Over the last year, there’s been a lot of change at Poshmark, both of its own doing and resulting from the changing retail landscape.

The resale platform, founded in 2011, is just over a year out from the close of its acquisition by South Korean search engine Naver. The company promised to level up Poshmark’s tech, and delivered with the introduction of Posh Shows, Poshmark’s live shopping feature. All the while, consumers were pulling back on spending, retailers were changing their return policies to improve their bottom lines, and the trend cycle was rapidly evolving partly thanks to Gen Z, TikTok, Taylor Swift, and Barbie.

These changes led to an evolution in the way products are sold on Poshmark, and impacted which products fly off the shelves of its users’ virtual closets. Retail Brew spoke to Poshmark founder and CEO Manish Chandra to break down the recent shifts seen on the resale platform, and what’s coming next.

Keep reading here.—EC

Here’s a cold, hard retail truth: Pure DTC might help you reach retail customers directly, but it doesn’t mean you’re reaching more customers overall.

Okay, now for some good news. The most practical solution to securing retailers and winning brand loyalty is actually a simple one: barcodes. Need more deets? The not-for-profit org GS1 US is here to help.

Once you get an official barcode on your products, you can manage, track, and uniquely identify your inventory. GS1 standards also include 2D barcodes (like QR codes) that help brands tell their stories via product packaging to make meaningful connections with consumers.

If your pure DTC is lagging, read all about how barcodes can become your biz’s BFF.

January is often the most common month for layoffs, and it seems this year is no different.

Earlier last month, eBay announced it would cut 1,000 full-time workers, or roughly 9% of its workforce. CEO Jamie Iannone explained that the company’s workforce and expenses had outpaced eBay’s growth.

REI CEO Eric Artz announced that the company would be slashing 357 roles. He told the remaining employees to brace for a challenging year. Most of the cuts affected workers from REI’s headquarters and distribution centers.

Macy’s will close five stores and lay off 2,350 employees. According to a company memo, Macy’s plans to introduce more automation into its supply chain, the Wall Street Journal reported.

Keep reading here.—KM

Hot Wheels were hot commodities in 2023, according to new data from Circana. The 1:64 scale model cars from Mattel were the top selling toy globally. The report tracks with Mattel’s latest earnings report, which showed Hot Wheel sales rose 22% year over year to $454.8 million.

For Mattel, the product category was second only to Barbie, which saw $605 million in sales during the same quarter that Greta Gerwig’s hit film about the doll made box office history.

US toy sales overall were up 26% in 2023 compared to 2019, despite the fact that many consumers pulled back on discretionary spending categories, including toys and games.

Keep reading here.—AV