WslAdmin, Author at WSL Strategic Retail

Retail Brands’ Reckoning: How They Treat Workers Matters

February 14, 2023April 3, 2020 by WslAdmin

BY SARAH MAHONEY // Media Post, April 3, 2020 Much of the COVID-19 crisis has focused on retailer behavior. There’s the good: Opening an hour early, just for seniors! The bad: Forcing employees to work without protective gear! And mostly, there’s a vast in-between, with stores serving customers in a climate where every transaction poses a potentially fatal ... Read more

Gen Z is Redefining Wellness: 4 Must-Know Findings

July 24, 2023April 3, 2020 by WslAdmin

The youngest shoppers, Gen Z approach the wellness movement differently than Millennials because they never had to learn it. Rather, they were born into a world aware of the products and habits that are bad for them, and the choices that are healthier. Now, in the wake of the COVID-19 pandemic, how brands and retailers ... Read more

Business on top, pajamas underneath: Walmart is selling work shirts, but not so many pants

February 14, 2023March 28, 2020 by WslAdmin

Business on top, pajamas underneath blog banner featuring woman having a video call with coworker

BY JACOB BOGAGE // The Washington Post, March 28, 2020 With the rise of video conferences, workers realize they need professional tops, but not bottoms. A few more shelves might be looking bare at Walmarts around the country, or at least a few more bins empty at fulfillment warehouses. Customers are making a run on tops: shirts, ... Read more

Want Brand Loyalty? Then Go for Greener Packaging

July 24, 2023March 25, 2020 by WslAdmin

Our research shows that brand loyalty is low, while the demand for sustainable practices is accelerating. We see the shopper’s attention to sustainability in their preferences for clean ingredients, recycling and re-using, and their attention will quickly extend to product packaging. That presents an opportunity: brands and retailers should use sustainable packaging to rebuild customer ... Read more

Caring During COVID-19 Crisis: Learning from Costco, CVS, Alibaba and Others

July 24, 2023March 18, 2020 by WslAdmin

Caring During COVID-19 Crisis blog banner featuring inside of a RiteAid during COVID pandemic

The most important acts retailers and brands can take while scrambling to adapt to the COVID-19 epidemic are acts of kindness. Based on the results of our recent “Caring Score” research, shoppers are most likely to stick to those retailers and brands that are proving now that they care about their workers and communities. From ... Read more

Find Out How Retailers are Eliminating Packaging

July 24, 2023March 2, 2020 by WslAdmin

The fringe movement of sustainability is moving into the mainstream, fast. Nearly 90% of your shoppers are reusing the bottles and bags their products come in, and we predict they will focus on “first-use” packaging next. The WSL “Fill’er Up” report shows how three merchants are eliminating waste and discovered the movement is well beyond ... Read more

‘Medtailing’, Medical & Retail, Is Here To Stay

February 14, 2023February 26, 2020 by WslAdmin

BY KAREN KROLL // National Retail Federation, February 26, 2020 Changing demographics are helping drive continued interest in the mix of retail and health care. While many areas of bricks-and-mortar retailing face headwinds, one shows signs of growth and promise: health care and medical services offered within stores and shopping centers. These services extend beyond the pharmacies ... Read more

What does ‘Change Now’ Mean? 5 Shopping Shifts to Watch

February 14, 2023February 19, 2020 by WslAdmin

Forget merchandise, Forget promotions. Forget ads. Being a part of change today means accepting that shoppers expect retail to play a fundamentally different role in their lives. And they expect it Now. Our How America Shops® report, “Change Now,” is a real-time example of how much faster change is occurring now. The controversies surrounding climate ... Read more

Macy’s Plan to Build Private Label Brands Faces Tough Odds

February 14, 2023February 12, 2020 by WslAdmin

BY PHIL WAHBA // Fortune, February 11, 2020 Macy's wants to take more of its fate into its own hands. One of the key components of the comeback plan the struggling department store company unveiled to Wall Street last week is its ambition to turn four of its long-established in-house fashion brands—I.N.C. International Concepts, Alfani, Style & Co, and Charter ... Read more

3 Ways to Know if Your Beauty Brands are Man Enough

July 21, 2023February 4, 2020 by WslAdmin

Men are venturing into the beauty category at a pace that could turn an unprepared brand’s hair gray. Yet while interested in the category, many men don’t know how to enter it. Our How America Shops® survey revealed three steps for getting them there – but don’t wait or you’ll be a runner-up. Real men ... Read more