Are you headed to the NEMOA conference in Everett, MA April 4 - 6th? We'd love to see you and catch up. Join J.Schmid President & CCO Brent Niemuth as he hosts a hands-on interactive workshop on Creative and Content: Develop a look, feel and content that is clearly aligned with your brand and resonates with customers. But that's not all! J.Schmid EVP of Client Services, Michele Drohan will be leading an interactive Catalog Critique session where you'll learn the building blocks of an effective catalog, then work with peers to review and critique a catalog. If you're not registered, it's not too late! We'd love to see you there and we have a special discount to share with you. Use code BRD15 for 15% off your registration. Register now at: https://nemoaevent.org/?utm_source=marketo&utm_medium=NEMOA&utm_campaign=website

The federal government shutdown that started Oct. 1 is just the latest in a host of challenges, along with tariffs, inflation and signs of economic weakness, that are bedeviling businesses as 2025 winds down. This makes smaller retailers — which lack the financial buffer most big chains have — especially vulnerable as the holidays approach. “Everyone loves shouting about shopping small or local, especially during the holiday season, but this year, small businesses are heading into their busiest period with a level of uncertainty they haven’t faced before,” said Jacob Bennett, co-founder and CEO of Crux Analytics, which works with small businesses and their banks. Summer ended sluggishly for the sector, according to the Fiserv Small Business Index for September, which leverages transaction data from more than 2 million U.S. small businesses across the country: Adjusted for inflation, retail sales dropped 1.4% year over year. Foot traffic is solid, but average basket size is down, according to Mike Spriggs, head of consumer insights at Fiserv. “That tells us the American consumer is still engaged — just price-aware and promotion-sensitive,” Spriggs said by email. Then there is the shutdown, which disrupted the loan program at the Small Business Administration — both access to new loans and management of existing ones. Among other consequences, this could disrupt inventory management, which has already been roiled by tariffs.

With back-to-school schedules everywhere in continual flux, this BTS shopping season has gotten as unpredictable as hurricane tracking. While the National Retailer Federation reports a large increase in consumer spending as parents buy pricey new laptops and desks for home schoolrooms, national advertisers are taking a hall pass. Kantar says advertising spending for back-to-school is off 70% so far this year. The best word for consumer sentiment is still confusion. Kantar’s polling finds 13% of consumers are comfortable sending children back to school “as soon as possible,” 14% want to wait more than six months, and 25% fall somewhere in between one and five months. More than half of also say they don’t know.