American Retailers on How to Save American Retail

It’s a complicated time for the retail industry in America. On one hand, business in the US is booming. International fashion brands are making the pilgrimage to the States to get a piece of the pie, with brands opening stores across the country and hosting shows here to amp up their US businesses. It’s a major luxury market, undoubtedly. But on the other hand, America’s iconic department stores have struggled to reinvent themselves for the modern age of shopping. It’s more difficult than ever to start and scale a fashion business at home, and the golden era of building billion-dollar businesses out of nothing seems all but over.

This all leaves the future of born-and-bred American retail in a quagmire. Entrepreneurism here is well-fostered, yet the business model behind fashion brands is cleaving. How can the US fashion industry nurture talent and future-proof itself for the next 250 years?

We asked retail executives, founders, designers, and legends to share their perspectives on what American retail is, and what it needs to be. Clear themes emerged: transformation, competition, the savvy consumer, the distracted consumer. The idea that retail as a career has diminished in the US, and that it should be revived. The condemnation of retail being run by private equity suits and accountants instead of people who are in it for the love of the game. The transitive state of retail, a fluctuation, the bottoming out of the middle, that’s replaced by contention between quality and price. All are optimistic that everything will work itself out, and that wanting it enough makes it worth it. To mark the occasion of the 250th anniversary of America, here, America’s retail industry shares their outlook and words of wisdom.

Sameness. Too much of retail looks, feels, and sounds alike. In the pursuit of efficiency and scale, it’s easy to lose the unexpected, the beautiful, and the surprising. But that’s exactly what customers are hungry for, what makes shopping so memorable. Today, customers have endless choices and they gravitate towards brands that offer a distinct point of view. You can’t build lasting loyalty by looking like everyone else. Because of this, retailers are being forced to answer a fundamental question: what do you truly stand for? The brands that are thriving have a clear point of view and a genuine connection with their customer. Those competing primarily on price or convenience are finding it harder to differentiate. — Tricia Smith, CEO, Anthropologie

I think the middle is disappearing, and customers and brands are being bifurcated into ‘luxury’ on the one hand and ‘value’ on the other. But both of these terms are often misnomers: luxury is often more about hype and huge marketing budgets, rather than great product and great service; value is often a euphemism for cheap products that won’t last long and produced by ethically questionable means. — Jack Carlson, creative director and president, J. Press

In the age of AI, there are real strengths in what technology can do for us — but there’s also a real risk of losing the human thread. When you walk into an independent versus a department store, you feel the difference immediately. There’s a closeness, an intimacy between the space, the edit, and the people. That feeling is hard to manufacture, and I think it’s what customers are quietly craving more of. — Lori Hirshleifer, co-CEO, Hirshleifers

It’s uncertain — but I don’t mean that negatively. The legacy practices of the past aren’t always going to work in the future. — Pete Nordstrom, co-CEO, Nordstrom

The industry can lose itself chasing newness, accelerated by social media into a cycle that doesn’t always serve the product or the customer. We prefer a more deliberate approach: thoughtful design, a clear point of view. Because the greatest strength this industry has ever had is creative energy, and that deserves more than a constant chase for what’s next. — Trish Wescoat Pound, founder, TWP

There’s just a lot of noise. Everyone is competing for attention all the time, and consumers are constantly being shown more products, more content, and more trends. The challenge today is creating something memorable enough to cut through it all. The brands and retailers that succeed are usually the ones with a very clear identity and the confidence to stick to it. — Lauren Santo-Domingo, co-founder, Moda Operandi

Relevance is the biggest challenge. Customers have endless options, so you have to be clear about who you are and why you matter. You have to earn your place in the customer’s life. Retail can’t become purely transactional; you need to give customers a reason to come back. — Tony Spring, CEO, Macy’s

The biggest challenge is the sheer volume of choice and noise in the marketplace. Consumers are constantly being presented with new products, new brands, and new trends. As an industry, we can sometimes become too focused on chasing novelty rather than creating lasting value. The brands that stand out as lasting American icons have been the ones that remain disciplined in their identity and continue to deliver products customers genuinely need and love. — Stephanie Unwin, CEO, Veronica Beard

The biggest challenge in the industry is how to adapt to AI. It’s changing everything we knew and how we did it. I see this as a big opportunity, but it is going to make lots of people feel uncomfortable. — Andrew Rosen, co-founder, Theory

The industry’s biggest challenge is the pricing of clothing. Designer clothes and accessories have increased to a prohibitive level and have turned off people from buying. — Fern Mallis, creator, New York Fashion Week

Converging art and science in a commercially viable way. This isn’t a uniquely 2026 thing; people have been trying to thread this needle as long as people have been buying and selling beautiful products. But it’s become more difficult in the age of private equity and big IPOs. I think too many CPAs are running the business and it becomes a money thing rather than a creative project that stands for something and has a point of view. A lot of the real estate decisions, in particular, are being driven by finance departments rather than visionary retailers, who are able to see retail as a convergence of commerce and community. — Sid Mashburn, designer and founder

As my dad would say, the answers are on the floor. The retailers I admire the most lead from a merchandising point of view. They stay close to the customer and pay attention to what’s actually resonating. Good retailers balance relevance and discovery. You must have a perspective and be willing to go find it rather than dream it up from a distance. — Pete Nordstrom

Invest in your point of view before you invest in technology. The best tools can strengthen a brand, but they can’t create one. I see a lot of retailers investing in new capabilities, and those tools matter, but they can’t compensate for a brand that lacks a clear sense of identity. Know who your customer is. Know what you want them to feel. Build every decision around that. The retailers winning right now are the ones who know exactly who they are and refuse to dilute it. — Tricia Smith

Stay close to the customer and stay curious. After 39 years in the industry, I’ve learned that retailers can’t be everything to everyone, so they need to make focused choices, simplify where it matters, and execute the fundamentals well: great product, clear value, strong service, and a reason to return. And just as importantly, build real partnerships. When brands, teams, and customers all succeed together, that’s what creates something sustainable. — Tony Spring

Having built an independent luxury boutique over nearly two decades, I find that return to connection and curation to be the most encouraging shift in the industry. In a world of endless choice, curation has become even more valuable. It reminds us that retail is ultimately about relationships, trust, and creating meaningful experiences that resonate far beyond a purchase. — Sherri McMullen, founder and CEO, McMullen

Slow down. The businesses that are thriving are the ones that have resisted the pressure to be everything to everyone, all at once. Know who you are, know your customer, and go deep rather than wide. Relationships built over time are what sustain you, not the transaction or the trend. — Lori Hirshleifer

Retailers that solely focus on efficiency are missing the point. It’s good to embrace technology, but not for the sole purpose of efficiency. Retailers should eliminate friction when it burdens the consumer, while still prioritizing the discovery and moments of delight that make shopping enjoyable. — Neil Blumenthal, co-founder, Warby Parker

There’s just so much in life today that’s automated and impersonal, so I think that the industry’s greatest strength is that the industry can offer the human touch. I think that we all still crave human connection. –– Jeffrey Kalinsky, founder, Jeffrey