Retail Insights
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Six months after the Strait of Hormuz effectively closed, the cost of diesel is still climbing. At $6.53 a gallon in late September, the question for retail real estate now is what it costs to build a store, and whether anyone can still afford to.
Consumer confidence is up. Spending is not. Here is what the data really says about where consumers are headed in 2026.
Trick or treat? As Halloween spending breaks records year after year, we unpack the 2026 numbers and what they mean for retail.
Behind the potential De Beers sale is a calculated move to control the natural diamond trade from the ground up.
The 2026 regional disruption unsettled global markets and raised hard questions about the GCC region. The latest RLC Global Forum report examines what the numbers on the Saudi economy really show.
As AI in retail scales from experiment to infrastructure, the accountability question — who is responsible when AI-driven decisions go wrong — is the one most boards have yet to answer.
On the morning of 12 October, more than 500 French supermarkets woke up to spoiled stock and a criminal investigation — the first supermarket hack to cause direct physical damage across an entire nation’s food supply chain. But what does this mean for retail cybersecurity?
Global beauty sales have never been higher. The brands generating the fastest growth within that figure were not built on counters or campaigns; they were built on comment sections, affiliate links, and the willingness to show up on camera every day.
The 2026 Super El Niño is generating a food inflation shock that forecasters project will last well into 2028, driven as much by geopolitical supply chain pressure as by the climate event itself.
The runway has always been political. It has never been affordable. And when it tried to say something meaningful about the world, the results have been mixed.
From the front rows to the runways, the highs and lows and the departures that may surprise us, here is what Paris Fashion Week SS27 looked like.
The latest Zara collaborations with fashion and film powerhouses John Galliano and Luca Guadagnino are the brand’s boldest move yet. But can cultural credibility replace a fast fashion label?
Gucci’s latest sneaker raised an interesting and timely question: what are Italian fashion brands without “Made in Italy”?
Between Donatella’s announcement, a Prada catwalk on opening day, Armani mid-handover, and Versace with no show on the program, Milan Fashion Week SS27 delivered equal measures of excitement on and off the runway.
China’s consumer economy is currently restructuring by category, channel and geography. Chinese consumers are not spending less; they are spending differently. The August 2026 data show precisely how.