image of retail items in a store — A retail strategist’s perspective

The past few years have been a stress test for brands. Platforms changed overnight. Customer acquisition got more expensive. Wholesale tightened. Supply chains wobbled. Margins got squeezed from every direction.

What worked even three years ago doesn’t automatically work now, and the brands that are doing well in 2026 aren’t necessarily the loudest or fastest growing on the surface. They’re the ones that are better built underneath.

If I had to narrow it down, there are three areas I believe matter more than anything else right now.

1) Build a business that isn’t fragile

One of the biggest risks I see across brands is fragility. A business that looks healthy on paper but relies too heavily on one sales channel, one ad platform, one major retailer, or one manufacturer or fulfillment setup. When any one of those shifts, the entire business feels it.

**In 2026, resilience matters more than chasing growth.**

That doesn’t mean doing everything at once or spreading yourself thin. It means being intentional about where your revenue comes from and how exposed you are to change.

In practice, resilience looks like:

Having more than one meaningful sales channel
Not relying on a single customer acquisition lever
Understanding which parts of your business are truly driving profit
Having backup plans, not just best case scenarios

A simple diagnostic I use with clients is this: if one channel dropped by 50 percent tomorrow, could the business absorb it for the next three to six months without panic or reactive decision making?

Agility has quietly become one of the most valuable competitive advantages. The brands that can adjust, pause, reallocate, or shift focus without scrambling are the ones that can keep moving forward when conditions change.

2. Get brutally clear on what you sell (and why).

Many brands think they have a marketing problem. More often, they have a merchandising and clarity problem.

Too many products. Too many price points without structure. No clear heroes. Margins diluted across SKUs that don’t really earn their place. When everything is important, nothing is.

In 2026, clarity wins.
The strongest brands I work with are ruthless about identifying their true best sellers, clear on what each product is meant to do in the assortment, intentional about pricing architecture and margin targets, and willing to say no to products that don’t support the bigger picture.

A pattern I see again and again is that roughly 20 to 30 percent of a brand’s assortment is driving the majority of revenue, while the rest quietly drains margin, attention, and operational energy.
This kind of focus helps everywhere:

Customers understand your brand faster
Retailers know what to buy and how to position you
Marketing gets simpler and more effective
Inventory decisions become less emotional and more strategic

You don’t need more SKUs. You need the right ones, clearly positioned.

3. Build trust before you build volume

There’s been a lot of pressure on brands to do more. More content. More launches. More platforms. More urgency. But volume without trust is fragile.

In 2026, the brands that convert consistently are the ones that feel established, confident, calm, and credible.

Trust comes from consistency, restraint, and clarity, not from being everywhere at once. That shows up in messaging that doesn’t change every month, visual identity that feels considered rather than rushed, and marketing that explains value instead of shouting offers. One of the clearest contrasts I see is this: brands that feel rushed tend to rely on urgency, while brands that feel established rarely need to. Calm brands signal confidence. Confidence builds trust. Trust converts better than urgency ever will.

Looking ahead
The brands that will grow sustainably in 2026 won’t be the loudest. They’ll be more focused, more intentional, and better built behind the scenes. Growth still matters, but how you grow matters more than ever. If you’re entering this year wanting less chaos and better results, that’s not a weakness. It’s a smart place to start.

If you’re wondering how we might be able to work together in 2026, visit my services page to see how I can help your business growth. I’d love to hear from you!

Cheers,
Rachel