African American Archives - WSL Strategic Retail

The Wellness Breakdown

For the last decade, WSL Strategic Retail has watched and predicted how people think about their health and the implications it has for retail, brands, and technology. We’ve gone from sick care to health care to self care to well care. And now we’re helping you understand where the opportunities lie for the future (and where ... Read more

How America Shops® with AI: An Evolution, not a Revolution

Everywhere you turn people are talking about how AI is changing the workplace, the economy, even the arts and dating! But so often the shoppers’ voices are missing from the conversation. We determined to rectify that in this new study. We conducted in-depth one-on-one interviews to understand how people, across generations, are (and are not) ... Read more

The Shoppers’ Social Shopping Handbook

In this report, we looked at how social media fits into shoppers’ lives today – especially compared to other digital shopping outlets. We have long tracked the evolution of social shopping in people’s lives, from TV shopping and catalogues to the internet, livestreaming, and the metaverse. This new study paints a clear picture of the ... Read more

The Impact of TLC on Retail Sales (Trust. Loyalty. Caring.)

Main banner for 2024 How America Shops® Report 3

In this report we wanted to investigate the links between Trust, Loyalty, and Caring to see how they work together and help identify ways for brands and retailers to better leverage them to win. We also wanted to better understand the relationship between price and quality across categories to uncover ways to motivate shoppers to ... Read more

Shoppers’ View of The Future of Health

In this report we present a view of shopper attitudes, behaviors and perceptions of health and wellness. We examine what it looks like now vs. the recent past, as well as how we expect it to evolve and change in the future. We saw that shoppers’ ratings of their overall health hit a major pothole ... Read more

Seismic Population Shifts Demand New Retail Strategies

In this study we present a look at how the changing demographics and household types in America affect shoppers’ behaviors. We look at the traditional How America Shops® measures of financial comfort and see security rebound from where it was at the end of 2023 to be more in line with where it’s been in ... Read more

The New Journey to Wellness – A Retail Opportunity

There is new momentum among younger women and men to research health topics that are considered taboo — think menopause, UTI, erectile dysfunction, sexually transmitted infections, low testosterone. Research often leads to purchase and "The New Journey to Wellness" sees opportunities for retail stores (vs. DTC sites) to provide information and suggest products to buy. ... Read more

Caution! Retail Curves Ahead

In this study we present a preview of the attitudes, anxieties and concerns that shoppers are experiencing as this holiday season approaches— and will carry with them into 2024. We trend the traditional How America Shops® measures of financial outlook and see many more shoppers barely holding on, and financial security taking a dive. We ... Read more

Paradox of the New Shopping World

In this report you will learn the impact of the paradox that is driving permanent change in retail as shoppers cope by creating their own solutions. Paradox #1: Inflation still roars: Low income are frugal out of necessity and higher income “just in case”! Paradox #2: More is Less: More channels to shop, retailers to spend, ... Read more

Leading Shoppers from Troubles to Joy

Troubles to Joy HAS Report banner featuring JOY in large letters and collage of troubles from previous years

The pandemic was the catalyst for what the Irish call the “Troubles” that expanded to social and political unrest, the erosion of trust in the tools we use for shopping, and what started as inflation shoppers now feel is a permanent price correction. This report updates the shopping and social behaviors changed by permanent inflation. ... Read more