The Week in Commerce Marketing — Retail, E-commerce and DTC: May 9, 2025 edition

Welcome to The Week in Commerce Marketing — Retail, E-commerce and DTC, a weekly roundup for marketers from Quad Insights.

Under Armour has spent decades positioning itself as a leader in tech-forward performance apparel. With its latest creation, called UA Suspension, the brand aims to bring an innovative, ergonomic approach to bags. Under Armour says this patent-pending strap system is a dynamic design, expanding and contracting as weight shifts to reduce shoulder strain — the result of three years of R&D, according to the company. The first product to use UA Suspension tech is a new backpack, the cleverly-named No Weigh, which also features moisture-wicking back panels and an expandable 28- to 35-liter capacity. As part of a two-stage launch, Under Armour invited loyalty program members to place early orders for the No Weigh starting on May 7. The backpack is now available to non-members for $140 at UnderArmour.com.

More retailer product launches:

• “Victoria’s Secret Releases Body Care Collection” (Happi)
• “C&S Wholesale Grocers Relaunching Best Yet Private Label” (Store Brands)
• “Wegmans Launches Restaurant-Inspired Frozen Pizza Line” (Progressive Grocer)

Since launching in 2020, the event planning app Partiful has become a darling among Gen Z and the tech industry, taking home Google’s app of the year award in November. Now, Partiful has partnered with Instacart on a new standalone app, Fizz, that aims to streamline group ordering; users can invite guests to a shared cart, where each person adds and pays for products separately, with all the items delivered together for a flat $5 fee. “We basically productized BYOB,” Partiful CEO Shreya Murthy tells Fast Company. The app is rolling out now on iOS and Android with a 21+ age restriction for users.

Previously: “Instacart launches AI-powered tools to enable a more personalized online grocery shopping experience,” from the March 21 edition of this column.

See also: “DoorDash Announces 2 Significant Multi-Billion-Dollar Acquisitions in a Single Day” (RetailWire)

More commerce operations and expansions:

• “ALDI Plans To Open 800 New Locations by 2028” (RetailWire)
• “ThredUp Goes Open Source to Boost Resale as Trade War Could Lift Sector” (Women’s Wear Daily)
• “FreshDirect returns to former East Coast markets” (Grocery Dive)
• “Rite Aid files for bankruptcy — again” (CNN Business)
• “Gopuff debuts GoXL bulk offering in response to tariff uncertainty” (Retail Brew)
• ICYMI: “Instacart grows ecommerce footprint with Wynshop acquisition” (Supermarket News)

The share of U.S. millennials who say that spending on hobbies and interests is a necessity — not a luxury — according to a new study by The Harris Poll for Credit Karma. (The authors defined “necessity” as something respondents are “willing to spend money on, no matter the state of their finances.”) The research aimed to quantify how the cost-of-living crisis among younger consumers is impacting purchasing behavior. (See more industry and marketing stats in the latest edition of The Weekly 10 from Quad Insights.)

More consumer insights:

• “Amazon.com posts sales growth in Q1” (Drug Store News)
• “Shoppers to reduce spending on footwear — including sneakers” (Chain Store Age)
• “Core retail sales up 7% year-over-year in April as consumers stocked up pre-tariffs” (Chain Store Age)

In March, Lowe’s added its first customer-facing AI assistant, called Mylow, developed in partnership with OpenAI. Now the home improvement retailer has rolled out Mylow Companion, an in-store AI tool designed for employee use. The system is designed to augment associates’ floor sales devices, allowing them to tap into generative AI to provide project advice, inventory details and, crucially, suggest potential upsells. “Assisted customers tend to buy a lot more than unassisted customers,” Vinny Scalese, Lowe’s Senior Vice President of Store Operations, explains in a launch video on the OpenAI blog. “A lot of that is connected to the associate’s ability to explain product, make the customer feel comfortable with the product and attach related product.” Now in use at over 1,700 stores nationwide, Lowe’s says this represents its first at-scale implementation of an AI tool.

Previously: “Lowe’s and The Home Depot debut AI-powered home improvement tools,” from the March 7 edition of this column.

More commerce innovations:

• “Shopify Moves AI Assistant To Reasoning For Merchants” (MediaPost)
• “Amazon Makes Sorting Packages Easier for Delivery Station Employees” (Progressive Grocer)
• “Walmart Fashion is using AI to cut production times to six to eight weeks” (Retail Brew)
• ICYMI: “Visa, Mastercard, PayPal Dive into Agentic Era with Tools that Help Consumers ‘Use AI to Buy’” (Retail TouchPoints)

Two stalwarts of laid-back, costal Americana — Nautica apparel and The Beach Boys — have collaborated on a line of limited-edition merch. Unsurprisingly, this capsule collection is designed with summer days in mind, featuring graphic tees, seersucker button-ups and, of course, a selection of swim trunks. To debut the Nautica x The Beach Boys offerings, Nautica hosted a surf-themed popup May 3-4 at the BeachLife Festival in Redondo Beach, California — an activation that included a meet-and-greet with the band. The collection is available online now with prices ranging from $14.99 to $52.12.

More brand collabs:

• “Anthropologie and Moleskin Partner to Recognize Emerging Artists” (Women’s Wear Daily)
• “Vineyard Vines launches limited-edition Grateful Dead capsule” (Chain Store Age)
• “Angel Reese x Reebok Partner for a Bold Collection” (Trend Hunter)
• “Vitamin A Launches Eco-conscious Swimwear and Beachwear Capsule Exclusively at Target” (Women’s Wear Daily)

Brand campaigns and content:

• “Five Iron takes a big swing at casual golfers for its first-ever brand campaign” (Marketing Brew)
• “Why American Eagle is launching its first Substack to court Gen Z amid shopper slowdowns” (Ad Age)
• ICYMI: “How Amazon Is Turning Streaming Into Shopping With ‘Shop The Show’” (Forbes)
• ICYMI: “Bath & Body Works’ New Campaign Highlights the Power of Fragrances” (Beauty Packaging)

Brand partnerships:

• “Dick’s Sporting Goods Is Making a Big Investment in Youth Sports” (Footwear News)
• “Family Dollar Partners with Uber Eats for Delivery from 5,000 Locations Nationwide” (Retail TouchPoints)
• “Bergdorf Goodman Presents Jason Bard Yarmosky’s ‘Timeless Women in New York’ Portraits in Fifth Avenue Windows” (Women’s Wear Daily)