Retail reporter Holman: What shoppers think is the story

New York Times retail reporter Jordyn Holman was interviewed by the paper’s Josh Ocampo about covering the beat.

Here is an excerpt:

Many of your recent articles explored the challenges big retailers, like Macy’s, are facing. How do you explain their troubles?

The way that consumers are shopping is changing more quickly than these large behemoths can change, or they lack the money to invest in change. There is this big shift to e-commerce happening, but some of these businesses were built as places for shoppers to interact in-store. It’s not always easy to tie in a website. Every store has its own issues, but I think the through line is that e-commerce has changed everything and these companies have to adjust.

What’s the greatest challenge of your beat?

I’m always trying to balance what a company tells me — what executives say they stand for, who they think their consumers are — with what its shoppers have to say. I will often stand outside a store and ask shoppers, “What do you think of this brand?” If what they say is the exact opposite of what the executives say, that’s where the story is.

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