Coresight Research

Coresight Research Coresight Research helps retail clients accelerate innovation and growth.

We focus on disruption at the intersection of retail and technology – and help you understand what it means for your business. Subscribe to our mailing list to receive our Daily Feed and Weekly Insights email: bit.ly/OptinFeed

07/31/2026

Coresight Research Founder, Deborah Weinswig joined Retail TouchPoints this week for a panel on the 2026 Holiday Outlook, alongside a great group of retail leaders — Neil Stern (CEO, Good Food Holdings), Seth Estep (EVP & Chief Merchandising Officer, Tractor Supply), and Kristin Flor Perret (VP of Brand, Sur La Table), moderated by Kate Robertson.

The conversation covered a lot of ground: how GLP-1 drugs are reshaping retail inventory planning in ways many retailers didn't expect, why consumer sentiment looks more negative than the actual spending data suggests, what's changed since the market dip back in March, and why this holiday season may bring less discounting than shoppers have gotten used to.

Catch the highlights below:
https://hubs.la/Q04rvt440

Looking back at NRF weekend, where investors, retail leaders, and technology executives packed the room for AI Playbook:...
07/30/2026

Looking back at NRF weekend, where investors, retail leaders, and technology executives packed the room for AI Playbook: Content & Cocktails — sharp conversation on agentic retail, AI-driven supply chains, and what's next for the industry, plus an early look at our Technology Outlook Report.

That same energy is coming to Nashville.

Join us September 28 for the Coresight Conference, where we'll go even deeper on how AI is redefining what's possible in retail.

Save your spot → https://hubs.la/Q04rm_9d0

CPG growth is slowing, but the reason behind it tells you exactly where the consumer's head is right now.Our latest Core...
07/30/2026

CPG growth is slowing, but the reason behind it tells you exactly where the consumer's head is right now.

Our latest Coresight Research x Circana CPG Sales Tracker shows total CPG sales growth eased to 4.2% for the four weeks ended July 12, down from 4.7% in the prior period. E-commerce moderated to 21.3% and in-store slowed to 1.9%. And notably, this happened despite major promotional events like Amazon Prime Day and Walmart Deals in the window.

Here's the key shift.

With inflation holding stable, pricing is no longer doing the heavy lifting. Growth is becoming demand-driven. That makes what consumers actually choose to buy far more revealing, and right now they're choosing essentials.

The department breakdown makes it clear:

Food and beverages stayed the strongest e-commerce performer at 25.1% growth and made up 62.4% of total sales. Health and beauty delivered the strongest total sales growth at 5.8%, continuing to outperform the broader market. But general merchandise and household essentials saw the sharpest deceleration, with total growth dropping from 4.2% to just 2.7%.

The pattern is consistent with everything we're seeing across US retail. Consumers are anchoring spending in high-frequency, replenishment-driven categories, the routine purchases they can't skip, while pulling back on the discretionary end.

For brands and retailers, the message is direct. Future growth won't come from price increases. It will come from volume, category mix, consumer engagement and sharp digital ex*****on.

The era of pricing-led growth is closing. The era of demand-led growth is here.

Read the full report-https://hubs.la/Q04rk4w80

07/30/2026

What does the future of human longevity mean for the retail pharmacy space? From Peter Diamandis's forward-looking predictions to the irreplaceable trust placed in local pharmacists, Deborah Weinswig and Steve Perlowski dive into the next era of health and retail.

Listen to the full conversation:
YouTube: https://hubs.la/Q04r8_Fg0

Apple Podcasts: https://hubs.la/Q04r8SLn0

Spotify: https://hubs.la/Q04r8FyL0

This holiday season could look very different from recent years. And leaner shelves might be the reason retailers finall...
07/30/2026

This holiday season could look very different from recent years. And leaner shelves might be the reason retailers finally protect their margins.

Our latest Coresight Research Holiday 2026 Midyear Update projects 4.4% year-over-year growth in Q4 US retail sales. That would beat holiday 2025 and land in line with the 2022 to 2025 average. But the more interesting story sits underneath the headline number.

Inventories are lean, and that changes everything.

Consumer goods imports are down year to date, not just against last year's tariff-driven pull-forward but against two and three years ago. In dollar terms inventories look stable, but tariffs are inflating those values, which means actual units are thin. If lean supply meets strong demand this holiday season, the result is less discounting, higher full-price sell-through and likely earlier shopping. Better margins, not just bigger top lines.

Consumer sentiment has turned a corner too. The net share of consumers planning to spend more this holiday reached 7.1% in June, recovering from a post-conflict low of negative 1.6% in March.

But here's the part every retailer needs to internalize: this is a K-shaped recovery. We estimate $100,000-plus households accounted for roughly 54% of all US retail spending in 2025. The momentum is real, but it's concentrated at the top.

And the path isn't clear. The September 30 budget deadline, November 3 midterms, SNAP changes and shifting fuel prices could each move sentiment before Q4 closes. The Fed now projects 3.6% inflation for 2026, up sharply from 2.7% in March.

Strong momentum, lean inventory, an uneven consumer. The retailers who plan for all three win the season.

Read the full report - https://hubs.ly/Q04rjMfh0

07/30/2026

Are GLP-1s going to impact the CPG industry even more than AI? In this clip from Retailistic, Deborah Weinswig and NACDS Executive Director Steve Perlowski examine Scott Galloway's bold prediction and discuss why GLP-1s are a massive, immediate reality for retailers.

Watch the full episode here:
YouTube: https://hubs.la/Q04r96Hd0

Apple Podcasts: https://hubs.la/Q04r8TY_0

Spotify: https://hubs.la/Q04r9dZK0

07/29/2026

In the latest episode of Retailistic, Deborah Weinswig sits down with Steve Perlowski, Executive Director of the National Association of Chain Drug Stores (NACDS), to discuss the monumental shifts reshaping healthcare, pharmacy operations, and the entire retail playbook.

Tune in as they cover:
- The Evolution of Retail Technology: From memory-writer typewriters [01:54] and warehouse withdrawal data [02:46] to automated central fill facilities [06:16], computer vision [15:06], and the integration of AI.

- The GLP-1 Wave: How these drugs are rewriting front-of-store merchandising [18:17], shifting consumer behavior [15:56], and creating new opportunities for whole-health categories.

- The Indispensable Value of the Physical Store: Why the trusted relationship between the pharmacist and the patient remains retail's ultimate moat [28:16].

Plus, don't miss the rapid-fire lightning round covering everything from retail acronyms to upcoming industry events like the NACDS Total Store Expo in Boston!

Catch the full conversation here:
YouTube: https://hubs.la/Q04r9jDQ0

Apple Podcasts: https://hubs.la/Q04r94ND0

Spotify: https://hubs.la/Q04r9d5B0

Holiday 2026 planning starts now. And the retailers who read the signals correctly this summer will be the ones winning ...
07/29/2026

Holiday 2026 planning starts now. And the retailers who read the signals correctly this summer will be the ones winning in December.

Our latest Coresight Research Premium Subscriber Call lays out where US retail is heading, which companies are capturing the growth and what our early holiday 2026 outlook looks like as of July.

The pattern shaping the market is clear.

Consumer spending is creating sharp winners and losers. A handful of companies are capturing a disproportionate share of retail growth, and their strategies share common threads worth studying closely. Understanding what separates the gainers from the rest is the strategic question of the moment.

Then there's the tariff refund opportunity. Billions in refund capital are flowing into the industry, and how retailers deploy it, whether toward pricing, store experience or future readiness, could reshape competitive positioning heading into the most important quarter of the year.

This is the strategic briefing for anyone who needs to know where US retail is going before the holiday season locks in.

Read the full presentation - https://hubs.la/Q04r6fQm0

Same economy. Very different results. This earnings season, the split between brand-led demand and cautious core spendin...
07/28/2026

Same economy. Very different results. This earnings season, the split between brand-led demand and cautious core spending has never been clearer.

Our latest Coresight Research Earnings Insights breaks down 2Q26 week two, and one theme runs through every result: consumers are still spending, but only where the brand or the need justifies it.

The standout was Deckers.

HOKA demand drove revenue up 5.7%, gross margin expanded to 56.4%, and the company raised its full-year guidance. When a footwear brand has genuine pull, cautious consumers still show up. That's the power of brand-led demand in a hesitant market.

Compare that to the businesses serving the value-conscious core. Tractor Supply saw comparable sales dip 1.5% as customers consolidated trips and shifted to deliberate, needs-based buying. Albertsons felt a similar pullback, concentrated among lower-income shoppers, even as higher-income customers held steady. The K-shaped consumer is showing up in the numbers.

A few more signals worth noting:

Moncler's Stone Island grew 11% while the core Moncler brand managed 3%, another reminder that within luxury, momentum is uneven. Tariff refunds are quietly doing real work, supporting margins at Tractor Supply and funding price investments. And GLP-1 adoption continues to lift apparel demand across markets.

The guidance tells the story too. Deckers raised. Nestlé and Carrefour held. Albertsons and Tractor Supply trimmed to reflect caution. Moncler declined to guide at all, citing uncertainty.

In this market, resilience isn't about the category. It's about the strength of the proposition.

Read the full report - https://hubs.la/Q04r0KM30

Address

New York, NY

Website

Alerts

Be the first to know and let us send you an email when Coresight Research posts news and promotions. Your email address will not be used for any other purpose, and you can unsubscribe at any time.

Contact The Business

Send a message to Coresight Research:

Shortcuts

Share

Category