How Retailers Can Prepare for the Summer 2025 Shift

Rather than focusing on isolated touchpoints or departmental KPIs, journey management provides a way to understand where the most critical pain points lie and how to resolve them systematically across the business.

August 22, 2025

📢 Hey, Retailist Roundup readers! How can retailers stay ahead of accelerating consumer expectations this summer, delivering seamless, hyper-personalized experiences while navigating economic pressures and rapid technological change?

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Rather than focusing on isolated touchpoints or departmental KPIs, journey management provides a way to understand where the most critical pain points lie and how to resolve them systematically across the business.

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In the news: Top headlines this week

Amazon adds perishable foods to same-day delivery to take on Instacart, Walmart. Amazon is expanding its perishable food delivery service from 1,000 to 2,300 U.S. cities by year-end, investing $4 billion to boost same- and next-day delivery in rural areas. The move, which intensifies competition with Walmart+ and Instacart, lifted Amazon shares while rivals’ stocks fell. [Reuters]

Target stock slumps after retailer names insider Fiddelke to CEO role. Target COO Michael Fiddelke will succeed long-time CEO Brian Cornell as the retailer faces sales struggles and stock declines. Q2 net sales reached $25.2 billion with annual forecasts unchanged. Fiddelke plans to boost merchandise quality, enhance shopper experience, and strengthen tech integration. [Reuters]

Shein’s China pivot is a last-ditch bid to rescue its IPO, analysts say. Analysts say Shein’s reported move to shift its headquarters back to China may be a last-ditch effort to salvage its troubled IPO. After years of distancing itself from its Chinese roots, the retailer has reportedly filed confidentially for a Hong Kong listing, abandoning earlier London plans. [CNBC]

Ebay builds out suite of tech tools for sellers. eBay is rolling out new AI-driven tools to support sellers in the U.S. and U.K., including features that help respond to buyer messages. Soon, select U.S. merchants will also gain access to its Inventory Mapping API to better manage stock. [Retail Dive]

Lowe’s makes $8.8B acquisition; grows Q2 profits and sales. Lowe’s is expanding its pro business with an \$8 billion acquisition of Foundation Building Materials, a major North American distributor of interior building products. The deal strengthens Lowe’s position in serving residential and commercial professionals across categories like drywall, insulation, and ceiling systems, alongside reporting Q2 sales and earnings growth. [CSA]

Job Board: This week’s Top Openings in DTC, RetailTech, and more

Want to submit a role to our talent board? Email [email protected].

  • Chief Information Officer (Englewood, CO) EchoStar - more here

  • Director of Strategic Account Management – Strategic Accounts (3 Locations) Instawork - more here

  • Head of Technology -US (2 Location) Chanel - more here

  • Sr. MTS Software Engineer (2 Location) eBay - more here

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Retailist Magazine is an outlet focused on modern commerce as it relates to digital innovation. The publication examines our culture’s ever-evolving relationship with marketing, commerce and traditional retail. Our goal is to connect our audience to quality content and award programs for retail brands to tell their story of innovation.

These experts stand at the helm of their niche in retail and provide readers with real-time, trending insights to ensure you remain on the bleeding edge of commerce innovation. Contributing thought leaders include C-suite executives from Vistaprint, Hubspot, Wix, Printful, Global-e, Zapaygo, TradeGala, Birdie, Inurface Media, and more.