Happy Monday! This week I have a special section of headlines about Alibaba’s Double 11/Singles Day event from the weekend.  Next week is Black Friday here in the US, which means we have one more Monday before Cyber Monday.  Cheers to a successful holiday!

As always, sources can be found in the hyperlinked text after the headline.

Alibaba’s Singles Day Event

• Alibaba’s Singles Day racks up $8.6B in first hour. Bloomberg
• Alibaba’s Singles Day sales smash record with $25B haul. Fortune
• Alibaba lets AI, robots and drones do heavy lifting for Singles Day. South China Morning Post
• Alibaba’s Singles Day sales hit record. New York Times
• Alibaba tests 60 futuristic pop-up stores across China for Singles Day. Digiday
• Lessons from Alibaba’s $25B shopping event. AdAge
• Singles Day 2017 highlights Alibaba’s intent to become a global leader. Forbes
• Alibaba and JD.com squabble over Singles Day sales calculations. Women’s Wear Daily
• Singles Day faces fatigue in China. The Wall Street Journal
• JD.com generated $19B in sales at its rival event. Fortune
• Black Friday, Prime Day and Singles Day: When do people spend the most? Fortune

Brands and Retailers

• CVS will offer next day delivery of prescriptions. New York Times
• Amazon Cash, the service that lets you use cash to shop Amazon online, arrives at 7-Eleven. TechCrunch
• Burberry shares are plunging as investors flee new CEO’s expensive plans. Fortune
• Online retailers are desperate to stem a surging tide of returns. Bloomberg
• Amazon developing a free, ad-supported version of Prime. AdAge
• Nordstrom is launching 24/7 curbside pickup for the holidays. Fashionista
• Victoria Beckham to collaborate with Reebok in 2018. Fashionista

Marketing and Social Media

• How Vimeo is preparing for the future of video storytelling. Fast Company
• Snapchat’s programmatic ads fetch $3-$8 CPMs. Digiday
• Tencent could play a role redesigning Snapchat following $2B investment. Techcrunch
• Instagram might let you follow hashtags. Fast Company
• How Kith built its brand in niche streetwear. New York Times
• Facebook relaunches Events app as Facebook Local, adds bars and food. Techcrunch
• Spotify expands merch to beauty products, sells out tickets for Who We Be. Techcrunch
• Women-only social club The Wing launches a bi-annual print magazine. AdWeek
• At Tiffany, the Fifth Avenue face-lift starts at home. New York Times
• Crew cast seven ‘real people’ in its 2017 holiday gift guide. Fashionista
• Amazon expands its influencer program to include Twitter and Instagram, in addition to YouTube. Techcrunch

Startup and Emerging Tech

• Music.ly, a Chinese app big in the U.S. sells for $1B. New York Times
• Tinder wants to spice up your love life with AI and location services. Android Authority
• Stitch Fix gets a close look from consumer VC firm ahead of IPO. Techcrunch
• Heyday raises $3M for personalized skincare and facials. Techcrunch
• Apple has acquired imaging sensor startup InVisage Technologies. Techcrunch
• Voice-enabled smart speakers to reach 55% of U.S. households by 2022. Techcrunch

International

• Costco to expand internationally; will launch in France. Bloomberg
• Birchbox opens first UK standalone store. Vogue
• Amazon says Australia launch imminent. Business of Fashion
• PayPal launches domestic payments in India. Business Line