Retail & Ecommerce

Restaurants turn to fees to boost their bottom line: Consumers are less likely to push back against fees and surcharges than if they see rising menu prices.

Lululemon thrives while others see demand for athletic apparel soften: The category remains strong overall, but retailers including Macy’s and Gap Inc. are stuck with excess inventory.

Ford to digitize EV sales: Taking EV sales online while maintaining its dealerships could give Ford a unique advantage, but some franchises might be unwilling to make the switch.

Pinterest acquires The Yes to grow its social commerce business: The platform plans to leverage the company’s AI capabilities to provide personalized shopping experiences.

Walmart takes a strategic, high-tech approach to warehouse expansion: The big-box retailer hopes to speed up fulfillment while avoiding Amazon’s mistakes.

Stripe launched its in-store POS system in Singapore as the wider region sees growing digital payment use and demand for unified commerce.

Change is coming to Amazon: Amid slowing ecommerce growth, Amazon split its stock, saw its consumer chief resign, and announced plans to shutter its Chinese ebook store.

As cash use declines across Africa, Visa and Safaricom have launched a virtual card to let M-Pesa users transact over Visa’s network.

On today's episode, we discuss the severity of Snap's recent profit warning, how companies can show they actually care about the planet, how many of us are served the wrong ads, why L.L. Bean quit social media for a month, the significance of Walmart expanding its drone program, an unpopular opinion about ratings, some stats about how much weddings cost, and more. Tune in to the discussion with our analysts Blake Droesch, Dave Frankland, and Evelyn Mitchell.

Consumers are returning to their pre-pandemic spending patterns: People are shifting their spending to services, which is leaving retailers with a slew of excess inventory.

Price-conscious consumers are economizing at the grocery store as inflation takes hold. Among US adults who are cutting back on groceries, 41% are buying fewer items from name brands, and 29% are spending less on alcohol and spirits.

A proposed antitrust bill could end Amazon Prime as we know it: The retail giant is ramping up its fight against “degrading” regulations as it seeks to maintain its ecommerce dominance.