Espresso,The Grinds

The Grinds: Hotels and airlines advertise on Instagram Stories, Dig Inn ditches third-party delivery, Flamingo lands at Target, Equinox unbundles popular running class into standalone gym

Espresso,PrimeTime

PrimeTime: Nearly half of Amazon vendors spend $40,000+ a month on advertising, Amazon’s subscription business decelerates, Counterfeit products pose growing threat, Amazon spends big at Sundance

Espresso,PrimeTime

PrimeTime: Amazon Shipping expands; Amazon tempts vendors to develop Amazon-exclusive brands, sells beauty bundles from its private label, is building a virtual changing room app

Espresso,The Grinds

The Grinds: Digital brands take on TV with addressable ads, The We Company opens a WeWork trial run, Cos Bar Labs debuts flexible brand partnerships, CPG companies ditch single-use packaging

Espresso,PrimeTime

PrimeTime: Amazon is offering wide-reaching targeted consumer data to advertisers; UPS is expanding its Amazon Key competitor; Some direct-to-consumer brands are spurning Amazon; Amazon is advertising its most profitable CPG products to save on shipping

Espresso,The Grinds

The Grinds: Hudson Yards banks on digitally-native brands, Rihanna lands LVMH deal, Consumers question politically-minded ads, Brandless unveils subscription

Espresso,The Grinds

The Grinds: FaceGym, experience-based beauty brands grow their footprints; Nike takes on Lululemon; Venture capital reaches zenith; Netflix raises prices to fund original content

Espresso,PrimeTime

PrimeTime: Whole Foods 365 will not expand, Men are more likely than women to price compare on Amazon, IMDb launches free streaming service, Amazon brings Prime Day look-alike to India

Espresso,PrimeTime

PrimeTime: Amazon expands Whole Foods, sends free product samples, strengthens sports contracts, reduces third-party seller fees, debuts new Amazon Key services, receives criticism for copying West Elm furniture

Espresso,The Grinds

The Grinds: Hotels abandon convenience stores in favor of branded destination retail, Starbucks turns to premium coffee bar concept to raise revenues, Beauty brands embrace the Consumer Electronics Show, Stitch Fix retains strong gross margin as it prepares to enter UK market

Espresso,PrimeTime

PrimeTime: Whole Foods and Instacart break up, Amazon cuts its losses on low-margin products, AmazonBasics teases private-label toys, Small-format Amazon Go opens at one of Amazon’s Seattle offices

Espresso,The Grinds

The Grinds: Starbucks expands U.S. delivery; Saks shutters standalone women’s shop; Warby Parker, Everlane offer installment payment plans; CGI influencer Lil Miquela announces apparel brand

Espresso,PrimeTime

PrimeTime: Amazon Go courts airports, Vendors using Fulfillment by Amazon subject to safety-related penalty fees, Amazon fires employees after data leak, Indie brands outperform some mainstream brands on Amazon Europe, Amazon launches Alexa Answers

Espresso,The Grinds

The Grinds: Constellation Brands invests in female-run alcohol startups; Cookware startups challenge All-Clad and its ilk, but compete amongst themselves; More businesses go cashless, excluding shoppers; IKEA plans its first Manhattan store built on customer feedback

Espresso,The Grinds

The Grinds: The secondary watch industry pushes luxury’s evolution; Quip raises $40 million, but risks becoming the next Harry’s; Product recommendation sites criticize but drive traffic to Amazon; Parachute takes on multi-channel strategy

Espresso,PrimeTime

PrimeTime: Amazon optimizes cashier-free tech for large-format stores, loses J.Crew Mercantile business, sparks outrage after embedding ads in baby registries, extends foot in the healthcare industry, ends WeWork-Alexa for Business pilot, affects how products look, seeks to consolidate vendor system, grows presence in India; Instacart lowers prices, threatening Prime Now delivery

Espresso,PrimeTime

PrimeTime: Amazon hits new Cyber Monday sales record, deepens ties with Microsoft, partners with celebrities for wish lists, seeks to grow Amazon Pay, prepares for the holiday rush with robots, terminates Amazon Restaurants in the UK, debuts first pop-up in Spain

Espresso,The Grinds

The Grinds: Nordstrom strives to remain an ideal wholesale partner; Goop and Universal Standard launch a collab; Coca Cola may invest in Dirty Lemon; Kering sheds YNAP, attacking ecomm solo

Espresso,PrimeTime

PrimeTime: Amazon will open holiday pop-ups in Europe, launch a new delivery program for the season, mail its first printed toy catalog

Espresso,The Grinds

The Grinds: Facebook opens pop-ups at Macy’s, Masse monetizes moms, Peloton threatens SoulCycle, Wayfair acquires new customers

Espresso,The Grinds

The Grinds: Dollar Shave Club debuts fragrance, Dollar stores look to urban markets for expansion, Influencers become investors, Glossier opens flagship

Espresso,PrimeTime

PrimeTime: Amazon shoppers receive free shipping, Kohl’s collaborates with Amazon, Most Amazon Go stores close during the weekend, CVS and Uber create Prime-like memberships, HQ2 will allegedly be split in Arlington, Virigina and Queens, New York

Espresso,PrimeTime

PrimeTime: Amazon’s private-label apparel brands grow, but don’t sell, “Online Stores” business decelerates; Amazon launches new benefits for Business Prime, debuts two private-label home goods brands; Walmart opens tech-driven store to compete with Amazon

Espresso,The Grinds

The Grinds: Sweetgreen aims for $1 billion valuation; Shopify courts larger vendors; Banana Republic launches Cos Bar shop-in-shop; End Clothing, The Line invent the new department store

Espresso,PrimeTime

PrimeTime: Amazon expands brick-and-mortar footprint, erases Instacart branding at Whole Foods, receives criticism for its Vine program

Espresso,The Grinds

The Grinds: Pinterest strives to make pins more shoppable, Sunday Riley receives criticism for fake reviews, RSE Ventures is creating an empire, Patagonia gets political

Espresso,PrimeTime

PrimeTime: Amazon grows its private-label and exclusive offering, will have to pay higher USPS prices, patented new Alexa technology; Twitch live sportscasting increases viewer engagement, Amazon Fashion will launch pop-up, Amazon Air debuts new CA location

Espresso,The Grinds

The Grinds: Harry’s debuts women’s razor brand, Shopify embraces customer service—for vendors, Walmart acquires Bare Necessities, Sephora extends the Museum of Ice Cream’s lifeline

Espresso,PrimeTime

PrimeTime: Amazon turbo-charges its private-label empire, terminates Instant Pickup, will bring 4-Star to Berkeley, will launch a free, ad-supported TV service; Stitch Fix saw stock price dip since Amazon Scout launched

Espresso,The Grinds

The Grinds: Walgreens partners with Birchbox, Grocery stores rethink their blueprints, Rotarity merges the rental model with streetwear, Netflix purchases studio

Espresso,The Grinds

The Grinds: Macy’s and Revolve institutionalize influencer marketing, Re:Store merges affordable retail space with coworking, SoulCycle goes live, Ulta partners with men’s grooming brand Oars + Alps

Espresso,PrimeTime

PrimeTime: Amazon 4-star opens, AmazonBasics introduces private-label mattress, Amazon drives and takes advantage of growing smart speaker market, Amazon-native beauty brands are top performers

Espresso,PrimeTime

PrimeTime: Snapchat debuts visual product search in partnership with Amazon; Amazon launches 70 new products, debuts visual-centric shopping service, gains speed in its advertising business, plans to expand Amazon Go, launches exclusive diaper brand

Espresso,The Grinds

The Grinds: Brands diversify ad spend; Nordstrom launches influencer-driven, private-label brand; Gap will debut men’s activewear brand; Bumble goes into beauty

Espresso,The Grinds

The Grinds: Loyalty programs get experiential, Stripe goes offline, Dirty Lemon opens checkout-free store, L Brands shutters Henri Bendel

Espresso,PrimeTime

PrimeTime: Amazon debuts Storefronts, French retailer Monoprix offers Prime delivery, Merch by Amazon revs up fast fashion, Amazon plans to launch more Alexa devices

Espresso,PrimeTime

PrimeTime: Amazon launched Amazon Advertising, plans to open Amazon Go in New York; J.Crew will sell J.Crew Mercantile on Amazon, Amazon’s smaller vendors are beginning to divert products to other ecommerce platforms

Espresso,The Grinds

The Grinds: Starbucks attempts to win over Italy, Ritual fails to live up to transparency claims, Mattel launches film division, Instagram may launch a separate shopping app

Espresso,PrimeTime

PrimeTime: Amazon wants to build airborne fulfillment centers; Shoppers want to price compare, will choose Whole Foods over nearby grocery competitors; Whole Foods sets off partnerships between traditional retailers and digital startups; Ecommerce competition deflates prices but keeps them constant; Amazon’s ad business attracts brands that don’t sell directly on its platform; Beauty brands excel on Prime Day

Espresso,The Grinds

The Grinds: FAO Schwarz makes a comeback, Hims takes on Hers, Zalando builds a brand with a music festival, Tiffany & Co. banks on flagship

Espresso,PrimeTime

PrimeTime: Amazon plans to launch TiVo competitor, offer music streaming via Alexa, make voice shopping easier, debuted its first vans for its Delivery Service Program, may acquire Landmark Theaters

Espresso,The Grinds

The Grinds: Escape rooms blossom, PepsiCo acquires SodaStream, “Game of Thrones” fans take Croatia, Taubman Centers invests in mall of the future

Espresso,PrimeTime

PrimeTime: Prime members gain curbside Whole Foods pickup; Alexa-enabled shopping hasn’t caught on; Walmart facilitates easier ecommerce returns; Amazon looks to expand sports content, experiments with video ads on mobile

Espresso,The Grinds

The Grinds: JCPenney banks on babies; Malls house digitally-native brands, coworking offices; Casper plans for 200 stores; VF ditches denim

Espresso,PrimeTime

PrimeTime: Amazon is uniting its advertising business on a single platform, extends back-to-school season; Kroger debuts a new grocery delivery service

Espresso,The Grinds

The Grinds: Walmart is incubating an Everlane-like private label, CVS embraces K-beauty, Equinox turns to employees for brand promotion, Van Leeuwen raises minority investment

Espresso,The Grinds

The Grinds: IKEA downsizes and digitizes, The RealReal raises $115 million, Disney and 21st Century Fox strike merger, A Ma Maniére fuses streetwear with hospitality

Espresso,PrimeTime

PrimeTime: Prime Video will launch more personalized interface, Prime members are lapping up Whole Foods perks, Amazon’s Q2 2018 profit exceeds $2.5 billion, Amazon sellers are paying for fake positive reviews

Espresso,The Grinds

The Grinds: Ipsy unveils members-only beauty ecommerce site, Boutique and vintage vendors turn to Instagram, Retailers invite brands to advertise with package inserts, MoviePass acquires Moviefone

Espresso,PrimeTime

PrimeTime: Amazon sets record with Prime Day, expands advertising business; Whole Foods expands delivery service through Prime Now, Counterfeit brands hurt smaller vendors on Amazon, Best Buy differentiates itself with in-home advisors, Walmart plans to launch streaming service