Retail & Ecommerce

Where people work and live has changed—for the long haul: Retailers and restaurants that cater to downtown office workers need to adjust to the new normal.

Sick of disappointing retail news? So are we. Just like we’re sick of paying $6 for a carton of eggs. Some good news: US employers added 30,000 retail jobs in January, offering a big boost after a sluggish second half of 2022, when retail jobs fell for three consecutive months from September to November and were stagnant in December. Here are some more positive indicators.

Breaking down Amazon’s layoffs: Its 18,000 job cuts are spread across a variety of business units and locations and could indicate where Amazon plans to pull back on investment this year.

The funding round shows there are opportunities for fintechs serving North Africa’s substantial underbanked population.

It wants to lower the amount credit card issuers can charge in late fees—which would hurt a key source of issuers’ revenues.

Returns have always been expensive for retailers, but right now they’re at an all-time high. “We’re seeing a lot of the fast-fashion retailers like Zara and others like J.Crew, and Abercrombie & Fitch starting to charge return shipping for online orders,” said our analyst Sky Canaves. But there’s more to it than charging. Here are six strategies for reducing returns.

Estée Lauder is betting on Chinese tourists to help return it to growth: But recession fears in the US and Europe could hinder a full recovery.

Amazon seems poised to beat its lowered expectations: While the retail giant predicted its slowest-ever holiday season growth, analysts expect the retail giant’s Q4 sales still rose 6% YoY.

FedEx cuts 10% of management staff as consumer demand softens: The delivery company is the latest to resort to layoffs after rapid expansion during the pandemic.

Not everyone is a fanatic about livestream shopping: Fanatics Inc. announces plans for the sports memorabilia market, but US live commerce market remains underdeveloped.

Magic Spoon eyes offline growth: The D2C cereal brand, which first became available at some Target stores last summer, will soon be on shelves in more than 6,800 stores nationwide.

Amazon’s revenues rose 9% in Q4: While the company’s highly profitable retail media business continued its upward trend line, ecommerce sales fell 2% YoY.

Intel, Groupon, Workday announce layoffs: The historic bloodletting in Big Tech isn’t letting up anytime soon. While laid-off workers are left to evaluate their options, some companies are eager for Silicon Valley talent.