At the commanding heights of the retail industry, companies such as Amazon and Walmart had a strong 2025 despite challenges such as tariffs and cautious consumer spending. But beneath these behemoths, more specialized or category-specific retailers had a tougher time this year, with a number of well-known brands declaring bankruptcy and, as a result, shaking up their respective markets. Here’s a rundown of some major brick-and-mortar shakeups and the effects they’re still having on the industry.

Michaels absorbs fallen rivals: Early in 2025, both Joann Fabrics and Party City declared bankruptcy and left massive holes in the craft and party supplies markets respectively. In the months that followed, discounters bought up former Party City locations, and other retailers upped their game when it came to party supplies. Businesses ranging from Walgreens to secondhand art supply stores started picking up the slack, but it was Michaels that arguably became the de facto successor to Joann.

In the spring, Michaels expanded its selection of balloons, decor and accessories, as searches for party supplies had jumped 155% since the start of 2025. Then in June, it acquired Joann’s intellectual property and started reorganizing its fabric assortment to make it more accessible to former Joann’s customers. Michaels CEO David Boone told Retail Brew in October that both moves were “natural add-ons to the business” as the company commits to an omnichannel business with a strong in-store component.

Keep reading here.—AV

Despite some temporary backend issues reported on Cyber Monday, sales on Shopify for Black Friday and Cyber Monday rose by 27% globally.

Shopify, the e-commerce platform that builds online stores for merchants, reported global sales of $14.6 billion through the Black Friday and Cyber Monday weekend.

Consumers on Shopify shelled out money to buy vanity essentials like cosmetics, clothing staples like tops and pants, activewear, fitness, and nutrition items, in that order, Shopify data showed.

Overall, it seems people still really like buying stuff when it’s on sale. Globally, during the big Black Friday-Cyber Monday holiday weekend, online sales hit $336.6 billion, up 7% YoY, while US shoppers spent $79.6 billion, up 5% YoY, per Salesforce data. Black Friday pulled $79 billion in global sales, up 6% YoY, and $18 billion in the US, Salesforce data showed.

Plus, Salesforce data pointed out that AI and agents influenced 20% of Cyber Week orders globally, or $67 billion in sales, while in the US they drove 17% of orders, totaling $13.5 billion.

But not everything went smoothly during the shopping frenzy.

Keep reading here.—VC

If there’s one thing Erewhon is known for, it’s a spendy smoothie.

The California-based gourmet grocery store’s drink collabs began in 2021 with influencers like Christina Najjar, who is known online as Tinx, and Marianna Hewitt, co-founder of skincare brand Summer Fridays. But it was Hailey Bieber who really kickstarted Erewhon’s celeb smoothie craze with a co-branded Strawberry Glaze Skin Smoothie that promoted the launch of Rhode Skin in 2022. At one point, Erewhon was reportedly selling more than 40,000 of Bieber’s smoothies every month; in October, it sold out of a $100 DIY kit to make it at home.

In recent years, well-known figures like Sabrina Carpenter, Sofia Richie Grainge, Olivia Rodrigo, Bella Hadid, and Emma Chamberlain have followed suit, stamping their names (and in some cases, brands) on Erewhon drinks. The virality has not gone unnoticed by other brands: Each celebrity smoothie recipe has up to five that pay to be included in the ingredient list, Vito Antoci, EVP at Erewhon, told us.

Keep reading here on Marketing Brew.—KH