4 Ways to Get Ahead of the Real Financial Crisis

4 Ways to Get Ahead of the Real Financial Crisis blog banner featuring vector illustration of city skyline, a downwards chart arrow and man floating down with a red umbrella
We could take some encouragement from the recent jump in retail sales, but let’s keep it measured. WSL’s research shows as many as half of Americans remain pessimistic about their financial security, depending on socioeconomic conditions. That figure is likely to rise as unemployment and stimulus checks dry up. Our latest How America Shops® research ... Read more

How to Wrestle a Crisis: 8 Retail Revelations from Helena Foulkes

8 Retail Revelations from Helena Foulkes blog banner featuring glowing marker on a glass window that reads "Stay Strong we are all in this together"
Helena Foulkes is a rare retail titan. She has spearheaded dramatic transformation as both the former president of CVS Pharmacy, and as CEO of luxury brand Hudson’s Bay Co, and she is a board member at Home Depot. As a cross-channel retail leader, Foulkes has learned how to manage a crisis in real-time. Here, she ... Read more

Retail Safari® Reopened Retail: A Look at Copenhagen

Retail Safari® Reopened Retail: A Look at Copenhagen blog banner featuring crowded streets of Copenhagen
  What’s with the sneakers? As retail reopened in the US and around the world, one category that shoppers flocked to is sneakers. Did feet grow as America was locked down? Do new-found home fitness routines require new yoga shoes? Or is it part of shoppers’ continuing passion for comfort and wellbeing? This isn’t just ... Read more

Retail Safari® Reopened Retail: A Look at Israel

Retail Safari® Reopened Retail: A Look at Israel blog banner featuring man with a face mask temperature checking a young man trying to enter a building
The COVID-19 retail rollercoaster. Israel was one of the first countries to issue “stay at home” orders back in February and one of the first to begin reopening in mid-May. Zack, our Israel Scout, noted that shortly after full reopening (including retail, restaurants, salons) cases spiked then declined again. What should we anticipate and how ... Read more

Will Shoppers Surge to Re-opened Retail? Probably Not

Will Shoppers Surge to Re-opened Retail? Probably Not blog banner featuring line of people in a store next to a line of carts
Sales signs may not be enough to bring shoppers into reopened stores. Two mighty forces are working against a resurgence of store traffic: One is the risk of contracting COVID-19, which will keep many shoppers away; the second will be how shoppers rethink spending after being unemployed or furloughed for months. Our Retail Safari® scouts ... Read more

Stores are Reopening | Lessons for Retailers

Stores are Reopening | Lessons for Retailers blog banner featuring grocery store worker with mask and gloves putting carts away as customers walk into the store
As pandemic-related business restrictions ease and retailers reopen, they will be evaluated by how much they show they care about protecting their shoppers. Retailers have an immense responsibility for the attitude and presentation of their stores, in addition to the safety of all inside. We took a few shopping trips and found some good examples ... Read more

Shoppers Need Mental Relief: How Brands & Retailers Can Help

Shoppers Need Mental Relief blog banner featuring illustrations of abstract figures struggling with mental health
Consumers have been trying to minimize stress for some time, including in their shopping trips. Now COVID-19 has added an unpredicted level of complexity and angst to that pursuit. We looked into how brands and retailers are easing stress among pandemic-minded shoppers, and came back with three guidelines. Shoppers Need Mental Therapy. How are You ... Read more

Finding The Next Normal in a Post COVID-19 Beauty World

Finding The Next Normal in a Post COVID-19 Beauty World blog banner featuring masked and gloved worker pushing carts
In this CEW Free Webinar, Wendy Liebmann shares how shopper attitudes and behaviors are dynamically changing as we transition from a health crisis to a financial crisis, including implications, emerging issues, and opportunities, all helping to lay the groundwork for The Next Normal. If you’d like to learn more about WSL’s ongoing series of How ... Read more

WSL Predicts Shopper Behavior Based on Past Crises

WSL Predicts Shopper Behavior Based on Past Crises blog banner featuring split vector illustration with coin and online shopping icons on one side and a stick of bills on the other side with C-19 overlaid on top
More shoppers, uncertain of their financial security in the COVID-19 crisis, are cutting back on spending and avoiding even the temptation to buy unnecessary items. Old staples are new no-no’s, so a new burden is on retailers and brands to help shoppers feel good about the spending choices they do make. Here’s what our own ... Read more

Webinar: How America Shops® In a COVID-19 Crisis

Webinar: How America Shops® In a COVID-19 Crisis blog banner featuring woman in mask and a yellow puffer jacket pushing a shopping cart
WSL’s concern continues to be with our friends, family, brands and retailers alike as the world manages this health crisis and transitions to a financial crisis. We are committed to helping you understand Shopping Life® now and what you should be thinking about for the future. If you’re a How America Shops® contract client, you ... Read more

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