Best printers for Home

Best Mixer Grinder

Best wired Earphones

Best 43 Inch TV in India

Best Wi Fi Routers

Best Home Theatre in India

Smart Watch under 5000

Best Laptops for Education

Best Laptop for Students

<ul class="summary-list"><li>PDD Holdings' stock plummeted 29% Monday after a bleak outlook due to competition and consumer shifts.</li><li>The company faces challenges from changing demand, intensifying competition, and global uncertainties.</li></ul><a target="_blank" class="" href="https://www.businessinsider.com/why-gen-x-boomers-love-temu-2024-1">Temu parent</a> PDD Holdings' stock plunged after the Chinese e-commerce giant signaled a bleak outlook.PDD stock fell nearly 29% on Monday, the most on record, after the company reported second-quarter earnings.The company reported about $4.4 billion in profits in the quarter, a 144% increase compared to last year. But co-CEO Chen Lei said investors should expect a decline in profits moving forward."We are seeing many new challenges ahead, from <a target="_blank" class="" href="https://www.businessinsider.com/temu-opens-its-marketplace-to-us-based-sellers-2024-3">changing consumer demand</a>, intensifying competition, and uncertainties in global environment," Chen said on an earnings call on Monday.PDD competes with ByteDance's TikTok shop, Alibaba, and Shein, all of which <a target="_blank" class="" href="https://www.businessinsider.com/what-is-shein-billion-dollar-fast-fashion-company-explained-2023-7">target fast-fashion shoppers</a>. Temu also sells low-cost products ranging from home goods to motorcycle accessories.Chen added that consumers are increasingly ditching material purchases for experience-based ones and that they want quality and value purchases.<h2 id="0c4e1524-6948-454a-999d-739b9e0cdaea">Carrots for good merchants</h2>Chen said that the company would "tackle low-quality" merchants by offering transaction fee reductions for higher-quality vendors.Chen repeatedly said that this is the right path for the company, even if it affects profits in the short term."On one side, we must ensure strict oversight of product quality to prevent substandard goods and protect consumer rights. On the other side, we must ensure fairness so that dedicated high quality merchants can earn meaningful rewards," the co-CEO said.Chen's remarks come amid a series of <a target="_blank" class="" href="https://www.businessinsider.com/temus-office-besieged-chinese-suppliers-protesting-refund-policy-2024-7">protests from Temu suppliers.</a>Hundreds of suppliers thronged Temu's Guangzhou, China, office in rallies this month, protesting fines and refund policies they said were destroying small merchants' profits. Temu, which <a target="_blank" class="" href="https://www.businessinsider.com/temu-is-on-a-quest-to-take-over-america-2024-2?utm_medium=referral&amp;utm_source=yahoo.com">surged in popularity in the US</a> because of its cheap clothing and home decor items, fines merchants if they receive refund requests or customer complaints."We sense PDD highlighting its intention to invest in 'good merchants' is aimed to appease some of its unhappy sellers complaining about ill-treatment by the platform," Jialong Shi, an analyst at Nomura, wrote in a note on Tuesday.The analyst maintained a Buy rating on the company and noted that the 29% decline may have been an overreaction.

Temu's parent company's stock tanked on a major warning sign from the cheap e-commerce brand

Chilimbi is a vice president and distinguished scientist at Amazon, where he leads the Stores Foundational AI organization. His latest focus is on building specialized foundation models for shopping and e-commerce. As part of this effort, Chilimbi led a team of Amazon scientists behind Rufus, Amazon's new generative-AI-powered shopping assistant. Before joining Amazon in 2017, Chilimbi was a researcher at Microsoft. His <a target="_blank" class="waffle-rich-text-link" href="https://scholar.google.com/citations?user=DrNeo_0AAAAJ&amp;hl=en">prior research</a> focused on scaling deep learning training systems and vision-language pertaining.See Business Insider's full<a target="_blank" class="" href="https://businessinsider.com/ai-power-list-2024"> AI Power List</a>

Trishul Chilimbi is building special AI models for shopping and e-commerce

<ul class="summary-list"><li>Marc Farrell became Starbucks' youngest vice president at the age of 33.</li><li>Farrell, who is from Trinidad and Tobago, calls his three years at Starbucks a "finishing school."</li></ul><a target="_blank" class="" href="https://www.businessinsider.com/pirates-of-the-caribbean-details-easter-eggs-black-pearl-2021-3">Captain Jack Sparrow</a>, slushy <a target="_blank" class="" href="https://www.businessinsider.com/top-spring-break-destinations-las-vegas-new-york-orlando-miami-2024-3">spring break</a> cocktails, and nasty <a target="_blank" class="" href="https://www.businessinsider.com/how-to-fix-cure-deal-with-a-hangover-2016-12">hangovers</a>. If that's what comes to mind when you think about rum, then Marc-Kwesi Farrell is on a mission to change that.Farrell, 43, is the founder of Ten To One, a rum brand he launched in late 2018 that is available in nearly 5,000 establishments, making it one of the fastest-growing premium rum brands in the US. The three rums in the range cost between $33 and $65 a bottle online.But Farrell, whose passion for rum is inspired by his Caribbean roots, said the brand's success is fueled in part by time working in the corporate world at Starbucks.He became its youngest vice president at the age of 33, working on e-commerce and retail and beverage innovation, after "serendipitously" meeting former Starbucks CEO <a target="_blank" class="" href="https://www.businessinsider.com/former-starbucks-ceo-howard-schultz-successor-brian-niccol-new-strategy-2024-11">Howard Schultz</a>."I wasn't trying to move to Seattle," Farrell says. "I was in the market for a job, but certainly not at Starbucks."<div type="image" title="Ex Starbucks VP Marc Farrell with bottles of his Ten to One rum." height="1830" width="1280" msid="115383800" hostid="261" sizebytes="228162"></div>But Schultz, who is an investor in Ten To One, took a shining to the Harvard Business School MBA graduate.Despite having "25,000 coffee shops at that point," Farrell says Schultz still had an "entrepreneurial hunger."On the surface, a global coffee giant, and an up-and-coming rum brand don't seem to have much in common.Still, Starbucks was the "finishing school" Farrell needed to launch his own business and teach him the following business lessons.<h2 id="3ef32ed8-d37c-4dd4-9093-87bbed4dee1e">1. Having a clear purpose</h2>What struck Farrell the most from his early encounter with Schultz was his "very clear sense of purpose," which influenced his decision to pursue a rum business."Where Starbucks was helpful was in kind of focusing a little bit of that purpose," Farrell says.Growing up, he said rum, a spirit that originated in the Caribbean, was part of the fabric of everyday life and a constant at all types of gatherings — from carnival to casual hangouts with friends, which locals in Trinidad call "liming."Farrell says part of Ten To One's success is that the brand has a clear intention: reshaping consumers' perception of rum."The way that rum is brought to life, the way it's articulated, the way it's represented, typically doesn't bear much resemblance to what I know and love," he explains. "This is as much a love letter to my culture as it is a purely realistic capitalistic endeavor."<h2 id="a71131b8-f744-458b-9ef1-278741fd635e">2. Mastering storytelling</h2>To launch a successful business, you need to be able to communicate "your 'why,'" Farrell says.He recognized this skill in Schultz, whom he calls "an incredible storyteller."Ten To One has found success because Farrell says he can effectively relate its story: "No one could tell you the Ten To One story better than me because it's my story; it's my perspective."<div type="image" title="Marc Farrell and Ciara are co-owners of 10 to One." height="960" width="1280" msid="115383801" hostid="261" sizebytes="117436"></div>Once you can effectively tell your brand's story, he says the next challenge is telling it again and again: "If you're not willing to tell that story 10 million times, then actually don't do it."Being a brand "evangelist" is how Farrell says he attracted investors, including the performer <a target="_blank" class="" href="https://www.businessinsider.com/russell-wilson-ciara-net-worth-how-make-spend-money-2023-11">Ciara</a> (a co-owner), and collaborations with other businesses such as Cote, a Michelin-starred Korean barbecue restaurant founded in New York City .<h2 id="28053565-5255-48ce-a677-a94f282b9a4e">3. Don't wait until the product is perfect</h2>At Starbucks, Farrell was he was very well paid and great colleagues and mentors."There's a lot of that that feels comfortable," he adds. "But at some point, you just decide that the call of doing something else is impossible to ignore."Farrell says taking a leap into the unknown rather than biding his time at Starbucks was key.<div type="image" title="Marc Farrell, founder of rum brand 10 to One." height="854" width="1280" msid="115383803" hostid="261" sizebytes="138242"></div>"People sometimes wait until the idea is quote unquote, fully baked and fully formed before they're willing to share it." However, Farrell believes "the sooner you can share" a business idea, the better.The feedback he got from sharing his idea for Ten To One in the early days helped shape and progress his idea.It was also the "easiest and most effective way" to get others on board, he adds. "That's how you get introduced to new investors. That's how you will refine the pitch, pick up what resonates and what doesn't."

This Starbucks exec quit to launch a rum brand. These 3 strategies helped him succeed — and attract investors like Howard Schultz.

<ul class="summary-list"><li>Several chains have said they're planning reductions in their store numbers for 2025.</li><li>Topping the list are Advance Auto Parts and Walgreens, which will shutter 1,200 stores combined.</li></ul>2025 is still more than a month away, but it's already shaping up to be another rocky year for retail.Several chains have already announced planned reductions in their store fleets for 2025. Analysts at UBS project the total number of US retail closures could reach 45,000 over the next five years.While UBS said that number would be led largely by smaller stores going out of business, some larger companies are also trimming their store footprints in response to changing consumer trends such as e-commerce, remote work, and other financial pressures.The shutdowns follow a tough 2024. A Business Insider tally of disclosures from 13 retail chain brands found that more than 2,000 stores have closed or are set to close across the US this year, and more comprehensive figures from Coresight Research put the number far higher, at 6,189 so far this year.Topping the 2025 list so far is Advance Auto Parts, which said Wednesday that it will close 727 locations by the middle of next year."This action is prudent to support the long-term health of the company," CEO Shane O'Kelly told investors on the company's third-quarter earnings call.Earlier this year, Walgreens made headlines when it said it would shutter about 25% of its 8,700 US locations over the next three years, <a target="_blank" href="https://www.businessinsider.com/walgreens-pharmacy-closing-1200-stores-turnaround-effort-2024-10">starting with 500 in 2025</a>.Other brands include Denny's, with 100 closures in the works (following 50 this year), and Macy's, which has between <a target="_blank" href="https://www.businessinsider.com/macys-stores-closing-locations-list">50 and 100 locations</a> on the chopping block next year.If the past is any indication, these won't be the only ones.For one thing, even healthy retailers like Walmart and Target periodically <a target="_blank" href="https://www.businessinsider.com/walmart-closing-smaller-stores-smart-strategy-2024-2">review and trim their store fleets</a> in the normal course of business. In fact, analysts have previously told BI that companies should.Beyond that, some brands don't survive forever, even if they're beloved today — remember the ubiquity of Blockbuster, K-Mart, or <a target="_blank" href="https://www.businessinsider.com/stores-closing-in-2023-list">Bed Bath &amp; Beyond</a>?Possible new tariffs and trade proposals during Donald Trump's second presidency could also increase the <a target="_blank" href="https://www.businessinsider.com/how-trump-tariffs-will-impact-prices-technology-clothes-appliances-furniture-2024-11">cost of some items, causing</a> trouble for struggling retailers.In any event, the year hasn't even begun, but nearly 1,500 retail closures are slated — already roughly half the amount BI has tracked for full-year totals in recent years.

Next year is already looking rough for retail store closures

<ul class="summary-list"><li>Labubu, a furry plushie with an unsettling grin and serrated teeth, is all the rage in Asia.</li><li>Sold by Chinese toymaker Pop Mart, the toys fly off the shelves.</li></ul>Grace Lee remembers the first time she saw a Labubu. It had rabbit-like ears and spikey teeth — and her immediate thought was that it was ugly.But one day, the switch flipped, Lee, 36, said. After a colleague gifted her one in July, she started to look at it differently. "I don't know why, but I started collecting them," said the Singaporean, who works in operations."And the next thing I knew, I had, like, 12," she said.Lee is among the many who collect Labubu figurines, a toy that has taken Asia, and increasingly the West, by storm."Essentially, it's appealing because it's trendy, and trendy because it seems like something 'everybody' ─ at least in the target market's circle of influence ─ wants," said Joey Khong, a trends manager at market research firm Mintel.The toy is explicitly for adults: Labubu's product description reads, "Not suitable for persons under 15."Khong said the toys may be popular because they comfort tired corporate workers."Toys hold nostalgic value, offering comfort in an unpredictable world while also serving as affordable luxuries in a time of reduced disposable income due to rising costs," she said.<h2 id="03b7413c-c3de-45fd-80db-7162c0bc0490">The Labubu and Pop Mart phenomenon</h2><div type="image" title="Labubu dolls." height="408" width="612" msid="115318324" hostid="261" sizebytes="37590"></div>Kasing Lung, a Hong Kong artist, created Labubu about a decade ago. Pop Mart, a Beijing-based toymaker, then developed "The Monsters," a line of toys inspired by the character.Lung did not respond to a request for comment from Business Insider.According to Pop Mart's website, Lung "created a fairy world in three picture books inspired by Nordic mythology, and populated it with magical characters both good and evil.""Among them, the most prominent one was LABUBU, a small monster with high, pointed ears and serrated teeth," the website said. "Despite a mischievous look, LABUBU is kind-hearted and always wants to help, but often accidentally achieves the opposite."The larger plush dolls from "The Monsters" line are about 15 inches in height and cost about $85. Smaller dolls cost between $15 and $20.According to Pop Mart's 2024 interim report, released on August 20, "The Monsters" line generated sales of 6.3 billion Chinese yuan, or about $87 million, in the first half of the year. The company's stock is up nearly 260% this year.The toy is so immensely popular that it sells out minutes after it's restocked. On a visit to a Pop Mart store in Singapore, a staff member told BI that Labubus are the most sellable figurines."It's always out of stock," said Tony Lee, who has worked in Pop Mart for four years. "Even when we replenish, within an hour — or less than an hour — it's gone."He said Pop Mart typically restocks a few hundred figurines twice a week.Pop Mart doesn't announce when these restocks happen. Fans send updates to dedicated group chats on Telegram, and within less than 30 minutes of a restock, a "crazy line" forms outside the store, Lee said.Knockoffs of the toy are rampant on Asian e-commerce platforms like Shopee, Lazada, and Taobao.<h2 id="30a28e20-76e8-4a8d-8c53-b106a4e66caf">Celebrity endorsement played a huge role in Labubu's success</h2><div type="image" title="A queue outside Pop Mart" height="2712" width="3616" msid="115318321" hostid="261" sizebytes="1008176"></div>Retail analysts largely attribute the Labubu craze to <a target="_blank" class="" href="https://www.businessinsider.com/lisa-blackpink-acting-debut-on-the-white-lotus-hbo-2024-2">Lisa</a>, one of the four singers from the hit K-pop band Blackpink, who <a target="_blank" class="" href="https://www.teenvogue.com/story/blackpink-lisa-found-the-cutest-bag-charm-at-pop-mart">posted</a> the plush toy on her Instagram in April."I think the raging popularity of Labubu lies in its unique designs, emotional connection, exclusivity, and association with Lisa," said Sory Park, a project manager at Chinese consumer research firm Daxue Consulting.Juda Kanaprach, the cofounder of Southeast Asia-based market research firm Milieu Insight, said that the longtime popularity of collectible figures and designer toys in places like Japan, Hong Kong, and South Korea is now spreading to the rest of Asia. Pop Mart has 374 outlets in China alone."People are getting really into 'art toys' — they're kind of a mix of art, fashion, and pop culture all rolled into one," Kanaprach said."For a lot of millennials and Gen Zers, these aren't just toys. They're seen as little pieces of art or cool design items that look great in their homes. It's like adding a bit of personality and style to their space, not just something to play with," she added.In a statement to BI, a representative from Pop Mart said that Labubu has gained a strong global fan base."It's become more than just a collectible—it's a way for people to express themselves," they said.<h2 id="37e61215-fe06-4fde-a209-d7d009d9b1f9">Collectors say Labubu is worth the snaking lines</h2>When Sim Pei Yi heard from a group chat that Labubu toys were being restocked earlier this month, she rushed to a Singapore Pop Mart to join a snaking line with her colleague during lunchtime."There's a bit of a 'FOMO' feeling," said Sim, 31, who owns around six Labubu toys. "Everybody is getting Labubu. You will also want to have it."<div type="image" title="A girl holding her Labubu toys" height="4284" width="5712" msid="115318322" hostid="261" sizebytes="1370962"></div>Elsewhere in Asia, Ana Gonzales, 38, started collecting Labubus after her friends talked about it in a group chat. Labubu keyrings are difficult to get in the Philippines, so she buys "blind boxes" — toys that aren't labeled.Gonzales estimates that she's spent around $500 on her collection."For me, the real charm is in the blind boxes—not knowing what color you'll get adds so much excitement," Gonzales, a social media manager, said. "Opening a blind box after a long day or tiring week feels like unwrapping a gift to myself or a little reward."The love for Labubu toys has also spread to the US market. In September last year, Pop Mart opened its first permanent store in New Jersey. Now, there are 16 Pop Mart stores nationwide.Tracy Hsu, a 42-year-old housewife in California, learned about Labubu through Lisa — her favorite member of Black Pink."When I first met Labubu, it made me really happy," said Hsu. She has around 17 Labubu toys and said she spent over $10,000 on them. Once, she even camped outside a Pop Mart store for the latest drop.<div type="image" title="A girl camping outside a Pop Mart store" height="1099" width="825" msid="115318320" hostid="261" sizebytes="86082"></div>Her husband twice resorted to buying the toys from resellers at double the price. "I'm a little scared because there's a lot of fake ones," she said, adding that she requests to see receipts to ensure she's getting the real deal.<h2 id="f7e7859c-b4ac-460f-b5d0-67085c6a4f77">Emotional comfort toys are on the rise everywhere</h2>Labubu is not the first toy that has proven to be wildly popular with adults. Several other toymakers have <a target="_blank" class="" href="https://www.businessinsider.com/lonely-adults-driving-stuffed-animal-sales-for-self-care-2023-7">leveraged adult loneliness</a> to boost their brands.Squishmallows — round, squishy toys with smiling faces — were the top-selling toy in the US and Canada in 2022, according to market <a target="_blank" rel="noopener nofollow" href="https://www.npd.com/news/press-releases/2023/the-npd-group-u-s-toy-industry-retail-sales-flat-in-2022/">research firm Circana</a>.This even led to the term "<a target="_blank" class="" href="https://www.businessinsider.com/kidults-dominate-toy-industry-thanks-to-social-media-pandemic-2022-12">kidults</a>" being coined for consumers of toys over the age of 12, who turn to stuffed animals to alleviate feelings of anxiety and loneliness.For Grace Lee, the collector who owns 12 Labubus, collecting the toys not only brings her back to her childhood but also allows her to connect with a new community."Just hanging the toy on my bag opens conversations with people," she said. "It's quite a warm feeling."

A fluffy, $85 toy is taking Asia by storm and sparking legions of knockoffs. Inside the meteoric rise of Labubu.

<ul class="summary-list"><li>Ralph Lauren just reported strong sales in Asia, including in China. </li><li>The iconic American brand appears to be bucking the luxury slowdown in China. </li></ul><a target="_blank" class="" href="https://www.businessinsider.com/sc/menswear-polo-ralph-lauren-holiday-collection-2023">Ralph Lauren</a>, the quintessential American brand, is pulling off what many of its luxury peers are finding near impossible right now: getting <a target="_blank" class="" href="https://www.businessinsider.com/whats-behind-china-luxury-goods-slowdown-economy-changing-consumer-tastes-2024-10">Chinese consumers</a> to spend.An integral part of Ralph Lauren's success is that it doesn't shy away from its all-American-ness.At a time when luxury conglomerates like <a target="_blank" class="" href="https://www.businessinsider.com/lvmh-luxury-louis-vuitton-struggles-china-slowdown-2024">LVMH</a> and Kering are seeing sales in China drop, dampened by issues like <a target="_blank" class="" href="https://www.businessinsider.com/china-economy-stimulus-package-push-wont-reverse-property-market-crisis-2024-9">its real estate crisis</a> and the rise of <a target="_blank" class="" href="https://www.businessinsider.com/luxury-goods-sales-slow-clothes-shoes-china-bain-company-travel-2024-6">"luxury shaming,"</a> the New York City-headquartered company is seeing quite the opposite.In its second-quarter earnings for fiscal 2025, released Thursday, Ralph Lauren reported global same-store sales were up 10%. Asia led its growth, with same-store sales up 11% during the quarter. The company said revenue growth in Asia was up 10% in constant currency, with the China market alone up in the low teens.China remains a relatively small revenue source for Ralph Lauren, accounting for just 8% of the entire business. But it's onto something there — and it knows it."I've said it before but it bears repeating in a volatile environment, Ralph Lauren is firmly on offense," Patrice Louvet, the CEO of Ralph Lauren, said on a conference call with analysts on Thursday.<h2 id="7c39228c-869d-47de-af72-7c09876b7ef0">Logos are out, but 'Preppy' is still in</h2>One factor contributing <a target="_blank" class="" href="https://www.businessinsider.com/chinese-rich-go-for-quiet-luxury-stealth-wealth-2023-8">to the luxury slowdown in China</a> is a move away from ostentatious displays of wealth, fueled partly by government policy.Xi Jinping's government has spent over a decade discouraging ostentatious displays of affluence, fueling the rise of "luxury shame" among Chinese consumers.Neil Saunders, managing director of GlobalData Retail, told Business Insider via email that while this movement has hit brands that are "overt" and "flashy" hard, it's set up brands like Ralph Lauren, known for its "classic, quiet luxury" products, to thrive.He said Ralph Lauren's styling and brand position are very favorable to current trends, in which consumers are not looking to flaunt their wealth but want products that have some longevity.<div type="image" title="A woman wears a blue Ralph Lauren knit shirt." height="853" width="1280" msid="115143538" hostid="261" sizebytes="121204"></div>Martin Roll, global business strategist and senior advisor at consulting giant McKinsey, also told BI over email that Ralph Lauren's embodiment of the "classic American lifestyle" is key.As the Chinese market shifts from conspicuous spending to "more refined and 'timeless luxury,'" Roll said, consumers want brands that "represent quality, authenticity, heritage, and status."Speaking to analysts in the conference call, Louvet said staple products like Ralph Lauren cable-knit sweaters, Polo shirts, and sports coats are what have driven sales, both in China and abroad."Our core is resonating in Tokyo, in Seoul, in Shanghai and Milan," he said. "At a time where consumers are worried about the future around the world, where they're more discerning on how they spend their money, they really turn the brands they know. They turn the product categories they trust."<h2 id="3b954ea4-0593-4823-b303-40372ef11c74">American, but China-forward in China</h2>While Ralph Lauren doesn't hide its Americanism in China, it does reinvent how it targets consumers there, which Roll said is key to its success."Ralph Lauren has established a strong online presence on major e-commerce sites such as Tmall and JD.com, as well as on social media platforms like WeChat," Roll said. "This omnichannel strategy allows the brand to reach a wider audience and engage consumers through multiple touchpoints aside from retail stores."He added that Ralph Lauren is connecting with Chinese Gen Zers, who are increasingly accounting for a larger portion of luxury purchases through those same digital platforms, pop-up stores, and exclusive collection drops.<div type="image" title="Pedestrians walk past the American fashion brand Ralph Lauren store in Hong Kong." height="3327" width="5000" msid="115143539" hostid="261" sizebytes="1769070"></div>With its brick-and-mortar stores, Ralph Lauren has prospered by doing more with less.It targets just six key cities in China — including Beijing, Shanghai, and Chengdu — a contrast to some luxury brand peers that went all in with opening newer, bigger stores throughout the country during the luxury boom post-COVID-19 — some of which now sit empty.Leaning into sustainability — which Olivia Plotnick, founder of Wai Social, an advertising and social media firm in Shanghai, previously told BI is another way younger generations in China are redefining luxury for themselves — is also playing to Ralph Lauren's favor."Sustainable practices are becoming more and more important to Ralph Lauren, which appeals to China's younger, greener clientele," Roll said, noting the company's "Color on Demand" cotton dyeing initiative, launched in 2021, as an example."This China for China approach shows respect for local culture and values," he added. "And it appeals to national pride and fosters brand loyalty for Ralph Lauren."Still, with <a target="_blank" class="" href="https://www.businessinsider.com/donald-trump-wins-presidential-election-race-2024-11">Donald Trump's reelection</a>, looming tariffs against China raises questions on how long Ralph Lauren's winning in the region may last.Roll said <a target="_blank" class="" href="https://www.businessinsider.com/donald-trump-victory-spoils-chances-luxury-rebound-china-tariffs-consumers-2024-11">American brands may find it harder to appeal to Chinese consumers in the wake of tariffs</a> because of rising nationalist sentiment."It's not going to be easier to be an Apple. It's not going to be easier to be an LVMH. It's not going to be easier to be any type of retail brand in China, at least in the foreseeable future," he said.

Why Ralph Lauren, the all-American luxury brand, is a hit in China

<ul class="summary-list"><li>The last full-sized Kmart in the US closed in October after years of decline.</li><li>In Australia, however, the store's namesake is going strong.</li></ul>The closure of a Kmart store in Bridgehampton, New York, in October marked the end of an era for the iconic chain.Once a go-to discount retailer with over 2,000 branches nationwide, Kmart was renowned for its low prices and "Blue Light Specials."However, the chain <a target="_blank" class="" href="https://www.businessinsider.com/photos-inside-last-kmart-stores-us-before-it-closed-2022-4">saw years of declining sales</a> as it struggled to compete with rivals like Walmart and Target and the rise of <a target="_blank" class="" href="https://www.businessinsider.com/amazon-ceo-explains-why-he-wants-fewer-managers-hate-bureaucracy-2024-11">e-commerce giants like Amazon</a>.Now, just one Kmart store remains in the mainland US, tucked away inside an At Home store in southwest Miami.On the other side of the world, however, things couldn't be more different — Kmart's Australian namesake is booming.The Australian company — which previously had a common shareholder with the US version but is no longer connected to it — first opened in Melbourne in 1969.The Wesfarmers-owned chain now operates over 300 stores across Australia and New Zealand and employs about 40,000 people.Kmart Group, which comprises both Kmart and Target Australia, saw revenue climb almost 5% last financial year, from about $10.6 billion to $11.1 billion, despite tricky market conditions brought on by a <a target="_blank" class="" href="https://www.abc.net.au/news/2024-07-17/cost-of-living-australians-food-insecurity-poverty-line/104098832">cost-of-living crisis</a> and <a target="_blank" class="" href="https://www.theguardian.com/australia-news/2022/feb/13/australias-supply-chain-issues-likely-to-continue-despite-drop-in-covid-cases">supply chain issues</a>.Gary Mortimer, a professor at the Queensland University of Technology who specializes in food retailing, retail marketing, and consumer behavior, told Business Insider that a key factor in Kmart's success down under has been its home brand, Anko.Anko, which began as a series of kitchen appliances before expanding to include products like stationary, home decor, and clothing, often replicates more expensive brands at cheaper prices.Anko now accounts for 85% of Kmart's sales in Australia, and it has become one of the country's most popular brands — which Mortimer said was "no mean feat.""They've had to maintain low price, but also maintain reasonably good quality because I don't think consumers would accept low price if the product is going to break down in three to six months," Mortimer said.Speaking at the <a target="_blank" class="" href="https://nrf.com/blog/how-kmart-group-australia-successfully-upended-its-business-model">NRF (National Retail Federation) 2024: Retail's BIG Show</a>, Ian Bailey, the managing director of Kmart Group, echoed that point."We very much wanted to create an environment where customers felt that they didn't have to compromise. And we found it's been a very powerful driver for our business," he said.The brand has also helped Kmart Australia extract better data about its products and consumer tendencies, helping improve its demand forecasting, Bailey said at the NRF 2024."The data quality we get from one brand is exceptional," he said."Because we run one product, and then we're running pretty much at everyday pricing model, the net result is we get incredibly clean data," he continued. "And that enables us then to get very good at demand forecasting, which then means we can have great availability with relatively low stock levels. That gives us the ability to then start testing new products, to drop them in because we've got the inventory capacity to do so."Anko's success has been such that it has helped Kmart Australia reinvent itself from a traditional retailer into a contract manufacturer and supplier, and the company has gone on to roll out the brand in other international markets, including Canada, Singapore, and the Philippines.<div type="image" title="Kmart" height="2131" width="3000" msid="115112874" hostid="261" sizebytes="224978"></div>Anastasia Lloyd-Wallis, the COO of Retail Doctor Group, a Sydney-based consultancy, told BI that Kmart also focused on creating positive in-store experiences to boost growth, targeting the <a target="_blank" class="" href="https://www.monash.edu/news/articles/bricks-and-mortar-shopping-makes-a-fashionable-comeback">resurgence of in-store shopping post-pandemic</a>.Kmart has been able to achieve this through its bargain prices and consistent new product delivery, Lloyd-Wallis said, adding that the experiential aspect helped differentiate Kmart from online competitors.Social media has helped drive home such experiences and new products to shoppers, with the company tapping into the content creator craze."We see this in things such as Kmart hacks," where creators showcase how they <a target="_blank" class="" href="https://www.news.com.au/lifestyle/home/why-this-kmart-ice-tray-is-a-gamechanger-for-your-kitchen/video/0439bfe7f4aa3511bcf18bfc65551e58">use Kmart products in novel ways</a> to help in their everyday lives, Lloyd-Wallis said.You can now find <a target="_blank" class="" href="https://www.instagram.com/accounts/login/?next=https%3A%2F%2Fwww.instagram.com%2Fkmarthackqueen%2F%3Fhl%3Den&amp;is_from_rle">Instagram</a> accounts dedicated to sharing such tips.The company has also quickly seized on viral products, producing its own versions at heavily discounted prices.In one instance, Kmart began selling a version of a popular "sunset lamp" that had been going for 1,500 Australian dollars (around $990) online for $27 Australian dollars (about $18), news.com.au reported.<h2 id="afbeee9b-9d51-4ac1-999c-0220833bdff6">A race to the bottom</h2>So far, Kmart Australia has weathered the e-commerce storm, in part thanks to the geographical challenges companies like Amazon face in Australia.Australia is the sixth largest country in the world by area, but its population remains relatively small — 27.1 million people as of March 2024 — many of whom live in remote areas.Kmart's advantage here is that it's "decentralized," with stores across the country, Mortimer said.It also uses "K hub" micro-stores, which offer locals in regional locations access to some of Kmart's best-selling products, as well as a place to pick up online orders from both Kmart and Target Australia's full range.Kmart still faces challenges, however.For starters, Amazon is not out of the game down under.Amazon Australia gained 1.1 million new customers in the 12 months to June, with 7.9 million Australians aged 14 or over shopping on the site at least once a year, according to market research firm <a target="_blank" class="" href="https://www.roymorgan.com/findings/9636-amazon-growth-in-australia-speeds-up-july-2024">Roy Morgan</a>.Kmart will also be wary of Chinese fast-fashion retailers like <a target="_blank" class="" href="https://www.businessinsider.com/temu-parent-pdd-stock-down-declining-profitability-merchant-protests-returns-2024-8">Temu</a> and <a target="_blank" class="" href="https://www.businessinsider.com/what-is-shein-billion-dollar-fast-fashion-company-explained-2023-7">Shein</a> as budget-conscious customers seek ever-cheaper prices.Data from Roy Morgan in August put the number of Australians aged 14 or over who shopped on Temu and Shein at least once in the previous 12 months at 3.8 million and 2 million, respectively.It seems, then, that Kmart Australia could find itself in a price race to the bottom."These numbers confirm that the 'trading down' phenomenon is real," Laura Demasi, Roy Morgan's head of retail research and social &amp; consumer trends, <a target="_blank" class="" href="https://www.roymorgan.com/findings/9646-shein-and-temu-contintue-to-grow-strongly-august-2024">said</a>. "Every month more and more Australians — both young and old — are trading down to these platforms to stretch their dollars further, redirecting billions of dollars away from Australian retailers."

Kmart has all but disappeared from the US. But its Australian namesake is booming.

<ul class="summary-list"><li>Nike recently signed a 12-year deal with the NBA, WNBA, and NBA G League.</li><li>EMARKETER analyst Rachel Wolff said the deal "makes perfect sense" for Nike.</li></ul>Nike is deepening its partnerships with the NBA and WNBA as basketball explodes in popularity in 2024. That's good news for the company as it tries to get back to its sports roots and reinvigorate sales — and as women's basketball becomes increasingly popular.The sportswear giant announced in October that it signed a 12-year agreement with the NBA, WNBA, and NBA G League to be the exclusive uniform and apparel provider for each league.The deal comes across as Nike attempts to stem a sales slowdown and save $2 billion over the next three years. Its revenue for fiscal 2024 was $51.4 billion — up only slightly compared to its 2023 numbers. The company has replaced its CEO John Donahoe; on October 14, <a target="_blank" class="" href="https://www.businessinsider.com/new-nike-ceo-faces-challenges-nike-earnings-2024-10">Nike veteran Elliott Hill</a> returned to the company in a new role as CEO to help drive innovation and set Nike apart from sportswear competitors.While Nike started as a running brand, its business has historically been linked with basketball after a 1984 collaboration with Michael Jordan. The success of the shoes ultimately led to the Jordan Brand, which brought in approximately $6.9 billion in revenue for fiscal 2024 — about 14% of Nike's total sales.<h2 id="d6d1570b-d02c-41a1-adb9-b0586dfec404">Basketball is hot right now</h2>The new contract comes during the same year as the Paris Olympics and a record-breaking NCAA women's championship that peaked at 24.1 million viewers — the largest audience in women's college basketball history, according to data from Nielsen. The WNBA Finals averaged 1.6 million viewers on <a target="_blank" class="" href="https://espnpressroom.com/us/press-releases/2024/10/the-2024-wnba-season-delivers-record-viewership-across-espn-platforms/#:~:text=WNBA%20on%20ESPN%20Viewership%20Milestones,more%20than%201%20million%20viewers.">ESPN</a>, up 115% from 2023.It also comes at a time when the WNBA said it plans to expand from 12 teams to 15 by the 2026 season. The league said franchises are planned in California, Portland, Oregon, and Toronto."We all see the potential of the game," Nike CEO Hill said during a panel interview at an event announcing the new deal and celebrating the expansion of the WNBA at Nike headquarters on October 21. NBA and WNBA stars like Sue Bird, Kevin Durant, and Jayson Tatum joined commissioners from both leagues and Nike execs to discuss the cultural impact of basketball.<div type="image" title="Monica McNutt, Elliott Hill, NIKE, Inc. President and CEO; Adam Silver, NBA Commissioner; and Sabrina Ionescu, Nike athlete and (left to right) are joined by Giannis Antetokounmpo, Nike athlete" height="2134" width="3200" msid="115114338" hostid="261" sizebytes="243298"></div>It's not Nike's first basketball sponsorship. It has partnered with the NBA since 1992 and had a marketing deal with the WNBA since its inception. In 2015, Nike scored an 8-year apparel deal with the NBA, WNBA, and the G League for $1 billion after Adidas decided not to renew its contract, Bloomberg <a target="_blank" class="" href="https://www.bloomberg.com/news/articles/2015-06-10/nike-wins-contract-to-make-nba-uniforms-taking-over-for-adidas">reported</a>."We know that when we invest in women's sports, we invest in the future of all sports," Nike said in a statement.Nike said its sights are set on "growing the game's culture and creating opportunities for every kid who dreams of stepping onto the court."<h2 id="469dc388-3a8e-4335-bb1c-421dae3171cb">The WNBA's expansion will help Nike</h2>"It's an opportunity for Nike to capitalize on the WNBA's growing popularity and viewership, which could lead to a recovery in its lifestyle business — assuming it can deliver on innovation and design," analyst Rachel Wolff at EMARKETER, a sister company to Business Insider, said.Softening demand in the <a target="_blank" class="" href="https://www.businessinsider.com/nike-ceo-john-donahoe-replaced-elliott-hill-return-to-innovation-2024-9">lifestyle category</a> has led Nike to reduce its attention to that division, according to a Goldman Sachs research note published in June. Nike execs have previously said the company will be focused on getting back to its sports roots."For the last 50 years, Nike's been very much about putting the athlete at the center of the conversation and growing sport around the world," Hill said during the panel in October.Part of Nike's approach to growing its basketball franchise has been focusing on popular WNBA players as their fame grows.<a target="_blank" class="" href="https://www.businessinsider.com/caitlin-clark-signs-eight-year-nike-deal-worth-28-million-2024-4"> Rookie Caitlin Clark</a>, who bounced into the public eye as the all-time leading scorer across NCAA Division-I basketball, signed an 8-year contract for as much as $28 million with the sports giant, The Wall Street Journal <a target="_blank" class="" href="https://www.wsj.com/sports/basketball/caitlin-clark-nike-deal-415ee8ec">reported in April</a>."It's absolutely important that they embrace WNBA," Simeon Siegel, senior retail and e-commerce analyst at BMO Capital Markets, said. Siegel said Nike has to "win everywhere" if it wants to maintain its place as a company that's both big and special, which is difficult to do.Other speakers at Nike's October panel, which included execs and <a target="_blank" class="" href="https://www.businessinsider.com/nba-china-boycott-republicans-enes-kanter-freedom-adam-silver-2022-3">NBA Commissioner Adam Silver</a>, talked about the connection between basketball and lifestyle apparel. Siegel told BI that Nike "has to be everything for everyone," which means pivots between sportswear and lifestyle wear are inevitable."It's Nike's job to create demand via their product and their storytelling, and to then allocate that demand across their portfolio," Siegel said. BMO maintains a "buy" rating for Nike.While EMARKETER's Wolff said the new 12-year deal "makes perfect sense," Nike will need more than a partnership with the NBA and WNBA to pull off the comeback it's attempting.And if the company wants to beat out competitors like Adidas and New Balance, Nike will have to "protect its competitive advantage" in basketball and capitalize on fashion trends faster, Wolff said.

Basketball is having a moment, and that's good news for Nike

<ul class="summary-list"><li>YouTube launched a gifting feature for its vertical livestreams, mirroring TikTok's model.</li><li>ByteDance, which owns TikTok, has dominated e-commerce in China.</li></ul>YouTube is adding a "gifting" feature for vertical livestreams that allows users to purchase digital gifts for streamers, similar to a feature that fuels livestream sales on TikTok.Creators who receive the gifts through the program will earn "rubies," which are redeemable for one cent each, the company said in its announcement this week.TikTok's LIVE Gifts feature operates similarly. It lets app users purchase "coins" that can be used to buy virtual gifts of monetary value for livestreaming creators. Creators on TikTok who receive the gifts can also earn "diamonds," which the company <a target="_blank" class="editor-rtfLink" href="https://support.tiktok.com/en/live-gifts-wallet/tiktok-live/live-gifts-on-tiktok">rewards based on the popularity</a> of the livestream. Users can use diamonds to obtain "reward payments" from TikTok in the form of money or virtual items.E-commerce through livestreaming platforms has become a lucrative and competitive channel for revenue. In 2022, total US e-commerce sales exceeded $1 trillion, Forbes reported. Live shopping accounted for about $20 billion of that. Livestream e-commerce in the United States is expected to grow to $68 billion by 2026, according to Statista, a data research firm.TikTok parent company ByteDance has dominated livestreaming e-commerce in China through TikTok's sister app, Douyin. Douyin generates <a target="_blank" class="editor-rtfLink" href="https://affiliate.insider.com?h=e54b484532789f314b635c6d0830451432638ce3089beed16d5b0b23d8dfe87c&amp;postID=6736796a12ccc579828c6ef5&amp;postSlug=youtube-gifting-feature-tiktok-livestream-e-commerce-competition-2024-11&amp;site=bi&amp;u=https%3A%2F%2Fwww.theinformation.com%2Farticles%2Ftiktok-parent-bytedances-e-commerce-volume-surged-in-2022-internal-data-show">hundreds of billions</a> in annual sales, primarily through influencer livestreams. Over the last few years, ByteDance has expanded its e-commerce footprint into the rest of the world's markets through TikTok.The TikTok Shop also lets creators <a target="_blank" class="" href="https://partner.us.tiktokshop.com/">partner with the app</a> to sell their own products and other products through affiliate links. Last month, TikTok <a target="_blank" class="editor-rtfLink" href="https://www.businessinsider.com/tiktok-shop-us-partner-summit-live-shopping-and-douyin-ruled-2024-10">gathered 300 TikTok Shop partners</a> in a hotel near its office in Culver City, California, for its first e-commerce summit in the United States. The creators participated in feedback sessions with TikTok staffers and shared ideas on influencer affiliate marketing, with live selling the focus of the event, five attendees previously told Business Insider.Google is also looking to expand its own shopping feature. YouTube Shopping allows creators to make "collections" of products that viewers can purchase. YouTube shopping is available in the United States and China, and Google expanded the feature to Indonesia this week, the company said in a release.To grow its market share, Google is incentivizing creators to get in on YouTube's new gifting feature early. The company said eligible creators can receive a 50% bonus on received gifts of up to $1,000 for the next three months.Gifts on vertical YouTube livestreams will appear as an overlay on the livestream video, "enhancing the live experience and creating a new way for you and your viewers to interact and have fun," Google said.

YouTube has added a 'gifting' feature to its vertical streams, ramping up the competition for livestream e-commerce

Last Christmas, my partner's parents made an extremely generous offer: We'd been sleeping on a luxuriously cooling, king-size Zinus mattress whenever we visited, and they asked whether we wanted one of our own. The only thing we needed to do was pick a bed frame. Easy, right?Our first thought was to head to <a target="_blank" class="" href="https://www.businessinsider.com/ikea-cut-prices-deflation-red-sea-shipping-crisis-inflation-greedflation-2024-1">Ikea</a> and purchase our current bed frame in a bigger size, but it was out of stock, so <a target="_blank" class="" href="https://www.businessinsider.com/luxury-retail-ecommerce-online-sales-stores-wealth-the-realreal-2024-7">we turned to the internet</a>. Searching "wooden bedframe" on the furniture <a target="_blank" class="" href="https://www.businessinsider.com/wayfairs-opens-first-ever-physical-store-take-a-look-2024-6">e-commerce store Wayfair</a>, whose tagline is "every style, every home," yielded over 13,000 results. Amazon gave us a smaller but not particularly more manageable 6,000, with sponsored or "trending" bed frames that weren't in our price range — or made of wood at all — frequently front-loaded. The task was daunting.We spent hours at a time clicking between product pages and toggling between search parameters, but none of the options ever lined up. Eventually, buying a new bed frame began to feel like a part-time job that neither of us had time for. Almost a year later, we're still crowding into our old, sagging queen with two dogs and a cat.We aren't the only people feeling paralyzed by making a purchase: On the Reddit forum r/Mattress, person after person complains of the time they have spent navigating a maze of distinctions, like "cooling" and "ultracooling," "medium" and "medium firm," or "memory foam" and "hybrid." For some, the task of buying a mattress was too much: "<a target="_blank" href="https://www.reddit.com/r/Mattress/comments/194n1c5/the_mattress_industry_destroyed_me_emotionally/">The mattress industry destroyed me emotionally and spiritually</a>," one post read. "<a target="_blank" href="https://www.reddit.com/r/Mattress/comments/1chv833/this_is_ruining_my_life_just_tell_me_what_the/">This is ruining my life</a>," someone else wrote.It's not just big, life-altering purchases, either: In a recent <a target="_blank" href="https://www.accenture.com/us-en/insights/consulting/consumer-goods-cutting-through-noise">Accenture survey</a> of 19,000 consumers around the world, 74% of respondents said that they had abandoned an online shopping cart at least once in the past three months because they felt "bombarded by content, overwhelmed by choice and frustrated by the amount of effort they need to put in to making decisions." This inability to commit to a purchase was reported by people shopping for clothes (79%), flights (72%), and even snacks (70%).Barry Schwartz, a Swarthmore College psychology professor, famously called this the "<a target="_blank" class="" href="https://www.businessinsider.com/how-too-many-choices-are-screwing-us-up-2016-11">paradox of choice</a>": While having a wider variety of choices can initially make us happier, <a target="_blank" class="" href="https://www.businessinsider.com/how-the-paradox-of-choice-could-explain-why-youre-still-single-2018-2">the more options we have</a>, the harder it can be to choose the best one for us.Schwartz's 2006 book drew inspiration from <a target="_blank" href="https://faculty.washington.edu/jdb/345/345%20Articles/Iyengar%20%26%20Lepper%20(2000).pdf">a study</a> that found that shoppers in a grocery store were 10 times as likely to purchase jam after sampling from a display of six jam varieties than they were from a sampling of 24. <a target="_blank" class="" href="https://www.businessinsider.com/quit-social-media-online-shopping-30-days-regain-control-productivity-2024-7">Online shopping</a>, which the US Census Bureau estimates accounts for roughly 16% of all retail sales, theoretically makes it easier to find exactly what we are looking for. But it also takes the jam problem and multiplies it by several orders of magnitude: We're inundated with hundreds and thousands of choices. With so much information about those choices, it sometimes can feel impossible to go on. What's more, experts say that many of the tools we rely on to help us sift through all of this information — from product descriptions to search engines to e-commerce filters — may actually be making the process even harder.The golden age of comparison shopping isn't so golden after all.The internet changed not just how we shop but also the number of options retailers can offer. Superstores that used to be limited by their square footage <a target="_blank" class="" href="https://www.businessinsider.com/warehouse-nation-boom-ecommerce-jobs-2022-10">could now fill warehouses</a> with thousands of items that would ship straight to customers' doorsteps. As a result, the retail landscape began to lean toward larger stores with more options.Jason Goldberg, the chief commerce-strategy officer of Publicis Groupe, said "category killers" like PetSmart and <a target="_blank" class="" href="https://www.businessinsider.com/the-tumultuous-history-of-toys-r-us-photos-2020-8">Toys "R" Us</a> outcompeted the neighborhood mom-and-pop pet and toy stores of yesteryear — only to find themselves losing out to stores with even bigger inventories, such as <a target="_blank" class="" href="https://www.businessinsider.com/amazon-q3-earnings-shoppers-cheaper-items-high-frequency-good-business-2024-11">Amazon</a> and <a target="_blank" class="" href="https://www.businessinsider.com/walmart-stock-price-sam-walton-family-wealth-billionaires-retail-strategy-2024-10">Walmart</a>. "In the history of retail, businesses with larger assortments have come in, and they've won out over businesses with small assortments," he said.Shoppers, it turns out, love the convenience of the one-stop shop. But that has left us with an ever-increasing number of options. "Amazon's doing what we think the American dream is, which is, have all the choice in the world," Jessecae Marsh, a professor of psychology at Lehigh University, told me. "But choice can be paralyzing." Part of the problem, Marsh said, comes down to the way our brain makes choices. When shopping, we typically start by looking for ways to narrow down the set of choices, such as by filtering out things we can't afford or that aren't the size we want. Then we look for a reason to pick one of the remaining items over the others. "When we try to make decisions, we want a reason behind the decision," she said.This helps explain why ratings and <a target="_blank" class="" href="https://www.businessinsider.com/guides/insider-reviews-expertise-in-product-reviews">reviews</a> have become such a popular feature on online marketplaces: When we're comparing two similar items, we need to find a piece of information that breaks the tie. A higher star rating, or a slate of glowing reviews from other customers, can be enough to do the trick. The trouble is that having more information at our disposal isn't always helpful. And sometimes, it can render decision-making more difficult.In a <a target="_blank" href="https://cognitiveresearchjournal.springeropen.com/articles/10.1186/s41235-023-00509-7">series of experiments</a> testing how the presence of diagrams influenced people's ability to correctly answer questions about topics like managing body weight, Marsh and Samantha Kleinberg, a professor of computer science at the Stevens Institute of Technology, found that while some guiding information could be helpful, too much information made picking the right answer almost as difficult as if the participants had received no guiding information at all. While the study, published last year in Cognitive Research: Principles and Implications, didn't focus on shopping, their results suggested that the more information we wade through when we're trying to make a decision, the more likely we are to come across something that conflicts with our beliefs, which complicates the decision-making process."If you've tried an Oil of Olay moisturizer, and you had a reaction to it, but you're seeing website over website telling you that's the best one, you're now in a position where the information that you're getting doesn't match information that you hold in your own head," Marsh said. "That conflict is always going to be hard for people because they don't exactly know how to resolve it."It doesn't help that the tools we use to reduce overwhelm may actually make things even more daunting. Raluca Ursu, an associate professor of marketing at New York University's Leonard N. Stern School of Business, told me that tools like filtering, sorting, and using recommendations could bog us down by revealing new factors to investigate, which leads people to search more — and, <a target="_blank" href="https://www.jstor.org/stable/25674430">research has found</a>, be less satisfied with their choices. Search engines such as Google, which present options in a ranked list, <a target="_blank" href="https://journals.sagepub.com/doi/abs/10.1509/jmr.09.0481?journalCode=mrja">can also lead</a> to a "maximizer" mindset. "Consumers start to believe they can find 'the best option' out there, which can then lead to additional stress and decision paralysis," Ursu told me. The <a target="_blank" href="https://www.businessinsider.com/search-web-email-google-streaming-online-shopping-broken-2022-4">decline of Google Search</a> probably doesn't help matters, either.Ursu has studied two factors in shopping: <a target="_blank" href="https://www.anderson.ucla.edu/sites/default/files/document/2022-01/SearchGaps_UrsuZhangHonka_Dec2021.pdf">search costs and search fatigue</a>. "Search costs generally reflect the time and effort consumers require to obtain information about a product," she said via email. "How difficult is it to determine this TV's price and technical specifications?" While search costs are typically much smaller online than they are IRL, where you have to jump in a car and drive to a store, search fatigue grows when shopping online because there's more information available and more options to sift through. Ursu guessed that the most exhausting stage of shopping is comparison shopping — when people pore over minuscule details between products to find the best one.If people <a target="_blank" class="" href="https://www.businessinsider.com/online-shopping-coping-mechanism-target-pandemic-2021-3">abandon their shopping carts</a> because they get overwhelmed by search fatigue, it can come back to bite retailers. In a <a target="_blank" href="https://www.anderson.ucla.edu/sites/default/files/document/2022-01/SearchGaps_UrsuZhangHonka_Dec2021.pdf">study</a> that looked at browsing data from clothing shoppers in the Netherlands, Ursu and her fellow researchers Qianyun Zhang and Elisabeth Honka found that reducing search fatigue by half led to a slight increase in transactions. They also found that search fatigue tended to affect smaller retailers more than larger ones since people tend to spend all their energy shopping at larger stores first.In fashion, perhaps no company embodies the paradox of choice more than <a target="_blank" class="" href="https://www.businessinsider.com/stitch-fix-subscription-clothes-review-work-from-home-2021-9">Stitch Fix</a>, which launched in 2011 with a counterintuitive business model: People who didn't have the time or patience to shop could undergo a virtual consultation with one of the firm's in-house stylists, then receive a subscription box filled with a selection of items that had been handpicked for them. It worked: By 2017, the company had gone public at a valuation of $1.4 billion, only to surge to a $11 billion market cap in early 2021, when many customers were holed up at home."Having someone do that front-loaded effort, that seems really valuable," Marsh said. It's the same thing we would do by bringing a contractor into a house to ask, "What are the options here to expand this bathroom?" After lockdowns ended, the company decided to introduce an option where customers could shop for individual items from categories like "jeans," "Lauren Ralph Lauren," and "workwear under $80." But since that pivot away from its core business, <a target="_blank" class="" href="https://www.businessinsider.com/stitch-fix-stylists-say-role-company-is-losing-flexibility-2021-8">the company has been losing customers</a> every year. Today, <a target="_blank" class="" href="https://markets.businessinsider.com/stocks/sfix-stock">Stitch Fix is valued at $400 million</a>, just a fraction of its market cap at its 2017 initial public offering. Goldberg, the chief commerce-strategy officer, said it's possible that the company's struggles are due to macro factors, like subscription fatigue and a sales slowdown in the clothes business. "Twenty years ago, you spent 6% of your budget on clothes; today, you spend 3% of your budget on clothes," he said. "People used to buy Stitch Fix for clothes to wear to work. You know what people don't do anymore?" Still, the company's decline raises an important point about the value of curation.Short of changing their business models, companies can make things easier on shoppers by simplifying their site designs, reducing friction during checkout, and keeping extraneous information to a minimum. Offering shoppers more personalized search results is another big piece of the puzzle, and the experts I spoke to say <a target="_blank" class="" href="https://www.businessinsider.com/how-amazon-is-using-ai-from-rufus-to-movie-recommendations-2024-7">artificial intelligence may be able to help us</a> winnow our choices down — that's the guiding idea behind <a target="_blank" class="" href="https://www.businessinsider.com/what-amazon-ai-shopping-assistant-rufus-is-like-2024-7">Rufus, a new conversational chatbot</a> from Amazon that answers questions and makes product recommendations. Of course, there's the danger AI <a target="_blank" href="https://www.businessinsider.com/ai-scam-spam-hacking-ruining-internet-chatgpt-privacy-misinformation-2023-8">will overwhelm us with spam and slop</a> first.As Marsh sees it, though, the most important thing is shoppers getting to a place where they're dealing with fewer options, even if they believe that more is better. "Whatever people think they want, they should have something a little bit less than that," she said. Marsh recommended researching a category and figuring out what product attributes matter most to you before you start shopping. She also suggested turning the decision over to <a target="_blank" class="" href="https://www.businessinsider.com/guides">a consumer guide</a>, a retailer quiz, or someone who has tried a product before you. Many people already do this with<a target="_blank" class="" href="https://www.businessinsider.com/gen-z-luxury-perfume-obsession-tiktok-fragrance-teen-boys-branding-2024-10"> beauty influencers</a>: If you have a similar skin or hair type to someone, seeing what works and what doesn't for them can help narrow down your choices.Still, deciding what to buy can be excruciating — even for people who study decision-making for a living. Recently, after an "extremely overwhelming" experience selecting a bed frame for her own house on Wayfair, Marsh said she realized she was going to need a new rug. "I started looking through the options, and I was like, 'I just can't,'" she told me. "We're going to have to go to a store. I just can't do it again."<a target="_blank" rel="" href="https://www.businessinsider.com/author/emilie-friedlander">Emilie Friedlander</a> is a journalist and editor from Brooklyn, currently based in Philadelphia. She co-hosts <a target="_blank" rel=" nofollow" href="https://theculturejournalist.substack.com/">The Culture Journalist</a>, a podcast about culture in the age of platforms.

'I just can't': Why so many consumers are sick and tired of online shopping

Julia Dovgal has always loved smelling good. As a child, she would douse herself in her mother's Chanel or Dior scents before going to school or meeting friends. For her birthday in 2017, she received her first "luxury" fragrance: Jo Malone's $165 bottle of Wood Sage and Sea Salt. The 29-year-old's collection has since grown to over 200 bottles.At first, Dovgal was into <a target="_blank" class="" href="https://www.businessinsider.com/best-perfumes-scents-everyone-should-buy-former-ulta-fragrance-consultant">designer fragrances</a> like the ones her mother owned. "Then I discovered niche perfumery," she tells me. She's constantly on the hunt for perfumes with notes of vanilla and sandalwood. Dovgal says she spends about $600 a month on her collection, which she reviews on TikTok. "I want to have them all," she says.Now a full-time content creator, Dovgal is far from the only young person driving a perfume renaissance. The market-research firm Circana says sales of luxury fragrance brands in the US grew by double digits in 2023. From 2021 to 2023, the size of the so-called prestige fragrance market increased by nearly $2 billion, to $8.3 billion, prompting a flood of new scents and brands.Behind the booming appetite for new smells is Gen Z. The generation has graduated from <a target="_blank" class="" href="https://www.businessinsider.com/victorias-secret-using-gen-z-nostalgia-to-become-relevant-2024-10">Victoria's Secret</a> body mists and is desperate for something fancier. Circana found in 2023 that 83% of Gen Zers said they used fragrance, compared with 79% of Gen Xers and 69% of boomers. It's not just the women either: A recent survey on consumer spending by the investment bank Piper Sandler found that <a target="_blank" class="" href="https://www.businessinsider.com/status-symbols-for-men-list-examples-2024-7">fragrance spending among teen boys </a>had increased by 26% since the spring of 2023. Longtime favorites — Axe, Old Spice, and Bath &amp; Body Works — have been replaced by brands like Valentino and Jean Paul Gaultier. The boys' locker room today smells less like a boys' locker room and more like the sales floor of Saks.<a target="_blank" class="" href="https://www.businessinsider.com/perfume-buying-tips-mistakes-from-frequent-shopper-collector">Perfume</a> is no longer an afterthought sprayed on while running out the door; it's part of <a target="_blank" class="" href="https://www.businessinsider.com/gen-z-business-startups-entrepreneurship-digital-era-branding-social-media-2024-3">Gen Z's personal brand</a>. "Clean girls" might be wearing Maison Margiela's Replica Bubble Bath, a "quiet luxury" queen might give off the rich floral scent of Maison Francis Kurkdjian's Baccarat Rouge 540, while a "coastal grandmother" might douse herself in the woody notes of Byredo's Gypsy Water. Instead of picking one signature scent, young people are increasingly cycling through aesthetics. For Gen Z, it's all about the scent wardrobe.When e-commerce took off, the perfume industry smelled trouble. How are people supposed to know what scent they're buying if they can't spritz it through their screen? For a long time the industry tried to avoid online shopping, prioritizing classic scents and in-store sales. But when everything moved online during the pandemic in 2020, <a target="_blank" href="https://www.voguebusiness.com/beauty/fragrance-the-shift-to-digital">US fragrance sales dropped by 21%</a>. Marketers used increasingly complex descriptions and illustrations of scents, but it was still an uphill battle.Around 2022, TikTok changed the game. Creators on #PerfumeTok touted their favorite scents, painting a picture for their followers of what they smelled like. <a target="_blank" class="" href="https://www.businessinsider.com/glossier-you-perfume-viral-tiktok-genz-millennial-saved-brand-2024-6">Viral posts have caused fragrances to sell out</a>. Phlur said its Missing Person fragrance — the subject of TikTok videos with more than 50 million views — sold out within hours of its launch and amassed a 200,000-person waiting list. Curious about what it smells like? "You know when you're cuddling with someone that you really love, and you're, like, nuzzled up in their chest and you look up at them?" one creator said in a <a target="_blank" href="https://www.tiktok.com/@christina.calcote/video/7074014008629841198?lang=en">clip</a> that's been viewed 1.7 million times. "It smells like that." Circana found that 45% of people who bought perfume in 2022 said that TikTok influenced them. Instead of buying a scent based on smell, young people have started making purchases based on <a target="_blank" class="" href="https://www.businessinsider.com/influencer-marketing-is-booming-as-brands-take-creators-more-seriously-2024-7">influencer recommendations</a>. "This is the type of fragrance for when you need to impress for a first date or a special-occasion event," Dovgal says in one of her most viewed TikToks. Under the handle @juliaperfumery, she shares perfume reviews for her primarily Gen Z audience against the backdrop of her New York City apartment's perfume closet. Each month she'll choose five or six fragrances to rotate through. "Perfume depends on the season and on the weather," she tells me. At the moment, her favorite brand is Juliette Has a Gun — she has almost all of the French label's fragrances.To address the issue inherent in <a target="_blank" class="" href="https://www.businessinsider.com/best-scents-fragrances-to-wear-in-fall-from-perfumers-2024-10">online perfume reviews</a> — people can't smell through the screen — PerfumeTok creators got creative. Their posts are often miniature personal essays designed to evoke emotions and memories."I have to communicate with your other senses to try and paint a picture of this fragrance for you," says Emelia O'Toole, who posts to her nearly 400,000 followers on TikTok under the handle @professorperfume. "We really lean into these dramatic, often long-winded descriptions of perfumes because it's what sets the scene. We have to put an image in your head instead of a smell." A viewer may not know what rose, lychee, and oud smell like, but they can imagine what an elegant woman in a long evening dress out on an evening in New York might, she says. "There's been a shift from classical perfume terminology to a more creative way of communicating with the senses," O'Toole adds.Part of the shift is a growing interest in wearing scents that fit a specific aesthetic, mood, or brand. "If there's one thing Gen Z loves, it's a name for something," O'Toole says. Niche identities based on beauty fads have blossomed, especially on TikTok. If you're a <a target="_blank" href="https://www.tiktok.com/@marysherb/video/7266129751486598406?lang=en">tomato girl</a>, you probably have a bright rosy shade on your lips and cheeks to emulate a Mediterranean sunburn. <a target="_blank" href="https://www.tiktok.com/@itsitorri/video/7341746974216965419?lang=en&amp;q=vanilla%20girl&amp;t=1728926747169">Vanilla girls</a> have glowy skin and smell of expensive hand cream. A <a target="_blank" href="https://www.tiktok.com/@isabellrrose/video/7325120662979300651?lang=en&amp;q=mob%20wife&amp;t=1728926764427">mob wife</a>, on the other hand, dons a fur coat while sporting dark eyeliner. "We've gone in a circle, from wanting to move away from labels to wanting to hyperspecifically label everything," O'Toole says.This has encouraged what she calls a scent wardrobe. Years ago, someone's perfume collection may have included a day scent and a night scent, or perhaps a summer scent and winter scent. Now there's a scent for every occasion, mood, and scenario. There are <a target="_blank" href="https://www.tiktok.com/@thenoelthomas/video/7407554605111889195">back-to-school</a> scents, scents to <a target="_blank" href="https://www.tiktok.com/@dinasshops/video/7387888204533239073">win your ex back</a>, scents to smell like <a target="_blank" href="https://www.tiktok.com/@characterperfumes/video/7219699790706265370?lang=en">Vanessa Paradis in Paris in the '90s</a> — the list goes on. While not every Gen Zer can boast a collection of hundreds of perfumes, there is an evident appetite for more. Piper Sandler's survey found that fragrance spending among teens had grown by 25% since last year.Cathrine Jansson-Boyd, a professor of consumer psychology at Anglia Ruskin University in the UK, connects the shift away from a signature scent with a weakening sense of identity. "The more time you spend online, the more you want to change how you represent yourself," she says. "You never really establish a proper sense of self." She also pointed to mass-consumption culture — the increasing ease and convenience of buying an exponentially growing number of cheap products — as a contributing factor. The <a target="_blank" class="" href="https://www.businessinsider.com/shein-temu-could-get-more-expensive-genz-customers-trade-wars-2024-10">fast-fashion retailer Shein</a>, whose clothing prices rarely top $50, is <a target="_blank" href="https://www.emarketer.com/content/shein-temu-win-over-gen-z-shoppers">incredibly popular with Gen Zers</a>, for instance. "With all these choices in terms of consumption, you don't get this full, internalized anchoring of who you are," Jansson-Boyd says. It's all about who Gen Z wants to be.That could be why certain companies have taken off recently. <a target="_blank" class="" href="https://www.businessinsider.com/renting-clothes-pros-cons-what-its-like-using-nuuly-2023-1">Nuuly, a clothing-rental subscription service</a> launched in 2019 by Urban Outfitters, allows young people to cycle through new clothes each month and try out different styles without too much of a commitment. Last year the brand reached profitability, and this year it said in the second quarter that its "average active subscribers" had grown by 50% year over year.For O'Toole, experimenting with aesthetics is part of the fun. "I think that's one of the most beautiful parts about wearing a fragrance," she tells me. "You can say, 'Who do I feel like being today?' and just spray that on."For a long time, perfume was used <a target="_blank" class="" href="https://www.businessinsider.com/quiet-status-symbols-popular-this-year-2024-1">to communicate status and wealth</a>. For many, it was a form of affordable affluence — a way to secure their status even when the economy was bad. You may not be spritzing it from your château in the Riviera, but with <a target="_blank" class="" href="https://www.businessinsider.com/met-gala-nicole-kidman-chanel-commercial-dress-karl-lagerfeld-2023-5">Chanel No. 5</a> you could at least smell like Marilyn Monroe, Catherine Deneuve, or Nicole Kidman. For Gen Z, however, the most coveted scent isn't always the most expensive one.With the emergence of niche independent perfumers and the increasing availability of affordable fragrances, signaling status is not just about having the money to splurge on designer fragrances — it's about being in the know. While most will recognize Chanel No. 5 on the street, only a few can put their finger on the notes of cardamom, fig, and black tea of BDK's Gris Charnel. A niche scent affords wearers an opportunity to stand out from the crowd while signaling that they have good taste — an inescapable paradox that Jansson-Boyd describes as part of being human. Who exactly you choose to signal to depends on your priorities: Out at a bar, you might sniff out <a target="_blank" href="https://www.tiktok.com/@scoutdixonwest/video/7290642013110947118?lang=en">a fellow horse girl</a> or someone with <a target="_blank" href="https://www.tiktok.com/@hllywoodforever/video/7403371630489062698">rockstar-girlfriend energy</a> and experience a fleeting moment of connection.For Gen Z, it's not enough for a fragrance to smell good — it has to make them feel something. By its very nature, perfume taps into this idea. The power of scent on our emotions can be traced back to ancient times; <a target="_blank" href="https://www.ncbi.nlm.nih.gov/pmc/articles/PMC3794443/">research suggests</a> smells evoke emotions that can help <a target="_blank" href="https://www.ncbi.nlm.nih.gov/pmc/articles/PMC5198031/">reduce stress and depression</a>. Amid a <a target="_blank" class="" href="https://www.businessinsider.com/rich-people-obsessed-longevity-luxury-hotels-iv-drips-mri-scans-2024-10">booming wellness industrial complex</a>, fragrances are increasingly being marketed as self-care tools. Take Bella Hadid's Orebella fragrances, which incorporate "aura enhancing" essential oils, for instance. Or Gabar, the London-based brand that says its mission is "to encourage ideas of self-expansion and self-awareness through scent and everyday rituals.""Nowadays people are looking beyond wholly utilitarian concepts and are looking to their beauty products and rituals to cultivate a sense of intentionality in their lives," says Susan Wai Hnin, Gabar's chief operating officer and global director. "This convergence of the worlds of beauty and wellness have resulted in the rise in popularity of mood-boosting products — people are looking to feel something when they use their products."The wellness angle — as opposed to the old-school sex-appeal marketing, which has <a target="_blank" href="https://www.latimes.com/california/story/2023-08-03/young-adults-less-sex-gen-z-millennials-generations-parents-grandparents">fallen out of favor</a> with the "puriteen" generation — is <a target="_blank" href="https://www.mckinsey.com/industries/consumer-packaged-goods/our-insights/the-trends-defining-the-1-point-8-trillion-dollar-global-wellness-market-in-2024?cid=other-eml-mtg-mip-mck&amp;hlkid=54f51c678f164e64b81b88f2b4f5146a&amp;hctky=1926&amp;hdpid=a91cc4a1-cb5d-48e8-9020-050490cd48c6">especially appealing to younger consumers</a>. Through a more holistic approach, fragrance is firmly embedding itself in <a target="_blank" class="" href="https://www.businessinsider.com/gen-z-loves-gym-weightlifting-workout-fitness-trends-planet-fitness-2024-8">Gen Zers' daily wellness routines</a>.If their perfume isn't getting them <a target="_blank" href="https://www.tiktok.com/@karinawaldron/video/7348967227967769861">chased down the street</a>, lifting their mood, and signaling a unique-but-not-too-unique aesthetic, Gen Zers will turn their noses up.<a target="_blank" rel="" href="https://www.businessinsider.com/author/eve-upton-clark">Eve Upton-Clark</a> is a features writer covering culture and society.

Gen Z's latest obsession: smelling good

Industries with the most under-35 entrepreneurs

<ul class="summary-list"><li>Bed Bath &amp; Beyond's owner said in a regulatory filing that it will cut one-fifth of its workforce.</li><li>Beyond, Inc., formerly known as Overstock, bought the BB&amp;B brand after the original went bankrupt.</li></ul>The parent company of Bed Bath &amp; Beyond plans to lay off one-fifth of its workforce in a move to save $20 million per year.Beyond, Inc., formerly known as Overstock, said in a regulatory <a target="_blank" href="https://d18rn0p25nwr6d.cloudfront.net/CIK-0001130713/624d4cec-8178-41f0-9abe-6c7180fd1564.pdf">filing</a> on Tueday that the cuts will "align to its asset-light business that supports an affinity and data monetization model."The move follows a September <a target="_blank" href="https://www.marketwatch.com/story/beyond-to-sell-utah-headquarters-for-55-million-ac952435">announcement</a> that the company reached a deal to sell its Utah headquarters. The two measures are expected to reduce the annual budget by $65 million, said CFO Adrianne Lee."As we continue to transform and build out our model, we intend to monetize data through our enhanced CRM and database capabilities, stand up a global loyalty program across both our owned and partnered brands, and leverage our IP through a variety of global licensing partnerships," company president Dave Nielsen said in a statement Thursday.Earlier in the week, Beyond and Kirkland's Home <a target="_blank" class="" href="https://investors.beyond.com/news-events/press-releases/news-details/2024/Kirklands-Home-and-Beyond-Inc.-to-Revitalize-Bed-Bath--Beyond-Brand-with-Neighborhood-Store-Strategy-Through-New-Strategic-Partnership/default.aspx">announced</a> a $25 million deal to open small-format, 15,000 square-foot "neighborhood" Bed Bath &amp; Beyond locations across the US. The new concept will include a curated assortment of classic BB&amp;B products, the companies said.Overstock bought the BB&amp;B intellectual property last year after the original housewares retailer went bankrupt, turning the former big box brand into an online-only operation.The $21.5 million deal covered trademarks, internal business data, and e-commerce platforms, including websites and mobile apps, but no physical stores or inventory.The company said at the time that the additional Bed Bath &amp; Beyond loyalty program shoppers tripled Overstock's existing customer base.Since renaming itself to Beyond, Inc., the company has managed to grow customers by 21%, but sales have suffered, with delivered orders declining by 19%, according to its third-quarter results <a target="_blank" href="https://investors.beyond.com/news-events/press-releases/news-details/2024/Beyond-Inc.-Reports-Third-Quarter-2024-Financial-Results/default.aspx">released</a> on Thursday.If you are a Beyond worker who wants to share your perspective, please <a target="_blank" href="mailto:dreuter@businessinsider.com">contact Dominick via email</a> or text/call/Signal at 646.768.4750. Responses will be kept confidential, and Business Insider strongly recommends using a personal email and a non-work device when reaching out

You Searched For "Ecommerce" and got 13 results

Temu's parent company's stock tanked on a major warning sign from the cheap e-commerce brand

Shubhangi Goel

Trishul Chilimbi is building special AI models for shopping and e-commerce

Eugene Kim

This Starbucks exec quit to launch a rum brand. These 3 strategies helped him succeed — and attract investors like Howard Schultz.

Maria Noyen

Next year is already looking rough for retail store closures

Dominick Reuter

A fluffy, $85 toy is taking Asia by storm and sparking legions of knockoffs. Inside the meteoric rise of Labubu.

Aditi Bharade,Erin Liam

Why Ralph Lauren, the all-American luxury brand, is a hit in China

Maria Noyen

Kmart has all but disappeared from the US. But its Australian namesake is booming.

Nathan Rennolds

Basketball is having a moment, and that's good news for Nike

Jordan Hart

YouTube has added a 'gifting' feature to its vertical streams, ramping up the competition for livestream e-commerce

Kenneth Niemeyer

'I just can't': Why so many consumers are sick and tired of online shopping

Emilie Friedlander

Gen Z's latest obsession: smelling good

Eve Upton-Clark

Industries with the most under-35 entrepreneurs

Kapil Yadav

Bed Bath & Beyond owner to lay off 20% of its workforce

Dominick Reuter

Popular Keywords

Buying Guides