Hi! Happy New Year! I haven’t published in awhile because I started a new job in a new city. I’m still figuring out my routine but hope to keep publishing on a regular schedule.  Capturing news about the retail/technology industries keeps me in the loop about my own industry and hopefully some of you find it helpful as well. If you do have any feedback or suggestions for me, leave it in the comments!

Cheers,

Carolann

Below is a recap of industry news from December 2015. All sources can be found in the hyperlinked text after the headline.

Brand/Retailer:

• Cyber Monday Sales Top $3 Billion as Discounts Spur Buyers. Link
• Ikea CEO Sees Online Accounting for 10% of Revenue by 2020. Link
• Amazon is capturing bigger slice of US online holiday spending. Link
• Yoox Net-a-Porter appoints executives from Instagram, La Rinascente to board. Link
• H&M blames warm weather across US and Europe for sales miss. Link
• How Primark is pushing into a cutthroat retail landscape. Link
• How Boohoo.com releases up to 300 new products a day. Link
• Apple doubles down on luxury image. Link
• Alibaba hires ex-Apple investigator for global anti-piracy fight. Link
• Holiday sales who online shift. Link
• Hudson’s Bay is said to consider buying Gilt. Link
• This big retailer could kill your subscription startup. Link
• Holiday shipping delays claim retailer Jet.com. Link
• Retailers face challenges as click and collect gains popularity. Link
• Abercrombie & Fitch President steps down, Hollister president promoted to dual role. Link
• More businesses are varying prices by the day, the hour, even the minute. Link
• Retailers that dominated in 2015. Link
• Why men are going to brick-and-mortar stores in the digital age. Link

Social/Marketing:

• Pinterest Acquires Two Image Indexing Startups In Mobile Shopping Push. Link
• Burberry campaign gets raw, goes 3D with DreamWorks. Link
• Facebook plans to shape up social software for work in 2016. Link
• Menswear site Four Pins shutting down. Link
• Carine Roitfeld’s second collaboration with Uniqlo will hit stores in February. Link
• A Nasty Gal and Courtney Love collaboration is happening. Link
• Facebook tests interest-specific newsfeeds on mobile. Link
• Snapchat is making its own original content for Discover again. Link

Startups:

• Custom Suit Startup Indochino Wants More Physical Stores. Link
• Four Nest Alums are opening a retail store to sell trendy tech gadgets. Link
• A Tinder-like shopping app looks to keep shopping simple. Link
• Lyft doubles funding with new $1B round. Link
• Ayr to branch off from Bonobos to form as its own standalone company. Link

International:

• Net-a-porter China’s GM talks mobile sales and Yoox merger. Link
• Rakuten to set up shop on JD.com. Link
• Europe’s privacy revolution sends shivers through Silicon Valley. Link
• China 2015 retail sales to rise almost 11%, slower than 2014. Link
• Currency fluctuations drive Chinese consumers to Japan. Link
• Alibaba warned by US to combat sales of counterfeit products. Link
• Abercrombie and Fitch opens first store in Dubai. Link
• Starbucks launches ecommerce site on Alibaba’s TMall. Link
• Walmart considers closing 5% of its Brazil stores. Link
• Woolworths follows Macy’s, Costco with plans for TMall shopfront. Link
• Apple Pay seeks growth in Asia, Europe after slow US adoption. Link
• Amazon UK to expand grocery range in 2016. Link

Mobile/Emerging Tech:

• Walmart Prepares to Enter Mobile Payments Business. Link
• Target thinks it has enough customer trust to get into the mobile wallet game. Link
• You can now hail an Uber via Facebook Messenger. Link
• Who’s winning the 3D printed shoe race? Link
• Mobile shopping up but US lags other parts of the globe. Link
• How retailers are using mobile messaging to change the way we shop. Link