As Federal Reserve Chairman Jerome Powell said earlier this month after announcing that the central bank wasn’t planning on lowering rates anytime soon, the purpose of a strict monetary policy is to put “downward pressure” on economic activity.

JPMorgan explains it this way: “When the central bank increases interest rates, borrowing becomes more expensive. In this environment, both consumers and businesses might think twice about taking out loans for major purchases or investments.”

In other words, higher rates should make it harder to obtain loans, which should make it harder to fund investments in your business, whether that’s a new store or a new technology. But looking at retailers specifically, this trend is not so clear-cut.

While department stores and apparel companies such as Express and Macy’s are shuttering locations and struggling under excessive debt loads, other major retailers such as Walmart and Aldi are planning ambitious store expansions and technology investments.

So where do interest rates factor into these very different outcomes? Samuel Rines, macro strategist at WisdomTree, told Retail Brew that it depends on variables such as size and cash flow.

Keep reading here.—AV

What’s the trick to effortless e-comm? Retail customers who are seamlessly linked across every accessible channel. We’re talking email, SMS, identity resolution, push notifications—you name it.

Listrak’s unified platform puts everything in place to get you actionable insights, which = better precision targeting and individualization. No wonder it’s trusted by 1k leading retailers like Untuckit and Le Creuset.

Check this: When classic footwear maven TOMS made the switch to Listrak, they consolidated their email and SMS programs and added Listrak’s identity resolution marketing solution. The result? TOMS achieved deep cross-channel orchestration and an 86x return on ad spend.

Take your e-commerce to new heights.

Spring has brought about a lot of pleasant changes: warmer temperatures, flowers blooming, and…some customers warming up to Victoria’s Secret again?

The retailer, which has had a tough time lately after its full-year sales guidance fell short of analyst expectations, said its sales were picking up, despite tough competition.

Although the lingerie brand isn’t completely out of the water yet—net sales were still down 3%–4% for Q1—the losses were below analysts’ projections of a 6% decline, as online sales outperformed in-store sales, Bloomberg reported.

It’s no secret: Victoria’s Secret has struggled to regain its relevance as it attempts to rebrand itself after a decades-long history marked by the promotion of unrealistic beauty standards, sexism, and discrimination.

Keep reading here.—JS

On Wednesdays, we wear pink spotlight Retail Brew’s readers. Want to be featured in an upcoming edition? Click here to introduce yourself.

Neil Mahoney is VP of operations at New Hampshire-based fulfillment and warehousing company Prep Partners Group.

How would you describe your job to someone who doesn’t work in retail? As vice president of operations, my responsibility is to make sure that our clients and their customers encounter minimal supply chain issues. Despite the daily challenges such as labor shortages, packaging options, and transportation costs/time in transit, our goal remains unchanged: to make a complex process appear seamless.

One thing we can’t guess about your job from your LinkedIn profile? One thing not evident from my LinkedIn profile is the extensive time I dedicate within our organization’s various departments, constantly striving for process improvement. Our ongoing efforts focus on enhancing efficiency to save time and costs for our valued clients.

What’s your favorite project you’ve worked on? I love being witness to the growth of a startup company that has onboarded with our organization and the realization that I had a direct impact on facilitating that growth. The ability to take the burden of the distribution arm away from an emerging company and allow them to focus on the marketing side makes me feel like I am an integral part of their organization.

Keep reading here.—EC

Ace the marketing game. As a leading unified customer engagement platform, Listrak can help you drive engagement and reduce spend. How much? Glad you asked. In Listrak’s Forrester Consulting Total Economic Impact™ study, interviewed clients saw a 40% increase in SMS-driven revenue, a 35% reduction in marketing-tool spend, and even more game-changing results.

If you wanna reign the retail game, you gotta know your consumers. Problem is, retail changes faster than you can say “cha-ching!” To get the inside scoop on the current state of consumer behavior in 2024, check out our virtual event with Placer.ai. Register now!