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.