Retail Brew // Morning Brew // Update

January 16, 2025

Hello, it’s Thursday, a day offering some hope for the luxury industry as Cartier owner Richemont reported a 10% surge in its end-of-year sales, surpassing analyst expectations. The news comes after almost a year of downturn for multiple major luxury retailers as consumer spending continued to dip.

In today’s edition:

—Vidhi Choudhary, Andrew Adam Newman

CES

Amped up by AI

Consumer Technology Association

The most overused word at CES 2025 was AI. AI was in seemingly every product—from AI backpacks to AI barbecue grills—on the CES shop floor, whether it needed to be or not.

For retailers, CES was all about decoding emerging technologies, and getting a glimpse into the future. Retail executives at CES echoed the whimsical sentiment of almost living in the future. While big names, including Walmart, were missing in action, Pinterest hosted a keynote on visual search with CTO Matt Madrigal, and Amazon launched a new ad product for retailers.

Meanwhile, Microsoft Advertising launched Curate for Commerce, a product leveraging first-party retail data to offer brands scalable access to retailer supply and data off-site, with Kohl’s as an early partner. Microsoft also introduced Sponsored Promotions by Brands, which allows brands to reach shoppers across Microsoft’s retail environments like Bing Shopping on a cost-per-sale basis.

Here are some of Retail Brew’s key takeaways from the tech show.

Keep reading here.—VC

Presented By Klaviyo

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E-COMMERCE

Return engagement

A screen-grab from Rothy's app shows how reselling an item through Poshmark is an option when a return window closes.

Loop

Here we are in the throes of Returnuary, when the torrent of returned items requires 1 out of 3 retailers to hire seasonal staff just to process them. And here comes another potential headache: Customers learning an item they’re attempting to return was a final sale or that the return window has closed, and, in their Karen-esque fury, screaming at customer service associates and taking their business elsewhere.

Now Poshmark, the resale marketplace, and Loop, the commerce platform focused on reverse logistics like returns and exchanges, have joined forces to help turn customers’ return failures tinto resale triumphs.

Keep reading here.—AAN

MARKETING

Rating for guff, man

Dyson

A recommendation from Consumer Reports or Wirecutter can be a game-changer for brands, and many leverage the reviews through marketing and licensing deals with the publications, as we reported over the summer.

But if the product reviewers giveth, so too do they taketh away. Exhibit 1: Consumer Reports’ annual roundup of its worst-rated products.

Behold the gleeful snark emanating from the usually more measured tone of this august publication, here channeling a parent who just grounded Tyler for two months.

“To be clear,” the article explained, “We’re not mad, we’re just disappointed.”

Keep reading here.—AAN

Together With Wunderkind

Cloudy with a chance of marketing. No fluff. No jargon. No buzzwords. Wunderkind’s 2025 Forecast: Expert Predictions Shaping the Future for Brand Marketers gets right to the good stuff. Get predictions from digital marketing experts, learn about AI’s role in tech stacks, maximize the value of email + text marketing, and more. Check it out.

SWAPPING SKUS

Today’s top retail reads.

Sober? Curious: The non-alcoholic beverage industry continues to shine, more recently after the surgeon general’s warnings about alcohol. (the New York Times)

Taking a stand: While many retailers have retreated from their DE&I efforts, Costco is holding its ground, touting the benefits of diversity. (the Wall Street Journal)

Eyes on the prize: While luxury remains in somewhat of a slump, Prada has its own plans to grow. (Business of Fashion)

Mark it: Klaviyo’s 2025 marketing campaign calendar is your guide to can’t-miss opportunities to drive more revenue in the year ahead. Get yours ASAP.*

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JOBS

Be part of something bigger than job boards. CollabWORK taps into niche communities and newsletters like Retail Brew to connect you with relevant opportunities. Expand your network and discover roles that are just right for you—click here to see jobs selected for Retail Brew readers.

Sr. Analyst, Retail Strategy at CarMax (in person)
Project Manager (Retail/Restaurant) at an undisclosed organization (in person)
Chief Marketing and Growth Officer at an undisclosed organization (in person)

NUMBERS GAME

The numbers you need to know.

We already know that online shopping is pretty popular among consumers, but a new global study finds where exactly consumers from the US, UK, France, Germany, and the Netherlands like to shop.

Netherlands-based ChannelEngine’s latest Marketplace Shopping Behavior Report 2025 found that online marketplaces are the place to be for most shoppers.

Amid the 4,500 people surveyed across countries, 63% said they preferred purchasing on marketplaces instead of brand-owned websites.

Consumers have a good reason for their preferences. For some, online marketplaces simply serve as efficient search engines.

47% of respondents said that they used marketplaces for product discovery over popular search engines like Google.
Moreover, about 1 in 5 shoppers said they browsed marketplaces on a weekly basis, while 59% of shoppers in the US are browsing on them just for fun.

But we all know how shopping for “fun” often turns into a hefty credit card statement; 56% of those surveyed said they made unplanned purchases on marketplaces at least sometimes, while 13% consumers reported doing it often.

“Consumers now shop across so many marketplaces that brands and retailers must embrace a multichannel strategy to stay competitive—or risk being left behind. It’s not just about being on Amazon anymore,” Jorrit Steinz, CEO of ChannelEngine, said in a statement.

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