Nike, P&G, and TikTok Fight to Keep the Customer

Welcome to another edition of Retail Roundup, your weekly brief helping retail leaders decode the biggest shifts in retail, AI, and commerce.

This week, Jeremy Goldman is joined by Andrea K. Leigh (Allume Group) and, for the first time behind the Rethink mic, our own Chris Parsons to discuss how brands and retailers are fighting to keep their customers as loyalty fades and AI changes how people shop.

INSIDE THE EPISODE:

Nike’s turnaround gets harder

Greater China sales fell 26%, and Nike extended its turnaround timeline with more layoffs and a restructuring aimed at $2.5 billion in savings through fiscal 2031. The bigger issue may be cultural relevance, as shoppers who grew up in Jordans now reach for New Balance, Salomon, and Hoka. Pulling back from retailers to focus on direct sales also made Nike harder to find for the many shoppers who still buy shoes in stores.

Private label tests brand pricing power

P&G’s new CEO takes over as shoppers question whether brands like Tide and Pampers are worth the premium. Target now runs 11 owned brands, each topping $1 billion a year, and Allume Group found that 49% of shoppers have tried a new private-label product. P&G says it isn’t seeing a meaningful shift. Even so, rising costs that vary sharply by region and store shelves that offer little guidance beyond price are making brand loyalty harder to maintain.

TikTok puts an AI agent between discovery and checkout

TikTok’s new Shopping Assistant answers questions about sizing and shipping, and Buy Direct lets shoppers purchase without leaving the feed. Platforms now compete for share of time as much as share of wallet. Twenty years ago, Amazon worked to cut time on site with 1-Click checkout. Now everyone wants shoppers to linger, leaving retailers to decide how much of the customer relationship they’ll give up for the sale.

Also in the episode: ads arrive in ChatGPT, a lawsuit over Starbucks’ “sugar-free” drinks, brands betting on microdramas, and why self-checkout may be retail’s version of a missed rom-com moment (yes, we’re linking Say Anything).

Plus: Ask an AI agent to buy you a TV, and it could come back with a hundred. Bradford Peirce (Auth0) explains why that risk grows as agents move from recommending products to buying them, and why retailers need to know what each agent is allowed to spend. For a closer look at how retailers can verify agents before they buy, download Auth0’s Agentic Commerce eBook.

Listen above to hear whether retailers should me