You’ll find no shortage of dogs sporting Ruffwear collars, leashes, and jackets in urban and suburban dog parks, but the products are designed specifically for wilderness adventures, and originated in outdoor retail. By the brand’s own telling, it owes its start to the Outdoor Retail show in 1994, when an L.L.Bean buyer encountered Ruffwear’s maiden product, a collapsible dog bowl, and ordered 8,000 bowls.

The brand has abided by its outdoor-gear origins, eschewing categories like pet costumes that serve no function on a camping trip, but it had never produced a line as technically advanced—or expensive—as its new Ridgefield Collection.

“We really sat down and asked ourselves, ‘If we could design the ultimate product line and remove price as a constraint from what we do, what would it look like?’” Rob Little, Ruffwear’s president, told Retail Brew.

The line incorporates not one, but two technologies from other outdoor-gear brands: magnetic closures from Fidlock, and fabric from X-Pac, an elements-withstanding material originally developed for racing sails. Together, Fidlock’s and X-Pac’s tech “created the foundation for a whole new line of products for us that would be the pinnacle of the pet industry when it comes to outdoor performance,” Little said.

But unencumbered by cost limitations, the prices ended up significantly steeper for the line, which the brand describes as “groundbreaking,” than for other Ruffwear products.

Keep reading here.—AAN

Here’s an excerpt from Chapter 2 of our State of the Industry report on stores:

The demise of brick-and-mortar stores that some pronounced during the height of the pandemic has been greatly exaggerated. These days, in fact, retail executives are downright bullish about the in-store experience:

• Target CFO James Lee said the company would invest about $1 billion in 2026 to open new stores and remodel existing ones during a November 2025 earnings call.
• Dollar General announced it would undertake 4,700 real estate projects in 2026, encompassing both store openings and remodels.
• Brands including Uniqlo, Coach, and Ralph Lauren have added cafes to store locations to enhance the shopping experience.

Dick’s is widely lauded for its investment in stores and experiential store design, with its House of Sport store concepts that include hands-on features like climbing walls and batting cages.

It’s not just tottering old millennials and Gen Xers who are hot for brick and mortar.

Keep reading here.—AAN

Meta is playing catch-up to TikTok in the AI and e-commerce game.

At Shoptalk in Las Vegas last month, Meta debuted not only creator affiliate partnership features, but also checkout in its Business AI agent and retail media network product discovery offerings.

The affiliate tools are similar to the affiliate marketing offering that TikTok Shop operates, according to Scott Kramer, head of growth at AS Beauty, which operates a portfolio of brands including Laura Geller Beauty and Cover FX. He said the tools provide opportunities for brands to measure the ROI they’re seeing from creators in terms of who is driving sales, noting it’s a “first step” for Meta.

However, some brands may be slower to adopt affiliate tools, Kevin Simonson, CEO of e-commerce marketing outfit adMixt, said, noting that affiliate offerings lend themselves more so to verticals like beauty and wellness.

Keep reading here on Marketing Brew.—JS

If your checkout flow isn’t getting replies, it might be time for a new approach. Agentic commerce brings AI into the journey to guide shoppers, answer questions, and reduce friction in real time. Join us on April 29 to learn how brands are improving conversions and actually closing the loop.

Tired of one-size-fits-all job boards? CollabWORK highlights roles that reflect your interests and goals—delivered through communities like Retail Brew. Click here to explore the full job board.