Amazon exec tells employees that Go stores will start accepting cash to address ‘discrimination’ concerns at CNBC. “The spokesperson described the process as “you’ll check out, pay with cash, and then get your change.” “We are working to accept cash at Amazon Go,” the spokesperson said.” Read more

 

Walmart Puts Reusable Bags at Store Checkouts to Reduce Plastic by Matthew Boyle at Bloomberg. “…rolling out ten new designs, each available for 98 cents, at the bagging stations of its 4,756 Walmart-branded stores. That’s more expensive than the previous version of reusable bags that it sold — but those bags weren’t as eye-catching and had been scattered throughout the store.” Tiered subs.

 

Macy’s will open 36 Story shops within its stores across the U.S. at CNBC. “One year ago, Macy’s bought Story, a New York retail store founded by Rachel Shechtman that curates merchandise around a theme or set of ideas…will include items from makeup retailer MAC Cosmetics, crayon maker Crayola, denim brand Levi’s and more than 70 small business owners…” Store list/Read more

 

Alibaba-Rival JD Targets Deep Job Cuts as Morale Sags by Lulu Yilun Chen & David Ramli at Bloomberg. “JD has come under increasing pressure from a more-diversified Alibaba as Chinese consumption succumbs to a decelerating economy, while upstart rivals such as Pinduoduo Inc. draw customers away.” Tiered subs.

 

Rising gasoline, rents boost U.S. consumer prices in March at Reuters. “U.S. consumer prices increased by the most in 14 months in March, but underlying inflation remained benign…Apparel prices fell 1.9 percent, the biggest drop since January 1949, after two straight monthly gains.” Read more

 

I went to Ikea’s first “small” store in Manhattan, and it answered all my prayers by Katharine Schwab at Fast Company. “Ikea employees spent months doing extensive consumer research in Manhattan and the surrounding boroughs and found, unsurprisingly, that most New Yorkers live in tiny apartments and don’t have enough space for their stuff.” Read more

 

Topgolf unveils Topgolf Lounge – a combination of sports bar and virtual driving range, with the first location to open in the Seattle suburb of Kirkland by Nat Levy at GeekWire. Read more

 

Hemp farmers are making a killing on the CBD industry at CNN Business. “Mann has been fielding multiple calls a day from farmers around the country….”They want advice on how to grow hemp,” he said. Blue Forest charges $35 to $40 per pound for the high-quality hemp it sells for CBD extraction. That compares to about $1 a pound for the kale it sells.” Read more/Video

 

20 best U.S. cities to live in (Austin #1, Denver #2, Colorado Springs #3) at U.S News & World Report via NBC Today. List/Read more

 

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Kroger retools senior management for ‘Restock’ strategy by Russell Redman at Supermarket News. “…promoted Mary Ellen Adcock to senior vice president of retail operations and Joe Grieshaber to senior vice president of merchandising. Grieshaber takes over from Robert Clark, who has been named senior vice president of supply chain, manufacturing and sourcing.” Read more

 

Yogurt Sales Sour as Options Proliferate by Heather Haddon at Wall Street Journal. “I don’t even know what I’m looking for most of the time,” said Sara Gray, a 47-year-old teacher and mother in McKinney, Texas. She said she was stumped by the blizzard of yogurts that confronted her at her local Kroger Co. store. “Can I just get some strawberry?” WSJ subs.

 

Amazon Expands Grocery Delivery from Whole Foods to Asheville, Charlottesville, Columbia, Lexington, Little Rock, Manchester, Mobile, Naples and Savannah Press release

 

Here’s why Elon Musk is trolling Jeff Bezos with a cat emoji at Fast Company. “So why does Musk think Bezos is a copycat for his constellation of 3,000 satellites? Because SpaceX has previously announced that it would do the exact same thing via its Starlink program, though with 12,000 satellites. Moreover, Bezos recently hired a SpaceX vice president to run Amazon’s satellite internet project after Musk fired him.” Read more

 

$4 gas returns to California at KTLA 5. Read more

 

Inside the Battle for the Future of Sports Betting by Rey Mashayekhi at Fortune. “…the NHL’s Washington Capitals and the NBA’s Washington Wizards, recently announced a physical on-site sports book at (their) arena…Despite opposition from state gaming lobbies across the country, most people in the sports betting industry agree that mobile sports betting is the way of the future, if not the present.” Read more

 

POLLEN-POCALYPSE: Massive amounts of pollen turn North Carolina sky yellow at NY Post. “Stunning aerial photos show a haze of pollen so thick over Durham, North Carolina, it turned the sky yellow this week — as doctors in the region have reported an uptick in patients complaining about their allergy symptoms.” Read more

 

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