How to Make the Shopping Trip Easier, To All Generations

Shopping Easier for All Generations blog banner featuring Boomer and Gen Z checkout preferences
Yes, price is important to consumers today, but if shoppers don’t find a store that is easy to shop, they might not go in. What defines easy shopping in the store, however, depends on the age of the shopper. For our latest How America Shops® research, we asked consumers what features make shopping easier, and ... Read more

Shoppers are Buying More Store Brands, But Brands are Muddy and May Not Know It!

Shoppers are Buying More Store Brands blog banner featuring colorful collage of popular store brand products
Private label goods, or store brands, have become so sophisticated in packaging and quality that shoppers might not even recognize they’re store-exclusive. As our How America Shop® research into rising prices continues, we find up to 45% of shoppers are now buying more of these store labels. Are national brands taking this brand “muddying” seriously ... Read more

Is Physical Retail Losing Out On Health for Women?

Health for Women blog banner featuring older women browsing in store and online feminine products
Retailers, are you talking to your customers about sexual health, menopause and menstruation? More women expect to find products to manage the symptoms of these conditions in the store, thanks to online brands dedicated to formerly “taboo” women’s health topics. The trick for retailers and brands is learning where to place and how to market ... Read more

Following the Consumer to Low-Price Retail

Blog banner featuring woman pushing a cart with motion lines behind her and several value retailer logos
What “dollar stores”? All the big dollar chains have evolved into competitively priced retailers, blurring the once well-defined lines within the value sector. We culled through our How America Shops® research to learn what percentage of consumers choose dollar chains over Walmart and how the new low-priced chains are giving dollar stores a run for ... Read more

How Consumers Use Their Heads and Hearts When Shopping

Blog banner featuring one side with a woman selecting juice and the other side with a young mother consulting her daughter on soda
Today’s post-pandemic, inflation-weary consumers aren’t just shopping for products, they’re shopping for joy. Our consumer research shows that most are balancing this joy of shopping with the need to be frugal. Brands and retailers need to learn how they can help shoppers walk that line. Are Retailers and Brands Marketing Enough Joy? It’s not a ... Read more

Diversity, Not Income, Defines Destination Shopping

Democratized Retail banner featuring collage of high end Prada and Bergdorf Goodman stores and low end Five Below and Uniqlo stores
During our market research, WSL has noticed a big consumer trend among some of the most expensive shopping districts in the country: democratization. These destinations, from Manhattan to Las Vegas, seem to have acknowledged that the people passing through represent all incomes as well as high and low spending. Our retail research backs it up. ... Read more

How America Shops® Explores: 4 Ways to Lead Shoppers to Joy

Blog banner for 4 Ways to Lead Shoppers to Joy
The troubles of the past three years have been overwhelming, and consumers are ready to get some joy back into their lives. Joy happens in everyday experiences, including shopping, feeding the family, decorating and maintaining the home. Joy is essential to consumer feelings, confidence and loyalty. To learn the role of retail and brands, we ... Read more

Gen Alpha’s Influence Is Taking Hold at Retail

Gen Alpha blog banner featuring three Gen Alpha teens and their interests
WSL has long advised that to know the shopper, you have to follow the shopper. And today, many of those shoppers are following someone in very small shoes. Gen Alpha, the oldest of whom are just approaching 14, have outsized influence as consumers. These brands and retailers are responding, with formats just for the Gen ... Read more

Pet Wellness and Loyalty: A Retail Safari® Exclusive

Pet Wellness and Loyalty banner featuring pet turtle eating smoothie bowl and a cat and dog laying next to each other
The pet category’s foray into wellness is burgeoning, despite rising prices. In fact, brand loyalty in this category outpaces most others. But this exploding category risks facing a challenge common in wellness: confusion due to too many choices and fragmented retail. We sent our Retail Safari® scouts to check out the new pet marketplace. Retailers, ... Read more

Consumer or Shopper: Here’s The Difference!

Consumer vs Shopper blog banner featuring collage of consumers on the left and shoppers on the right
All shoppers are consumers, but not all consumers are shoppers. Are retailers and brands making the proper distinction? In exploring what distinguishes these two groups, we also unearth through market research just how much shopping, not consumption, has changed – and how retailers can keep up. Are You Treating Your Shoppers Like Consumers? There is ... Read more

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