Resale Behavior: Brimfield Edition

Welcome to Inside The Collective, a newsletter that invites you into the brains, conversations and ideas of Allison Collins and jessica ramírez, friends and cofounders of The Consumer Collective. Here, we share weekly thoughts on consumer sentiment, news, retail, fashion, beauty, business, things we like, things we don’t — and why. We hope it helps you connect the dots across the consumer world.

Don’t miss our latest consumer insights report, which highlights what consumers are spending on this summer + business opportunities.

• Global food prices are hovering around a three-year high as lower prices for palm and soy oils counter price increases linked to the Iran war. Food inflation is expected globally due to the war — and higher food prices on top of higher gas prices mean consumers will have less money to spend in other categories, unless they take on debt (which many are doing).

• In the U.S., inflation rose in May, largely due to energy costs.

• More price decreases: Costco lowered prices by $1 to $10 on its private-label Kirkland products across food, home goods and sports equipment.

• The U.S. Food and Drug Administration approved its first new sunscreen ingredient in 20 years, BEMT (bemotrizinol). It’s already been used in Europe and Asia for many years.

• Affluent people are still spending on air travel, even with roughly 20 percent higher prices. The United Airlines CEO said he’s seen less resistance to higher prices than he’d anticipated. Broadly though, fuel price increases are limiting airline profits and could lead to acquisitions or going out of business, à la Spirit, the International Air Transport Association suggests.

• A little-known soccer player from New Zealand is newly Instagram famous thanks to the power of community. Argentinian influencer Valen Scarsini claimed that New Zealand soccer player Tim Payne was the least-known soccer player heading into the World Cup — and called on followers to change that. Payne’s following skyrocketed from a few thousand followers to 5.5 million within days.

  • Two days before its start, there were still more than 180,000 resale tickets available for the World Cup. Most of them are still very expensive. (Don’t miss our analysis of how brands can win the World Cup by going local, here).

• There are about to be a lot more flights between South Korea and China (for people and for cargo). The routes are expected to increase tourism and convenience.

• Brands continue to flock to Formula 1. The latest is L’Oréal-owned SkinCeuticals, which is now the official skin care partner of F1 team Scuderia Ferrari HP. Gucci also recently signed a buzzy (and expensive) title sponsorship for the Alpine F1 team starting in 2027.

• The New School has cut 87 people from its workforce amid enrollment declines. The school is in the midst of a larger restructuring, including moving from four colleges to two.

• The business impact of GLP-1s is officially here. Destination XL called off its merger with FullBeauty, which it said was due to the “increasingly challenging consumer environment” and FullBeauty’s debt — but as more and more Americans lose weight, trouble is brewing in the plus-size business market.

  • Macy’s Inc. said it is seeing a slowdown in its plus-size business.

  • Long-term, this could make it harder for people who wear larger sizes to find items that suit them.

• Amazon has moved Prime Day up even earlier this year. It will officially run from June 23 to 26 (it was July 8-11 in 2025, and July 16-17 in 2024), but there are already early deals for certain items. That is a big, long sale season during a time when consumers are feeling the pinch of high gas prices.

  • I tried using Amazon’s AI tool to learn more about a product and it gave me a bunch of information about a different product, therefore wasting my time.

  • Most Americans still do not want to use AI to shop for clothes, according to our research and other research. (Allison Collins)

I’ve been on a mission to watch rom-coms whenever I can squeeze in some down time and watched “How Do You Know” with Reese Witherspoon and Paul Rudd over the weekend. This follows Allison and I reliving our roommate days and rewatching Mary-Kate and Ashley Olsen movies a few weeks ago. My rom-com interest comes at the same time as I’ve soft launched back into dating — and it seems I’m not the only one. Many of my peers are also open to dating again, though many of us took some time off. When it comes to rom-coms, I am looking to the wholesome ‘90s or early 2000s editions. A simpler time. (Jessica Ramírez)

Whey Protein Is Running Out as Food Companies Put It in Everything (Bloomberg)

Why Filipino Beauty Is Taking Over the World (BOF)

The Wellness Industry Finds Its Next Target: New Moms (Bloomberg)

How Two Primary Bedrooms Became a Luxury Necessity for Better Sleep (Bloomberg)

The Story Behind Our Knicks Partnership (From the Saie Office)

The Biggest World Cup Opportunity Isn’t in Stadiums

Bezel’s Quaid Walker on Resale Trends and the Liquidity Wave Coming for Luxury

It’s About to Be A Road-Trip Summer

The Analysis is a paid subscriber benefit. This week, we’re diving into consumer behavior around the increasingly popular Brimfield Antique Flea Market — and calling out what this means for shopping attitudes broadly. For more consumer insights, check out our consumer insights library, here.