While discounts are one of the few incentives getting consumers to make a purchase this holiday season, many shoppers are anticipating a pullback.

According to research from Gartner, 40% of shoppers expect fewer discounts than in 2024. At the same time, retail buyers expect 76% of consumers to only buy discretionary products during promotional periods, per a Deloitte survey.

And Adobe Analytics forecasts nearly one-fifth of online sales coming during the five-day period covering Black Friday and Cyber Monday, up from just 6.3% last year, suggesting deal days are even more important to shoppers this year.

In other words, the very thing juicing spending in an uncertain economic environment could be in short supply this holiday season, placing retailers in a position where they can’t pull the same levers to drive sales, and leaving consumers in a lurch as they wait around for deals that may never come.

“I expect this holiday season is going to be pretty intense,” John Tomlinson,global director of research at M Science, told Retail Brew. “I don’t think it’s going to be one where you’re going to see significantly better margin trajectory this year versus prior years.”

But is this discount gap inevitable or are consumers’ fears misplaced?

Keep reading here.—AV

Not that anyone needed reminding that pets are increasingly treated like children in their households, but Halloween spending suggests the trend continues apace. Americans spent an estimated $860 million on pet costumes for the holiday this year, a 22.9% increase over last year’s $700,000, according to the National Retail Federation.

And retailers are helping to fuel the trend.

PetSmart hosted Halloween events for—sorry, bearded dragons—“your furry friends” in its stores on October 26. Along with treat stations situated throughout the stores, the in-store grooming salons featured “Spritz Stations” to keep pets, as the brand put it in an Instagram post, “smelling paw-some.”

The widely covered Tompkins Square Halloween Dog Parade in New York City’s East Village was cancelled in 2023 until the Get Joy pet food company resurrected it with a last-minute sponsorship. This year it was sponsored by another pet food brand, Stella and Chewy’s, and by a pet insurance company that’s a natural fit for the holiday: Pumpkin.

Keep reading here.—AAN

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Jeff Ustin is vice president at bagel seller Western Bagel, which opened Los Angeles’s first bagel bakery in 1947.

How would you describe your job to someone who doesn’t work in retail? I make sure our customers have a consistently great experience—from the quality of the product to the warmth of our service—while keeping the business healthy and growing. That means leading our team, managing operations, and making decisions that connect our brand to the community in meaningful ways. At the heart of it, my job is about making sure every guest or customer leaves happier than when they came in.

One thing we can’t guess about your job from your LinkedIn profile? I’m not active on LinkedIn, but one thing you might not know is how hands-on I am with day-to-day operations. I spend time in the stores, talk with our teams, and interact directly with customers. I believe great leadership means being present where the work happens, listening to feedback, and staying connected to the people who make our success possible.

What’s your favorite project you’ve worked on? Overseeing a product refresh that balanced tradition with innovation—introducing seasonal flavors while keeping our classics exactly the same. It was exciting to see customers try something new while still coming back for the bagels they’ve loved for years. For me, it was a reminder that our products are more than food; they’re part of people’s routines, memories, and family traditions.

Keep reading here.—EC

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