buyers. The best ones are also your compliance bodyguards.

In the age of e-commerce, a simple online shopping experience sometimes brings us to a point of frustration. Have you ever tried reaching...