Furniture tariffs, luxury shopping vacations and how consumers spent this summer

This week on the Modern Retail Podcast, co-hosts Gabi Barkho and Melissa Daniels get into the news of President Donald Trump signaling the potential for higher tariffs on the furniture sector, and what it means for companies in the space. Then they get into the trend of travelers deciding to go to Europe for luxury shopping sprees in order to scoop up designer goods without any tariff-related cost increases. Then for this week's featured segment (16:30), Daniels is joined by Sonia Lapinsky of Alix Partners to recap how consumers spent this summer. They get into the nuances of deal-seeking behavior at a time when people are still adjusting to high inflation and increased prices, and how to best capture a fickle consumer. Lapinsky unpacks topics like: why even customers who trade down care about brand, how pulled-forward demand could impact Q4 and how brands can navigate the dual challenge of increasing costs and a highly promotional environment