Amazon isn’t wasting time launching its holiday push: The retail giant will host its Big Deal Days on October 8 and 9, while other retailers are similarly looking to drive sales earlier than ever before.

The quick-commerce space isn’t totally dead: German startup Flink raised $150 million at a nearly $1 billion valuation, as the company finds success in staying local and partnering with food delivery platform Just Eat Takeaway.

MrBeast, Logan Paul, and KSI look to grab a share of the school lunch market: They’re integrating Prime Hydration and Feastables chocolate bars into a “better-for-you” Lunchables-like product called Lunchly.

August retail sales data points to consumers’ continued resilience: While spending is healthy, shoppers remain deal-focused as they look ahead to the holiday season.

Retailers are wary of adding too many workers this holiday season: Target and others are adopting conservative hiring plans this year due to the uncertain environment ahead.

Western companies lose confidence in China as consumer spending softens: Weaker-than-expected August retail sales are just the latest data point to push retailers to reevaluate their investments.

The gap is closing between AI customer service agents and humans, according to Salesforce CEO Marc Benioff: But customers have plenty of concerns—including their shrinking ability to access human assistance and the possibility of hallucinations.

Amazon, Flipkart violated India’s antitrust laws, regulators say: The two allegedly gave select sellers preferential treatment and used discounts to undercut smaller merchants.

It isn’t just Shein and Temu that exploit the de minimis loophole: The Biden administration’s crackdown on the trade provision could significantly reduce the number of parcels entering under the exemption.

Ahold Delhaize sees big retail media opportunities in its stores: There’s good reason for that outlook since we expect 87% of grocery sales to occur offline this year.

Nearly 1 in 4 grocery dollars will go to private labels by 2030: Store brands are gaining popularity as shoppers seek value and CPGs cut back on innovation.

Deloitte expects holiday sales to grow 2.3% to 3.3% this year: That’s well short of our forecast, which projects 4.8% growth. Both reflect the complicated environment ahead.

Kroger benefited from shoppers’ deal-seeking behaviors in Q2: Despite a difficult operating environment, the grocer won over consumers with lower prices and expanded private label selections.

General Mills sharpens its focus on high-margin core brands: The company agreed to sell its North American yogurt business, which includes the Yoplait brand, for $2.1 billion.

Inditex bounces back after a rainy summer dented sales growth: The Zara parent reported a strong start to Q3 as shoppers responded positively to its product assortment.

McDonald’s, Starbucks refocus on core strengths: McDonald’s added kiosks for faster service, and Starbucks enhanced its stores’ ambiance to encourage longer customer visits.

Paramount expands shoppable TV capabilities with Shopsense AI partnership: The two companies team up to enable viewers to shop the MTV VMAs, with plans to install similar features in other Paramount content in the coming months.

Amazon Fresh doubles down on affordability as shoppers focus on cost: The retailer will roll out Prime-exclusive discounts on over 3,000 products and a new private label as it tries to narrow the gap with Walmart.

Amazon didn’t waste time weaving ads into genAI search results: Just a few months after rolling out the Rufus chatbot, the retail giant is testing tailored ads based on search terms and context.

Retailers invest in virtual reality, mobile apps, and AI to improve the customer experience: Walmart, Levi’s, and Family Dollar are among the companies turning to tech to boost sales.