Retail Brew // Morning Brew // Update

March 24, 2026

Happy Tuesday. Consumers have entered their “Do I really need this?” era—and honestly, fair. Meanwhile, brands are left decoding carts like it’s a personality test. Join us March 31 to see what the data says.

In today’s edition:

—Andrew Adam Newman, Jeena Sharma

STORES

Off track bedding

Retail Brew

Luxury bedding company Boll & Branch launched in 2014 as a DTC brand, but it has accelerated its brick-and-mortar strategy in recent years, growing from eight stores in 2024 to 18 today. But the brand doesn’t just want you to come to its stores.

It wants its stores to come to you.

Buy some bedding from Boll & Branch, and the company offers to dispatch stylists from its store to your home to make up your bed four-star-hotel style, complete with a steamer and candies on your pillow. Boll & Branch calls it Room Service.

It’s a level of high-touch customer service that cannot be easy or cheap for Boll & Branch to execute, but the brand reports it’s time and money well-spent: New customers who partake in the service have a repeat rate of 67%, compared to a repeat rate of 46% for new customers who don’t partake, per the brand. And the lifetime value of customers who opt for Room Service is 188% more than those who don’t.

Brands do a lot to connect with customers, but this seemed particularly audacious, and it made this reporter wonder: Would having bedding experts in my apartment be really illuminating, or would it just be really awkward? Is this a smart retail strategy, or is it overkill?

To find out, I welcomed two stylists, Kate and Angela, to my New York apartment so I could see firsthand how they could transform my bed. And to truly turn my tiny apartment into a clown car, I invited a film crew, too. So come on in. My dog, Booker, can’t wait to meet you!

Watch the video here.—AAN

Presented By IBM

Supply chain on the brain

Many retailers are facing tighter margins, unpredictable demand, and increasing pressure to innovate.

IBM shares that generative AI can reshape how leading supply chains respond, starting with smarter inventory decisions. By analyzing real-time and historical data, AI can help predict changing demand behaviors, allowing retailers to optimize stock levels with accuracy.

Executives can also seize this moment to accelerate innovation, using generative AI to help unlock fast discovery cycles and drive new product and service ideas.

Generative AI can help predict demand and unlock innovation at scale. Discover how supply chains can stay ahead by embracing the next generation of AI-driven capabilities when you download the guidebook.

OPERATIONS

The price is…tight

Eugene Mymrin/Getty Images

If you’re a retailer expecting consumers to line up to pay full price this year, here’s a tip: Maybe don’t buy the velvet ropes just yet.

Asked what type of promotions they’re most likely to take advantage of this year, the majority of consumers (55.9%) said price discounts, nearly triple the next most popular, loyalty rewards, at 19.8%, and cash-back offers, at 12.2%. Those findings are from the 2026 Shopper Sentiment Report from RetailNext, a store-intelligence company focused on physical retail stores that partners with 560 retailers globally.

With high-profile sales events including Amazon’s Prime Day, Walmart Deals days, and Target Circle Week, “promotional calendars are training consumer behavior,” the report stated. “The more a retailer relies on discount events to drive volume, the more shoppers defer purchases until those events occur.”

Keep reading here.—AAN

Together With Paramount Advertising

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MARKETING

Retail retreat

Cashier working at supermarket checkout counter

Maskot/Getty Images

If you’ve been on the job market lately and things seem especially challenging, you’re not alone.

In a Criteria survey of 2,500 job seekers, 49% of retail workers reported feeling like the competition is just too high while 53% of workers across industries said they had been “ghosted” by a potential employer.

But perhaps the most concerning finding is that among those who already had a job, 69% of retail workers said they were considering switching careers or industries—the highest percentage of any sector included in the research.

Where are they heading to, you might ask? Well, the tech (48%) and healthcare (37%) industries were the most attractive to job seekers.

Keep reading here.—JS

Together With Talon.One

Don’t discount your brand. Are you training audiences to wait for discounts? If you’re looking for a smarter way to build loyalty, meet the Talon.One team at Shoptalk 2026. See how they help 300+ global brands create incentives that can drive real behavior change. Compete on value, not price.

SWAPPING SKUS

Today’s top retail reads.

Big beauty: Cosmetics brand Estée Lauder is weighing the purchase of Spanish beauty group Puig Brands in a deal that would create a global beauty giant. (the Wall Street Journal)

Helping hand: As prices soar, DoorDash is giving cash back and a stipend for gas costs. (the Associated Press)

Closing the gap: Gap is now the first fashion brand to offer instant checkout within Google’s Gemini AI platform. (CNBC)

In supply: Generative AI can help predict demand and unlock innovation at scale. Discover how supply chains can stay ahead by embracing the next generation of AI-driven capabilities in IBM’s guidebook.*

^{*A message from our sponsor.}

JOBS

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