Hunton Retail Law Resource

On Feb. 23, 2026, New York Governor Kathy Hochul announced that the New York Department of Financial Services (“NYDFS”) had published proposed rules implementing the state’s Buy Now, Pay Later (“BNPL”) law.  The proposal would establish the nation’s first comprehensive regulatory framework for the rapidly growing pay-over-time consumer market niche. 

In 2025, California, Massachusetts, New York, and Washington advanced fashion accountability legislation targeting supply chain due diligence and environmental disclosures from major fashion companies. Heading into the 2026 legislative session, most of these bills have lost momentum: California and Washington’s measures are now inactive, Massachusetts’ proposal remains in study with limited prospects, and only New York’s bill is still under committee review. While each state’s legislative process varies, the window for action on these bills in 2026 has largely closed. Businesses should continue to track these developments, as similar proposals could reemerge in 2027.

M&A activity was strong in 2025, marking the second-best year on record for both global and North American markets. Technology, industrials, finance, and healthcare remained at the forefront, with retail and consumer products sectors also seeing a lot of movement. On a full-year basis, total deal value in retail, consumer products, and hospitality reached its highest level since the pandemic-era peak in 2021.

On February 20, 2026, the U.S. Supreme Court ruled that the International Emergency Economic Powers Act ("IEEPA") does not authorize the President to impose tariffs. In Learning Resources, Inc. v. Trump, the Court invalidated tariffs imposed under IEEPA in connection with the Administration’s drug‑trafficking and "reciprocal" trade actions. The Supreme Court concluded that IEEPA’s grant of authority to "regulate … importation" does not include the power to impose tariffs. Tariffs are taxes, and the Constitution assigns taxing authority to Congress. When Congress intends to delegate tariff authority, it does so explicitly and with defined limits—features absent from IEEPA.

We previously reported that in December 2025, a food and beverage industry coalition challenged a Texas law requiring food and beverage manufacturers doing business in the state to affix warning labels on products containing any of 44 specific artificial colors, chemicals, and additives.

Hunton’s 2025 Retail Industry Year in Review offers an in-depth examination of key challenges and developments that impacted retailers last year, as well as insights into what the industry can expect in 2026. With topics that include agentic AI, trends in privacy laws, tariff duty refunds, algorithmic pricing, food and beverage legal trends, retail M&A activity, and consumer data in bankruptcy, we hope this proves useful and insightful to you. We look forward to supporting you in the year ahead.

The New York City Department of Consumer and Worker Protection (DCWP) and its new Commissioner, Samuel Levine, are moving quickly to advance a new era of consumer protection, with an initial focus on app-based delivery companies. The first lawsuit filed by DCWP under Levine reveals a specific tactic that will get the attention of this and other industries: suing company CEOs in their individual capacities.

The updated 2025–2030 Dietary Guidelines for Americans (“DGA”) were released on January 7, 2026 by the U.S. Departments of Health and Human Services and Agriculture.  While the Guidelines do not carry the force of law, they exert substantial influence in shaping federal procurement standards (e.g., school meals and SNAP benefits), nutrition labeling and marketing regulations, and the factual baseline used in consumer product litigation.

The past year saw the California Air Resources Board (CARB) grapple with implementation of California’s climate disclosure laws, SB 253 (Climate Corporate Data Accountability Act) and SB 261 (Climate-Related Financial Risk), both of which were enacted in 2023 with first compliance deadlines in 2026.

Pay transparency laws, which require employers to include pay information in job postings, have been on the rise. Colorado and California enacted such laws in 2021 and 2023 respectively.  In 2025, several states have decided to join California and Colorado by enacting or expanding pay transparency laws.