The Edit

Retention is up. Flight risk is down. So why doesn’t that feel like good news? A closer look at the latest Retail People Index, and the people behind the till.

Supermarket boycotts, declining high street footfall, record-breaking Christmas forecasts and another shake-up in retail leadership. With consumers questioning prices while still spending billions on celebrations, what's really going on in retail?

AI is doing the shopping and yet people are making the difference. Meanwhile, livestream commerce reminded us that human connection still matters. So, what does it all tell us about the future of retail?

After months of writing about AI, I'm giving it the summer off. Instead, we're looking at cautious consumers, the extraordinary rise of live shopping, a high street struggling with the British weather and the growing business of preventative healthcare. Turns out there's plenty happening in retail without the robots.

The Talking Shop 2026 report reveals that 80% of frontline retail workers feel secure in their jobs and 76% trust AI. So why is confidence in retail as a career collapsing? The answer isn't disengagement. It's invisibility.

Women delivered results, AI got honest and the consumer kept confounding everyone. Natalie Fresen's May 2026 retail roundup; what happened, what it means and what comes next.

AI moved from experiment to infrastructure, leadership changed hands at the top, culture drove commerce at speed and the consumer story felt increasingly contradictory.

From Shoptalk’s AI-heavy agenda and the rise of retail media to shifting consumer behaviour, TikTok-driven commerce and the growing impact of GLP-1 drugs on fashion demand, March showed an industry moving faster while navigating mounting complexity.

Costs rose, tariffs returned, regulators leaned in and job cuts continued. But this was also the month AI delivered proof with measurable revenue impact for the first time. 

This month was AI. In EVERY conversation. Slightly more embedded than hype but still. AI. AI. AI. Alongside that, we saw store closures and expansions, tariff tensions resurfacing, luxury under pressure and consumers spending cautiously.

A December retail roundup analysing key US news stories, incl. AI-driven holiday sales, physical store expansion, consumer spending trends, resale growth and leadership shifts shaping retail strategy for 2026.

Retail is about people, not just pay. This story from Aldi, shared during Men’s Mental Health Awareness Month, shows what it really means to lead with values and support your team when it matters most.