It’s time for me to reflect on some of our top retail insights from 2025! Over the past year, our experts have shared their lessons learned, best practices, project wins, and industry perspectives, and I’m excited to recap some of that content below. You can also take a look at all of our retail content from the past year here. 

Top 10 Retail Insights from 2025

1. Inventory Management Strategies for Retailers 

With rising shopper expectations and increasingly complex supply chains, retailers are under pressure to keep the right products in the right place at the right time. So how can retailers strengthen their operational performance? In this article, Jensen Smith breaks down four practical strategies, from smarter product segmentation to better data systems, that can help teams balance inventory and avoid costly stock issues. 

Read these strategic best practices for improved inventory management >> 

2. Tariffs and the Retail Industry: What Retailers Need to Know 

Tariffs seemed to dominate the conversation this year, impacting businesses and brands across every industry. Volatile trade policies and the evolving tariff landscape have influenced costs, sourcing, procurement, pricing, and more. In this piece, Craig Campbell, Brooke Comune, and Andrew Pollard discuss how tariffs are affecting retailers’ margins and supply chains and some practical strategies that can help mitigate the impact. 

Read more about tariffs and the retail industry >>  

3. Streamlining Grocery Store Operations with a Retail Store Portal on SAP at Key Food Stores Co-op 

Following a successful ERP implementation, where Key Food was able to establish a solid data foundation for growth, they decided to partner with Clarkston again for a retail store portal implementation to help them establish a technology foundation for continued business growth. In this case study, Blake Weber, Peter Tzefronis, and Jenny McLean dive into the team’s work on creating a custom store portal solution that enabled individual users to interact directly with SAP while also adhering to defined data governance standards.  

Read the Retail Store Portal on SAP case study >> 

4. How the Rise of GLP-1 is Impacting Apparel Retailers 

GLP-1s are rapidly reshaping consumer behavior, with their projected $150 billion market influencing everything from how much people eat to what they buy across key retail categories. In this piece, Ellie Epperson explores the ripple effects for apparel retailers and outlines how they can adapt to stay ahead ss calorie consumption drops and apparel preferences evolve. 

Explore GLP’s impact on apparel retailers >> 

5. Retail Growth Strategy for an Emerging Brand in North America 

A global consumer products brand sought to break into the U.S. market but struggled to define a clear go-to-market strategy, optimize its marketing spend, build the right retail partnerships, and execute with confidence. The company wanted to accelerate its expansion but needed stronger commercial direction to do so effectively, so they brought in the Clarkston team. Brandon Miller and Aaron Chio share more about their work building a data-driven approach for strategic growth in this case study. 

Read the retail growth strategy case study >> 

6. How Gen Z is Reshaping the Luxury Retail Market 

Younger shoppers, especially Gen Z and Millennials, are entering the luxury market earlier than previous generations, prompting retailers to rethink how they engage and retain this audience. Their values around sustainability, brand authenticity, and social media–driven discovery are reshaping luxury strategies, pushing brands to adapt to new expectations and buying behaviors. Ellie Epperson shares more in this piece about Gen Z and the luxury retail market. 

Explore how Gen Z is reshaping luxury retail >> 

7. Leveraging Digital Twins for the Retail Customer Experience 

Retailers are navigating rising customer expectations and tightening consumer spending while also finding ways to improve the overall shopper experience – as such, many are now turning to digital twins to help navigate that challenge. By creating dynamic virtual replicas of products, stores, or systems, digital twins help retailers simulate real-world interactions and better respond to ongoing complexity. In this piece, Brandon Regnerus dives into how retailers are using digital twins to improve store operations and the customer experience. 

Learn more about digital twins in retail >> 

8. From Pit Stop to Destination: The Transformation of Convenience Stores 

Convenience stores are evolving far beyond their traditional role as quick pit stops, increasingly positioning themselves as affordable, high-quality foodservice destinations. As grocery and restaurant prices rise, leading c-stores are using digital tools, menu innovation, and AI-driven operations to compete directly with grocers and quick-service restaurants. Blake Weber shares more about the c-store evolution from pit stops to destination stops in this piece.  

Read about the C-store transformation >> 

9. Ensuring IT Continuity for an Outdoor Retailer 

An outdoor apparel retailer recently faced a continuity risk when a key IT expert, who held deep knowledge of both current and legacy systems, was pulled away from daily operations. With critical mainframe infrastructure dependent on this individual and documentation lacking, the company faced significant disruption and business risk, so they engaged Clarkston Consulting to develop comprehensive mainframe IT documentation to ensure knowledge continuity. Malik McFadden and Sean Burke share more about the project in this case study.  

Explore the IT continuity case study >> 

10. Choosing a POS Solution That Grows with Your Business 

Retailers are pushing toward unified systems to deliver seamless customer experiences, but many legacy POS platforms still treat online and in-store sales separately, creating gaps in visibility and agility. Modern POS solutions close those gaps, enabling connected omnichannel operations and stronger insights that help retailers stay competitive. This piece by Craig Campbell and Brandon Regnerus explores what retailers should consider when selecting a POS platform that can scale with their business. 

Read about choosing a modern, scalable POS solution >>