As inflation rates continue to rise, retailers continue to face the challenge of providing consumers with more affordable price points for products they both want and need. But instead of calling it a knockoff, a fake or a cheaper alternative, a younger cohort of consumers have decided to give it a trendy name — a dupe.  

Difference Between Dupes and Fakes

Dupes are the more affordable option to the high-end product and come at a fraction of the cost, making them an attractive to consumers who are looking for alternatives. Fakes, on the other hand, are products that are designed to look exactly like a higher-end product, often with logos or branding that is identical or very similar. 

The intention behind dupes is to offer an option for consumers who may not be able to afford the higher-end product. The intention behind fakes is to deceive consumers into thinking they are buying a genuine product when they are not. 

Continue reading at original source: https://www.pymnts.com/news/retail/2023/dupe-private-label-call-it-what-you-want-consumers-want-more/

What was once old is new again (and again) as brands and consumers fully embrace the potential of preowned.

The resale trend has been steadily growing for years, with preconceived notions about buying used first tempered with eBay’s early internet popularity. It continued as more targeted reCommerce retail sites, such as consignment platform thredUP and peer-to-peer (P2P) marketplace Poshmark, refined the digital resale sector. These and other similar third-party sites dominated the market for years until recently, as branded resale has begun to catch on with higher-end retailers.

Reselling clothes, accessories and other items has become a popular way for consumers to both clean out their closets and make some extra side money. Indeed, per the March PYMNTS collaboration with LendingClub, “New Reality Check: The Paycheck-To-Paycheck Report,” it represents the top share of non-job supplemental income received by consumers living paycheck to paycheck without issues paying bills.

Continue reading at original source: https://www.pymnts.com/news/ecommerce/2023/the-resale-market-meets-its-mainstream-moment/

Advice on planning for the financial future may be of use to more than just younger generations.

As some baby boomers and others getting ready to leave the workplace are unfortunately finding out, retirement is just a concept without the funds to back the lifestyle up. Pensions in the U.S. are largely a thing of the past, and 401(k)s are having a rocky moment as the markets shift wildly in response to inflation, crypto scandals and bank meltdowns. And while Social Security seems solid for the time being, it was never meant to be more than supplemental income for retirees and should not be counted on for principal support.

PYMNTS’ research found disparities in retirement planning by consumers with differing financial lifestyles in its collaboration with LendingClub, “New Reality Check: The Paycheck-To-Paycheck Report: The Financial Goals Edition.” Of overall surveyed consumers, 33% say saving for retirement is their most important goal, with another 27% citing retirement as an important motivation, if not the most pressing. However, these numbers dramatically shift analyzed by financial lifestyle.

Continue reading at original source: https://www.pymnts.com/consumer-finance/2023/paycheck-to-paycheck-consumers-may-believe-retirement-is-out-of-reach/

One day left in the quarter.

And then earnings season begins again in just a few short weeks.

But even over the last several days, as March draws to a close, earnings for the December period continued to sway stock prices for the names in our FinTech IPO Index.

Continue reading at original source: https://www.pymnts.com/news/ipo/2023/fintech-ipo-index-gets-1-7-boost-on-oppfi-huize-earnings/

With online sportsbooks coming off a record Super Bowl in February and more states legalizing the practice at what seems like a monthly cadence, concerns are rising about the security of betting pay-ins and payouts on these apps and platforms.

Market research firm Insider Intelligence said on Thursday (March 30) that the total amount of money wagered “via retail sportsbook, online sportsbook, or lottery parlay card will grow 45.0% this year to $136.63 billion, surpassing $100 billion for the first time. Double-digit growth will continue, and in just two years, the total will exceed $200 billion.”

Given the expected meteoric rise of online sportsbooks, market watchers worry it’s opening a new vector for cyberfraud on a potentially colossal scale, and those in the ecosystem could be getting out over their skis by going live without adequate security protecting billions in transit, either as pay-in wagers or payout winnings.

Continue reading at original source: https://www.pymnts.com/news/security-and-risk/2023/sportsbooks-swelling-to-200-billion-by-2025-represent-a-new-game-for-fraudsters/

New rules released by the Consumer Financial Protection Bureau on Thursday will change small business lending.

And for the lenders — banks and non-banks — there’s a change ahead, too, in the broadening of the data they’ll need to collect as they decide who gets business loans. That means, increasingly, they’ll have to rely on digital, tech-driven means of getting critical information in place about borrowers, and satisfying the new mandates for a $1.4 trillion industry.

“There is currently limited data on small business entrepreneurs’ access to credit, and no comprehensive information available about small business lending. For decades, the government has assembled data pursuant to Congressional mandates on residential mortgages,” the CPFB said.

Continue reading at original source: https://www.pymnts.com/loans/2023/cfpb-rule-spotlights-value-of-tech-driven-data-collection-in-small-business-lending/

At first glance, Apple’s announcement of its Pay Later program, starting with select users before expanding in the coming months, seems to make little sense.

After all, the FinTech-led buy now, pay later (BNPL) space hasn’t been exactly an overall money-printing endeavor. The popular consumer finance tool shot into the mainstream during the pandemic, when low interest rates allowed sector FinTechs maneuverability in both raising money and how it offered the payment method.

BNPL FinTechs struggled with profitability even before the Fed began raising rates. Now, they are in a near freefall, as evidenced in the “FinTech Tracker®,” a PYMNTS and Sezzle collaboration.

Continue reading at original source: https://www.pymnts.com/buy-now-pay-later/2023/bnpls-low-profitability-may-not-matter-apple/

Wells Fargo has been fined $97.8 million for sanctions-related violations from 2010 to 2015.

The bank reached settlements of $67.8 million with the Federal Reserve Board and $30 million with the Treasury Department’s Office of Foreign Asset Control (OFAC), the two regulators said in separate Thursday (March 30) announcements.

Wells Fargo provided inadequate oversight of sanctions risk and violated United States sanctions by providing a trade finance platform to a foreign bank which then used it to process $532 million in prohibited transactions between 2010 and 2015, the Federal Reserve said in its press release.

Continue reading at original source: https://www.pymnts.com/bank-regulation/2023/wells-fargo-fined-97-8-million-for-sanctions-related-violations/

Steer Technologies has completed a previously announced sale of 37.5% of its digital restaurant supply business.

With the completion of this $18 million direct investment, the digital restaurant supply business has a post-money valuation of $47.14 million and is set to grow its subscription-based and on-demand services, Steer Technologies said in a Thursday (March 30) press release.

“We expect that this significant influx of capital will allow us to further scale and enhance our platform, thus bringing greater value to our customers in today’s evolving and highly competitive landscape,” Steer Technologies CEO Suman Pushparajah said in the release.

Continue reading at original source: https://www.pymnts.com/news/investment-tracker/2023/steer-technologies-digital-restaurant-supply-business-valuet-47-million-dollars/

Restaurants are doing everything they can to attract digital customers. Their investments are paying off.

The Context

In recent years, eateries have been working hard to make their offerings more digitally accessible, expanding pickup and delivery access.

Quick-service restaurant (QSR) giant McDonald’s, for its part, is tapping geofencing to reduce wait times in an effort to boost pickup adoption. The restaurant brand is updating its mobile order and pay capabilities to inform back-of-house staff when mobile order-ahead customers are near the store, such that the kitchen can prepare the order to be warm and ready just as the diner arrives, in an effort to both boost efficiency and improve the customer experience.

Continue reading at original source: https://www.pymnts.com/restaurant-technology/2023/restaurants-tech-investments-drive-11percent-yoy-increase-in-digital-engagement/

U.S. Treasury Secretary Janet Yellen wants more oversight for the nonbank sector.

In remarks to the National Association for Business Economics annual conference Thursday (March 30), Yellen addressed the need to regulate both nonbanks and traditional lenders as the government continues to grapple with a recent banking crisis.

"We must also address vulnerabilities in the nonbank sector," she said. "Some nonbanks — or shadow banks — consist of financial companies that carry out traditional banking functions, but are outside of, or only loosely linked to, depository institutions."

Continue reading at original source: https://www.pymnts.com/digital-first-banking/2023/yellen-says-us-must-address-vulnerabilities-in-shadow-banking/

As restaurants expand their grocery store offerings, White Castle is doubling down on branded beer.

On Thursday (March 30), the quick-service restaurant (QSR) chain announced the launch of its second beer in partnership with Evil Genius Beer Company, dubbed “Main Character Energy,” following a previous collaboration back in October. The cans will be available starting Monday (April 3) at stores across at least nine U.S. states.

“We are excited to celebrate another round of collaborating with our friends from Evil Genius — this bold, new and craveable brew will inspire the raising of glasses wherever it’s enjoyed," said Lynn Blashford, White Castle chief marketing officer.

Continue reading at original source: https://www.pymnts.com/news/retail/2023/white-castle-launches-beer-as-restaurants-enter-grocery-stores/

Small and medium-sized businesses (SMBs) have somewhat of a reputation for being brick-and-mortar centric, but the truth is that many of their customers shop online, and they do so increasingly via mobile. This reinforces the fact that digital innovation is just as key for SMBs as it is for their larger competitors.

We explore this in the PYMNTS and Cybersource study, The 2023 Global Digital Shopping Index: SMB Edition (GDSI-SMB), where a look at many of the features most prized by shoppers are mobile in nature, and therefore crucial for SMBs to adopt as part of their roadmap.

Continue reading at original source: https://www.pymnts.com/news/retail/2023/smbs-are-32percent-less-likely-than-larger-competitors-to-support-mobile-apps-or-mobile-sites/

Cazoo is enjoying record revenue but feeling the sting of shedding its European auto business.

The struggling U.K. used car company on Thursday (March 30) announced full-year earnings that showed it took a 704 million pound loss ($872 million), a 30% increase from last year and the latest sign of the struggle facing the used car sector.

The loss was partly driven by “discontinued operations,” Cazoo said in a news release. Recent months have seen the company shift its focus to its home country, which meant selling its subscription business in Germany and abandoning plans to expand into Spain and Italy.

Continue reading at original source: https://www.pymnts.com/earnings/2023/cazoo-reports-872-million-loss-after-closing-eu-car-operations/

Polish eCommerce platform Allegro plans to launch its third-party marketplace in the Czech Republic this year.

That will be the first step in the firm’s plan to expand its marketplace model internationally, having shown in the Polish market that it can deliver both value and convenience, Allegro said in a Thursday (March 30) earnings release.

“Having established itself as an economic lifeline for all customers during the pandemic, Allegro now proved its status as the most convenient shopping platform to serve clients in time of inflation,” Allegro CEO Roy Perticucci said in the release.

Continue reading at original source: https://www.pymnts.com/news/ecommerce/2023/allegro-preparing-to-expand-third-party-marketplace-to-czech-republic/