Tag: consumer behavior
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What Victoria’s Secret knew
I was doing a deep dive to learn more about the initial launch of Victoria’s Secret Rapture, and then I landed in a pile of marketing info. While there I came across a 2003 article in Brandweek about Victoria’s Secret Beauty. Writer Christine Bittar interviewed executives in Victoria’s Secret Beauty and made this observation about…
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Did you notice this one thing about the new Starbucks loyalty program?
I scanned my Starbucks app at the counter. “Oh, you’re a reserve member!,” the barista exclaimed. I sheepishly accepted the statement, while I did the calculations in my head. “Just how much do I spend here every year?” We’ll save that budget crisis and point out a specific feature of the new Starbucks loyalty tier…
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Gatorade changed this one thing about their coolers
I worked a sporting event and noticed a special tag on the new Gatorade cooler. The Dunk Hydration Cooler, with “Gatorade Dunk Handles, made to balance the cooler while celebrating victories.” Of course, when Gatorade first started making coolers, it was to (ahem) hold Gatorade. The key feature of the design was the spigot that…
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All because we were microwaving ramen noodles
I remember seeing the container of Cup Noodles. It read, now microwaveable. What do you mean, now? Previously, the instant soup from Nissin came in a foam cup with a label telling people not microwave it, because of course people were microwaving it. They wanted a quick and cheap meal. That just screams microwave it.…
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ABC’s rock and hard place
I remember, as I prepped for my own strategy meetings at work, learning that the market was shifting. People, especially Gen Z and Millennial consumers, want brands to have a point of view. They use their dollar as a point of protest. Their politics and values are not divorced from their shopping decisions. They won’t…
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Louis Vuitton’s beauty launch is so close, but who is it for?
The time has come: Louis Vuitton Beauté is here. I wrote about this upcoming launch, but it is now upon us, with inventory available to shop in select stores at the end of August 2025. I could very easily get into the ins and outs of the 55 different lipsticks being launched and the palettes,…
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Don’t overwork your customers
Yesterday, I vented about the rise in forced account creation with online checkout. Beyond the data privacy concerns lies a key frustration: Brands were asking me to work way too hard. Put it this way. When, if you didn’t read yesterday’s post, Wal-Mart and Sweetgreen required me to create an account to check out, they…
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The first-worldiest of first world problems
I got really excited about the release of Selena Gomez’s collab with Oreo: a horchata inspired cookie. I couldn’t find it anywhere in my area, so I went to order it from WalMart.com. After adding some actual essentials to cart, I went to check out. The next screen prompted me to sign into my account,…
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What is it worth to you?
I’m just finishing up a webinar with Vogue Business on the push for fashion to move manufacturing closer to their headquarters. With this push to move out of the traditional manufacturing countries comes costs and benefits. In particular, a key cost is that countries like the U.S. and the U.K. have higher labor costs. Employees…
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The cost of materials fallacy
It still baffles me that people continue to use the argument that items are overpriced based on what they have calculated the price of the materials to be. If a brand were to ever charge you for an item, purely based on the price of the materials, they would go out of business. For a…
A Wren Says 