Anna Hensel

Minneapolis Bluesky -- there's a reporter on my team (@modernretail.bsky.social) looking to talk to current or ex Target employees about yesterday's layoffs. If you or anyone else you know might be interested, DM me or email me at anna@modernretail.co. Happy to talk under the condition of anonymity

Why US shoppers are still getting hit with tariff invoices on overseas e-commerce orders Online shoppers are getting blindsided with tariff invoices from shipping carriers and U.S. customs, and the issue could drag on for months.

Have you gotten a surprise tariff bill after ordering from a foreign site? Don't expect the issue to slow down anytime soon www.modernretail.co/operations/w...

Quince customers mistakenly hit with tariff bills DTC brand Quince says some of its customers are mistakenly being hit with tariff bills despite the brand having absorbed the fees.

Quince customers say they are receiving tariff bills from FedEx sometimes days or weeks after receiving their orders. Quince says it's an error on FedEx's end, and customers are not responsible for it www.modernretail.co/operations/q...

Why Lemon Perfect is supplying bachelorette parties with free products Lemon Perfect sees the trend of bachelorette parties asking for free products as a chance to acquire new customers.

We published a version of it last year! www.modernretail.co/marketing/wh...

As Target faces issues on multiple fronts, these once-loyal shoppers are still boycotting the chain Six months after calls to boycott Target over its pullback on DEI policies made news, some shoppers say they are still avoiding the retailer.

Are shoppers still boycotting Target, and exactly how much is it hurting the company given everything else that's going on? Here's my feature that attempts to answer the question -- give it a read! www.modernretail.co/operations/a...

Godspeed to every brand that hasn't put out any Love Island content to date and is now frantically trying to come up with something funny to post on social media before the finale

The rise of Labubunomics: How merchants and marketplaces are cashing in on the viral Pop Mart toy Labubu dolls are a viral sensation, thanks to TikToks, “blind boxes," celebrity fans and more. And on resale sites, prices keep climbing.

Kenny So, the co-owner of 30-year-old Chalice Collectibles, has seen fads come and go from Beanie Babies to Jellycats. But he says he's never seen anything like the fervor around Labubus.

More here on the crazy prices that Labubus are fetching on resale sites www.modernretail.co/marketing/th...

Modern Retail Podcast: Nike's Amazon return, E.l.f's big Rhode bet, and debunking recession indicators This week's Modern Retail Podcast gets into the news of Nike returning to Amazon and E.l.f buying Rhode, plus a talk about recession indicators.

Can sales of lipstick and men's underwear really tell us whether or not we are headed for a recession? On the latest episode of the Modern Retail Podcast, we debunk popular retail recession indicators. This was a fun one to record! www.modernretail.co/operations/m...

Awful -- what industry are they in?

CEOs go on a media blitz to warn of the 'existential threat' posed by tariffs Retail CEOs are posting daily on LinkedIn, appearing on CNBC and writing letters to their representatives to warn of the dangers of tariffs.

I wrote about how small business owners are going on a media blitz right now warning about how catastrophic these tariffs will be if they're not changed www.modernretail.co/operations/c...

Kohl's has stopped accepting Amazon returns at some store locations Store associates at Kohl's retail locations in Leominster, Massachusetts; Washington, Missouri and Eau Claire, Wisconsin confirmed that those particular stores are no longer accepting Amazon returns.

Breaking news, if Bluesky cares about this! Kohl's has stopped Amazon returns at some locations -- it appears to be a test, and may just be temporary for now www.modernretail.co/retailers/ko...

Inside Four Loko's plan to reinvent itself for Gen Z Fifteen years after removing caffeine from its drinks, Four Loko is focused on growing distribution and adding new flavors to appeal to Gen Z.

“Holding a Loko can means being wild, sharing insane moments with friends and really creating your own epic story." Four Loko is back (actually, it turns out they never left, just removed the caffeine) and is trying to reinvent itself for Gen Z www.modernretail.co/marketing/in...

Today in asinine food discourse: someone who is upset to learn that Chick-fil-a (allegedly) uses MSG, preservatives, artificial dyes, trans fats and more because they thought Chick-fil-a was "OK." Yes, once fast food stops using MSG, then it will be healthy

Limited Too is ramping up adult collections in an appeal to millennials After releasing its first capsule collection in larger sizes for the holidays, Limited Too is rolling out more clothes for adults.

If you are a millennial who wants to relive the early aughts, Limited Too is here for you -- once a favorite of teens and tweens during the early 200s, Limited Too relaunched last year and is now creating collections for adults, like a line of Zodiac-themed tees www.modernretail.co/marketing/li...

Every critique of White Lotus is like "as someone who is rich or knows rich people this is NOT how this specific type of rich person would act"

Why Energizer and Duracell are ditching plastic packaging Energizer and Duracell are rolling out paper packages in a move that removes plastic and also improves the customer experience.

When you open a pack of batteries, you've probably gotten used to to ripping open the cardboard back, before trying to keep the batteries from tumbling out of the plastic cavity.

But now, Energizer and Duracell are ditching this packaging. Here's why. www.modernretail.co/operations/w...

Happy for da birds

if i text you this just know you’re cooked

I thought this ad was surprisingly boring

I don't really care about astrological signs at all, but I do jokingly chalk up the fact that I care a lot about fairness to being a Libra. And boy, it sure is hard right now to be a person who cares about fairness

They’re the ones who are going to be cheering because Elon will still be claiming he saved $5 trillion from USAID or whatever, while the normies are going to be asking, “what’s USAID? and also can you please not slap another tariff on Canada so we can afford groceries?”

Calling it now: the tech MAGA folks are going to be the last true believers

How Bookshop.org is looking to cut into Amazon's e-books dominance Bookshop.org is estimating it could capture at least 5% of the e-books market that's currently dominated by Amazon.

On Tuesday, avid readers rejoiced as Bookshop.org said it would begin selling e-books. By mid-day Tuesday, the company said it was on track to sell over $30,000 in e-books on its first day and also netted about 2,000 new customers. www.modernretail.co/technology/h...

Things have been so busy that I forgot the football playoffs were still going on and that’s how I became one of those people who googled “what time is the Super Bowl”

Even though the app is now “saved” I don’t see a world in which TikTok usage doesn’t decline, unless Congress completely repeals this existing law.

I know some people who deleted TikTok on Saturday who now can’t redownload it even though it’s “back” because it’s not in the App Store. I saw other on Instagram say they won’t use the app now after the messages they’ve posted thanking president Trump

Brands are among the ‘TikTok refugees’ flocking to RedNote As TikTok barrels toward a U.S. ban, American users and brands, or so-called “TikTok refugees,” are joining the Chinese app RedNote.

Brands are among the "TikTok refugees" flocking to RedNote. But it's just a knee-jerk reaction. www.modernretail.co/technology/b...

How inflation and dynamic pricing are fueling concerns of 'price paranoia' Some shoppers have developed price paranoia as they have struggled to make sense of price hikes in recent years.

Inflation is fueling price paranoia. That can play. out in a number of ways -- someone with price paranoia might not trust that a retailer is offering them the best price on an item. However you define it, anxieties around pricing will be a defining theme in 2025 www.modernretail.co/marketing/ho...

One reason for the differences is that some outlets chose to focus on the rate of core inflation (which doesn't include food and fuel prices) in the headline rather than the overall rate of inflation.

But if I was an average reader, I wouldn't know what to think seeing this wide range of headlines

Morning Bid: Inflation offers crumbs of comfort, big banks report A look at the day ahead in U.S. and global markets from Mike Dolan

3 headlines on inflation:

Core inflation slows to 3.2% in December, less than expected www.cnbc.com/2025/01/15/c...

Inflation sped up in December, a fresh challenge for the Fed www.nytimes.com/2025/01/15/b...

Inflation offers crumbs of comfort, big banks report www.reuters.com/markets/us/g...