Retail Brew

South Korea has given the world great skin care, iconic music, and now a luxury department store, as The Hyundai Seoul paves the way for a new approach to digital retail. Instead of trying to win shoppers over with faster shipping or lower prices, the retailer is betting people increasingly want something that’s become harder to find online: the joy of discovery.

Consumers increasingly want products that are lighter, cooler, and more comfortable, but they don’t necessarily want to sacrifice performance. At least that’s the core belief behind Wrangler’s newest denim innovation, Toughlite, an update to the brand’s iconic Cowboy Cut jeans. The fabric weighs 11.2 ounces—more than 20% lighter than the original 14.75-ounce Cowboy Cut denim—but is engineered to maintain the durability consumers expect from traditional heavyweight workwear.

As temperatures climbed for much of the country in June, prices saw a much-needed cooling. Following a 0.5% jump in May, consumer prices dropped 0.4% the Bureau of Labor Statistics reported this week, the largest one-month drop since April 2020. Prices rose 3.5% year over year, an improvement from last month’s 4.2% rate. The month-over-month drop was fueled by lower energy prices, with core CPI, excluding food and energy costs, flat month over month. The food index climbed 0.2% in June and 2.7% YoY.

On Wednesdays, we wear pink spotlight Retail Brew’s readers. Want to be featured in an upcoming edition? Click here to introduce yourself. Tim Murphy is CEO of cleaning products brand Branch Basics. How would you describe your job to someone who doesn’t work in retail? At Branch Basics, our No. 1 mission is to create healthier homes for everyone with our human-safe cleaning products.

Perhaps no problem is more migraine-inducing for the retail industry than returns. An estimated 15.8% of retailers’ sales valued at $849.9 billion were expected to be returned in 2025, according to a report from the National Retail Federation and Happy Returns. Online sales boomerang even more, with an estimated 19.3% returned. Chances are those returns are not fetching full price the second go-round.

Why brands are sending more retail returns to resale. July 15, 2026 View Online | Sign Up | Shop It’s Wednesday, and it’s National Hot Dog Day. Among the many brands and retailers celebrating is condiment brand Smash Kitchen, which, alongside cookware and knife seller Hexclad, will be handing out free hot dogs outside The Met with the New York Hot Dog King in Manhattan today. Unfortunately, no word if Smash Kitchen’s co-founder, actor Glen Powell, will be the one handing them out.

Unanimity has never been a strength of the retail media industry, but one body is trying to bring the people who actually build and run retail media networks together. RETHINK Retail has launched Media in Retail (MiR), a network that aims to develop the next generation of retail media talent and bring structure to an industry that has grown faster than anyone anticipated.

DoorDash is getting into retail delivery from local mom-and-popstores with Shopify. Shopify merchants with a physical store in the US can now add their products to the DoorDash marketplace directly from the Shopify app store. Inventory stays synced automatically, so what’s on DoorDash matches what’s actually on the shelf. And the setup takes days, not weeks.

If lines down the block, sold-out products, and viral moments are any indication, premium grocery is having a moment in New York City. Century-old Upper East Side staple Butterfield Market has recently been adopted as an influencer favorite, and this year took over FYPs with its viral Dotcakes, with lines starting at 6am to nab the sprinkle-topped cake in a cup.

Consumers may value convenience, but they’re increasingly unwilling to pay extra for it. According to ICSC’s latest Cost of Convenience survey, 90% of consumers said they’d accept slower shipping if it meant paying less, while 61% prioritized lower costs over convenience when shopping online. Shipping costs have become a growing pain point for consumers.