While Amazon Prime Day was bigger than ever this year, one key category took a hit. Electronics sales decreased by 5% from last Prime Day, while growth shot past 25% in home, garden, and tools, as well as in beauty and health.
Spending has shifted away from consumer electronics: That’s creating a challenging environment for Best Buy to navigate.
2022 will present retailers with a host of challenges as soaring consumer prices, high unemployment, and a plummeting currency weigh heavily on shoppers’ minds—and wallets.
Job-killing EVs: Ford cuts workers as it doubles down on EV production, which requires different skills and less labor. But retrained workers could fill other tech talent shortages.
Short list of EV winners: Only about 20 EV models qualify for tax credits. Trouble could be ahead for EV adoption as price-sensitive consumers have even fewer affordable options.
We unpack the potential for cheaper consumer health devices as the FDA makes hearing aids directly available.
An EV monkey wrench: As the end nears for looser EV tax credit requirements, Rivian fights to retain customers while VinFast seizes an opportunity. EVs could get pricier in the short term.
Foxconn shifts from smartphones to tractors: The iPhone maker’s deft moves led to strong Q2 profits. Now, as demand changes, it positions itself to weather uncertainty with a diverse manufacturing base.
An EV pricing debacle: Rising prices for EVs like Ford’s F-150 Lighting run afoul of proposed US tax credit requirements. Premature pressure for domestic EV battery sourcing could make inflation worse.
EV credits or EV crisis? The Inflation Reduction Act moves forward, but automakers think its requirements are bad for the industry. Without robust domestic battery manufacturing, EV adoption could falter.
Amazon looks to give itself a boost before the next Prime Day: The ecommerce giant is purchasing Roomba maker iRobot for $1.7 billion.
Infotainment over environment? Greenpeace praises and criticizes EV-makers’ attitudes on deep-sea mining. The companies may have their reasons, but they can make batteries and respect ocean ecosystems too.
This year, 42.6 million US adults will use a connected fitness platform such as Peloton at least once a month. This figure ballooned from 24.0 million in 2019.
Road clears for new EVs: Automakers catch a break with federal support and increased EV production. Vietnam’s VinFast could shake-up the industry and put eyes on Southeast Asia’s minerals.
More bad news for the EV industry: Already facing mineral shortages, the EV industry is dealt another blow with an aluminum-smelting drop-off. New production methods and more recycling offer hope.
100 companies face coronavirus restrictions in China: The Chinese economy is in peril as it scrambles ramp up production of key exports like iPhones and computers in the face of COVID-19 spikes.
Another EV charging problem: As ACs blast during a Texas heatwave, EV charging could lead to blackouts—but it doesn’t have to. Bidirectional charging can make EVs a lifeline, not a burden.
BYDing for the EV top spot: BYD wins top EV-maker status over Tesla this year, but it isn't a fair comparison. Tesla could take some supply chain lessons from BYD’s playbook.
Gigafactories = ‘gigantic money furnaces’: Supply chain disruptions grind Tesla’s new factories to a near halt. Even when things come back online, the mineral shortage will still be a scourge.
A new battery recipe: Startup Alsym Energy is developing a new EV battery formula to fix lithium-ion’s flaws. But it’ll take automakers deprioritizing luxury models to bring prices down.