The Modern Retail Podcast

On this week’s Modern Retail Podcast, the editorial team dives into what’s to come in 2026. Senior reporters Gabriela Barkho and Melissa Daniels are joined by executive editor Anna Hensel for a roundtable discussion on the biggest retail predictions in the coming year.

Hensel, for example, is contemplating how AI will continue to shape e-commerce and the way people shop in 2026. Meanwhile, Daniels predicts that the creator economy will only get bigger as brands continue to invest in this marketing channel. With that, the team debates whether social media and other e-commerce channels will continue to bombard users with influencer content. Lastly, the team moves onto M&A prospects in 2026, including the biggest brands primed for potential acquisition as consolidation heats up.

On this week's Modern Retail Podcast, hosts Gabriela Barkho and Melissa Daniels are joined by reporter Mitchell Parton to discuss the themes and trends that dominated retail in 2025. The year certainly didn't play out the way that many in the retail industry were initially expecting, as tariffs upended many companies' carefully laid plans for the year.

Still, there were pockets of hope. Even though there weren't as many IPOs this year as some in the industry hoped there would be, there were still some promising acquisitions, like Church & Dwight buying hand sanitizer brand Touchland, and Harry's parent company Mammoth Brands snapping up diaper brand Coterie. Plus, consumers were still willing to turn out and spend -- even for hot trends and products that seemingly came out of nowhere, like Labubus. The episode gets into:

This week's episode of the Modern Retail Podcast kicks off with a discussion between co-hosts Gabriela Barkho and Melissa Daniels about PepsiCo's announcement that it will be trimming its portfolio and cutting back prices as part of a new agreement with activist investor Elliott Investment Management. They also unpack the opportunities the conglomerate faces as it plans more innovation in the better-for-space, whether that's removing artificial colors and flavors, or including more protein, fiber and whole grains.

Then on the featured segment (15:40), Daniels is joined by Modern Retail's Allison Smith and Julia Waldow to unpack the secondhand sales boom of 2025. Their conversation dives into the technological improvements, economic shifts and brick and mortar touch points that have helped drive more interest and sales in this growing category. They discuss how:

On this week’s Modern Retail Podcast, senior reporters Melissa Daniels and Gabriela Barkho kick things off with a look at the record-setting use of buy now, pay later payments over Black Friday weekend. The duo also gets into the holiday spirit by talking about the widespread impact of seasonal flavors. This year’s big trend? All things cranberry.

Later on in the episode (23:41), Barkho sits down with Kelly Landrieu, principal planner of local & emerging brands at Whole Foods Market, who heads up its Local & Emerging Accelerator Program. In the conversation, Landrieu outlines the program’s role in bringing the buzziest young brands to Whole Foods’ shelves, which in the past has included brands like Poppi and Little Sesame.

They also discuss:

Cyber Week is here and the Modern Retail Podcast is breaking down the biggest shopping and trends to watch during this all-important shopping period.

This week, Modern Retail senior reporter Gabriela Barkho is joined by staff from our sister site, Glossy, including senior fashion reporter Danny Parisi and Glossy West Coast correspondent Lexy Lebsack. Now that the sales week has officially begun, the trio discusses a number of brand strategies and shopper behavior they have spotted this season, including the first big test for AI chatbots assisting with gift search.

On this week’s show, the staff’s roundtable covers topics such as:

This week on the Modern Retail Podcast, co-hosts Gabriela Barkho and Melissa Daniels dive into all the brand moments Barkho saw on a recent trip to BravoCon in Las Vegas. The event had a record number of shoppable activations, ranging from Wayfair studios to special-edition Reebok sneakers. Then they analyze the latest earnings from TJX, which showed net sales of $15.1 billion. That marked a 7% increase from a year ago, boosted by more foot traffic and value-driven shoppers.

Then, in this week's featured segment, Daniels sits down with CharCharms founder and CEO Charlotte Trecartin to discuss the art of publicly building brands as a Gen-Z entrepreneur. While founders have been "building brands in public" for years, the strategy is becoming paramount for digital-native business owners who are sharing their wins and fails on TikTok, Instagram and Substack. Their discussion gets into:

This week on the Modern Retail Podcast, co-hosts Gabriela Barkho and Julia Waldow kicked things off by discussing Amazon’s plan for a new Whole Foods store concept. The new layout, currently being tested in select locations, will allow shoppers to purchase more mainstream brands like Pepsi and Chips Ahoy while they do their Whole Foods shopping. The team also broke down the growing popularity of Advent calendars and why every brand from Dior to Kraft Mac & Cheese is releasing them.

And in this week's featured segment, Modern Retail’s Melissa Daniels sat down with Reba Hatcher, the chief revenue officer at subscription brand Butcher Box, where the two spoke about the company’s growing loyalty program.

Their discussion covers:

This week on the Modern Retail Podcast, co-hosts Gabriela Barkho and Melissa Daniels unpack the news that Amazon is laying off about 14,000 people from its corporate workforce. They discuss what this says about how corporate America is responding to economic circumstances as well as the role of AI in reshaping workflows. Next, they talk through Lululemon's NFL collaboration and what it reveals about the athleisure giant's attempts to win over new audiences.

From there (15:40), Barkho and Daniels sit down with Lawrence Berger, the co-founder of private equity firm Ames Watson that recently acquired Claire's following its Chapter 11 filing. Berger explains how the company's experiences reviving Lids, another legacy mall brand, are helping inform its Claire's playbook as it looks to update the stores and brand for a new era.

Their discussion covers:

On this week's episode, co-hosts Gabriela Barkho and Melissa Daniels get into the news of Quince dodging claims from Ugg's parent Deckers Brand that it unlawfully copied two of its best-selling styles. Next, they discuss the announcement from cosmetics company E.l.f that it will be offering live shopping on streaming service Twitch, and what that says about the potential resurgence of streaming in social commerce.

Then during the featured segment (12:50), Daniels is joined by Kim Chappell, the chief brand officer at infant formula company Bobbie, to go behind-the-scenes of its latest campaign with Cardi B (Bobbie named her as its "chief confidence officer") and how the company infuses brand across all parts of their business.

Chappell discusses:

On this week's episode of The Modern Retail Podcast, co-hosts Gabriela Barkho and Melissa Daniels discuss Mammoth Brands' acquisition of Coterie, a luxury diaper brand that's had a fast-growing subscription business since 2021. While the terms of the deal are undisclosed, it's a big move for Mammoth whose portfolio up until now has included adult body care and grooming brands like Harry's, Flamingo and Lume.

Then they unpack the news that Unilever is offloading luxury skincare brand Kate Somerville 10 years after its acquisition. It's now owned by Rare Beauty Brands, which also skincare brands Patchology and Dot Dot Dash. But it's another sign that Unilever is looking to simply its portfolio and get out of the luxury category, as Unilever also shuttered another brand in the category, Ren Clean Skincare, in July.

This week's featured segment is an interview with James Lang, the vp of marketplace at Ulta Beauty (21:22). The company in October announced its first-ever third-party marketplace that's integrated into its website. The move is an attempt to grow e-commerce business without being saddled with inventory, but Lang explains how the company worked quickly and efficiently to stand up the operation within six months after announcing it in March.

They discussed: