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Holiday Hype You Can’t Buy: Measuring the WOM Effect
We’ve all seen research confirming what we’ve always innately known: that we trust recommendations from friends and family more than even the most compelling and native-looking advertising campaigns.
This year, especially, word-of-mouth influence is going to reach a whole new level as consumers cross off their holiday shopping lists. Between tariff tensions and an increasingly noisy digital landscape, consumers are focused on finding the best-quality products at the best prices, according to new research from Salesforce.
But if most referrals happen offline, in passing, or in private channels, how can brands track or capitalize on them when it matters most? Enter the Word of Mouth Index—a benchmarking tool built with Fairing to help you quantify the unquantifiable. Now you can measure how consumer chatter correlates with real sales (straight from 5,000+ Shopify stores), and see which product categories are successfully monetizing influence.
54% of Holiday Shoppers Rely on Recommendations
Based on historic data from the Index, word-of-mouth will steadily climb leading up to the holiday season’s peak. That means now is the time for you to:
- Investigate how your category benchmarks against the broader retail industry in word-of-mouth activity
- Assess how your team encourages consumers to share their experiences with friends, family, and other everyday users. Is this something you’re tracking?
- Make it easy for your most profitable, happiest consumers to share their experiences across channels
→ Get started before the Black Friday blitz.
QVC Gets Philo-sophical. Despite livestreaming’s failure to take off in the West, QVC Group remains laser-focused on being a “live shopping social company.” To further connect with the growing population of cable cord-cutters, the company has launched QVC and HSN channels on Philo, a streaming service with 1.3 million subscribers that leans heavily into entertainment, reality, and celebrity-driven lifestyle content.
Although QVC already reaches 200 million homes through 15 TV channels, Philo will connect the brands to younger, digitally-native consumers who still consume linear-style content. Although the demo and style may align with acquiring a broader (and younger) audience, will HSN and QVC’s approach to content resonate?
Our Take: If you’re new around here, allow us to introduce you to Phillip’s prior takes on livestream commerce. (And his thread on 17 Reasons Why Livestream Will Never Happen in the West).
Ulta's Financial Vision Blurs. Ulta Beauty’s CFO Paula Oyibo has abruptly stepped down after about a year in the role. Oyibo has a relatively substantial history with the company, having spent six years in various finance roles. Chris Lialios, a 25-year veteran of Ulta who currently serves as the SVP and Controller, will assume Oyibo’s role on an interim basis as the company searches for a permanent replacement.
Oyibo is just the latest in a series of C-level shakeups at the company: former CMO Michelle Crossan-Matos was replaced by veteran Kelly Mahoney earlier this year, while Chief Stores Operations Officer Amiee Bayer-Thomas was moved to the Chief Retail Officer Role. Although Ulta has experienced some positive financial momentum, it is still recovering from a disappointing 2024, which prompted the retailer to institute a turnaround plan and halt major initiatives, such as its partnership with Target.
Beanie Bougies. Louis Vuitton is attempting to lap up some Labubu demand by launching its own collection of bag charms. Priced between $1,270 and $1,390, these stuffies cost a pretty penny, signaling a more intense level of clout than their Pop Mart counterparts.
LV's version ups the stakes by adding genuine luxury credentials—premium leather, pearls, rhinestones—while maintaining the charm format that makes these objects culturally relevant.
The July 10 preorder launch will reveal whether luxury consumers will pay 10x more for predictable availability and superior craftsmanship, or if the psychology of collectibles requires the uncertainty that luxury brands typically avoid.
Netflix Discovers Malls, Decides to Save Them. Yes, another pre-announcement, but after years of hype, Netflix has finally revealed more details about its Netflix House retailtainment concept.
This represents the streaming giant's most ambitious physical retail experiment. Following the launch of NETFLIX BITES in Las Vegas in early 2025, the long-overdue 100,000-square-foot space is the ne plus ultra of themed experiential commerce: combining dining, retail, and immersive experiences in King of Prussia and Dallas malls.
Theme parks inspire the strategy: rather than generic pop-ups, each location offers differentiated experiences ("Wednesday" and "Stranger Things" in different markets) that leverage Netflix's content library as a renewable attraction fuel. For struggling mall operators, Netflix brings something most anchors can't: cultural relevance, marketing muscle, and constantly refreshed IP.
The real innovation isn't the retailtainment concept but Netflix's ability to rotate experiences based on show popularity and seasonal relevance. With a third Vegas location confirmed for 2027, this becomes a test case for whether streaming platforms can monetize fandom through physical spaces on a larger scale.
Our Take: 100,000 square feet is ambitious, and should communicate the level of commitment (and opportunity) of the project.
While many developers are experimenting with retailtainment to diversify beyond traditional retail and dining, Netflix brings something most can't: highly recognizable IP and major marketing muscle. The real test isn't whether fans will visit once, but whether these experiences can drive repeat visits across geos and merchandise sales that justify their massive footprint.
Netflix is clearly targeting Commerce Capitals and tourism Meccas where foot traffic and disposable income intersect. For mall operators wondering what the future of the market will be, this partnership could be a transformative move (or a cautionary tale) about retail experiences that have a lot of glitz but lack strategic vision.
In Insiders #188, we explored how retail-hospitality hybrids architect desire. Discover how experiences like the RH Rooftop Restaurant and ABC Kitchen incorporate three key principles to optimize their economic potential.
Aisle to Algorithm. David’s Bridal has taken a bold new step in its transformation strategy, which combines decades of experience serving couples with a growing content ecosystem that includes social, branded programming, and a retail media network.
Pearl Planner is a platform and marketplace that connects brides and grooms with wedding vendors, providing a hyper-personalized planning experience. The Planner is powered by AI trained on 75 years of wedding expertise, real-time user data, and team expertise on typical wedding planning workflows. The experience is fine-tuned as new trends and planning behaviors emerge.
Pearl Planner is a B2B2C experience that has David’s Bridal acting as a “tech-powered multihyphenate,” according to CEO Kelly Cook. Wedding vendors can use the tool to support lead generation and bookings, while customers can use it as an all-in-one tool for any and all planning tasks.
It’s clear David’s Bridal wants to be more than a purveyor of bridal gowns and evening wear, and it is close to offering services for the entire wedding experience—from high-level inspiration and trend tracking to conversion.
We sat down with Cook when she first took the helm to learn more about her vision for David’s Bridal. You can listen to that episode of the podcast here.
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