Retail Strategies & Supplier Insights

The confetti falls on New Year’s. Then January hits… and your deduction report looks like a horror movie. That’s not a coincidence. Holiday returns and “excessive defectives” programs are increasingly where retailers manage their risk—and where suppliers quietly lose a lot of money.

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 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

Let’s be blunt: private label isn’t a “recession play” anymore. It’s a structural shift in how baskets are built.

Entering the Walmart marketplace is like setting sail on a vast ocean filled with opportunity and challenge. For consumer packaged goods brands and suppliers, Walmart represents a treasure trove of potential sales and growth.

Walmart’s annual Open Call is happening right now in Bentonville—and the energy is real. Think hundreds of founders from nearly every corner of the country streaming into town to pitch U.S.-made, grown, or assembled products to Walmart and Sam’s Club merchants.

Think triage and workflow. The goal is to recover fast while preventing the next hit.

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

“Retail deductions” are amounts a retailer withholds from your invoice—usually for shortages, compliance issues, pricing discrepancies,...

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.

You hire a food broker to open doors. Great. But the best brokers do something more valuable: they keep those doors from slamming shut because of compliance misses

If you’ve ever thought, “We already fixed our deduction issues,” you’re not alone. Many suppliers see deductions as a one-time problem: something to clean up, get under control, and move on.

For every small brand dreaming of shelf space at Walmart, Kroger, or Target, the reality is clear: the competition isn’t just tough—it’s...

Before a shopper reads a single word about your product, they see your image. Online, that image is your handshake, your elevator pitch,...

Recovering retail deductions can be complex, but most brands lose money due to avoidable mistakes. Here are the five most common missteps: