Following a near-record peak this summer as retailers stocked up before tariff increases, import cargo volume at the nation’s major container ports is expected to steadily decline for the remainder of the year. That’s according to the most recent Global Port Tracker report released by the National Retail Federation and Hackett Associates. The report follows the implementation of reciprocal tariffs across the globe, with a number of key trading partners being subjected to tariffs higher than the earlier 10% tariffs, noted the NRF. Also, more and more sectoral tariffs are impacting a wider scope of products “Tariffs have had a significant impact on trade,” said Hackett Associates founder Ben Hackett said. “The trade outlook for the final months of the year is not optimistic.”

The advertising industry is being reshaped by a convergence of necessity, curiosity and opportunity, driven by consumer expectations for more privacy and advancements in technology. A new generation of performance advertising is emerging. Currently, 86% of users state that privacy is a high priority, and this number continues to grow. Mozilla and Apple have already responded to this demand by blocking third-party cookies completely, and now Chrome—the browser with the highest market share—is poised to dramatically increase the fraction of users who won’t allow third-party cookies to be set. This growing demand for privacy, combined with customer expectations for personalized interactions presents a challenge and opportunity for brands, requiring innovative solutions and a shift in thinking.

Disrupt. Delight. Drive. Three words that, together, form a mandate for our catalogs. From crowded mailboxes our books need to stand out and garner attention; pay off that attention with content that creates desire, and – ultimately – compel our customers to click, call or visit. It’s a tall order. And that first piece, Disrupt, is the 1st priority. If it doesn’t happen, the other two won’t. We could mail an 11” x 17” oversized book. That will get noticed. So would a ‘scratch and sniff’ cover? But most of us don’t have budget to add a bunch of bells and whistles just to make us louder than the other guys. I’m particularly mindful of this as I wade through the current flood of women’s clothing catalogs in my own mailbox, most of them conveying the long-suffering Spring + Early Summer + Mother’s Day mashup: covers graced with women pouring each other glasses of Rosé, or bikes with flower-filled baskets. Make no mistake: this is not a judgement, but a shared burden. What can we do—any of us—to stand out in a sea of perpetual sameness, when all we have to work with is the traditional, two-dimensional real estate of a catalog cover? Learn more at: https://www.jschmid.com/blog/stand-out-in-a-sea-of-sameness/