With insight into the fashion, apparel, beauty and retail markets, Corner of Fifth’s StreetTalk Podcast unpacks recent headlines and trends top-of-mind for retailers. Max Ma joins host Arthur Zaczkiewicz to discuss how fashion brands can escape the “dark cycle” of low margins and leverage technology to navigate today’s increasingly complex retail market.
Some market background —
This year, Cyber Monday landed at the start of December, closing out November with the largest turnout the five-day Thanksgiving weekend has seen. According to the National Retail Federation, an estimated 202+ million U.S. consumers shopped over the long weekend, setting a new record. Defined as a time period spanning November and December, NRF estimates spending upwards of $1 trillion in 2025. Analysis from Adobe reported that while spending was up, inflation and tariffs pushed the volume of goods purchased down, indicating shoppers are being more frugal.
Against the backdrop of the latest, broader retail environment, Max and Arthur drill into the sobering reality of “Excel Hell” and the consequences of having a large tech stack that doesn’t integrate. Many retailers rely on Excel for their retail planning, leading to a fragmented approach to planning, slower decision-making and an increased risk of costly errors. But rather than managing spreadsheets, the right technology empowers them to run their businesses.
The stakes are even higher as tariffs cut into margins, technology investment, and store renovations. As early inventory buffers are beginning to run out, and tariff costs are expected to fully materialize in 2026, retailers will need to fundamentally rethink their inventory strategies. Max’s perspective is clear: while tariffs are unavoidable, precision in inventory management is not. By moving to a centralized system to conduct planning, brands can eliminate silos and reduce manual errors associated with it—improving efficiencies and productivity to better understand production, supply chain and trending insights. Without the right technology in place, improving net margins becomes nearly impossible. Instead, it creates a dark cycle of costly decisions, low margins, no tech—Max has seen the retail industry stay in this loop for 30+ years.
As NRF 2026 approaches and excitement builds around the latest retail tech innovations, the real challenge lies beyond the conference floor. It’s critical that attendees not only get inspired, but also carry that momentum back into their organizations, and up to senior leadership. Turning excitement into action—and action into sustainable change—will be what separates retailers who survive from those who truly thrive.
Listen to the full podcast here: https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=VxCr8TKu54o
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