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Clinique is the latest prestige beauty brand to make the leap to Amazon: The partnership signals the retailer鈥檚 growing clout. It鈥檚 set to overtake Walmart as the US鈥� top beauty retailer by 2025.

Despite economic uncertainty, opportunities lie in tapping Gen Z鈥檚 influence, mobile commerce growth, and AI tools that personalize the shopping journey. Mobile is driving ecommerce growth. Mobile commerce will drive over 90% of the net increase in holiday ecommerce sales this year, according to 蘑菇AV鈥檚 May 2025 forecast.

The explosive rise of dupe videos鈥攚here shoppers hunt for budget versions of luxury items鈥攊s reshaping how retailers compete for customers. With rising financial pressures, shoppers are increasingly turning to store brands and lower-priced alternatives that mimic higher-end products. This shift is not just a matter of necessity but has also evolved into a culture where consumers proudly share their budget-friendly finds.

And the reason I think they're interesting is because they're taking this really interesting approach to combating dupe culture, which is a growing problem that a lot of beauty brands are facing, given that shoppers just want cheaper versions of name brand products. But they're launching this campaign called Legendary. For a Reason. They're bringing in Kate Moss. So it's a pretty bold-faced campaign.

The news: D2C brand Quince is now valued at $4.5 billion following a $200 million funding round, per Bloomberg. That鈥檚 more than double its valuation from earlier this year and marks its second successful fundraising attempt in six months. Quince鈥檚 meteoric rise reflects the normalization of dupe culture. Shoppers are no longer making decisions solely on brand name and are gravitating toward companies that offer a compelling combination of affordability and quality.

"Department stores are getting a bad rap," said our analyst Suzy Davidkhanian on a recent episode of "Behind the Numbers." "The way that department stores were structured as this one-hit wonder shop where you could find every single thing under one roof is a fallacy." Department stores are in a tough spot, as Hudson BAy鈥檚 recent bankruptcy shows. But ones that embrace new kinds of experiences, like the newly opened Printemps luxury department store in New York City's Financial District, might have the right idea for the future of department stores.

Ecommerce disruptors like Temu and Shein have introduced highly gamified elements into their mobile-first shopping experiences, rewarding consumers for spinning wheels, redeeming coupons, and referring friends. To keep up, brands and retailers are turning to loyalty programs and adding elements of fun and entertainment to engage members. Gamification comes in many forms.

Among millennials, for instance, just 30.4% of beauty shoppers have discovered a new beauty brand or product on social media, compared with 40.0% browsing in-store. Social is similarly important for Gen Z clothing shoppers, but its influence contends with brand websites and apps. Brands have an outsized influence on clothing shoppers of all ages, including Gen Zers.

Walmart enhanced its online marketplace with new capabilities and seller solutions, the retailer announced at its annual Walmart Marketplace Seller Summit this week. Updates include the addition of premium beauty products, expanded fulfillment services, and revamped seller solutions.

Fenty Beauty successfully launched a new lip gloss product based on community voting and design input. Walmart enhanced its product development by collaborating with platform creators on back-to-school merchandise. Forever 21 used virtual item performance data to guide physical product development decisions.

Saks Global has yet to make good on its pledge to resume payments to vendors, per Retail Dive, despite CEO Marc Metrick鈥檚 promise to tackle overdue balances starting in July. Saks鈥� acquisition of Neiman Marcus is looking increasingly like a costly misstep. The current environment is unfavorable to both luxury and department stores, as shoppers prioritize retailers and goods that deliver value. With numerous headwinds working against it, Saks will need to find a way to woo big spenders and reassure vendors鈥攁nd investors鈥攖hat it has the funds to cover its obligations.

That would be even easier to do now that Airbnb allows users to book everything from personal training services to photographers to spa sessions on its platform, giving it more avenues to soak up spending even among people who aren鈥檛 traveling.

Home Depot is sharpening its pitch to non-endemic advertisers with a new partnership with Yahoo DSP. Non-endemic advertising could be a lucrative opportunity for RMNs鈥攂ut it comes with its own set of challenges. Retailers have to clearly articulate what advantages they offer compared with the rest of the (very crowded) field, while measuring the impact of non-incremental ads is more difficult given the absence of closed-loop attribution. Companies should also follow Home Depot鈥檚 lead in being strategic about the types of non-endemic advertisers they allow onto their platform. While the temptation might be to cast as wide a net as possible, limiting ad buys to brands in complementary categories will maximize effectiveness and minimize the confusion for shoppers.

Pop Mart could look to fellow plushie toymaker Jellycat for inspiration: The latter recently partnered with Space NK on a bag charm, which will be available exclusively at the beauty retailer鈥檚 stores. Retailers can also find workarounds by partnering with resellers. For example, shoppers on Walmart鈥檚 marketplace can now buy Labubus thanks to the retailer鈥檚 deal with StockX.

For example, edgy designers could partner with classic fashion influencers to blend aesthetics, creating an opening for beauty brands to target multiple audiences and age groups. Our take: YouTube is copying an offering that Instagram and TikTok have already rolled out鈥攁 common tactic across social media.