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Helios AI Seeks to Bring Demand Intelligence to Independent Retailers

By
Craig Patterson
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Helios AI Landing Page. Image: Helios

Most retailers have access to reports showing what sold, what did not, and how much inventory remains on hand. Determining what to do next is often the more difficult challenge.

For Reine Slim, that challenge became increasingly familiar during a career spent making buying decisions across the furniture, bedding and appliance sectors. Sales reports, inventory dashboards and business intelligence tools could explain what had happened in a business. Turning that information into action still depended on experience, analysis and judgment.

Now Slim is working to translate that decision-making process into software.

The Montreal-based retail executive recently co-founded Helios AI with technology leader Carine Lahoud. Incorporated in May 2026, the company has developed thingsIQ, a merchandising intelligence platform designed to help independent retailers make decisions around inventory, pricing and assortment planning.

The company’s vision extends beyond another analytics tool.

“We want to be the Circana of independent retail in Canada — the demand-intelligence layer for the channel nobody else measures,” said Slim. “We’re giving independent retailers decisions, not dashboards and building the benchmark data no one of them could create alone.”

Reine Slim, left, with Carine Lahoud

A Retail Problem Hidden in Plain Sight

Slim did not set out to build a technology company.

After studying marketing and fashion, she built a career in retail buying, eventually managing purchasing decisions for 17 stores across Quebec, Ontario and New Brunswick before joining Corbeil Appliances as a buyer.

The work involved far more than selecting products. Buyers must evaluate trends, negotiate with suppliers, manage inventory levels, assess pricing strategies and make countless decisions that influence sales and profitability.

Furniture retail can be particularly unforgiving. A product that misses expectations may occupy valuable floor space for months. Excess inventory ties up capital. Missed trends can result in lost sales opportunities.

Over time, Slim began questioning why so much of the decision-making process remained manual.

Businesses had more data than ever before, yet owners and buyers still spent significant amounts of time interpreting reports, reviewing spreadsheets and trying to determine the best course of action.

“I wanted literally to automate what I did,” said Slim. “Bring everything I learned, the lessons, the experiences and the analysis, and automate it.”

The idea eventually led to a partnership with Lahoud, who serves as Co-Founder and Head of Tech. Lahoud brings an MBA, two bachelor’s degrees and PMI-ACP certification, along with experience in digital transformation, AI product development and data strategy.

The partnership combined two very different perspectives. Slim brought years of merchandising and buying experience. Lahoud brought the technical expertise needed to transform those ideas into a functioning platform.

“We complement each other so well,” said Slim. “I had this crazy idea, and somebody developed it.”

The company conducted its first targeted demonstrations in early May and landed its first client shortly afterward. Today, Helios AI has three active clients and is building a pipeline of additional retailers and strategic partnerships.

Helping Independent Retailers Compete

Although technology platforms are often designed with enterprise retailers in mind, Slim’s focus has been on independent and small-to-medium-sized businesses.

Large retail organizations often have dedicated buying teams, analysts, enterprise software and access to extensive market research. Independent retailers frequently operate with far fewer resources while facing many of the same merchandising challenges.

In many businesses, owners are responsible for purchasing, staffing, payroll, operations and customer service. Competitive shopping, trend analysis and assortment planning often become additional responsibilities squeezed into already demanding schedules.

Slim encountered that reality repeatedly while working with independent furniture retailers.

“A lot of them, especially outside the metropolitan area, are very old school,” she said. “They’re still calculating their inventory minus one plus one on an Excel sheet. This is not sustainable.”

That observation became one of the driving forces behind Helios AI.

Rather than requiring retailers to replace existing systems, thingsIQ connects to platforms they already use, including Shopify, Lightspeed, Magento, ERP systems and other data sources.

Slim said affordability and ease of implementation were important considerations during development. The platform is designed to work with retailers’ existing technology infrastructure and can typically be connected within days rather than requiring a lengthy IT project. Pricing is structured to make the platform accessible to independent retailers and scales based on factors such as store count, warehouse locations and user seats.

The goal is not to generate more reports. It is to help retailers make better decisions using the information already available to them.

Turning Data Into Action

The platform is organized around three practical merchandising questions: what should a retailer carry, what should it push, and what should it pull?

Using inventory, sales, margin and product data, the system generates recommendations that can include reordering products at risk of stockouts, identifying pricing opportunities or flagging slow-moving inventory before it becomes a larger problem.

The dashboard itself reflects that philosophy. Rather than presenting a collection of charts and reports, it highlights recommended actions and opportunities for review.

Slim believes that distinction is important because many retailers already have access to data.

What they often lack is time.

“Your POS system tells you what happened in your inventory and what you sold,” she said. “We tell you what to do next.”

The platform was initially developed with furniture retailers in mind, reflecting Slim’s professional background and industry relationships. Since launch, however, Helios AI has attracted interest from additional categories including sporting goods and electronics.

“What we built was developed for furniture as a beachhead,” said Slim. “But it’s open to all retailers.”

Building a New Layer of Retail Intelligence

One of the company’s longer-term ambitions involves creating benchmark data for independent retailers.

A retailer may understand how products are performing within its own business, but gaining insight into broader market behaviour can be more challenging, particularly for smaller operators.

Helios AI hopes to address that through anonymized benchmarking generated across participating retailers.

As the network expands, the company believes retailers will gain greater visibility into pricing, product performance and demand patterns beyond their own four walls.

For Slim, that opportunity is central to the company’s future.

The goal is not simply to help retailers understand their own data. It is to create a broader intelligence layer that helps independent businesses make more informed decisions while preserving ownership of their information.

The company says customer data remains owned by the retailer and is not sold or used to train models for other clients. Data residency is maintained in Quebec.

Those principles have become increasingly important as retailers evaluate AI tools and data-sharing arrangements.

Looking Ahead

Helios AI remains in its early stages, but the founders have ambitious plans.

The company is targeting 50 clients by the end of 2026 while continuing to refine thingsIQ based on customer feedback. Future plans include exploring tools for manufacturers, an area Slim knows well from years spent working alongside suppliers and product development teams.

For now, however, the focus remains on helping independent retailers navigate an increasingly data-driven marketplace.

The story of Helios AI is ultimately about more than software.

It reflects a broader shift taking place across retail, where technologies that were once accessible primarily to large organizations are becoming available to smaller operators as well.

Slim remains optimistic about the future of independent retail. Throughout her career she has worked with entrepreneurs, family businesses and owner-operators who continue to adapt to changing consumer behaviour, new technologies and economic uncertainty.

She believes those businesses deserve access to better decision-making tools without needing the infrastructure of a national chain.

“We just figured out we don’t belong in a box,” she said. “So we decided to make our own.”

That mindset helped transform years of buying experience into a new business. If Helios AI succeeds, it may also help independent retailers make faster and more confident decisions in an increasingly competitive marketplace.

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RONA Foundation raises $1 million for 7 non-profit organizations

By
Mario Toneguzzi
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Building stronger communities starts with building hope. Through its Build from the Heart campaign, the RONA Foundation is awarding $1 million to seven Canadian non-profit organizations, helping fund projects that create safe, inclusive and supportive living environments for people facing vulnerable circumstances. On the photo, the team at YWCA Banff in Alberta. (CNW Group/RONA inc.)

The RONA Foundation, which oversees the philanthropic activities of RONA inc., one of Canada’s leading home improvement retailers, will present a total of $1 million to seven non-profit organizations (NPOs) across Canada as part of its 2026 Build from the Heart campaign. 

Catherine Laporte
Catherine Laporte

The goal of this campaign is to support NPOs with a construction or major renovation project aiming to revitalize a living environment or facilitate access to housing for victims of domestic violence and their children, low-income families and people with disabilities or mental health issues, said the Foundation. 

“I am extremely proud of how involved everyone was in our campaign again this year, whether it was our teams, our clientele or our vendor partners. The results we generated are a testament to our amazing collective engagement and real desire to make a difference in our communities. This initiative reflects our values and our commitment to truly contribute to causes that matter, especially in today’s economic context,” said Catherine Laporte, President of the RONA Foundation’s Board of Directors and Chief Digital and Marketing Officer, RONA inc. 

“We are achieving great things together, as this campaign shows. I would like to thank each and every person who contributed for their incredible generosity and support. Thanks to you, we can offer hope to vulnerable Canadians.”

The amounts that will be presented to these organizations were raised through various initiatives, such as: 

  • A fundraising campaign that was held from April 18 to May 31, 2026, in all RONA+ and RONA corporate stores, at the Boucherville distribution centre, and online at www.rona.ca.
  • A partnership with appliance suppliers (Samsung, GE, Bosch, Electrolux, Whirlpool and Midea), who contributed $5 for each major appliance sold in stores and online between April 18 and May 29, 2026.
  • The annual RONA Foundation Golf Day, which was held at Club de Golf de la Vallée du Richelieu on July 6, 2026, with numerous RONA vendors.
  • Self-checkout donations made at RONA+ and RONA corporate stores.


Supported organizations were chosen following a call for applications earlier this year and a thorough review of submitted projects by a selection committee.  

Province Name of supported organization Amount presented 
Alberta YWCA Banff $100,000
British Columbia Habitat for Humanity Victoria $150,000
Manitoba Ka Ni Kanichihk (Velma’s House) $50,000
Maritimes Youth Impact Jeunesse $50,000
Ontario Charity House Windsor (Brentwood Recovery Home) $300,000
Québec Bureau de consultation jeunesse $300,000
Saskatchewan SOFIA House $50,000

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RONA Foundation’s 2026 Build from the Heart campaign is on

Canadian Consumers Signal Unexpected Rebound in Spending Intentions

By
Craig Patterson
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Oakridge Park in Vancouver. Photo: Craig Patterson

Canadian consumers are showing an unexpected rebound in spending intentions heading into the second half of 2026, with 57 per cent of respondents to a new Stifel Canada survey expecting to increase discretionary spending over the next year.

That is up from 52 per cent in April and represents the second-highest reading in three years, according to Stifel‘s latest quarterly consumer survey.

More surprisingly, much of the improvement came from Canadians earning less than $75,000 annually, despite continued pressure on household budgets and concerns around inflation.

Among lower-income respondents, 56 per cent expect to increase discretionary spending over the coming year, the second-highest reading for the cohort in three years. Spending intentions among respondents earning more than $75,000 have remained comparatively stable across the past three surveys.

The findings come from a proprietary Stifel survey conducted among 300 Canadians aged 18 and older. Stifel said it believes respondents fairly represent Canadian demographics across age, gender, geography and household income, and that the survey has historically provided a useful indication of upcoming financial performance among companies under its coverage.

The results were included in a July 5 industry report led by Stifel Managing Director Martin Landry.

Martin Landry
Martin Landry

The survey measures stated intentions, not actual retail sales, making it a forward-looking gauge of sentiment and planned spending behaviour.

Stifel said the rebound was difficult to explain given the inflationary pressure facing lower-income households. The firm raised the possibility that enthusiasm surrounding the World Cup provided a near-term confidence boost, while making clear that it had limited explanation for the shift.

Taken together, the findings point to a consumer who may be more willing to spend while remaining highly selective about where that money goes. Apparel intentions have improved, dollar-store spending plans are near survey highs and pet spending remains resilient. Furniture demand is weakening, while travel consumers are showing greater sensitivity to price.

Apparel Spending Rebounds After Weak Start to 2026

Clothing and apparel emerged as one of the stronger areas in the July survey following weaker readings earlier in the year.

Half of respondents said they expect to increase spending on clothing and apparel over the next 12 months, up five percentage points from April and in line with the survey’s historical average. Stifel also noted that the gap between respondents most likely to increase spending and those least likely to do so reached its strongest level since the survey began.

The demographic mix behind the rebound is particularly relevant for fashion retailers targeting younger and more affluent shoppers.

Among female respondents, 43 per cent expect to increase apparel spending, up nine percentage points from April. Young shoppers and higher-income respondents each recorded seven-percentage-point sequential increases in spending intentions.

Stifel viewed the results as positive for Aritzia and Groupe Dynamite, two Canadian fashion companies with strong exposure to younger consumers and other key growth demographics.

The findings do not indicate a uniform recovery across fashion retail. They do suggest that some consumers who became more cautious earlier in 2026 may be showing a renewed willingness to spend on clothing.

Dollarama store at Station Mall in Sault St. Marie, ON. Photo: Dollarama

Dollar Stores Gain as Consumers Remain Focused on Value

Dollar stores produced one of the strongest readings in the survey.

Seventy-five per cent of respondents expect to increase spending at dollar stores over the next 12 months, up seven percentage points from April and four points above the average of the previous 11 surveys. It was the second-highest reading across the 12 survey periods shown by Stifel.

The strength was broad, though particularly pronounced among men and younger consumers. Seventy-nine per cent of male respondents expect to increase dollar-store spending, while 78 per cent of younger shoppers said the same.

Stifel characterized the findings as positive for Dollarama.

The numbers complicate any simple narrative of a consumer recovery. Canadians may be prepared to spend more without abandoning the value-seeking behaviour that has shaped purchasing decisions through several years of elevated living costs. Stronger discretionary intentions do not necessarily imply a retreat from price sensitivity.

Stronger consumer confidence and higher dollar-store spending can therefore exist at the same time. Households may be increasing overall spending while continuing to scrutinize prices and seek lower-cost options in categories where they see limited reason to pay more.

Powersports Intentions Return to Historical Levels

Spending intentions also improved in powersports. Stifel found that 7.7 per cent of respondents were “very likely” to purchase or upgrade a powersports vehicle over the next 12 months, up 2.7 percentage points from April. The increase was the largest across the past four surveys and brought the latest reading back in line with the five-year historical average of 7.6 per cent.

The improvement was driven primarily by lower-income respondents, women and consumers aged 18 to 54.

Stifel viewed the findings as favourable for BRP, while noting that the rebound was not materially above historical norms.

Leon’s Furniture store. Photo: Leon’s

Furniture Intentions Fall to Lowest Level in Eight Surveys

The picture is considerably weaker in furniture and appliances. Only 47 per cent of respondents indicated stronger furniture purchase intentions over the next 12 months, down approximately six percentage points from April and representing the lowest reading in the past eight surveys. The decline was broad-based across demographic groups.

Older consumers showed particularly pronounced weakness. Among respondents aged 55 and older, just 28 per cent expect to increase spending, down 10 percentage points from the previous survey.

Stifel viewed the results as negative for Leon’s Furniture, though its retailer-level findings show a more complicated competitive picture within the category.

According to the survey, 14 per cent of respondents expect to purchase their next piece of furniture from either Leon’s or The Brick. That combined figure was slightly higher than in Stifel’s July 2025 survey. The firm said Leon’s appears to be gaining market share, with purchase intentions up four percentage points year over year, partly offset by a three-point decline for The Brick.

The survey also highlights shifting competitive dynamics in furniture retail.

When respondents were asked where they intended to purchase their next piece of furniture, IKEA ranked first at 19 per cent, followed by Amazon and Costco at 11 per cent each. Walmart stood at 10 per cent, Leon’s at nine per cent, Wayfair at six per cent and The Brick at five per cent.

Stifel noted the continued rise of Amazon as a furniture destination and a decline in intentions to purchase from Wayfair.

For retailers, the findings point to pressure from weak category demand and a changing competitive set. Consumers considering major home purchases are also looking beyond traditional furniture chains to mass merchants, marketplaces and warehouse clubs.

Photo: Pet Valu

Pet Spending Remains Resilient

Pet food and accessories continue to stand out as a comparatively resilient area of household spending.

The survey found that 72 per cent of respondents expect to increase spending on pet food and pet accessories over the coming year, up one percentage point from April and slightly above the three-year average of 71 per cent.

The figure marked a modest rebound after four consecutive declines in the survey measure. Stifel said the improvement was driven mainly by female and lower-income respondents, with Ontario also showing a notable increase in spending intentions. The firm viewed the Ontario result as potentially positive for Pet Valu, given the retailer’s strong exposure to the province.

The contrast with furniture is notable. Consumers may be delaying large, deferrable purchases for the home while continuing to spend in recurring categories tied to pets.

Toy Spending Holds Near Historical Levels

Toy spending was comparatively stable. Fifty-four per cent of respondents who purchase toys for children expect to increase spending over the next 12 months, down slightly from April and broadly in line with the historical average of 55 per cent across the previous 12 quarters cited by Stifel.

The firm said demographic changes were too modest to indicate a meaningful shift in spending patterns and viewed the findings as neutral for Spin Master.

Mastermind Toys pop-up at Holt Renfrew in downtown Calgary. Photo: Mastermind Toys

Younger Consumers Stand Out in Restaurant Spending

Quick-service restaurant spending showed one of the sharpest demographic divides in the survey.

Overall, the category remained soft, with 49 per cent of respondents expecting to increase QSR spending and 51 per cent expecting to reduce it.

Among respondents aged 18 to 34, however, 69 per cent expect to spend more. The figure was 58 per cent among men and 54 per cent among higher-income consumers.

Stifel viewed the youth result as slightly positive for Happy Belly Food Group, which targets a younger demographic through its growing restaurant portfolio.

The split underscores how strongly age and customer mix can shape restaurant performance. Younger adults appear considerably more inclined to increase QSR spending even as the broader population remains cautious.

Air Travel Demand Holds Up, but Price Sensitivity Grows

Travel produced another mixed result. Fifty-four per cent of respondents said they were likely to fly for their next vacation over the coming 12 months, a slight increase from April but down roughly three percentage points year over year. Stifel characterized air travel demand as broadly stable despite global uncertainty and recent pressure from higher fuel prices and airfares.

At the same time, the survey found a notable increase in price sensitivity.

Fifty-one per cent said airfare costs had led them to downsize travel plans or decide not to travel, up from 46 per cent in April and 43 per cent a year earlier.

The shift was particularly pronounced among respondents earning more than $75,000 annually. Stifel said 21 per cent of that group reported deciding not to travel because of airfare costs, more than double the nine per cent recorded in April.

Higher-income consumers are clearly not immune to price resistance. Demand for travel may remain intact, but consumers appear increasingly willing to alter plans when prices move beyond what they consider acceptable.

A More Confident Consumer, but an Uneven Recovery

Taken together, Stifel’s July findings point to a Canadian consumer who may be regaining some confidence heading into the second half of 2026 while continuing to make sharp distinctions between categories.

Of the eight spending areas monitored in the report, six recorded higher intentions sequentially and two declined. Stifel viewed the findings as positive for companies including Aritzia, Groupe Dynamite, Dollarama, BRP, Air Canada, Pet Valu and Happy Belly, while the results were mixed for Leon’s Furniture and Spin Master.

The broader retail message may be more important than any individual company call.

Consumers are showing stronger intentions in apparel, remain highly active in dollar stores and continue prioritizing pets. Younger Canadians stand out in quick-service restaurants, while powersports intentions have returned to historical levels. Furniture demand is weakening, and travel consumers are pushing back more aggressively when prices rise.

That combination suggests the second half of 2026 may bring an improvement in consumer spending without producing a uniform retail recovery.

For retailers, the findings point to opportunity without complacency. Canadians may be showing greater willingness to spend, but value remains central and category differences are widening. The second half of 2026 could bring stronger consumer activity without delivering a broad-based recovery across retail.

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Cannes Lions Activated: 14 brand experiences ranked by Gradient’s I.M.P.A.C.T. methodology

By
Mario Toneguzzi
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Gradient photo
Gradient photo

At Cannes Lions, the major event for the creative marketing communications industry, every brand wants to be seen. But visibility is only the beginning, says Gradient Experience.

The harder question is what happens after the guest leaves the beach, the garden, the rooftop, or the private dinner. Did the experience create a story that travels? Did it give people something to do, make, feel, or share? Did it make the brand more memorable, more useful, or more meaningful?, says the company.

“This year, Gradient analyzed 14 of the most visible Cannes Lions 2026 activations using our proprietary I.M.P.A.C.T. Methodology, a framework that evaluates branded experiences across six dimensions: Integrated, Measurable, Participatory, Affective, Community-Building, and True-to-Brand,” it said. 

“The result is not a ranking of who spent the most or built the biggest footprint. It is a closer look at which activations turned brand storytelling into strategic impact.

“Across the Croisette, one pattern was clear: the strongest experiences did not just surround guests with branding. They turned the brand’s product, platform, or point of view into something people could actively experience.”

Full report attached and individual brand reports are linked here.

Pauline Oudin
Pauline Oudin

In an interview with Retail Insider, Pauline Oudin, CEO of Gradient, discusses the report.

Question: Your I.M.P.A.C.T. framework evaluates activations across six dimensions—what are those dimensions, and why do you believe they provide a better measure of success than traditional event metrics like attendance or impressions?

Answer: The I.M.P.A.C.T. framework evaluates six dimensions:

1. Integrated (did the experience create ripples across channels?)

2. Measurable (did it generate quantifiable results?)

3. Participatory (did attendees shape the outcome or just observe?)

4. Affective (did it generate genuine emotion?)

5. Community-Building (did it create real connections between people?)

6. and True-to-Brand (could only this brand have done this?).

Attendance tells you how many people showed up. Impressions tell you how many scrolled past. Neither tells you whether the experience changed anything. What we actually care about is: did people do something, feel something, and carry something back with them? The I.M.P.A.C.T. score answers those questions. It’s a composite that captures strategic impact: the kind that moves brand equity, not just a wrap-deck number.

Q: Amazon earned the highest score at 90. What specific elements of its activation set it apart from the rest of the field, and what lessons can other brands take from its approach?

A: Amazon built an entire port district. Multiple venues, each activating a different part of its ecosystem. What made it score highest wasn’t the scale, it was the architecture. Every element required visitors to engage with an actual Amazon product or service. You weren’t watching a demonstration. You were inside one.

That’s the principle we see consistently at the top of the scoring: when the product creates the experience rather than sponsors it, every dimension lifts simultaneously.

The lesson for other brands isn’t “build a port.” It’s stop wrapping your product in entertainment and start making your product the entertainment.

Gradient photo
Gradient photo

Q: Looking across all 14 brand activations you evaluated, what common traits consistently distinguished the highest-performing activations from the lower-scoring ones?

A: Three things consistently. First, the highest scorers made their product the medium, not the message. Second, they built in personalization: something each attendee created, received, or took home that was specific to them. Third, they designed for distribution from day one: channel architecture was built into the experience, not bolted on after the fact.

The lowest scorers had one thing in common: they produced a beautiful experience inside a room, and the room was the end of the strategy.

Q: Were there any brands that challenged conventional thinking by scoring either much higher or much lower than expected, and what do those results reveal about the current state of experiential marketing?

A: Pinterest at 87 will surprise people. It’s not a brand most would put on a shortlist of Cannes experiential heavyweights. But the Manifestival was genuinely brilliant: every feature of the app became a physical station. 

Visual search became a wearable. Taste recommendations became edible. That’s not a marketing activation, that’s a product demonstration you’d stand in line for.

On the other end, Microsoft at 58 is worth examining. One of the most resourced brands in the world produced a beautiful, brand-true space, and left most of the I.M.P.A.C.T. dimensions untouched. No participatory mechanic, limited channel distribution, no confirmed UGC strategy, at least as far as we could tell without being on the inside of the program results. The 58 score isn’t a judgment on the quality of the garden. It’s a signal that the strategy didn’t match the ambition. That gap is more common than the industry admits.

Gradient photo
Gradient photo

Q: For retailers and consumer brands planning activations over the next year, what are the three most important changes they should make based on the findings from this year’s Cannes Lions analysis?

A: First, stop renting culture and start producing it. The brands that scored highest didn’t hire a DJ or sponsor a panel: they built something only they could build. If your competitor could run the same activation with a logo swap, you haven’t done the work yet.

Second, make personalization structural, not decorative. Four activations in this series used personalization as a core mechanic. All four outperformed their cluster average on both Participatory and Affective. A guest who leaves with something made specifically for them talks about it. That’s the most cost-efficient earned media play available in experiential.

Third, decide which channels you want the story to travel through before you design the physical experience. Not after. The activations with the biggest gaps between experience quality and overall I.M.P.A.C.T. score were the ones treating social amplification and PR as a post-event problem. Distribution is a design decision.

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Living Beauty sees spectacular growth since launching flagship store a year ago

By
Mario Toneguzzi
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Mariam White
Mariam White

Living Beauty, Toronto’s luxury spa and retail destination on Dupont Street, has just celebrated one year since opening.

Living Beauty was founded by Mariam White, who spent over a decade running Living Beauty Inc., her B2B distribution company, identifying and championing beauty winners before they became household names — introducing brands like Biologique Recherche, Dame, Manucurist, and La Bonne Brosse to Canada’s top spas, salons and retailers. 

She opened the Dupont Street flagship in 2025 to address a white space she kept seeing: a destination that brings together curated retail, expert-led spa services, and personalized guidance under one roof. One year later, the results have exceeded every internal benchmark.

Mariam White
Mariam White

Since opening: month-over-month growth averaging 86% since launch, and a customer base with a 51% return rate on services and 40% on products. The top 20% of customers are spending an average of over $7,000 CAD per year.

To reward that loyalty, Living Beauty recently launched the Living Beauty League, a points-based loyalty program that lets customers earn on every product purchase and treatment booking, unlocking perks, exclusive experiences, and early access as they go.

What’s behind that retention isn’t just the product edit — which has grown to include Westman Atelier, Flamingo Estate, Fugazzi, Allies of Skin, and others added over the past year — it’s a model built around fitting beauty into people’s lives, not the other way around. Every recommendation is personalized to how a client actually lives, and every treatment is part of a longer-term relationship with the team. That philosophy extends to the events program, which has become central to what makes Living Beauty a place people genuinely want to return to: the flagship regularly brings together brand founders, industry experts, and customers for everything from collage nights and beauty masterclasses to wellness activations and cultural panels — an affinity-driven approach to building regulars, not just shoppers.

Living Beauty photo
Living Beauty photo

In an interview with Retail Insider, White spoke about her business growth.

Question: You spent more than a decade identifying and introducing emerging beauty brands to the Canadian market. What made you decide that the right next step was opening your own retail and spa concept, and what gap were you trying to fill?

Answer: After more than a decade on the distribution side, I had a front-row seat to the Canadian beauty market. Canada has incredibly sophisticated beauty consumers. They are curious, educated, and discerning, but when it comes to beauty retail, I still felt we were underserved.

There are a few very big players that dominate the category, and while they serve a purpose, I saw room for something more personal, more high-touch, and more emotionally connected.

Living Beauty was born from that gap. I wanted to create a space where people could have real conversations, receive honest guidance, discover exceptional brands, and feel taken care of from the moment they walked in. It was never just about opening a store or a spa. It was about bringing expertise, service, discovery, and community together under one roof.

Q: Living Beauty has reported exceptional first-year growth and high customer retention. What do you believe have been the biggest drivers of those results, particularly at a time when consumers are being more selective with discretionary spending?

A: The biggest driver has been trust. Truly. People come to us with their skin, their insecurities, their goals, their routines, their big events, their post-baby skin, their aging skin, their tired skin, and the untimely acne breakouts. It is emotional. So the relationship matters enormously.

From day one, we knew the team had to be exceptional. Of course, they needed product knowledge and technical expertise, but they also needed warmth, intuition, and the ability to build real relationships. Our clients come back because they feel seen. They feel remembered. They feel like someone is actually paying attention.

We have also worked very hard to make Living Beauty feel like it fits beautifully into our clients’ lives. Yes, the experience is elevated, but it is also easy. You can come for a facial, replenish your products, get advice, attend an event, meet interesting women, and park right outside. That may sound simple, but for busy clients, those details matter.

Living Beauty photo
Living Beauty photo

Q: Your model combines luxury retail, spa services, personalized consultations, and community events under one roof. How important is that integrated approach to the future of beauty retail, and do you think traditional retailers need to evolve in a similar direction?

A: I think it is essential. The future of beauty retail cannot just be shelves of product because you can buy almost anything from your phone in 30 seconds. 

Our clients live very full lives, and we wanted Living Beauty to become a place that could meet several needs at once. You can have a treatment, discover a new brand, learn something, see people you know, attend an event, or just take a moment for yourself in a beautiful space. That is very different from traditional retail.

I do think retailers need to evolve. The customer has already evolved. She is not thinking in silos like retail over here, spa over there, community somewhere else. She wants things to feel connected, seamless, and genuine. The retailers that understand that will be the ones that stay relevant.

Q: The Living Beauty League loyalty program launched after the first year. What have you learned about today’s luxury beauty customer, and how are you using loyalty and exclusive experiences to deepen long-term relationships rather than simply encourage repeat purchases?

A: What we have learned is that beauty is often tied to self-reward, and the Living Beauty League was created to continue that feeling. It is not about pushing people to buy more; it is about recognizing the clients who already choose to spend their time and money with us.

Even the most discerning luxury client is looking for value right now, and we understand that. For us, the savings are one way of recognizing loyalty, but the program is about more than a discount.  It is about access, education, thoughtful experiences, and feeling known. Those are the details that turn a purchase into a relationship.

Living Beauty photo
Living Beauty photo

Q: Looking ahead, what are your priorities for Living Beauty over the next 12 to 24 months? Are you focused on expanding the concept, adding new services and brands, or refining the flagship experience before considering additional locations?

A: The next 12 to 24 months are about building on the momentum and making Living Beauty stronger.  That means continuing to bring exceptional brands to Canada, expanding our treatment offering where it makes sense, growing our events and community programming, and making the flagship experience even more seamless and memorable.

Of course, expansion is part of the vision.  The response to Living Beauty has shown us that there is a real appetite for this kind of high-touch, expert-led beauty concept. But I am not interested in opening locations just to say we have more locations. The magic has to travel. The service, the trust, the curation, and the warmth all have to remain intact.

So right now, our focus is on refining the model, learning from our clients, and continuing to prove that beauty retail can be much more than a transaction. It can be a destination. It can be a community. It can be a place where people feel genuinely cared for.

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Living Beauty photo
Living Beauty photo

Fairtrade Canada reports record US$10 million in producer premiums as certified coffee sales rise

By
Mario Toneguzzi
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Fairtrade Canada photo
Fairtrade Canada photo

Fairtrade Canada says sales of Fairtrade-certified products in Canada generated a record US$10 million in Fairtrade Premium payments for producers in 2025, while coffee brands offering Fairtrade-certified products posted sales growth despite declines in the broader Canadian coffee market.

The organization’s 2025 annual report says the Premium — a social development fund paid on top of the selling price of Fairtrade products — exceeded the US$10-million mark for the first time through Canadian sales. The funds are directed by farmer and worker co-operatives, which decide democratically how the money is invested based on local priorities.

According to the report, those investments can include climate adaptation projects, business improvements, agricultural and community infrastructure, schools and health clinics.

The report also says coffee brands with the organization’s offerings recorded increases in both sales volume and value during 2025. It says volumes rose 17 per cent while the value of those sales increased 32 per cent, even as overall coffee volumes declined across the Canadian market.

The figures suggest Fairtrade-certified coffee outperformed the broader market during the year, according to the organization’s annual report.

Julie Francoeur
Julie Francoeur

“We’re seeing it in the numbers. Canadians are voting with their wallets, and they are increasingly demanding that their goods be ethically sourced,” said Julie Francoeur, CEO of Fairtrade Canada.

The report also points to findings from a 2025 GlobeScan consumer study measuring public perceptions of the Fairtrade certification. According to the study, eight in 10 Canadians who have seen the Fairtrade Mark say they trust it.

The same research found that nearly 60 per cent of Canadians would be willing to pay more for those products.

Fairtrade Canada says those findings are relevant for businesses navigating evolving regulatory requirements related to supply chains and marketing claims.

Fairtrade Canada photo
Fairtrade Canada photo

The organization says consumer trust in Fairtrade certification may be an important consideration for companies seeking to comply with the Fighting Against Forced Labour and Child Labour in Supply Chains Act, also known as Bill S-211, as well as amendments to the Competition Act.

The annual report presents the premium payments, coffee sales performance and consumer research as indicators of Fairtrade’s position in the Canadian market during 2025.

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Five Canadian brands launch contest centred on limited-edition promotional coat

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Mario Toneguzzi
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Five Canadian consumer brands have teamed up to launch a Canada Day contest that will award five prize packages, each featuring a recreation of a promotional coat unveiled last month along with products and experiences from the participating companies.

The contest, called The Great Canadian Giveaway, brings together Molson Canadian, Canadian Tire, RBC, Sleep Country and Manchu Wok. The companies say the contest follows the debut of The Great Canadian Coat, a custom faux-fur jacket introduced in a music video released in mid-May.

The giveaway offers five prize packages with a stated value of more than $5,000 each. Along with the limited-edition coat, each package includes merchandise and experiences provided by the participating brands.

The prizes include:

  • Molson Mini Fridge (valued at $500)
  • Canadian Tire Blackstone 4-Burner LP Gas Portable Griddle (valued at $599)
  • RBC Concert Pack for two (valued at $700)
  • Sleep Country Hush ArcTech1 – Queen Size (valued at $2,099)
  • Manchu Wok Fortune Cookie Plush Toy and gift card (valued at $500)
  • The Great Canadian Coat (valued at $800)

The companies said the original coat attracted attention after its release and is now being recreated as the centrepiece of the contest.

The campaign featured local Toronto personality 6 Mom (Andrea Bolley).

Eric Kouri
Eric Kouri

“When the coat captured Canadians’ attention from coast to coast, the brands knew we had to do something about it,” said Eric Kouri, Marketing Director, Molson TM. “This is so much more than a piece of clothing – it’s a proud display of Canadian pride that we wanted to share with consumers nationwide. This unexpected collab is a great reminder of what makes Canada so special: our shared experiences, strong sense of community and the moments that bring us together, especially for Canada Day.”

The contest is open until July 10. According to the announcement, entrants must view the contest post on Instagram, follow the five participating brands, tag a friend in the comments and share who they would spend the “ultimate Canadian weekend” with.

The contest is open to Canadian residents who are of legal drinking age in their province or territory.

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Canada’s new tariff on imported canned vegetables expected to add pressure to grocery prices, MEI says

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Mario Toneguzzi
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Gustavo Fring photo
Gustavo Fring photo

A Montreal-based public policy think tank says the federal government’s decision to impose a new tariff on imported canned vegetables will increase costs for consumers at a time when food prices continue to outpace overall inflation.

The Montreal Economic Institute (MEI) made the comments after the release of Statistics Canada’s latest consumer price data, arguing that the new tariff could place additional financial pressure on households, particularly those already facing higher grocery bills.

According to Statistics Canada, the Consumer Price Index rose 3.2 per cent over the past 12 months. Over the same period, prices for food purchased from stores increased 4.3 per cent, while prices for canned vegetables and other vegetable-based products climbed 4.6 per cent.

The comments come after the federal government announced recently it would impose a 10 per cent tariff on imported canned vegetables.

Renaud Brossard
Renaud Brossard

“The federal government cannot on the one hand claim to want to address the high cost of living while on the other hand imposing new taxes on the food Canadians consume,” said Renaud Brossard, vice president of communications at the MEI. “It is unfortunately Canadian families, and in particular low-income families, who will pay more because of this decision out of Ottawa.”

The MEI said the latest tariff will add to concerns about food affordability as grocery prices continue to rise faster than the overall rate of inflation.

The organization also referred to its previous position on tariffs, noting it had argued last year that such measures increase costs for Canadian consumers. At the time, it called for greater trade liberalization instead of new protectionist measures.

The MEI said the federal measure applies to food products and maintained that tariffs increase costs for domestic consumers.

The MEI is an independent public policy think tank with offices in Montreal, Ottawa and Calgary. It says its work includes research, media commentary and policy advice focused on economic and public policy issues.

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Daily Synopsis: July 6, 2026

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Retail Insider
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Welcome to the Daily Synopsis by Retail Insider. We published 7 articles on Monday offering fresh insights into Canadian retail developments across several sectors.

The demolition of the former Hudson’s Bay store at Devonshire Mall in Windsor signals redevelopment efforts toward mixed-use mall spaces. In Toronto, McEwan Fine Foods plans a new gourmet grocery to anchor Bayview Village’s transformation into a retail and lifestyle destination. Furniture retailer CouchHaus is responding to strong demand by expanding showrooms in Calgary and soon Toronto.

Retail Insider also published economic and sectoral reports including the Bank of Canada’s Q2 update outlining weaker sentiment amidst rising inflation expectations. A new study highlighted how supply management adds hundreds of dollars to Canadian grocery bills each year. Canada Gold extended its reach by opening a Manitoba store and partnering with Winnipeg Blue Bombers. The pharmacy sector’s economic contribution was detailed, showing $22.9 billion in GDP and support for over 273,000 jobs in 2024.

🗞️ The Day’s Retail Insider Article List

🌐 Canadian Retail News From Around the Web

How North American Retailers Are Leveraging Next-Gen Payment Orchestration to Combat Rising Fraud

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Retail Insider
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North American retail is facing a tough reality check. Inflation, expensive logistics, and unpredictable consumer habits are squeezing margins tightly. In this environment, merchants simply cannot let money leak through their checkout systems. Digital sales are up, but so is online theft. To save their margins, practical retailers are ditching rigid, older setups. They are shifting to flexible payment orchestration to cut processing friction and block fake chargebacks before the damage hits their balance sheets. 

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The Macroeconomic Strain and Cross-Border Friction

Selling goods between major Canadian hubs like Ontario and the biggest U.S. markets brings in great revenue, but the financial math is getting harder. High interest rates and constant currency swings make cross-border sales riskier and more expensive. Retailers working across these borders need their payment systems to talk to each other without errors. Older setups fail to bridge the gap between different national banking networks. This weakness leads to high decline rates for honest international buyers. A rigid payment setup stops growth and forces brands to miss out on easy revenue. 

Beyond regional conversion friction, the rise of e-commerce has triggered an alarming surge in dispute fraud. Industry research shows that first-party misuse, often called friendly fraud, can represent a major share of fraud-related chargebacks for eCommerce merchants, with some studies placing the impact as high as 60% to 80% of fraud losses. This practice creates massive hidden balance-sheet costs for retailers, who face heavy administrative fees alongside the loss of physical inventory. To survive in this climate, online brands require automated chargeback protection that serves as a data-driven defense mechanism, allowing companies to dispute false claims with clear evidence and preserve their hard-earned capital.

The Hidden Costs and Security Vulnerabilities of Legacy Frameworks

Too many established brands still rely on disconnected, older payment setups. These systems were built for a simpler time, so they struggle with the speed of modern online sales. They easily break or slow down during holiday shopping surges when checkout traffic peaks. Because these legacy frameworks process data in isolated silos, they cannot check for risks in real time. Retailers end up waiting hours or days for batch reports just to spot a fraudulent order that already went through. This delay results in higher baseline interchange fees and endless security alerts. 

Furthermore, maintaining compliance within these outdated setups drains internal IT resources. The heavy burden of EMV certification for point-of-sale hardware and continuous web compliance updates frequently delays infrastructure upgrades for months at a time. While corporate teams navigate these bureaucratic technical processes, their active payment channels remain exposed to evolving fraud tactics.

Outdated e-commerce merchant services create distinct security gaps that modern malicious actors exploit regularly, particularly in the following infrastructure areas:

  • Unencrypted transaction data pathways running between checkout pages and secondary third-party APIs.
  • Absence of smart, risk-based multi-factor client verification checks during high-value online transactions.
  • Delayed software patch cycles that leave known gateway system vulnerabilities open for extended periods.
  • Fragmented transaction logs that prevent security departments from accurately auditing network breaches.

When a retail brand fails to address these fundamental system loopholes, it practically invites persistent fraud networks to target its checkout flow. Securing a modern storefront requires absolute infrastructure oversight, turning the payment gateway from a passive utility into an active line of defense.

The Evolution to Unified Transaction Infrastructure

The modern market response to these systemic security threats is a wholesale shift toward unified payment processing infrastructure. Enterprises are reducing the need to deal with several disjointed payment gateways, localized plugins, and third-party fraud tools, and are shifting to a single transaction layer. The structural change eases the software engineering by reducing the operational overheads, and allows all transactional data to be collected from around the world and stored in one analytical dashboard. When all the functions are in one place, a company will have the capability of identifying complex fraud patterns which may otherwise have been undetected in a decentralized setting.

Smart software automation is proving to be the most effective weapon against modern payment exploitation. For payment technology providers such as RapidCents, the shift is not only about processing transactions, but about giving retailers a more connected layer for authorization, fraud signals, tokenization, reporting, and dispute evidence. This type of API-driven infrastructure helps merchants manage checkout performance and chargeback exposure without adding unnecessary friction for legitimate buyers. By treating payment systems as dynamic software modules rather than rigid payment pipes, analytical platforms allow brands to adapt to real-time threats without interrupting the buyer’s journey.

These flexible frameworks form the core of effective North American retail payment solutions, delivering several critical advantages to scaling businesses:

  • Immediate evaluation of consumer risk profiles through behavioral data analysis at checkout.
  • Advanced tokenization of sensitive cardholder details to eliminate data breach liabilities.
  • Dynamic transaction routing to automatically bypass localized or regional processor outages.
  • Automated dispute resolution systems that instantly compile and submit evidence to issuing banks.

When orchestration, tokenization, fraud screening, and richer authorization data work together, retailers can improve approval quality while reducing unnecessary declines. The result is a stronger balance between fraud prevention and customer conversion. This data highlights that robust security does not have to ruin the customer experience; instead, smart orchestration keeps payment processing fast, clean, and highly secure.

Outlook

Fragmented payment stacks have evolved from minor IT headaches into direct threats to a company’s bottom line. To defend their margins against cross-border volatility, unpredictable chargebacks, and aggressive compliance audits, North American retailers must transition to automated, interoperable transaction layers.

Old software shortcuts no longer work in a market where checkout speed and data security dictate brand loyalty. Businesses that treat payment engineering as a core corporate strategy will insulate their revenue from ongoing fraud waves. Conversely, brands that stick with isolated legacy setups will watch their quarterly profits erode through avoidable network penalties and operational fees. Modern digital commerce simply moves too fast to rely on outdated financial infrastructure.

What Is Payment Orchestration for Retailers?

Payment orchestration is a unified transaction layer that connects gateways, processors, fraud tools, payment methods, tokenization, reporting, and dispute workflows. For retailers, it helps route transactions more intelligently, reduce failed payments, centralize fraud data, and improve checkout reliability across online, in-store, and cross-border sales channels.

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