Retail Strategies & Supplier Insights

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.

Nearly 203 million consumers shopped during the five-day Thanksgiving–Cyber Monday weekend—a record. More orders, more shipments, more exceptions. And that means more chargebacks. If November and December are when sales spike, January is when the chargebacks show up in your inbox. The trick is not just to pay them and move on, but to treat them like a free consulting report from your retailers.

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.

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.

SNAP is moving. Not just the dollar amounts—but timing, eligibility, and how shoppers use those dollars. If you sell food and beverages, you’ll feel it. Some of it will be a breeze at your back. Some of it? A headwind.

You’ve got a fantastic product—the DTC store hums. Reviews are glowing. Now you want a spot on a national shelf. Good—know the bar keeps rising. Retailers are fielding more pitches while private label grabs a record share, making differentiation and execution non-negotiable. (In the first half of 2024, store brands hit 20.4% dollar share  and 22.9% unit share  in the U.S.) And competition for buyer attention is real. Walmart’s 2025 Open Call alone welcomed 500+ entrepreneurs

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

Shoppers buy the image first, then the product. Low-quality product photos don’t just hurt conversion—they can trigger returns, bad reviews, or even compliance flags.

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.

Imagine this: a food supplier delivers 20 truckloads of salsa to a retailer. Everything looks good—until the next remittance statement. Suddenly, thousands of dollars are missing. The codes? “Shortage,” “labeling error,” and “freight non-compliance.”

Every retailer has its own compliance playbook. Walmart wants one format. Kroger another. Target? Completely different. For suppliers,...

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