“Game of Thrones” is back: HBO’s new spinoff hit record viewership after weeks of bad news from the streamer.
YouTube amps up its podcast investment: A new dedicated podcasting page will solidify its place as a serious competitor for Spotify and Apple.
Macy’s is making moves. It’s expanding its Toys R Us shop-in-shops to every Macy’s location and will open four smaller-format off-mall stores this fall.
The smartphone sector’s continued decline: Smartphone shipments have declined for the fourth consecutive quarter. Global uncertainty, lack of innovation, and increasing cost drive down demand.
Introducing cheaper, helium-powered space tourism: World View’s $50,000 space flight tickets could be the beginning of affordable space tourism. But finding appealing launch sites might trigger controversy.
Potential privacy catastrophe: Oracle is accused of creating dossiers on billions of users and their personal information and making billions off the list in what could be a massive privacy violation.
Pinduoduo plans US expansion as China’s economy slows: The ecommerce platform hopes to follow Shein’s blueprint for success, but Amazon’s dominance could stifle growth.
Gap turns to logistics as its retail business falters: The retailer is offering other brands its supply chain capacity and know-how to offset declining sales.
Here’s an outlook on how franchises will fare in the coming months.
eBay’s growth depends on its ability to dominate narrow niches: That’s why it is buying TCGplayer, an online marketplace for collectible trading card games such as Pokémon.
China’s slowing economy is taking its toll on retail companies: While JD.com topped expectations in Q2, it still posted its slowest year-over-year revenue growth on record.