Happy New Year, everyone!

Below is a recap of news in fashion, retail, and technology over the last week. All sources can be found in the hyper-linked text after each headline:

Retailer + Brand News:

• Retailers save discounts for bargain hunters. Link
• Amazon draws 10 million new Prime members over holidays. Link
• Small U.S. firms may struggle with new UPS, FedEx dimensional prices. Link
• How Canada Goose went from small outerwear company to international luxury brand. Link
• In-store pickup does not save U.S. shoppers much time. Link
• Plus-size fashion moves beyond the muumuu. Link
• FedEx acquires Bongo to appeal to global retailers. Link
• Amazon’s third party merchants are a growing piece of the sales pie. Link
• Amazon posts worst year since 2008, lost $7.4B. Link
• Is Nike working to re-establish itself in the world of wearable tech? Link
• How Nordstrom became the most successful retailer. Link

Social Media + Marketing:

• Snapchat cracks top 10 largest U.S. venture-capital deals. Link
• Twitter to launch a YouTube-like video platform. Link
• Selfie stick rules holiday season as must-have accessory. Link
• Why brands tweet “bae.” Link
• Top branded Instagram videos of 2014. Link
• Net-a-porter promotes skiwear with branded ski lift. Link
• Apple sued for false advertising of iPhones. Link
• Lucky Magazine puts three bloggers on its cover. Link
• Forbes taking native ads to new level with AT&T-sponsored cover. Link
• Mark Zuckerberg starts a book club. Link
• McDonald’s lays out new brand vision, reaffirms commitment to “I’m Lovin It.” Link
• New AOL takes form with ad-tech in charge. Link
• Three seismic threats to marketers in 2015. Link

Start-ups:

• Grocery-delivery startup Instacart rings up $230M in funding. Link
• Qwant wants to be alternative to Google. Link
• Yummly teams up with Instacart to delivery recipe ingredients in an hour. Link

International:

[APAC]

• Self-checkout takes hold in Japan. Link
• Key stories to watch in China’s tech in 2015. Link
• Tencent launches China’s first private bank. Link
• Alibaba competitor Wanda eCommerce raises $161M at $3B valuation. Link

[AU]

• Costco to launch more Australian stores. Link

[EU]

• German online retailer Zalando sells old items offline. Link

[LATAM]

• Wal-mart to offer smaller store formats in Mexico. Link

Mobile, Tablet, + Wearables:

• App download volumes hit record high in November. Link
• Capital One kicks off Apple Pay promotion. Link
• Payments tipping point will be in 2015. Link
• 5 mobile developments that mattered in 2014. Link
• The year’s 10 biggest shifts, shake-ups and surprises in mobile marketing. Link
• A day with Apple Pay. Link
• Withings releases a $150 smartwatch for the masses. Link
• Mistfit debuts a new “Sqarovski Shine” wearables collection featuring crystal jewelry, solar charging. Link

Other:

• Nest adds 15 more companies to its “Works With Nest” program, integrating with other Internet of Things. Link
• Roku announces two new TV partnerships for Roku TV. Link