Retail media networks: the margin story behind the hype
Retail media keeps getting called the highest-margin business in retail. We unpack who's actually capturing those margins and who's spending them on tech that doesn't ship.
Upcoming events
Where we’re reporting from next
- June 2–4, 2026 · Barcelona, Spain
The leading European gathering for retail and e-commerce decision-makers.
- June 2–4, 2026 · Amsterdam, Netherlands
Europe's anchor payments and fintech event, with a growing retail-payments track.
- September 14–17, 2026 · Las Vegas, USA
The US grocery and CPG industry's strategy event.
- October 13–15, 2026 · Chicago, USA
Shoptalk's invitation-curated US fall edition, focused on senior retail leadership meetings and operator-led sessions.
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PaymentsBNPL after the regulatory pivot: who survived, who pivoted, who quietly shrank
The post-2024 regulatory tightening on buy-now-pay-later thinned the field. We map where the surviving players added retail value and where they just added friction.
Returns are still the line that breaks DTC unit economics
Three years into the post-pandemic correction, returns remain the single biggest hidden cost in direct-to-consumer P&Ls. We look at what's actually working to bring them down.
Generative AI for product copy: what's working in 2026, and what's still hand-rewritten
A practical look at where retailers have replaced human copywriters with LLMs, where they've quietly reverted, and what the unit-economics actually look like.
Small-format flagships: the unit economics behind the trend
From beauty to athleisure to grocery, retailers keep shrinking the box. We break down whether the smaller footprint actually moves EBITDA or just trades problems.
Nearshoring to Mexico: the second wave is more careful, and slower
The first nearshoring rush was about announcements. The second wave, now underway, is about getting the contracts, the labor, and the ports to actually line up.
SustainabilityCSRD: what retailers actually disclosed in the first cycle
With the first full CSRD reports landing in early 2026, retailers had to put numbers next to commitments. The first lesson: scope 3 is still mostly an estimate, and everyone knows it.
Stablecoin acceptance in retail: the 2026 pilots worth watching
A handful of merchants are running real stablecoin checkout pilots in 2026. The use cases are narrower than the pitch decks, but the savings on cross-border are not imaginary.
Retail media networks: the margin story behind the hype
Retail media keeps getting called the highest-margin business in retail. We unpack who's actually capturing those margins and who's spending them on tech that doesn't ship.
AI & Tech
How software, AI, and data are reshaping retail operations.
Generative AI for product copy: what's working in 2026, and what's still hand-rewritten
A practical look at where retailers have replaced human copywriters with LLMs, where they've quietly reverted, and what the unit-economics actually look like.
Retail media networks: the margin story behind the hype
Retail media keeps getting called the highest-margin business in retail. We unpack who's actually capturing those margins and who's spending them on tech that doesn't ship.
AI & TechComputer vision for shrink: Q1 pilot results are in, and the cost-benefit is messy
After a year of CV-at-the-shelf pilots, the early data shows shrink reduction is real but inconsistent — and the labor it shifts is more than the labor it removes.
E-commerce
Marketplaces, DTC, and the economics of selling online.
Returns are still the line that breaks DTC unit economics
Three years into the post-pandemic correction, returns remain the single biggest hidden cost in direct-to-consumer P&Ls. We look at what's actually working to bring them down.
E-commerceAmazon seller fee creep: the math for 2026
Between FBA increases, referral fee shifts, and the new low-inventory penalty, the all-in cost of selling on Amazon has quietly crept past the breakpoint for several mid-tier brands.
E-commerceCross-border e-commerce after de minimis: who got hit, who pivoted
The end of the $800 de minimis window reshuffled the cross-border map. We track who absorbed the cost, who restructured, and who lost the lane entirely.
Stores
Formats, footprints, and the future of physical retail.
Small-format flagships: the unit economics behind the trend
From beauty to athleisure to grocery, retailers keep shrinking the box. We break down whether the smaller footprint actually moves EBITDA or just trades problems.
Why grocery is reinventing the self-checkout — again
After a decade of self-checkout, grocers are quietly rebuilding the front end. The new design borrows from convenience stores, not airports.
Store-as-fulfillment: the labor cost retailers don't put on the deck
Ship-from-store solves a lot, but the labor it consumes inside the four walls is rarely included in the omnichannel ROI story. We tally what's actually getting absorbed.
Supply Chain
Sourcing, fulfillment, and the logistics of getting stuff to shelves.
Nearshoring to Mexico: the second wave is more careful, and slower
The first nearshoring rush was about announcements. The second wave, now underway, is about getting the contracts, the labor, and the ports to actually line up.
Red Sea reroute, 18 months in: what stuck and what reverted
After more than a year of routing around the Horn of Africa, most carriers have settled into a new normal. Retailers are paying for it in inventory carrying cost, not freight.
Supply ChainApparel sourcing: vendor consolidation accelerates after the Bangladesh year
A turbulent 2024 in Bangladesh, plus tightening compliance regimes in the EU and US, has pushed apparel buyers to fewer, larger vendor relationships. The trade-offs are showing.
Payments
Checkout, fraud, BNPL, and the plumbing of retail finance.
PaymentsBNPL after the regulatory pivot: who survived, who pivoted, who quietly shrank
The post-2024 regulatory tightening on buy-now-pay-later thinned the field. We map where the surviving players added retail value and where they just added friction.
Stablecoin acceptance in retail: the 2026 pilots worth watching
A handful of merchants are running real stablecoin checkout pilots in 2026. The use cases are narrower than the pitch decks, but the savings on cross-border are not imaginary.
Interchange: the EU-US gap is widening, and merchants are noticing
With the EU caps holding firm and the Visa-Mastercard settlement in the US under renewed scrutiny, the cost of card acceptance is diverging between the two markets in ways that matter for global retailers.
Sustainability
Reporting, materials, and the cost of decarbonizing retail.
SustainabilityCSRD: what retailers actually disclosed in the first cycle
With the first full CSRD reports landing in early 2026, retailers had to put numbers next to commitments. The first lesson: scope 3 is still mostly an estimate, and everyone knows it.
Resale takes its first real hit: the unit economics problem catches up
After a decade of growth, secondhand and resale platforms are facing the same gross-margin reality that retail learned the hard way. The model isn't dead, but it's getting smaller and pickier.
SustainabilityPackaging EPR fees across Europe: a 2026 country-by-country reality check
The PPWR set the frame, but national EPR schemes still set the price. We compare what retailers are actually paying per kilogram of packaging across five EU markets.
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