Archive for month: October, 2025

Target: Early Black Friday & Alpine Villages “…each of Target’s…stores will transform into nostalgic Alpine Villages filled with festive décor…(and) will have weekend events in each store throughout the season…Target’s three-day Early Black Friday Sale is back Nov. 6-8.” Press release

Advance Auto Parts Q3 comp sales +3.0% Press release

How a lapse in SNAP benefits could affect consumers and retailers at CNBC. “On average, a SNAP beneficiary spends $832 per month on groceries, 20% more than a non-SNAP shopper…Hanus estimates a high-single digit percent of Walmart’s sales are related to SNAP, while Dollar General and Dollar Tree are in the mid-single digits.” Read more

Sprouts Farmers Market Q3 comp sales +5.9% Press release

Gap Bets on New ‘Vibe’ and ‘Thrill’ Fragrances to Lure Gen Z at Bloomberg. “Gap Inc. is making its biggest foray into the beauty category in years with the launch of Old Navy Beauty Co. in some stores this week. The line, which includes hair and body mists, has brightly colored packaging with zeitgeisty names such as Vibe and Thrill and scents called juicy pear and seductive vanilla. They were created with Robertet, the French fragrance company also behind Sol de Janeiro — one of the hottest brands in beauty.” Bloomberg subs.

Boot Barn Q2 comp sales +8.4% / Store count potential increased to 1,200 stores “CEO: We now also believe we can operate 1,200 stores across the United States, an increase from our prior estimate of 900, which is more than double our current footprint.” Press release

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eBay, Inc. Q3 revenue +9.0%  Press release

Xi agreed to buy 25 million metric tons of soybeans annually for next 3 years, Bessent says at AP. “…will start by purchasing 12 million metric tons of soybeans from the U.S. between now and January.” Read more

Etsy, Inc. Q3 revenue +6.1% Press release

Only 12% of U.S. adults favor the current system of daylight saving time at AP

A Dollar General store boarded up its windows and doors, citing fears of looting if SNAP benefits end (but then backtracked) at The Columbus Dispatch. “In times of need, Columbus doesn’t put up walls — or boards — we rally to support one another,” said Mayor Andrew Ginther…” Read more

CVS Q3 total revenue +7.8% Press release

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Tractor Supply Q3 comp store sales +3.9%  “Net Sales Increased 7.2%…Comparable Average Transaction Growth of 2.7%…Gross profit increased 7.7%” Press release

As many retailers shrink their footprints, Dick’s Sporting Goods goes big at CNBC. “The retailer is building more sprawling “House of Sport” stores, which typically come in at 120,000 to 150,000 square feet, more than double the 50,000 for its traditional locations…“We needed to build the concept that will kill Dick’s Sporting Goods,” Edward Stack…told CNBC in an exclusive interview…” Read more/9:19 video

Time: The Best Inventions of 2025 Full list

Amazon introduces ‘Blue Jay’ warehouse robot that performs multiple tasks at once at CNBC. “Blue Jay combines “what used to be three separate robotic stations into one streamlined workplace that can pick, sort, and consolidate in a single place”…Amazon is testing Blue Jay at one of its warehouses in South Carolina. So far, the company has observed that the system is able to pick, pack, stow and consolidate “approximately 75% of items we store at our sites.” Read more

Walmart CFO set to join Microsoft board at GeekWire

Shoplifting Offenses Rise 13% as UK Retailers Battle Crime Wave Bloomberg subs.

An armed gang of shoplifters is terrorizing NYC supermarkets at NY Post. “Every time they come in, they are stealing about $800 worth of Dominican salamis,” Efrain Castro, who owns a Fine Fare in Upper Manhattan, told The Post…They say it’s pointless to call the authorities when the same offenders get freed after repeatedly being charged with low-level offenses – if at all.” Read more

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Walmart pauses job offers to workers needing H-1B visas after Trump’s $100,000 fee at USA Today

Alibaba prices AI glasses at $660 to rival Meta and launches ChatGPT challenger at CNBC. “The glasses and chatbot product highlight an increasing area of focus for Alibaba — AI that is aimed at consumers.” Read more

Walmart promotes execs to top financial roles at Talk Business. “Dwayne Milum, 50, was appointed senior vice president and controller of Walmart Inc….He succeeds David Chojnowski, who will be senior vice president and treasurer.” Read more

Amazon unveils AI smart glasses for its delivery drivers at TechCrunch. “When a driver parks at a delivery location, Amazon says the glasses automatically activate. The glasses help the driver locate the package inside the vehicle and then navigate to the delivery address.” Read more

Smart beds flipped out during the AWS outage, and so did their sleepy owners at Washington Post/MSN. “As the outage caused cloud servers to fail, people reported being awoken in discomfort by beds that locked in an upright incline, became unbearably warm, blinked flashing lights or even sounded a wake-up alarm.” Read more

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Walmart U.S. CEO John Furner says American manufacturing comeback is real at CNBC. “Furner was uncertain about the future (of tariffs). “As policies change, they’ll change. Environments will change. That happens. Commodities change,” he said. “We’ve landed in a place where we have more rollbacks going into the fall than we had at the beginning of the year, and that’s something we’re proud of.” Read more

Inside the Empire (Dick’s) That Sports Parents Built at Bloomberg. “I’m a little embarrassed by this, but I love Dick’s,” one fellow soccer dad tells me. “When we walk in, I say ‘I love Dick’s.’ I make my kids say it. It’s our ritual.”…Dick’s has figured out that…sports spending is often non-discretionary. “If your daughter wore a size 5 soccer cleat last year and she needs a size 6,” says Stack, “You don’t put your arm around her and go, ‘You know what, honey, just curl up your toes and wear last year’s cleats and go play soccer.’ You buy a new pair of soccer cleats.” Bloomberg subs.

Walmart deploys millions of new sensors in retail’s first large-scale deployment of IoT tech at CNBC. “…will now (know) exactly where merchandise is located…at any moment, and covering an estimated 90 million pallets of inventory when at full scale…“We expect to be active in about 500 Walmart locations by the end of the year, with plans for national expansion in 2026,” said Greg Cathey, senior vice president of transformation and innovation at Walmart.” Read more

A first look at the Amazon-backed, next-generation nuclear facility planned for Washington state Pics/Read more

Grocery Prices Keep Rising. Frustrated Consumers Are Trying to Adapt. at WSJ. “Christina Duong, a nurse practitioner in Orange County, Calif., said she is alarmed by the high prices of ground beef, seafood and eggs and is scouring Korean grocery stores and other ethnic markets to try to find deals. “The only thing that’s inflation-proof is that darn Costco chicken,” Duong said “Everything else, you name it, it’s gone up.” WSJ subs.

The Creator A-List: The 50 Hottest Influencers on the Planet (2025) Hollywood Reporter

NRF: Retailers estimate that 15.8% of their annual sales will be returned this year, totaling nearly $850 Billion “…an estimated 19.3% of online sales will be returned in 2025…Gen Z (returns), on average, more than any other generation.” Press release

Long Beach, CA severely restricts self-checkouts in attempt to stop shoplifters at NY Post. “…requires large grocery stores and pharmacies to have at least one staff member monitoring every three self-checkout stations…Many stores say they’ve been forced to simply shut down self-checkouts altogether because they can’t hire the staff to meet the new rules.” Read more

Home Depot trying to confirm a shoplifting incident at its location in west Toronto after Ontario premier Doug Ford said he stopped a thief and threatened him if he tried to flee at Toronto Star

Alibaba says its AI spending in e-commerce is already breaking even at CNBC. “Zhang said preliminary testing has showed consistent results from AI, including a 12% increase in returns on advertising spend.” Read more

Inside the Credit Card Battle to Win America’s Richest Shoppers at Bloomberg. “The fierce fight between Amex and Chase is playing out over higher fees, extravagant events and every perk imaginable.” Bloomberg subs.

Costco September comp sales (ex fuel & f/x) +6.0%: US +5.0% / Canada +9.3% / Other Int’l +7.5% / Digitally enabled +26.3% Press release

China’s Golden Week holiday spending dips in latest red flag for economy at Reuters. “Chinese holidaymakers’ average spending dipped to a three-year low over this year’s eight-day Golden Week holiday…Average spending per trip…down 0.55% from the same period last year, according to Reuters calculations…” Reuters subs.

Amazon just opened the warehouse of the future in rural Indiana at Fast Company. “The delivery center, known as DII5 and located in the town of Elkhart, has been designed to test and evaluate more than 40 sustainability initiatives that Amazon hopes to apply to future building projects. These efforts range from using low carbon concrete to air-source heat pumps to an underground water reclamation system. One of its most notable elements is that the delivery station has been built primarily out of mass timber.” Fast Company subs.

Amazon Pharmacy introduces kiosks that dispense medications at the doctor’s office at GeekWire. “According to Amazon, the kiosks will be stocked with a wide range of commonly prescribed medications, including antibiotics, inhalers, and blood pressure medications. Controlled substances and medications requiring refrigeration are not available.” Read more

Google announced on Wednesday that its AI feature that lets users virtually try on clothes is expanding to Australia, Canada, and Japan. The tech giant also announced the feature now lets users virtually try on shoes. TechCrunch

They Got to Live a Life of Luxury. Then Came the Fine Print. at NY Times. “Affirm’s chief executive, Max Levchin, has said that “what we have is a business model that is just perfect for these frankly uncertain times.”…Though the merchant fees (retailers) have to fork over to B.N.P.L. service partners are nearly three times higher than to credit-card companies, studies like Ang’s and Maesen’s have shown that the B.N.P.L.-fueled spikes in consumer spending can more than compensate.” NY Times subs. 

REI is closing its flagship store in SoHo, as well as others in New Jersey and Boston at Yahoo

Walmart welcomes 600 hopeful suppliers to Bentonville at Talk Business. “John Furner, CEO of Walmart U.S., opened the event and interviewed Steuart Walton…(he) reminded the audience that Sam was 44 when he founded Walmart…This year there are 13 technology firms presenting services to Walmart merchants and category managers…This is a new feature at Open Call.” Read more

Kwik Star and Kwik Trip locations are phasing out pennies in change, rounding cash transactions to the nearest nickel “in the guest’s favor” at Des Moines Register

Retailers Stockpiled to Avoid Tariffs. The Holidays Will Put That to the Test. at WSJ. “Academy Sports & Outdoors advanced around $100 million in goods in the first half of the year…“This was a big decision for us,” said finance chief Carl Ford…When deciding what to bring in early, Academy looked for items with low markdown liability, or items that don’t go out of season, Ford said. “It’s weights; it’s bicycles,” he offered as examples.” WSJ subs.

Lowe’s completes its acquisition of Foundation Building Materials Press release

How Shipping Is on the Cusp of a Global Carbon Charge at Bloomberg. “Shipping’s global regulator will decide in October whether to ratify sweeping new rules that would force the oil-guzzling industry to start paying for its greenhouse gas emissions. A draft of the regulations received widespread support in the spring at talks held by the United Nations shipping watchdog, the International Maritime Organization. But final adoption is far from guaranteed amid US opposition.” Bloomberg subs.