Here is a recap of retail and ecommerce industry news from the last week.  Sources can be found in the hyperlinked text after the headline. P.S. If you ever have any feedback, let me know! Have a great week.

Brands and Retailers

• Amazon will account for half of all ecommerce sales by 2021. Fortune
• Inside Farfetch’s store of the future. Business of Fashion
• Wal-Mart is reportedly about to buy Bonobos. Business Insider
• Neiman Marcus finds even wealthy shoppers want better deals. Wall Street Journal
• Google makes Nevada land grab for data center. Wall Street Journal
• Retail sales in US declined for a second month in March. Bloomberg
• Three big insights for fashion brands looking to compete with Amazon. Glossy
• Home Depot now makes $5B online, but a stellar store experience remains its top priority. Adweek
• Canada Goose could triple its revenue over the next five years. CNBC
• Wal-Mart offers deals for click-and-collect customers. CNBC
• Imagining the store of the future. New York Times
• How retailers are thriving despite the supposed death of their industry. Entrepreneur
• Wal-Mart eliminates more corporate jobs. Business of Fashion
• Jeff Koons’ new line with Louis Vuitton. New York Times
• At Lord & Taylor, the Bobbi Brown lifestyle in a shop. WWD
• Prada’s turnaround plan: fewer stores, more ecommerce. Glossy
• Crate & Barrel CEO out after less than two years. Chicago Tribune
• The Body Shop attracts bids from 15 suitors. Business of Fashion
• Uniqlo parent Fast Retailing’s profit increases amid global expansion. Business of Fashion
• Is American retail at a historic tipping point? New York Times
• Jeff Bezos outlines his methods for high velocity decision making. Quartz
• Theory introduces garment recycling program. WWD
• Rue 21 closing hundreds of stores amid lender talks. WWD
• Specialty retailer South Moon Under gets funding to fuel growth. WWD

Marketing and Social Media

• Millennials may prefer stores, by 20% of apparel purchases are online. WWD
• How messaging is transforming the customer experience. WWD
• Facebook messenger is now twice the size of Instagram. Recode
• Influencer marketing: an opportunity slipping through our fingers. Adweek
• Instagram now lets you organize bookmarks into private collections. Techcrunch
• Snap wants to help brands track when ads drive people to locations. Wall Street Journal
• Google is trying to turn Image Search into a shopping tool. Recode
• Instagram stories is finally bigger than Snapchat after copying many of its features. Adweek
• Yext finishes the day up 21% as IPO window remains wide open. Techcrunch

Startup and Emerging Tech

• Glossier is poised to hire nearly 300 new employees in New York. Fashionista
• Apple secures permit to test autonomous vehicles in California. Wall Street Journal
• Purple, a Utah mattress startup you’ve probably never heard of, is on track to unicorndom. Techcrunch
• How P.E. Nation is tapping into today’s active-meets-streetwear zeitgeist. Glossy
• Reformation’s first-ever swim collection has arrived. Fashionista
• Inside Stitch Fix’s experiment to design clothing with an algorithm. Glossy
• Indochino’s made-to-measure suits are coming to a city near you. Bloomberg
• Samsung to delay launch of English-language version of virtual assistant. Wall Street Journal

International

• Contemporary fashion replaces luxury amid Hong Kong downturn. South China Morning Post
• US children’s brand Carter’s to open 200 stores in China. China Daily
• Amazon Prime’s popularity grows in India. Live Mint
• Acne ramps up Asia, kickstarts “less is more” denim approach. WWD
• Juicy Couture to close all stores in the UK. Telegraph
• How China won the race to being considered a mobile-first commerce nation. Forbes
• Starbucks extends health coverage to workers’ parents in China. Bloomberg
• Dior seeking millions from ‘network’ of Chinese knock-off sites. WWD