Amazon is still the biggest name in e-commerce. But the buzz these days is about Shein. China-based Shein surged past Amazon as the most downloaded shopping app in the United States, after China removed export taxes to offset the 2018 U.S. trade tariff. The move sparked rapid international growth, with annual sales growing by 250% during the pandemic.

Big brands are taking aim at Georgia’s new voting laws. Why it no longer pays for companies to stay on the sidelines, when social issues are at play.

SMITH BRAIN TRUST – When a hot designer wants a blast of interest in a new product line, there's a single strategy that has recently risen to the top: The drop. It's the sudden availability of a buzz-worthy new item, online or in a limited location, and in very limited quantities. If you want to get it, you gotta move quickly. The drop is a competitive shopping sport. And that's precisely the point.

SMITH BRAIN TRUST — Brands like Nantucket Nectars, Ben & Jerry's, Toms Shoes, Burt's Bees and Lifeway have thrived against bigger, longer-established competitors. They’ve emphasized modest roots and played up virtues like product health benefits and their social consciousness or environmental consciousness.  Appearing resource-modest, but highly moral, they’re tapping into the adage “consumers gravitate to underdogs.”

SMITH BRAIN TRUST — Donald Trump has a problem that the opinion polls aren't capturing. It's his brand. If the polls hold and Hillary Clinton wins the presidential election on Nov. 8, the New York mogul will be surrounded not just by the tatters of a failed political campaign, but also by a business brand that's been tarnished beyond recognition. Restoring that brand to its former luster could be his toughest challenge yet.

SMITH BRAIN TRUST — Selling your house and needing help? You’re likely focused on finding a competent agent with a successful track record, and it’s unlikely you’ll make extra time to seek character references.

Research by P.K. Kannan and Amna Kirmani Consumers are willing to buy multiple formats of content when they can count on consistent quality and use the formats in different ways.

Research by Amna Kirmani

Which commercials from the Big Game flopped, flourished or found the right tone?