Retail Brew // Morning Brew // Update

February 25, 2026

Welcome to Wednesday. While the Northeast has mostly dug out from this week’s blizzard, consumers are still likely working their way through the pile of potatoes they bought to prep for the storm. According to Gopuff, orders for individual russet potatoes skyrocketed 264% week over week ahead of the blizzard, as consumers apparently planned to be couch potatoes with a side of mashed potatoes.

In today’s edition:

—Alex Vuocolo, Jeena Sharma, Erin Cabrey

STORES

Unbound

Anne Czichos/Getty Images

When Virginia Evans’s debut novel, The Correspondent, hit shelves in April 2025, it was just one new fiction title among many for the Barnes & Noble corporate team. But then individual booksellers started emailing the main office that customers were coming in and asking for the title. The bottom-up feedback led the company to approach the publisher and secure more copies of the book, which is now a bestseller.

This process may seem straightforward enough, but for the once-struggling book chain, this kind of smooth communication between corporate and store-level managers was no accident. After private equity firm Elliott Management took over in 2019 and hired James Daunt as CEO, Barnes & Noble started restructuring its business to put more power in the hands of individual stores. The success of this model is well-documented, and today the firm is even considering a return to public markets. But what is arguably less well understood is the distinctive corporate structure that helps mediate between the local, regional, and national levels of the business.

Keep reading here.—AV

Presented By Shopify

No checkout chaos here

EVEREVE just made the checkout process…actually enjoyable. Here’s how.

In just eight months, EVEREVE moved 103 stores and 275 POS stations over to Shopify, swapping clunky, siloed systems for a smooth, unified experience. Shopify’s case study breaks down exactly how they did it, with results like:

a record-breaking sales day (36% higher revenue than previous record)
20% higher online conversion rates year over year
65% of revenue through Shop Pay with 85% higher AOV

EVEREVE proved you can scale fast, all while transforming the entire customer experience to keep shoppers happy.

Read the full case study to see how EVEREVE revamped checkout, boosted conversions, and had their biggest sales day to date.

MARKETING

Cyber shock

System hacked warning alert on notebook (Laptop). Cyber attack on computer network, Virus, Spyware, Malware or Malicious software. Cyber security and cybercrime. Compromised information internet.

Pugun Sj/Getty Images

If there’s one thing businesses today are afraid of—ahead of potentially losing customers—it’s cybersecurity.

Per a recent study from supply chain intelligence firm Zero100, over a third of businesses considered cyber incidents “the single biggest threat to continuity” in 2026, followed by geopolitical instability (20%), trade policy shocks (16%), and labor disruption (8%).

The findings, which were based on responses from COOs of companies with a more than $1 billion valuation, also found that cyber incidents were the “fastest-moving shock” businesses anticipated facing.

Keep reading here.—JS

COMMUNITY

Coworking with Samantha Diamond

Samantha Diamond

On Wednesdays, we ~~wear pink~~ spotlight Retail Brew’s readers. Want to be featured in an upcoming edition? Click here to introduce yourself.

Samantha Diamond is co-founder and CEO of Bird&Be, a wellness brand selling prenatal vitamins and at-home fertility tests that launched at Ulta Beauty last year.

How would you describe your job to someone who doesn’t work in retail? As CEO of a fast-growing health brand, my job is always a range of macro to micro. Working on the business—thinking about roadmap, capitalization, team structure—and working in the business to troubleshoot logistics or make packaging updates. At Bird&Be, we’re growing fast and still in the thick of building, which means there is very little down time and my calendar is generally packed. I move from product development discussions with our medical advisory board, to speaking at a fertility conference, to personally delivering a shipment to a clinic. What is always in demand is agility and resilience, and of course, stamina (which is why taking care of your own health is probably the most important thing you can do!)

One thing we can’t guess about your job from your LinkedIn profile? Public speaking makes me sweat.

What’s your favorite project you’ve worked on? One of my favorites has been co-hosting events for physicians and clinic teams at medical fertility conferences alongside other women-led companies in our space. These events are rooted in collaboration and they’ve become one of the most joyful and impactful ways we build relationships and shift the culture of fertility care. They’re efficient, intentional, always a good time, and aligned with our mission: to increase access to education, support proactive reproductive health, and achieve better outcomes. Plus, when women come together to support one another and prioritize collaboration over competition, the result is always a win.

Keep reading here.—EC

Together With Zeta Global

Customer relationships don’t reset every season. For brands focused on repeat customers, traditional discounts leave momentum on the table. Now, it’s all about deepening customer relationships. We teamed up with Zeta Global to learn how it helped World Market gamify engagement and boost customer loyalty. Read on.

SWAPPING SKUS

Today’s top retail reads.

Payback time: The Supreme Court’s ruling last week that President Trump’s sweeping tariffs were illegal could result in businesses receiving refund payments—but what about consumers who paid the higher prices? (CNN)

Price mismatch: California is requesting a court order that would stop Amazon’s alleged practice of coercing sellers on its platform to not offer their goods for lower prices at other retailers. (Reuters)

Led to believe: Former Saks Global Executive Chair Richard Baker claims he did “a very successful job” leading the department store group, despite its recent bankruptcy. (the New York Times)

Less friction, more sales: Brands are migrating over to Shopify for a seamless customer experience, like EVEREVE did. Read up on how EVEREVE hit record sales and kept their customers happy with a unified system.*

^{*A message from our sponsor.}

Beauty’s packaging reckoning

Lip balm, lipstick, and a brush on marble columns

Francis Scialabba

As extended producer responsibility laws target plastic packaging, cosmetics giants like L’Oréal and Estée Lauder are rethinking design and recyclability. Here’s how beauty brands are preparing for stricter rules—and higher costs.

Check it out

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