Much as consumers may want to see that “Made in the USA” tag on a t-shirt, inflation can make that tag feel kind of itchy.

• Nearly two-thirds (64%) of Americans who have shopped for US-made goods say that inflation has a negative impact on them doing so.
• Among them, more than a quarter (26%) say inflation has a lot of negative impact on their likelihood of buying American-made.

So finds an exclusive poll about buy-American shopping preferences from Retail Brew and The Harris Poll. It was conducted among a nationally representative sample of 1,986 US adults from July 22–24.

American splendor. As challenging as inflation is, nearly three-quarters (72%) of respondents say they seek out American-made products very often or somewhat often.

As for not just seeking out but also intentionally purchasing American-made products, 71% said they did so a lot or a little bit. And many are willing to pay a premium for domestically made goods.

• Nearly half (48%) say they’d be willing to pay around 10–20% more.
• 17% say they’d be willing to pay ~30% more for an American-made product over an imported one.

Made in America, the 1993 comedy starring Whoopi Goldberg and Ted Danson, has a rating of just 31% on Rotten Tomatoes. But when it comes to the impact of labels on domestically made products, the verbiage gets a thumbs up from respondents.

Yes, consumers want more US-made products, but keep reading for the full story.—AAN

What happens when a hipster retailer and the internet’s favorite underwear brand move in together? Just ask Parade, which has joined forces with Urban Outfitters for its first physical retail partnership.

Starting August 1, Parade will share a bold assortment of sustainable-fabric undies with an 18-piece capsule collection.

• The new roomies will live at 25 Urban Outfitters locations in the US, including New York City, Miami, and Washington, DC, connecting with “cultural spheres” across the country, Cami Téllez, CEO, founder, and creative director at Parade, told Retail Brew.
• The announcement comes months after the company—valued at $140 million last year—secured $20 million in funding. It has eyed expanding into physical space from the DTC-only territory ever since.

According to Téllez, 80% of the underwear category is offline, and defined by “a number of incumbent brands” with significant partnerships with malls starting in early 2000s, to “built their cultural hegemony through an expanded retail footprint.”

“There are millions of customers across the US every day that are purchasing in person because of convenience, or emotion, and Parade is ready to play in that sphere,” she said.

Growth plans: The retailer also plans on new in-store experiences across the Urban Outfitters locations, including a content creation studio, Téllez added. Although this is Parade’s first retail partnership, the brand also introduced a NYC pop-up back in December 2021 and Téllez said Parade plans on announcing “additional retail channels” this year.—JS

One of the biggest new developments in retail over the last few years is, ironically enough, what’s not new: resale. And while every category seems to be riding the resale wave, from furniture to toys to sporting goods, where resale is white-hot is for clothing.

• Resale site ThredUp raised $168 million in its 2021 IPO, and has popularized the retail-as-a-service (RaaS) model by partnering with ~28 brands to launch resale programs, including Adidas, Gap, and Target.
• In 2021, resale grew 58% YoY, according to a report by ThredUp and GlobalData.

Now Helpsy, a used-clothing collection company that began as a B2B wholesaler that sold to resale clothing shops, is throwing its own (gently used) hat into the ring.

Today, it opened Helpsy Shop, an online store and mobile app with men’s and women’s clothing and shoes.

• The store will open with about 50,000 items, and add about 10,000 more weekly.

With a little Helpsy from my friends. Helpsy began in 2017, when three friends—Alex Husted, Dan Green, and Dave Milliner—bought a New Jersey clothing-collection company, Garden State Wiper, and subsequently bought seven more related businesses, most of them in the Northeast, which collectively now form Helpsy.

B’ing green. Helpsy is a certified B Corp, with a stated environmental mission of keeping clothing out of landfills, and of supporting the charities and municipalities it partners with (and pays) on efforts like clothing drives, curbside collection, and placement of collection bins.

• In 2021, Helpsy said it diverted 29 million pounds of clothing, shoes, and other items from landfills.
• That year, it also paid more than $400,000 to partner charities and municipalities for the clothing they helped collect.

The point of no returns. Perhaps the boldest policy Helpsy Shop is implementing, for what it says is for the sake of the environment, is summarized in these five words on its website: “We do not accept returns.”

Help yourself to our deep dive into Helpsy’s fascinating biz model.—AAN

Today’s top retail reads.

Food for thought: Albertsons CEO Vivek Sankaran details how the grocer is handling inflation and evolving shopping habits. (Grocery Dive)

Bookended: The story of how West Hollywood’s most famous bookstores came to form a union. (the Los Angeles Times)

Too soon? Retail experts and analysts offer their thoughts on what to expect from this year’s holiday shopping season. (Beauty Independent)

Trending: the ROBO economy. Tune in to Bazaarvoice’s webinar on August 10 to find out how your brand can succeed in today’s rapidly changing omnichannel retail landscape. Secure your spot here.*

^{*This is sponsored advertising content.}

Is your brand ready for the metaverse? We discuss why you should think about this virtual space now—before your competitors do!

The numbers you need to know.

Who’s got cash? Digital-payment solutions have evolved past the humble banking card over the years, including everything from Venmo to mobile banking. The pandemic accelerated online and contactless payments:

• A Federal Reserve survey found that cash use dropped from 26% in 2019 to 19% in 2020, as in-person payments lessened.
• Meanwhile, in March 2021, Visa said its tap-to-pay transactions were up 30% YoY, while 47% of the consumers in an international survey of small-business owners and consumers said they wouldn’t shop at a business that didn’t have a contactless payment option.

Not so fast: Cash may have trickled in as the third choice for payments, as cash use among consumers in the US was slightly up between 2020 and 2021—per a Federal Reserve survey on consumer payment choice—thanks to the return of in-person shopping. Where does that leave us? You tell us:

Do you prefer cash payments or a digital form of payment? Tap or click to take our poll; the link will send you to a fun GIF, and we’ll report back to you next week.

I want to pay with cold, hard cash!

Keep my hands clean! I’ll pay with other options

Catch up on the Retail Brew stories you may have missed.

• Warehouse Reimagine, DSW’s smaller-format concept store
• States are putting recycling responsibility on producers
• How two engineers accidentally invented Bubble Wrap