When it comes to horror movies, subgenres proliferate like zombies. You’ve got slashers, found footage, body horror, psychological horror, and folk horror movies, to name just a few.

There are also a handful of movies that this horror-loving business reporter would classify as “retail horror.” These are movies with a prominent retail setting such as a supermarket, mall, or department store, with plots that actually make use of those locations’ unique qualities.

Some of the most famous films in the beloved/maligned genre fall under this category, and each of them tells us a little something about the history and evolution of the retail industry. So just in time for the spooky season, here is Retail Brew’s guided tour through retail horror.

Keep reading here.—AV

Turns out retail media does not spell success for everyone.

Microsoft is reportedly shuttering its retail media platform, PromoteIQ, because of low margins. Digiday broke the news on Oct. 7.

PromoteIQ’s former chief revenue officer Harsh Jiandani told Digiday that PromoteIQ operated on “very low margins” and Microsoft wanted to focus more on profitability, adding Microsoft realized “it was going to be a while” before it could earn $1 billion from the business.

Microsoft declined to comment on the specifics about PromoteIQ. However, Lynne Kjolso, VP of global partnerships and retail media at Microsoft Advertising, told Retail Brew that Microsoft Advertising continues to enable clients to access retail media inventory through “multiple avenues,” including its partnership with third-party ad tech platform Criteo.

Keep reading here.—VC

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Dave Fink is co-founder and CEO of Postie, a direct mail marketing solutions company used by brands like DoorDash, Cole Haan, and Tula Skincare.

How would you describe your job to someone who doesn’t work in retail? Postie is an 8-year-old growth stage company that has achieved quite a bit in a short period. My role has evolved quite a bit as well as we’ve moved through many key stages as a business. As a startup, the most important aspect of my job was to present the problem we were trying to solve, the vision of how we would solve it, and most critically get our initial product to market quickly. My days were filled with building products, structuring business partnerships, and selling to customers. As we matured into a growth stage company with an established product market fit and rapid revenue growth, the daily blend of responsibilities evolved from mostly execution to strategy and empowerment.

Keep reading here.—EC