News & Blog

The start of the school year and back from summer vacation always come in strong, with retailers still focused on back to school rush while already preparing for the holiday boom. Within the retail industry, a few policy issues have the potential to impact the broader industry. Potential tariff increases from China could have the retail industry increasing prices passed on to the consumer. According to the Bureau of Labor Statistics’ consumer price index, apparel prices haven't gone up meaningfully in at least 7 years, and for items like toys and cosmetics, prices have actually been trending lower. “We’ve trained customers to be so cheap," Sucharita Kodali, a retail analyst at Forrester Research is quoted in Axios. “Amazon is a symptom of the consumer obsession with low prices,” not the cause.

The end of summer means back to school and major sales for Labor Day. The National Retail Federation is predicting back-to-school sales will reach a record per-family high this year of $696.70. However, since fewer families have school age children, overall spending will drop to $26.2 billion, down from $27.5 billion last year. Forbes takes a look at what mall retailers should consider for back to school, especially looking past Labor Day for sales and foot traffic.

In other big August news, Lord & Taylor announced it will be sold to Le Tote, the clothing rental start-up. This article examines why new is buying old.

July used to be a lull in the retail world, but that all changed five years ago when Amazon launched Prime Day to celebrate its 20th birthday and created a Black Friday cultural event for Prime members. Vox does a deep dive into the history of Prime Day and how it has evolved, and what may be in store for future Prime Day events as it continues to expand into concerts and events. However Prime Day also brings a boost to competitor brands who also offer their own deals and specials.  Walmart, Target and Best Buy all reported increases of in-store traffic during Prime week, as well as online.

Summer is officially here and while many are thinking of summer vacation, the retail industry continued to keep busy in June. Especially Target, which is recovering from a mid-month cash register technology issue that may have lost the retailer more than $100 million in sales. According to RetailDive, the spring quarter was rough for many specialty retailers due to cold weather, increased shipping costs and questions over tariffs. But looking ahead to July, Amazon Prime Day is scheduled for two days this year, July 15 and 16, and has caused many other retailers to create their own shopping experiences to compete with Amazon. Techcrunch reports that 250 retailers will compete against Amazon, with brands like Walmart and Target planning big sales.

With the school year wrapping up and focus turning to summer, many retailers are preparing for a summer lull. But things are still busy on the technology and innovation side of things, brands continue to look to new ways to engage customers and keep them coming back time and again. KWI customer, Stance, is one example, and announced that its unique socks will be available in some airport kiosk locations. We’d also like to congratulate our long-term client, Bluemercury, on their 20th anniversary as they continue to bring luxury skincare and cosmetics to local communities. This Forbes article gives a sneak inside the brand’s history and what makes it work.

Congratulations to KWI Founder and CEO Sam Kliger on being honored today as one of Long Island Business News Executive Circle Awards winners. The Executive Circle Awards celebrates c-suites, directors and other senior level executives who consistently demonstrate remarkable leadership skills, integrity, values, vision, commitment to excellence, company performance, community service and diversity.

As April brings in spring weather to most of the country, retailers this month focused on company earnings, a focus on sustainability timed to Earth Day and continued advancements in experiential and technology innovations. KWI client Il Makiage made headlines with the launch of a quiz that uses machine learning AI to find the perfect foundation to match skin tones. The quiz is a great example of using the brand’s technology roots to better serve their customers in an innovative and unique manner.