In an era when Allure’s top pick for a facial moisturizer, La Mer’s Crème de la Mer Moisturizer, costs $380 for a two-ounce jar, it may come as a surprise that one of the moisturizers at the center of a TikTok beauty trend, Vaseline petroleum jelly, costs $4.89 for 7.5 ounces.

But the 153-year-old product is featured in many videos about the trend, called slugging, on the platform, nearly half of whose users (47.4%) are under 30.

Slugging, the before-bed ritual of smearing a petroleum-jelly (aka petrolatum) product on the face, draws its name from users who slather on so much they resemble certain garden-dwelling gastropods.

Although the ritual “has been part of the Black community for decades,” according to Vaseline’s website, the “slugging” coinage—and broad popularity—are new:

• Videos tagged #slugging have racked up 1.2 billion views on TikTok.
• Google searches for “slugging” started surging in late 2021, and peaked the week ending July 15, according to Google Trends.

While many beauty trends on TikTok are blessedly short-lived (coffee grounds facial scrub, anyone?), slugging has been widely endorsed by dermatologists and unmistakably has legs. And even though, as is often the case with TikTok trends, brands had no idea it was coming, they’re now developing social media strategies to fuel the trend—and to establish their products as sluggers’ unguent of choice.

Keep reading here.—AAN

Sure, it’s still September, but Black Friday and Cyber Monday are just around the seasonal corner. Time is of the essence for fourth-quarter marketing strategies—and Listrak can help you get ready.

Their annual holiday resource hub has all the tips, advice, and to-dos for executing a successful holiday season. And it’s all available in bite-sized webisodes and downloadable guides to help you find the EOY insights you need.

Interested in tips to ensure inbox deliverability? Want some SMS compliance reminders? How ’bout a step-by-step marketing audit guide? Listrak’s holiday hub has it all.

As the industry’s integrated digital marketing platform trusted by top retailers and brands (think: vineyard vines, Hunter Boots, S’well), Listrak’s retail experts know how to make the most out of the holiday season. Let them help you reach (ahem, exceed) your quarterly and end-of-year goals.

Check out their resource hub.

If retailers were looking for a clearer picture of the US economy heading into the holiday shopping season, a series of new data points this week proved stubbornly inconclusive.

Retail sales increased 0.6% from July to August, according to the latest Census Bureau data, though the bulk of these gains came from higher car and gasoline prices. The National Retail Federation’s own measure of retail sales, which excludes gas stations, car dealers, and restaurants, showed a more modest 0.1% rise.

Slowing momentum: “Households have the capacity to spend, but momentum is slowing, in part because savings built up during the pandemic are running lower and credit costs are rising,” NRF Chief Economist Jack Kleinhenz said in a press release.

He added that while growth has slowed, “there is little hint of any sudden collapse.”

Not collapsing might sound like a low bar to clear, but it might be the best retailers can hope for this holiday season, which some predict will be the slowest in five years.

Keep reading here.—AV

Here’s a look at the week ahead:

In store closures: UK-based hardware retailer Wilko announced it will close 124 stores this week after the company failed to find a buyer for its remaining locations. The rest of the chain’s stores will close up shop in early October. However, variety store Poundland and discount chain B&M will acquire up to 71 and 51 of Wilko’s 400 stores, respectively.

In events: ICSC@Mid-Atlantic, the annual retail real estate conference, will take place Thursday and Friday in Washington, DC. On Thursday, futurist, urbanist, and author Greg Lindsay will give a keynote address on the effects of the pandemic on downtowns, offices, and shopping centers.

Groceryshop starts Tuesday in Las Vegas, and Retail Brew will be on the ground during the three-day conference, which covers the evolution of grocery retailers and the changes in the production and distribution of CPGs.

In earnings: Today, Stitch Fix holds its first earnings call since appointing new CEO Matt Baer in June. It’s a challenging time for the company; its cost-cutting attempts included shutting down a distribution center in Pennsylvania that will leave nearly 400 employees out of work.

Read the whole story here.—KM

Today’s top retail reads.

Right under their noses: Why the FDA took so long to acknowledge a decongestant was ineffective. (the Wall Street Journal)

Growing pains: Some indoor vertical farming companies are building new facilities even as two startups are filing for bankruptcy. (Associated Press)

Slow burn: How Keshawn Warner went from getting arrested for trying to buy cannabis 15 years ago to cofounding Dazed, a chain of cannabis dispensaries in Massachusetts and New York. (Insider)

At the mall, it’s where band tees are the only tees. In Retail Brew, it’s where we invite readers to weigh in on a trending retail topic.

A French supermarket chain, Carrefour, has taken action against shrinkflation, manufacturers’ practice of making products slightly smaller rather than raising prices, by festooning shelves with signs warning shoppers that a product has been shrinkflated.

“This product has seen its weight drop and the price charged by our supplier increase,” the signs read. “We are committed to renegotiating this price.”

Another French supermarket chain, Intermarché, flagged some products for shrinkflation earlier this summer. No major US supermarket chains have called out products for shrinkflation with shelf signage, but…

You tell us: Do you think that US supermarket chains should warn shoppers about products that have been shrinkflated? Cast your vote here.

Circling back: Last time, we noted that Adidas Sambas, which have been around since 1949, have been trending on social media and the company has struggled to keep them in stock. We asked how popular classic sneakers introduced before the year 2000 were with you.

Very popular, it turns out. No less than 40.2% of you own three or more pairs of classic sneakers introduced before the year 2000, while another 38.2% own one or two pairs. Only 18.6% of you don’t own any classic kicks, while 2.9% of you did not know or weren’t sure.