As SVP of merchandising, center store sourcing and product development at Whole Foods, Alyssa Vescio oversees the store’s grocery, general merchandise, and exclusive brand portfolio—from local products to national brands.

The role is equal parts “art and science,” Vescio told Retail Brew, as she leverages her 20 years of merchandising experience and a little risk-taking with data and insights to inform decision-making. To bring in new brands, she scours farmers markets, local co-ops, trade shows, other retailers, and even Instagram and TikTok and her friends’ shopping carts, and she shared what brands need to know about the journey to Whole Foods shelves and beyond.

What is your process when you’re looking at a brand and figuring out if it’s right for Whole Foods beyond that standard Whole Foods criteria?

One of the starting points is our quality standards, those are non-negotiable for us…The second thing we look for is innovation that is interesting. We have a finite amount of space on our shelves, and a lot of mature categories. So when we’re looking at new entrants to the space and emerging brands, we look to say, “What is the open space within that category? Is this innovation bringing something completely new to the category? Is it disrupting or waking up the category? Will our customers be excited about it?” In many ways, we’re looking not just for a flavor extension of something, but really meaningful innovation within a category.

Keep reading here.—EC

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E-commerce spend grew by 7% year over year to $331.6 billion in the first four months of the year, according to a report from Adobe Analytics.

The report—which spanned more than a trillion US retail sales site visits, 100 million SKUs, and 18 product categories—found that shoppers have been increasingly trading down to less expensive goods in several categories.

Category closeup: Online spend grew modestly for electronics (up 3.1% YoY to $61.8 billion), and apparel (which rose 2.6% YoY to $52.5 billion). Both categories made up 34.5% of e-commerce spend. Cosmetics, a category Adobe said it tracked for the first time, saw 8% YoY growth to $13.2 billion.

Grocery shopping online also continued to gain ground, raking in $38.8 billion, which represented 15.7% YoY growth.

Keep reading here.—EC

In collaboration with TalkShopLive and Rolling Stone magazine, actor Kate Hudson will host a special living room concert for her debut album this Friday, which will double as a shoppable simulcast featuring autographed CDs and themed merchandise. TalkShopLive calls it “social selling,” and like Hudson’s new musical career, it’s an attempt to become a crossover hit.

Here’s what else is going on in retail:

In data: It’s a big week for data releases. The Bureau of Labor Statistics will drop the Consumer Price Index (CPI) on Wednesday, and some are worried it won’t show enough cooling prices to spur the Fed to lower rates, while others are concerned that inflation could be settling at a higher rate than is healthy for the economy. The March report showed prices rose 3.5% year over year, a slight uptick from the previous month. Meanwhile, we’ll get to see how inflation is (or isn’t) influencing consumers, as the Census Bureau will release monthly retail sales numbers for April on the same day. The March report marked the second straight month of sales increases, rising 4% year over year.

In earnings: Some heavy hitters report this week, including Home Depot on Tuesday and Walmart on Thursday.

Keep reading here.—AV

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