What works in retail, and why.
Evidence-led notes on shoppers, stores and the business of retail, here and around the world. From people who run stores for a living.
5 notes · latest November 2026Shoppers count the people in the queue, not the minutes
In a study of a supermarket deli, shoppers mostly reacted to how long the line was, not how fast it moved; in our view the same rule decides sales at the fitting room and the returns desk.
Read the noteMore notes
Shoppers count the people in the queue, not the minutes
In a study of a supermarket deli, shoppers mostly reacted to how long the line was, not how fast it moved; in our view the same rule decides sales at the fitting room and the returns desk.
November 2026The size you ran out of never shows up in your sales
When a size sells out, the shoppers who wanted it leave no bill. Order from the sales report and you order too little of exactly what was most wanted.
October 2026Zudio's secret is a price it won't play with
Ten years and 1,000 stores in, Zudio's owner says its prices are not a lever for a slow week. Here is how that one choice shapes the whole model, and what it costs.
October 2026Judge a store by its festival, not the calendar
Durga Puja moved almost three weeks between last year and this one. Here is why the festival, not the date, is the right yardstick, and what it changes in a store.
October 2026Cutting floor staff saves a little and loses a lot
Research from MIT, Wharton and Gap's own stores points the same way: the person on the shop floor is not a cost to trim but the cheapest growth a store has.
October 2026No notes match that yet. Try another word or topic.