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70 Million Gen Z Are Coming! What Brands and Retailers Should Know

March 12, 2024 by Maryann Javier

Main banner for 70 Million Gen Z are Coming blog featuring diverse group of smiling young adults

Gen Z is the second-largest population in the U.S., and every day millions become consumers. We analyzed our latest How America Shops® reports to learn just what motivates these shoppers most. We then pulled our insights into five activations that retailers and brands will find relevant. For The Youngest Generation, Gen Z Sure Gets Around ... Read more

Population Shifts Are Playing Out Across Categories

March 12, 2024February 27, 2024 by Maryann Javier

Population Shifts Across Categories blog main banner

Welcome to the new American household, with fewer kids, more singles and a LOT of Boomers. The traditional U.S. home is undergoing dramatic changes, but how is it playing out in the shopping trip? We used our How America Shops® research to learn how these changes are playing out across several categories. Are Retailers and ... Read more

Prepare for 2024 Now, With These 6 WSL Retail Trends

December 26, 2023December 26, 2023 by Maryann Javier

2024 Predictions Blog banner featuring numbers 1 through 6 with images depicting the predictions

With tighter spending everywhere around us, consumer preferences in 2023 will shape the retail in 2024 and beyond. We dove into our proprietary How America Shops® surveys of the past year and found six ways how consumer trend changes will more prominently influence retail and brand strategies in 2024 – and beyond. Are Your Shoppers ... Read more

Retail’s Missed Opportunity in Men’s Wellness

December 22, 2023December 12, 2023 by Maryann Javier

Nearly one-third of all adult men seek wellness remedies for gender-specific ailments. Yet there is no easy-to-find, dedicated men’s wellness section in many stores. For our latest How America Shops® survey, we asked men which health conditions they have researched. Their responses, and the differences between pro-active health-conscious younger men versus men older than 40, ... Read more

Walking the Talk of the New Inclusion

November 24, 2023November 1, 2023 by Maryann Javier

Walking the Talk of New Inclusion blog banner featuring colorful collage of Lowe's Livable Home, zip-up shoes, The Joy Project, and down-syndrome Barbie

Just a few years ago, being inclusive in retail meant recognizing non-binary consumers and those with “differently shaped” bodies. But to be fully inclusive, retailers and brands will have to embrace a much wider spectrum of differences, some of which we can’t even see. Our scouts have been researching the new inclusion, and uncovered several ... Read more

How Women’s Health Brands Are Driving the Future of the Category

November 24, 2023October 17, 2023 by Maryann Javier

By Emily Burns, OCT 06, 2023 || BeautyInc. – A Publication of WWD A look at how brands including Womaness, Kindbody and Bayer are employing products, campaigns and community to destigmatize women's health. At the Beauty & Wellness Forum, Wendy Liebmann, chief executive officer and chief shopper at WSL Strategic Retail, led a discussion on ... Read more

Retailers Are Losing Category Sales Due to Indecisiveness

November 24, 2023October 13, 2023 by Maryann Javier

Blog banner featuring lines connecting a circular image of locked up products in store to a circular image of a woman opening up a package that was delivered

Consumers are finding more categories are a challenge to purchase in the store, and that’s causing them to go online to buy what they need – easily, with discretion and sometimes at a better price. Based on our proprietary consumer insights, these are the categories retailers and brands need to make easier to shop, now. ... Read more

How Consumers Use Their Heads and Hearts When Shopping

November 24, 2023June 14, 2023 by WslAdmin

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

Shoppers Say: “Inflated Prices Are Here to Stay”

November 24, 2023October 11, 2022 by WslAdmin

Our latest How America Shops® research shows a significant gain in the share of shoppers cutting back on spending, but more surprising is how many expect prices to stay high, even if inflation recedes. Shoppers know the cost of operating stores and transporting goods has gone up, as well as (and especially) employee pay. Has ... Read more

The New Frontier in Wellness: We’ll Help You Find Your Place

February 7, 2023August 12, 2022 by WslAdmin

Collage featuring shopper choices, clutter, apps, and clinics banner

WSL’s upcoming How America Shops® report on the future of WELL starts with emerging conditions shoppers are treating, bolder categories that are “out of the pantry,” faster services and a shift in trust and treatment. The dilemma is that as more categories have launched healthier choices, the Next WELLness Frontier is cluttered and harder for ... Read more

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