Retail Brew // Morning Brew // Update

June 08, 2026

It’s Monday, and there are only a few precious days left to try a new collab between Grillo’s Pickles and PopUp Bagels: hot pickle butter. As its name makes clear, it’s butter with pickles, habanero pepper, and jalapeño pepper to spread on a bagel. In other words, shmear madness.

In today’s edition:

—Erin Cabrey, Jeena Sharma, Katie Hicks

STORES

Cold as price

Miragec/Getty Images

Amid tariff refunds, shifting commodity costs, and a challenged, bifurcated consumer, retailers and brands are wondering—is the price right?

After several years of elevating prices, many are now evaluating the benefits of bringing them back down. Many food CPGs—including PepsiCo and General Mills, eager to jumpstart sinking unit sales—have reduced some of their prices over the last few months.

Several others, from retail giants like Kroger and Walmart to beauty brands like E.l.f. Cosmetics, have also reconsidered their pricing strategies as a lever to drive up velocities and attract—and keep—customers.

Dime Beauty, a prestige skin care and fragrance brand sold at Ulta Beauty, permanently dropped prices by an average of 20% across 17 of its SKUs on May 31. Consumers “feeling the pinch” of beauty prices was a contributing factor in the decision, Dime’s Chief Brand Officer Bernice Merlini told Retail Brew.

“We’re prioritizing that long-term brand trust and customer loyalty rather than short-term margin potential,” she said.

Keep reading here.—EC

Sponsored By Impact.com

The answer era

AI is transforming how customers search and how brands get found, but the sources shaping AI answers aren’t on your website. The key to being seen? Your partnership and affiliate programs.

impact.com’s The Answer Era researched how customers’ search habits have shifted to AI platforms. Let’s look at the numbers: Brand-owned websites account for only 5%–10% of AI search sources, and third-party content makes up 65%+ of AI sources for certain industries.

Over 40% of top AI-cited sources contain affiliate links or sponsored content, and traffic to US retail sites from generative AI sources increased 4,700% year over year as of July 2025.

Don’t get left behind in the AI era. Read the full report.

E-COMMERCE

Prime-d and proper

Illustration: Anna Kim, photos: Adobe Stock

Amazon has officially moved its Prime Day sales event from July to June, and consumers have thoughts.

According to a new study by Tinuiti, 88% of Prime members plan to shop during the event this year, up from 81% in 2025.

Among those shopping, 54% were “just as excited” about accessing the deals earlier this year, while 39% said they were “even more excited” about the earlier date. Only 7% said they were less excited.

The survey, which included responses from 1,000 Prime members, also found the most common reason among those who did not participate in the event last year but planned to this year was simply because they were more interested in finding deals. Additionally, about 1 in 4 shoppers felt better about their finances this year.

Keep reading here.—JS

MARKETING

Cup and away

Dua Lipa and George Clooney posing together

Nespresso

Dua Lipa may have recently gotten married, but Callum Turner isn’t her only partner in life.

This spring, coffee brand Nespresso announced the pop star as its newest global brand ambassador, a role that had previously been exclusive to actor George Clooney, who has been working with the brand since 2006.

Nespresso launched its “Vertuo World” campaign with Lipa in April, and since then, she’s hosted a Nespresso event at the Cannes Film Festival and helped the brand market a pickle-infused iced coffee inspired by her viral Diet Coke concoction with pickle and jalapeño juice.

The Lipa-fronted campaign marks a 30%–40% increase in brand campaign spend and is one of Nespressos largest investments to date.

Keep reading here on Marketing Brew.—KH

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SWAPPING SKUS

Today’s top retail reads.

Shelf confident: How Mammoth Brands, which owns Harry’s razors and Coterie diapers, is taking on CPG heavy-hitters Procter & Gamble and Unilever. (CNBC)

EV rider: How electric dirt bikes are booming, but drawing the ire of police. (the Wall Street Journal)

Force Fields: How Ashley Fields, the daughter of Mrs. Fields founder Debbi Fields, developed her own cookie brand, Fields Good. (the New York Times)

Search’s shift: Customers are turning to AI for search, but brand-owned websites account for only 5%–10% of AI search sources. impact.com’s The Answer Era explores how affiliate marketing shapes your standing in AI search.*

^{*A message from our sponsor.}

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