Retail Brew // Morning Brew // Update

February 24, 2026

It’s Tuesday, and at midnight, following last week’s Supreme Court ruling, US Customs and Border Protection was no longer required to collect tariffs from retailers. Unfortunately at 12:01am, the Trump administration imposed a new global 10% tariff under a different legal directive. We’ll see if that one passes the legal muster…

In today’s edition:

—Andrew Adam Newman, Vidhi Choudhary

E-COMMERCE

Paws and effect

Canada Pooch

When you first put boots on dogs, it may take them some time to get their footing, which is fitting since that’s precisely what’s happened to the dog-boot category itself. Virtually unknown to pet owners a generation ago (unless they trained sled dogs), paw protection has gone mainstream, as evidenced by the sales surge for the products when Winter Storm Fern hit.

For the week in late January, when the storm pummeled much of the US, Chewy saw sales of dog boots more than double year over year, rising 110%. Even more dramatic was the sales lift over the previous week in January, with dog boot sales more than tripling, with a 215% increase, per Chewy.

“It’s a very triggered purchase by the weather, from what we can see,” Christopher Mohler, director of merchandising at Chewy, told Retail Brew.

It will come as no surprise that sales were highest in states where Rex had the hardest time finding fire hydrants in the snow drifts, with the most booty purchases coming from New York, followed by Pennsylvania, Illinois, New Jersey, Ohio, and Virginia, per Chewy.

Keep reading here.—AAN

Presented By Melio

A b€tter wa¥ to pay?

Most retailers wire money to overseas suppliers. This means cash leaves your account immediately, and you earn no rewards and gain no float.

Many operators are doing it differently with Melio: paying foreign vendors by credit card while vendors receive local currency (CNY, EUR, MXN) within 1–2 business days—faster than traditional wire transfers.

The result? Up to 45 days of extra cash flow, card rewards on six-figure inventory purchases that can be used for your personal benefit, and suppliers who actually get paid faster.

First-time users get a $500 gift card when they use a credit card to make their first international payment of $1,000+ in local currency. Your card earns rewards. Your supplier gets paid quickly in their preferred currency. Everyone wins.

One platform, all payments—domestic and international.

TECH

Agent age

Cheng Xin/Getty Images

Shopify says it is ready for shopping that happens inside AI chats, but not without its popular payment tool.

Products from Shopify merchants will now get discovered and bought entirely within conversations taking place on ChatGPT or Claude. But the company said AI shopping will still have to go through Shopify’s checkout.

So far, Shopify has laid the groundwork for agentic commerce co-developed with Google. Plus, the tech giant that builds e-commerce stores, has invested and improved its AI agent Sidekick with deeper data insights and models. The throughline is a fundamental shift: commerce moving from website user interfaces that brands control to agent interfaces that, well, AI controls. The question is who wins when the storefront disappears.

Keep reading here.—VC

MARKETING

Trade-in places

Apple

Retail brands often tout the environmental benefits of their trade-in programs, and not without cause, since consumers who trade in products might have thrown them away otherwise. But a new report touts strategic benefits of trade-in programs that have nothing to do with overburdened landfills—namely hooking new customers…and keeping them hooked.

Nearly 7 in 10 (69%) of consumers would replace their smartphones earlier than they would have otherwise if offered a good trade-in deal, according to a new report from Alchemy, a self-described circular solutions provider that’s launched trade-in programs for more than 30 companies. Even more consumers, 84%, said they’d stay loyal to brands (rather than falling into the arms of competitors) if they tendered competitive trade-in offers.

Sometimes a trade-in is the deciding factor for smartphone buyers, with 28% saying they would not have purchased a smartphone without a trade-in offer. Even more, 35%, said they wouldn’t have made a gaming or entertainment product purchase sans trade-in, while 27% said they wouldn’t have when it came to kitchen appliances.

Keep reading here.—AAN

SWAPPING SKUS

Today’s top retail reads.

Give me my refund: Senate Democrats have introduced a bill mandating the refund of tariff payments after the Supreme Court struck down the Trump administration’s trade policy. (CNBC)

Ready for a refill: A store in Tampa is trying a business model in which customers can buy refills for soaps, shampoos, and cleaning supplies. (the Associated Press)

Good fit: Target is expanding its partnership with Levi Strauss & Co. to 150 additional stores, for a total of 1,000 stores where customers can buy the iconic denim brand. (Retail TouchPoints)

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