Global Consumer and Retail Conference 2026 — Day 1 Takeaways

Research evidence excerpt

Equity Research

15 September 2026 | 3:06AM EDT

GLOBAL RETAIL

Global Consumer and Retail Conference 2026 — Day 1 Takeaways

Kate McShane, CFA

+1(212)902-6740 |

Goldman Sachs & Co. LLC

Brooke Roach, CFA

Day 1 of our 33rd Annual Global Consumer and Retail Conference pointed to a

resilient but discerning consumer. Management teams framed performance as a

function of execution on assortment, newness, value, and cost discipline.

Back-to-school commentary was encouraging and companies continued to signal

measured and intentional price/AUR increases in select categories. That said, energy

and commodity costs (fuel, freight, gold) are worth watching as key headwinds, and

tariffs remain uncertain. Key themes we identified on Day 1 of the conference

include:

The consumer is resilient but discerning: Presenters were near-unanimous in

describing demand as stable rather than deteriorating, with several explicitly noting

no material change in consumer behavior. We also saw several companies point to

healthy back-to-school results (WMT, GCO, ANF, PENN). However, consumers are

behaving surgically, with item-specific desires and value-seeking behaviors (BOBS,

BJ, SIG). Commentary regarding the US consumer remains more upbeat than other

geographies (EMEA and LATAM still a pressure point).

+1(212)357-2421 |

Goldman Sachs & Co. LLC

Lizzie Dove

Goldman Sachs & Co. LLC

Mark Jordan, CFA

+1(617)772-7951 |

Goldman Sachs & Co. LLC

Bonnie Herzog

+1(212)902-0490 |

Goldman Sachs & Co. LLC

Jon Keypour

Goldman Sachs & Co. LLC

Eric Sheridan

+1(917)343-8683 |

Goldman Sachs & Co. LLC

Susan Maklari

+1(212)357-3906 |

Goldman Sachs & Co. LLC

Winning on brand heat, newness, and innovation: Management teams attributed

outperformance to product newness, cultural relevance, and storytelling (DKS, WSM,

WHR). Assortment expansion, influencer and celebrity partnerships, collaborations,

runway moments and content are resonating with consumers, while stale product

was more likely to be subject to promotional pressures. Excess supply in legacy

athletic silhouettes and assortment misses in seasonal categories were both cited as

the primary drivers of discounting. Marketing is an area of investment and focus

…