Amazon cozies up to Biden camp with cash and connections at Reuters. “Amazon appears to have taken an early lead making in-roads with the Biden camp, according to data gathered by Reuters from OpenSecrets and campaign finance records, along with interviews with over a dozen stakeholders including anti-monopoly groups, lobbyists, congressional aides, competitors and lawmakers.” Read more

 

Bed Bath & Beyond posts same-store sales gain for the first time since 2016 at CNBC. “Same-store sales rose 6%…Analysts had been calling for a decline of 2.1%, according to FactSet. Online sales helped drive the gains, with digital comparable sales surging roughly 89%.” Read more

 

U.S. weekly jobless claims fall; consumer spending solid in August at Reuters. “A separate report on Thursday from the Commerce Department showed consumer spending rose 1.0% in August after increasing 1.5% in July. Economists had forecast consumer spending, which accounts for more than two-thirds of U.S. economic activity, advancing 0.8% in August.” Read more

 

On average, consumers plan to spend about $540 on holiday shopping this year — a nearly $100 drop from last year at CNBC. “This holiday season, shoppers aren’t planning on glitzy and gift-oriented celebrations. Instead, many are preparing for smaller gatherings, reining in spending and directing more of their dollars toward retailers that share similar values during the coronavirus pandemic, according to a new survey by Accenture.” Read more

 

H&M plans to close 250 stores next year as the coronavirus pandemic pushes its customers online at NY Post. Read more

 

German privacy watchdog fines H&M $41M for spying on workers at AP. “Hamburg’s data protection commissioner said in a statement that the Swedish company collected private information about employees at a customer service center in Nuremberg, “ranging from rather harmless details to family issues and religious beliefs.” Read more

 

Our first-hand experience with Amazon’s new palm reader at GeekWire. “I’m sure it could have been less than 15 seconds if I hadn’t juggled my phone in one hand to get the picture above, or chatted up the security guard to let him know why I was taking a picture, or deliberated over which flavor of sparkling water to buy…” Read more/Pic

 

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More robots coming to the aisles of Schnucks stores at St.Louis Post Dispatch. “The added robots means a Tally will be in 62 stores — more than half of the chain…Schnucks said benefits of Tally include 14 times more out-of-stock detection and at least a 20% reduction in out-of-stock items in stores using Tally.” Read more | Press release

 

Amazon says rising injury rates are due to generous recuperation time at The Verge. Read more

 

The American Dream megamall in New Jersey reopens – has been dark for almost seven months during the coronavirus pandemic at CNBC. Read more

 

Pandemic stalls U.S. fast-food drive-thru times: study at Reuters. “Average drive-thru times at major fast food chains got 29.8 seconds slower in 2020, a survey showed on Thursday…” Read more

 

Amazon Transparency Launches in Japan, Australia “Transparency allows brands to uniquely identify each unit they produce through the application of unique codes on the product or its packaging. These codes allow Amazon to inspect and authenticate every unit enrolled in Transparency proactively…” Press release

 

Dick’s Sporting Goods Announces Grand Opening Of 11 Stores “…(opening) six Dick’s Sporting Goods stores, two combination Dick’s and Golf Galaxy locations and three Dick’s Sporting Goods Warehouse Sale locations in October.” Press release

 

Tipsheet Extra

California could start its own line of generic drugs

Walmart’s new store design proves browsing is dead

Working from home could become a legal right in Germany

Target donated $225M last year

The secret to Costco’s blueberry success story

Read Tipsheet Extra Stories

 

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