Beauty counter

Dibs Beauty CEO Jeff Lee speaking to customers at a Little Rock, Arkansas Ulta Beauty store. Dibs Beauty

Dibs Beauty’s goal is to achieve “desert island beauty status” with consumers, but securing that coveted spot in shoppers’ makeup bags requires a deep understanding of the consumers themselves.

The brand, known for its dual-ended bronzer and blush sticks, was co-founded by influencer Courtney Shields and CEO Jeff Lee, former president of Alex Rodriguez’s ARod Productions, in 2020. It operated solely DTC until last August, when it entered select Ulta Beauty locations, and has since expanded chainwide with the retailer.

Austin, Texas-based Dibs is a “50-state brand,” Lee told Retail Brew, reaching customers far beyond the core beauty cohorts in New York City and Los Angeles, which “requires a bit more testing and understanding your customer base,” he noted. We caught up with Lee to discuss how Dibs collects and utilizes customer data at a virtual Retail Brew Checkout event.

Keep reading here..—EC

From The Crew

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E-COMMERCE

The bulk of it

Gopuff

To offer consumers lower prices on everything from toilet paper to Uncrustables, Gopuff is bulking up.

The 15-minute grocery delivery company this week debuted GoXL, a new nationwide initiative offering 300+ bulk-sized products that reach up to 50% cheaper per unit prices compared to its single-serve items. The items will still be delivered to customers’ doors, with a 30-pound weight limit for bike deliveries.

Gopuff’s VP of merchandising Carly Bickerstaff told Retail Brew that GoXL is the delivery platform’s response to consumers’ concerns over the uncertainty of tariffs and the rising cost of goods.

“Cost of living seems to be more expensive than ever, and we’re very, very aware how important value is currently to our customer and is going to continue to be,” Bickerstaff said. “We’re trying to change this idea that a delivery app and convenience and speed means that they're going to have to spend more.”

Keep reading here.—EC

STORES

TWIR

Big Lots

It’s Cinco de Mayo today, and retailers can expect a bump in spending as shoppers stock up on festive supplies. A new survey from research firm Numerator found that consumers who are celebrating plan to spend between $25 and $100, with the majority going to food and alcoholic beverages. Mother’s Day is also next Sunday, and the NRF expects spending to hit $34.1 billion this year, up from last year’s $33.5 billion but behind the record $35.7 billion in 2023.

“Mother’s Day is an important holiday for many consumers, only surpassed by the winter holidays in terms of average spending,” NRF VP of Industry and Consumer Insights Katherine Cullen said in a statement. “Even in the face of economic uncertainty, consumers continue to celebrate the special women in their lives with gifts and outings.”

Here’s what else is going on in retail this week:

In earnings: Another mixed batch of quarterly earnings are coming out this week, including Tyson Foods and Clorox on Monday and Shopify on Thursday. Here are some updates on the companies reporting.

Keep reading here.—AV

Introducing the Rate Your Job report card

Amelia Kinsinger

When was the last time you thought about what matters most to you at work? Per My Last Email’s free Rate Your Job template lets you create a custom “report card” for your job. It’s a simple tool to help you spot areas for career development. Download it now.

SWAPPING SKUS

Today’s top retail reads.

Run DTC: Privately held and DTC brands like Brand Necessities are incorporating tariffs into their marketing with promotions like a “pre-tariff sale.” (CNBC)

MAHA moment: Why apps like Yuka that rate the healthiness of food products are a headache for some food companies. (the Wall Street Journal)

Privately honed: How family-owned Wegmans became the country’s highest-volume supermarket chain. (CBS News)

Savings, maximized: New-Seller Savings are back at Walmart Marketplace, meaning sellers can clinch incentives totalling up to $75k as they grow their e-commerce biz. Learn more.*

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HOT TOPIC

At the mall, it’s where band tees are the only tees. In Retail Brew, it’s where we invite readers to weigh in on a trending retail topic.

Along with passing on the added costs of tariffs to customers, Temu is showing customers exactly how much tariffs add to the cost of their products as an “import charges.” Amazon reportedly considered, but abandoned the idea after President Donald Trump placed a call to Amazon founder Jeff Bezos pressuring him not to.

You tell us: Should retailers that raise prices as a result of tariffs show consumers how much tariffs are contributing to higher prices? Cast your vote here.

Circling back: Last week, we told you about Independent Bookstore Day, which for the 12th year in row was held on the last Saturday of April (April 26). This year, many independent booksellers were furious at Amazon after it announced on April 15 that it would hold its second-annual weeklong book sale from April 23–28, both pre-empting and overlapping with Independent Bookstore Day, a move that Amazon claims was unintentional.

So we asked if in the future Amazon should schedule its biggest annual book sale to coincide with (and compete against) Independent Bookstore Day, and more than 9 out of 10 of you (93.4%) said no, Amazon should not schedule its sale at the same time as the indies’ annual event, while just 6.6% thought that Amazon should.

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