Hi! Another week of Amazon-filled news (…and I did enjoy buying my cheaper apples and avocados today). Anyway, here are some industry headlines from the past week.  As always, sources can be found in the hyperlinked text after the headline.

Brands and Retailers

• Everlane’s quest to make the world’s most sustainable denim. Fast Company
• Whole Foods just got less expensive. Business Insider
• More than half of online sales growth in the US came from Amazon last year. Business Insider
• Amazon’s private brands have grown from $0 to $2.5B in sales in less than a decade. Business Insider
• How Target is using small-format stores to score with younger shoppers. Retail Dive
• Macy’s hires eBay executive amid management shakeup. The Wall Street Journal
• Sears inked two more licensing deals that will put a wide range of products on shelves outside of Sears. Chicago Tribune
• These are the 10 most popular mobile apps in America. Recode
• How Barney’s is navigating luxury’s slowdown. Fortune
• How Lush is winning at both online and brick-and-mortar beauty retail. Fashionista
• Target bets big on in-house brands. Business of Fashion
• Consumer products retailers are at a crossroads as a new threat rises. Retail Dive
• Beyond Amazon and Alibaba, what’s next for ecommerce? TechCrunch
• Burt’s Bees to launch makeup line. Women’s Wear Daily

Marketing and Social Media

• How retailers are using personalization to win customer loyalty. Forbes
• Google issuing refunds to advertisers over fake traffic, plans new safeguards. The Wall Street Journal
• How Instagram and Snapchat are benefitting from Facebook’s declining teen and tween numbers. AdWeek
• Tiffany makes inroads with millennials as Hepburn era fades. AdAge
• How Hollister came back from the dead. Bloomberg
• Snapchat is adding manual controls for advertisers concerned about brand safety. AdWeek

Startup and Emerging Tech

• Google Home launches WalMart shopping. Seeking Alpha
• Amazon has developed an AI fashion designer. Technology Review
• Shopify’s ecommerce empire is growing in Amazon’s shadow. Bloomberg
• Mobile payment company Square just opened its first brick-and-mortar store. AdWeek
• Target and Cartwheel apps merge ahead of mobile payments launch. TechCrunch
• Here is the Ionic, Fitbit’s long-awaited answer to the Apple Watch. Fast Company

International

• Abercrombie to enter Saudi Arabian market in September. Women’s Wear Daily
• 16 ways QR codes are being used in China. Andreesen Horowitz
• Gen Z are driving China’s consumer trend with impulse buying and instant gratification. South China Morning Post
• Abercrombie & Fitch planning to enter Indian market. Economic Times
• Canada’s retail sales rise in the first half of 2017.  Bloomberg
• Alibaba sales jump 56%.  AdAge