Shein and Amazon are making bold retail moves in France as economic stagnation fuels demand for low-cost goods. Shein will open its first permanent French stores in November through a partnership with Société des Grands Magasins, marking a shift from its online-only model. Meanwhile, Amazon plans to roll out its budget-friendly Haul offering in France, featuring clothing, cosmetics, and household items priced under €20. Both initiatives face backlash—Shein from regulators and the fashion industry, and Amazon from critics of its impact on local retailers—but France’s appetite for affordable shopping suggests both efforts will gain traction despite opposition.

Consumers are approaching the holiday season with restraint: 27% of US adults expect to spend less from October to December, while 22% spend more, per a July survey from Experian and ad platform GroundTruth. Discounters and value-oriented retailers should be well-positioned to draw holiday sales from consumers. Still, retailers chasing growth during the make-or-break holiday season will need to drive and reward value-seeking behavior. That means their marketing must be aligned with shopping behaviors. Messaging should spotlight value and affordability. Marketing campaigns should be stretched across the extended shopping season, not just concentrated on big events like Black Friday. Promotions and loyalty perks should be used to reward value seekers.

GenAI is becoming an indispensable tool for shoppers looking to navigate the endless aisle that is ecommerce. Two-thirds of consumers who make a weekly online purchase regularly use genAI assistants like ChatGPT to inform their shopping decisions, according to a survey from ecommerce retention platform Yotpo. GenAI is in the early stages of transforming the customer journey, but it is no doubt becoming a front door to ecommerce. Retailers need to be prepared for a future when AI, not shoppers, are the primary visitors to their sites. Those who invest in AI-ready content, authentic reviews, and clear product data will lure tomorrow’s customers. Those that don’t risk fading into the background of the AI-driven marketplace.

Conagra beat Q1 earnings and sales expectations, but ongoing headwinds from tariffs, inflation, and shifting consumer behavior weighed on results. Net sales fell 5.8% year-over-year to $2.63 billion, while adjusted EPS dropped 26.4% to 39 cents, still ahead of forecasts. Snack sales showed mixed performance, with Slim Jim and David sunflower seeds gaining but Boomchickapop and Duncan Hines slipping due to promotion timing and higher cocoa costs. With consumers trading down to store brands, Conagra faces pressure to balance price hikes with value-driven strategies that reinforce loyalty and protect market share.

Ikea is proceeding with its $2.2 billion US expansion, undeterred by new tariffs on lumber, kitchen cabinets, and other furniture. The company is confident that its reputation for affordable furniture and home goods will help it thrive, even in a challenging housing market. However, expanding Ikea’s share of the market is contingent on the company expanding its brick-and-mortar presence.

Ralph Lauren is expanding its hospitality empire, with plans to open a new Polo Bar restaurant in London in 2028. That outpost will join others in New York, Milan, Chicago, Chengdu, and Paris. With luxury sales under pressure as aspirational customers pull back, hospitality concepts are an opportunity for brands to keep shoppers engaged and maintain heat. By deliberately courting social media attention, and using tactics like exclusive merchandise to build excitement, brands can create more opportunities for customers to spend time (and money) on their properties.

The US is facing a worsening cost-of-living crisis as wages fail to keep pace with rising expenses in groceries, housing, and energy, leaving 67% of Americans living paycheck-to-paycheck. Consumer confidence has dropped to recession-era levels, while credit card debt and student loan burdens intensify financial strain across income groups, even among affluent households. With spending shifting toward essentials, retailers and brands are under pressure to emphasize value through private-label products, aggressive discounts, and loyalty programs. Companies that adapt to consumers’ value-conscious mindset will be best positioned to weather the downturn.

Budget hotel chains are facing the same turbulence as discount airlines, per Yahoo Finance. Lower-income travelers are pulling back while wealthier consumers trade up to more comfortable stays, pressuring budget hotels. Usually resilient in downturns, these companies face what Bank of America calls “structural” headwinds: lower-income travelers contending with slow income growth, weakening sentiment, and persistent inflation.Companies like Hyatt and Marriott have the cushion of diversified portfolios—and may even pick up business as wealthier travelers trade up. But others, such as Choice Hotels and Wyndham, don’t have that safety net. Their focus on the budget segment makes them more vulnerable, which is why Bank of America downgraded Choice shares to “underperform” from “buy” this week.

DoorDash unveiled a host of features designed to make its services stickier for both businesses and customers. DoorDash’s fulfillment updates position the platform as a stronger partner for the many retailers trying to keep pace with Amazon and Walmart on delivery speed. At the same time, the company’s latest features show the pressures of competing with Uber and Instacart, both of which are adding more retailers to their platforms while courting customers with broader perks.

Nike returned to growth in fiscal Q1, snapping a four-quarter streak of declining sales. Nike is beginning to see the light at the end of the tunnel, as Hill’s turnaround plan begins to make headway despite considerable uncertainty. While tariffs are weighing on margins, investments in new product lines are beginning to restore brand heat.

Whole Foods has cut prices on more than a quarter of its products in the past year, including over 1,000 private-label items, its chief merchandising and marketing officer said at Groceryshop, per Modern Retail. Weekly promotions and deals tied to specific days reinforce the value push. The retailer needs to prove that “premium” and “value” aren’t mutually exclusive. By doubling down on price investments, amplifying Prime-member discounts, and leaning into convenient, high-quality prepared foods, the grocer can reframe itself as both aspirational and accessible.

The US government faces a shutdown Wednesday unless Congress approves funding for FY 2026 or a stopgap bill, and this one could prove more damaging than past episodes. Unlike prior furloughs, President Donald Trump has vowed mass layoffs of federal workers, a move Goldman Sachs warns could push unemployment higher and worsen already fragile labor conditions. A prolonged shutdown would disrupt air travel, tourism, and retail, with the US Travel Association estimating $1 billion in weekly losses from cancellations and closures. With tariffs, weak international demand, and cautious consumers already weighing on spending, the timing threatens to intensify holiday-season challenges for retailers and travel companies.

McDonald’s is bringing back its Monopoly promotion after nearly a decade, with help from an unexpected retailer: Best Buy. The partnership between Best Buy and McDonald’s could be a harbinger of things to come, as companies across industries look for ways to broaden their appeal to value-seeking customers—and as retailers with media networks look to bring in more nonendemic advertising dollars.

ByteDance will maintain control over TikTok’s US ecommerce and advertising businesses under the deal brokered by the White House, according to Reuters. Continued uncertainty around the TikTok deal and broader economic terms requires brands and advertisers to stay flexible. That’s harder to do for sellers, since few social commerce alternatives have the scale and success of TikTok Shop. Still, platforms like YouTube and Pinterest can offer similar opportunities to engage, inspire, and educate shoppers, while live commerce platforms like Whatnot and creator-led shopping app LTK could also emerge as winners should TikTok’s influence fade.

OpenAI has launched Instant Checkout, a new feature allowing ChatGPT users in the US to buy products directly from Etsy sellers, with plans to expand to more than 1 million Shopify merchants including Glossier and Skims. Built on the Agentic Commerce Protocol and integrated with Stripe, the tool currently supports single-item purchases but will soon add multi-item carts, more merchants, and global rollout. While this marks a major step toward positioning ChatGPT as a commerce hub that could challenge Amazon and Google, success depends on whether consumers see in-chat shopping as truly easier than traditional ecommerce.

US auto sales are on pace to rise 6.2% year-over-year in Q3, with GM, Toyota, Ford, and Hyundai leading gains, while record EV sales of 410,000 units pushed electric vehicles to nearly 10% of the market ahead of expiring tax incentives. Cox Automotive lifted its full-year forecast to 16.1 million vehicles, but the industry faces growing challenges as CarMax reports steep declines, Ford leans on risky financing, and Volkswagen and Porsche cut output. GM is also scaling back EV production with layoffs in Tennessee and Detroit. Despite recent momentum, fading incentives, rising costs, and tighter demand signal a turbulent road ahead.

Target introduced a self-checkout experience designed for blind and low-vision shoppers, as well as customers with mobility disabilities. For retailers, introducing accessible features is a relatively low lift that can immeasurably improve the experience for a subset of customers. They also boost goodwill—which Target desperately needs right now. Such solutions offer a crucial point of differentiation at a time when consumers are being especially strategic about where they spend.

President Trump’s announcement of new tariffs on kitchen cabinets, vanities, and upholstered furniture—without clear White House guidance—has added fresh uncertainty for retailers already struggling with volatile policy shifts. While consumer spending rose 0.4% in August and GDP growth was revised upward to 3.8% in Q2, inflation pressures remain with the PCE index up 2.7% YoY. Real disposable income barely grew, the savings rate fell to its lowest this year, and sentiment slipped across most groups. Retailers face tightening margins and fatigued consumers, requiring nimble strategies to sustain engagement amid economic headwinds.

Uber Eats will offer customers weekly discounts on fresh groceries in markets worldwide as it looks to become a top destination for grocery shopping. Fierce competition between Uber and other delivery platforms, as well as Amazon and Walmart, is making grocery delivery more affordable, which is in turn driving online grocery adoption. By offering weekly discounts, Uber is hoping to turn occasional shoppers into regulars—and grow its small share of grocery spending into a much larger one.

Amazon agreed to a $2.5 billion settlement with the Federal Trade Commission, including $1 billion in civil penalties and $1.5 billion in customer refunds, over allegations it misled users into Prime subscriptions and made cancellation intentionally difficult. The FTC argued Amazon’s “Iliad” cancellation process violated consumer protection laws, requiring excessive clicks to exit. Under the deal, Amazon must simplify cancellation and clearly disclose pricing and renewal terms. While the settlement forces operational changes, it represents just 5.6% of last year’s $44.37 billion Prime revenue, leaving the program’s dominance—and Amazon’s market lock—firmly intact.