“I’m opening a candy shop in the West Village,” is the first line of nearly every TikTok Elly Ross (@ellybellyeats) has posted since July, a simple hook that’s drawn in millions of viewers to loyally follow the opening of her NYC shop Lil Sweet Treat.

The pick-and-mix candy store—featuring gummy candies imported from Spain, Sweden, Germany, Belgium, and more—opened its doors just a few days ago, but Ross has already amassed a community of “candy connoisseurs” who’ve followed the equal parts sweet and sour journey of opening a retail store, from location scouting through renovations and eventually her soft opening late last month.

Ross grew up in a “very Korean household,” immigrating to the US as a young child, falling in love with sweet treats by trading snacks from different cultures with her classmates, she told Retail Brew. But with the importance of financial stability “ingrained” in her, she’s since worked in tech (she’s currently head of product at e-commerce startup ChaChing). That was until the Swedish candy craze took hold, especially in New York City, revealing to Ross a gap in the market for a shop offering unique international sweets she felt she could fill.

“A lot of the skill sets that I’ve honed and grown as being a product manager have really helped me think about critically, ‘What is the user journey for someone coming to get candy, and how do we make every single step in that journey the most magical it can be?’” she said.

Keep reading here.—EC

The countdown to BFCM is officially on—are you ready to make every day count?

Now is the perfect time to grow your audience and prepare for the most profitable season of the year. Stay organized (and ahead of the competition) with Klaviyo’s BFCM calendar.

Skip the last-minute scramble this year. With the BFCM calendar, you can make the most of your time by planning your campaigns, tracking key dates, and ensuring your promotions hit the mark in advance. Because when the holiday rush hits, the last thing you wanna do is realize you’re behind schedule.

Start shopping season strong. Get Klaviyo’s BFCM calendar here.

With low- and middle-income shoppers both pulling back and big box chains such as Walmart and Target increasing their value offerings, discounters Dollar Tree and Dollar General are trying out new business models to stay relevant.

For Dollar General, that means simplification: tighter inventories, fewer SKUs. For Dollar Tree, that means more variety: multiple price options for the same item.

Both chains cut their sales outlooks for the rest of the year and pointed to a difficult macroeconomic environment for both its low and middle-income customers.

Keep reading here.—AV

This is the first full week of the 2024 NFL season, and longtime sponsor PepsiCo is launching an ad campaign inspired by the highly anticipated film Gladiator II. Hip hop artist Megan Thee Stallion is providing the soundtrack and starring in the spots as “Empress Megan,” who leads a band of “Gridiron Gladiators,” including NFL superstars Josh Allen, Derrick Henry, Justin Jefferson, and Travis Kelce.

Here’s what’s going on in retail this week:

In data: The Federal Reserve is releasing its latest consumer credit card report on September 9. The report provides a high-level view of Americans’ debt burden, including their total outstanding debt. The last report, which covered the month of June, found that total outstanding debt was up 2.1% YoY, but revolving debt such as credit cards was down 1.5%. Looking at all of Q2, a recent report from the Federal Reserve Bank of New York found that aggregate household debt balances increased just 0.6% from Q1 and aggregate delinquency rates were unchanged, but credit card balances were up 5.8% from last year, suggesting consumers are racking up their personal debt.

Keep reading here.—AV

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