STORES

The Hyundai

South Korea has given the world great skin care, iconic music, and now a luxury department store, as The Hyundai Seoul paves the way for a new approach to digital retail.

Instead of trying to win shoppers over with faster shipping or lower prices, the retailer is betting people increasingly want something that’s become harder to find online: the joy of discovery.

This philosophy is at the center of The Hyundai Hi, a new digital platform created in collaboration with international creative agency Base Design that aims to bring the department store’s in-person experience to a mobile-first destination where shopping feels more like “entertainment” than a transaction.

The platform, which features around 3,000 brands across fashion, food, and lifestyle, is made to highlight curated content, tastemakers, editorial storytelling, and community, replacing scrolling across endless product grids.

The launch comes as retailers around the world grapple with how AI, social media, and e-commerce are reshaping shopping behavior. In South Korea—which has become widely recognized as one of the world’s most digitally advanced retail markets—that pressure is especially augmented, with consumers accustomed to near-instant delivery and intense price competition.

Keep reading here.—JS

      

Sponsored By Anrok

Shopify collects tax at checkout. And that’s great, but it’s maybe 10% of the job. Registering in new states, filing returns, and reconciling the numbers each month is 100% on you.

Here’s what scaling looks like: At $1m, you’re filing maybe twice a year. By $5m, you’re potentially staring down 40 filings. That’s more like a cliff than a gradual ascent. Even big hitters trip over it. Skims paid $200k to settle with NJ for taxing exempt clothing. Others have hit the same wall.

Anrok built compliance infrastructure for the fastest-scaling companies around: Notion, Anthropic, and Mercury. Anrok now brings the same firepower to e-commerce. Registration, filing, reconciliation, backed by real tax experts.

Grab Anrok’s guide to the compliance cliffs, gaps, and traps that catch scaling DTC brands—it includes a stage-by-stage action plan.

CONSUMER BEHAVIOR & TRENDS

John Lamb/Getty Images

As temperatures climbed for much of the country in June, prices saw a much-needed cooling. Following a 0.5% jump in May, consumer prices dropped 0.4% the Bureau of Labor Statistics reported this week, the largest one-month drop since April 2020. Prices rose 3.5% year over year, an improvement from last month’s 4.2% rate.

The month-over-month drop was fueled by lower energy prices, with core CPI, excluding food and energy costs, flat month over month.

The food index climbed 0.2% in June and 2.7% YoY. Food at home was also up 0.2%, with four of the six main grocery categories seeing price increases. Higher egg prices (up 4.3%) drove the meats, poultry, fish, and eggs index up 0.6%, while increases also hit dairy (+1.2%), cereals and bakery (+0.3%), and other food at home (+0.5%). Nonalcoholic beverages fell 1.5%, while fruits and vegetables dropped 0.2%.

Keep reading here.—EC

      

MARKETING

TJ Maxx

The exclusive retail sponsor of the ESPY Awards isn’t a traditional, endemic sports brand. Instead, it’s TJ Maxx.

While the retailer isn’t necessarily known for sporting goods, it was a relatively early mover when fashion and beauty brands began tying up with women’s sports. TJ Maxx first started partnering with athletes, coaches, and sports broadcasters about four years ago, and has since moved into jersey sponsorships with NWSL team Boston Legacy FC, according to Emily Trent, TJ Maxx’s head of marketing.

The brand’s partnership with ESPN’s annual awards celebrating the best in sports performance, now in its second year, reflects TJ Maxx’s broader sports strategy.

Keep reading here on Marketing Brew.—AM

      

swapping skus

Today’s top retail reads.

A familiar taste: Inside Chipotle’s first store in Mexico. (BBC)

Slowing down: Grocery sales are declining as shoppers buy fewer items. (CNBC)

Shein-ing moment: Shein’s Hong Kong IPO valuation may be a lot lower than it had planned. (Reuters)

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