Utah State University’s Outdoor Recreation Archive (ORA) currently encompasses around 3,000 outdoor catalogs from around 200 companies, ranging from a 1905 Abercrombie & Fitch catalog to a 2020 Altra Running catalog. Created as a joint effort between Utah’s State University’s Special Collections & Archives and the Outdoor Product Development and Design undergraduate program, the ORA is, in simple terms, a research collection of outdoor recreation history. And yet the seemingly niche academic project happens to fit perfectly with the ever-growing popularity of the outdoor style in contemporary fashion. 2020 saw the outdoor aesthetic boom in even greater popularity, with notable collaborations such as the Salehe Bembury x New Balance 2002 sneaker, the Greater Goods x Arc’teryx Artist Series, the Palace x Salomon XA COMP ADV sneaker taking center stage. The physical collection, initially launched back in March 2019, is currently housed at the University and a digital exhibit lives on Utah State’s library website for anyone to access. The ORA has also taken to exhibiting the archive on Instagram, launching an account in September later that year to reach a wider, non-academic audience and help grow interest around the history of the outdoor industry.

The retail landscape is shifting fast, and one trend is cutting across every category, price point, and demographic: the rise of the value‑seeking consumer. For catalog brands, this shift isn’t a threat rather it’s an opening. Print has always been a channel where value can be shown, felt, and proven through storytelling, curation, and clarity. But the definition of value is expanding, and catalogers who adapt will be the ones who stay indispensable. Read the full article from our friends at Dingley in the link below. According to Deloitte’s 2026 retail outlook, nearly seven in 10 Americans are now engaging in deal‑seeking behaviors, from switching to more affordable retailers to redeeming loyalty points more aggressively. Retail executives overwhelmingly believe this is not a temporary reaction to inflation but a structural, long‑term change in how people shop.

Consumers continue to show their resilience as retail sales rose for the eighth consecutive month in May despite high gas prices and ongoing inflation. Total retail sales (including restaurants, but excluding automobile dealers and gasoline stations) increased 0.42% month over month and were up 7.19% year over year in May, according to the CNBC/NRF Retail Monitor released by the National Retail Federation. That compared with increases of 0.34% month over month and 5.73% year over year in April.