spending Archives - WSL Strategic Retail

How America Shops® in a Crisis, Yet Again: 2025

September 12, 2025May 21, 2025 by Maryann Javier

Blog banner featuring hand-drawn side profiles of people with question marks or scribbles in their heads and a magenta background with the word "chaos" repeated

In 2025, just as in 2024, 2020 and 2008, consumers are undergoing major financial uncertainty. WSL Strategic Retail has studied the implications of such crises on American shoppers over the years, so we went back into our How America Shops® data archives to previous “crises” studies to see how those times can instruct brands and ... Read more

70% of Shoppers Face Locked-Up Goods. Here’s What They Think

May 1, 2024November 28, 2023 by Maryann Javier

Shoppers Face Locked Up Goods blog banner featuring collage of locked product cases and an impatient customer leaning on a shopping cart

Major retailers, including Target, Walmart, CVS and Walgreens, have been locking up categories of products behind theft-proof barriers. But their efforts to prevent theft might cost more than the shrink they’re trying to prevent. Our new How America Shops® research into product lock-downs, and how different generations respond, reveals the breaking points. Here’s How To ... Read more

December Holidays Face Deflated Spending. Why and What to Do

November 14, 2023November 3, 2023 by Maryann Javier

Blog banner featuring frowning piggy bank tied in string lights with financial icons in background

In our latest How America Shops® survey, many gift givers said their budgets for this year’s December holidays are smaller than last year’s. So they are looking for better-than-good deals. Our latest research factors in the culprits behind shrinking holiday budgets, and shares how retailers can help consumers give, without giving up too much. If ... Read more