Today in Retail: ShopBack Pay Allows Users to Earn Rewards; Cosmetic Companies Continue to Struggle With Escalating Costs

Today in retail, ShopBack expands ways to pay, while cosmetic companies struggle with costs. Plus, Authentic Brands Group looks to add Ted Baker to its growing portfolio, wedding season is expected to be the busiest in two decades, and 60% of consumers are buying only the essentials amidst rising inflation.

ShopBack Expands Way to Pay

ShopBack, an Asia-Pacific (APAC) cashback network, is adding a QR scan-and-pay feature that allows ShopBack users to not only get cash back online, but also at brick-and-mortar stores. With ShopBack Pay, customers can link their favorite payment methods to make in-store purchases and amass more cash back on top of rewards from their selected payment method.

Investors Have a ‘Breakup With Makeup’ as Cosmetics Cos Struggle With Costs

Revlon, the 90-year-old New York-based parent of over a dozen different brands that are sold at thousands of global retail locations in 150 countries, has announced that it is looking to raise $25 million for “general corporate purposes.” The move will not only dilute existing shareholders’ stake by about 7% given the cosmetic company’s shrunken $350 million market value, but it comes in the wake of a sell-off that has already seen Revlon’s shares shed almost 50% so far this year.

Authentic Brands Group Looking to Add Ted Baker Label to Its Growing Portfolio

Brand licensing conglomerate Authentic Brands Group (ABG) — which includes Reebok, Aeropostale, Forever 21 and roughly 50 other labels — is among “several parties” considering a bid for British fashion retailer Ted Baker. ABG has been talking to the company’s financial advisers, with ABG reported to be part of the process that included a bid deadline Thursday (April 21) for non-binding offers.

The Knot Is Bracing for Burst of Business as Weddings Hit 20-Year High

Andy Ivanovich, chief financial officer at The Knot Worldwide, told PYMNTS a two-year backlog of postponed events and a heavy flow of current nuptial planning may lead to the busiest wedding season the vast and diverse special events industry has seen in 20 years. The company  said its internal numbers suggest there will be around 2.6 million weddings in the U.S. this year. With pandemic restrictions relaxed, masks coming off and a feeling of “back to normal” returning, retailers are seeing a surge in the number of weddings and other special events.

NEW DATA: 6 in 10 Consumers Buying Only the Essentials as Inflation Rises

March marked the highest inflation rate seen in the United States since 1981, and consumers are feeling the pinch. Sixty-one percent of the U.S. adult population — 154 million people — bought little more than their daily essentials that month, including food and healthcare products. These so-called “stick to the essentials” consumers are just one of four key types of shoppers that PYMNTS identified in our latest round of research, but their large numbers are indicative of a much broader trend of consumers working to keep excess spending to a minimum.

Coca-Cola’s Away-From-Home Business Gets a Much-Needed Boost at the Drive-Thru

Coca-Cola Chairman and CEO James Quincey explained to analysts on a call discussing the company’s first-quarter 2022 earnings results how the company’s global foodservice business continues to be impacted by the pandemic. In the face of these challenges, some channels have been performing disproportionately well. For instance, digital ordering and drive-thru pickup have been leading the way, driving the foodservice business’s recovery.

Mastercard, Microsoft Debut Next-Gen ID Tech for Safer Online Shopping

Mastercard and Microsoft Corp. have launched a refreshed identity solution designed to improve online shopping and detect digital fraud. To combat first-party fraud schemes, where purchases are made legitimately but later disputed, Mastercard has enhanced its Digital Transaction Insights solution with next-generation verification and instant decisioning intelligence capabilities.

Future Group’s Secured Creditors Nix $3.4B Deal With Reliance

Indian retailer Reliance has nixed its $3.4 billion deal with Mumbai-based retail firm Future Group, adding it “cannot be implemented” because Future’s secured creditors rejected the agreement. In a stock exchange filing, Reliance said the deal is off because “the secured creditors of FRL (Future Retail) have voted against” it. Future’s secured lenders shot down the proposal the day before, putting Future Retail on the verge of bankruptcy after it had grown to more than 1,500 stores at its peak, making it India’s second-largest retail firm.

The Container Store Gets Social and Emotional About Nesting Trend

For The Container Store, this increased focus on tidying, organizing and eliminating messes, driven in part by the ongoing pandemic, has been a part of the company’s DNA since its launch in 1978. That’s partly why the Texas-based operator of 94 retail locations and a loyal following felt it was time to revamp this mature brand via a raft of updates and new campaigns, including a new logo, loyalty program, mobile app and renewed social media presence, all of which reflect this middle-aged specialty retailer’s attitude about how it wants to connect with its customers.