retail therapy

In praise of Amazon’s hand scanners.

They have these at my local Whole Foods and I’ve always been a bit turned off by them. But maybe that’s a knee-jerk reaction? “Holding my hand a few inches over an Amazon One scanner next to the cash register […]

retail therapy

Google Shopping’s Holiday 100.

Showcasing the top 100 products on the search engine. “Go for the gold, silver, and bronze when you work out. Health tracker jewelry is trending with a 200% search interest increase in 2022.” | learn more

retail therapy

When brands got horny.

“For a time, acting sassy or edgy was enough for brands seeking to break through the social-media noise. These days, however, the golden ticket is acting horny.” | learn more

retail therapy

Do you remember the Radio Flyer tricycle.

A short and interesting story from Robert Pasin, the brand’s Chief Wagon Officer: “30 years ago when Radio Flyer was in serious trouble and we dove headfirst into reinvention mode, we had to understand what we could become best at.” | learn […]

retail therapy

Amazon’s restocking issue.

Amazon places limits on how much inventory a 3rd party seller can store in its warehouses. Around holiday time, they tend to cut these limits, which creates a lot of extra stress (and stockouts) for those independent sellers. Why do […]

retail therapy

A word of caution to AngelList LPs.

“I’ve observed what I perceive to be a “market inefficiency” on the platform, which is what I want to call out today: Tier 1 VC bridge rounds.” This is the same lesson as Mark Suster’s 2014 gem Why Am I So […]

retail therapy

The pitfalls of churn rate.

In 2018, as Spotify prepared to go public, this author noted “Spotify is making a common and dangerous mistake in their LTV calculation.” He uses this to make the point that, “Investors and entrepreneurs should shift their attention towards a […]