The notion of purchasing used items as holiday gifts for trend- and image-obsessed teens might sound like the height of folly, but not for Alexis Hoopes, who has three teen daughters.

“I just got their Christmas wish lists, and half the stuff is linked to re-commerce stuff,” Hoopes told Retail Brew. “It’s just part of, especially this younger generation, how they shop.”

It must be noted that Hoopes is VP of global fashion at eBay, so her kids may be more disposed to resale than the rest of their cohort, but her household also reflects a broader trend. According to a recent eBay poll of consumers who’ve previously purchased or sold used items, 82% of

US respondents said they were more likely to purchase a secondhand gift this year than last year.

The poll was conducted for eBay’s 2025 Recommerce Report, and while the secondhand gift data provided to Retail Brew wasn’t included in the report, it echoed findings from other resale companies.

Keep reading here.—AAN

Financially strained and cautious customers leaned heavily on buy now, pay later (BNPL) services over the holiday weekend.

Cyber Monday alone generated $1.03 billion (a 4.2% increase YoY) in online BNPL sales with most transactions happening on mobile devices, per Adobe Analytics. Overall, consumers spent $14.25 billion online on Cyber Monday. To put that into perspective, BNPL made up for more than 7.2% of total online sales on that day.

As for Black Friday, eMarketer reported $747.5 million in online sales using BNPL services with platforms like PayPal finding a 23% uptick in BNPL transactions.

Likewise, digital financial services company Zip reported 1.6 million transactions throughout 280,000 of its locations over the Black Friday and Cyber Monday weekend. Millennials (51%) accounted for a chunk of the sizable BNPL purchases, followed by Gen Z, Gen X, and baby boomers, per Zip.

Keep reading here.—JS

On two ends of the retail exec spectrum, Walmart and Dollar General promoted company vets to the top ranks, while Kohl’s named its fourth CEO in…four years in November. Here’s more on those moves and the other major C-suite switch-ups to know from the month:

• Walmart announced CEO Doug McMillon will retire from his role in early 2026 after almost 12 years leading and more than 40 years working for the retailer. Walmart US chief exec John Furner will assume the role on February 1.
• Kohl’s named its interim CEO Michael Bender as the retailer’s permanent leader, becoming its fourth chief exec in four years. Bender has held the interim position since May, when then-CEO Ashley Buchanan was fired for violating the company’s code of conduct.
• Dollar General promoted Chief Merchandising Officer Emily Taylor, who has worked at the discount retailer for more than 25 years, to become COO, with its VP and general merchandise manager Bryan Wheeler filling her vacated role.
• Lululemon appointed Carla Anderson as SVP and general manager of North America, replacing Celeste Burgoyne, who is exiting to become chief revenue officer at Vail Resorts.

Keep reading here.—EC

The feeling of getting a 5/5 on the Brew’s weekly news quiz has been compared to getting a company-wide shout-out from your boss. It’s that satisfying.