Category: weekly recap

Weekly Industry Brief: 2.8.2016

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Happy Monday! Check out a recap of news from around the web about retail, ecommerce, and technology. All sources can be found in the hyperlinked text after the headline.

Brand/Retailer

  • Reports rise that Amazon planning massive brick-and-mortar presence but it may not be true. Link and Link
  • Yahoo plans to cut 15% of workforce, reports $4.5B writedown on Tumblr, Americas. Link
  • What any business can learn from Nordstrom customer service. Link
  • The woman who created Netflix’s enviable company culture and how she did it. Link
  • Nastygal to lay off 10% of staff. Link
  • How Shinola boosted online sales with a new take on customer service. Link
  • Burberry to slash number of catwalk shows, speed up sales. Link
  • Are teen retailers finally turning a corner? Link
  • Ralph Lauren had a bummer quarter in America. Link
  • Weak sales at Kohl’s, Ralph Lauren spark selloff in retailers. Link
  • Kate Spade founders talk new accessories brand, Frances Valentine. Link
  • Retailers need to shift focus as consumers crave less stuff. Link
  • Amazon added 17M square feet of distribution center space in 2015. Link
  • Target launches gender-neutral kids home line. Link
  • Ikea revamps restaurants as food business grows. Link
  • Yoox Net-a-Porter beat forecast with larger-than-expected 31% year over year growth. Link
  • Luxury brands can no longer ignore sustainability. Link
  • Michael Kors finds a lifeline online. Link

Marketing/Social Media

  • Get ready to be blitzed by Chiptole ads. Link
  • See all the ads from the Super Bowl. Link
  • Instagram launches account switching on iOS and Android. Link
  • Fashion industry scrambles to find the right use of Snapchat. Link
  • Instagram extends video ads to 60 seconds. Link
  • Affiliate marketing offers alternative to crowded content marketplace. Link
  • Refinery 29 debuts its first app. Link

Start Ups

  • Jessica Alba’s Honest Co. reportedly seeking IPO. Link
  • A bra company that uses an app to find the right fit raised $8M. Link
  • Fab co-founder sells second startup. Link
  • AirBnB handed over $1.3M in tourist taxes to Paris in Q4. Link
  • Upgrade your jewelry box with the female millennial entrepreneurs behind Gleem & Co. Link
  • Stubhub takes on Ticketmaster with new platform for both primary and secondary tickets. Link

International

  • Walmart brings click-and-collect to Toronto. Link
  • Chinese shoppers in South Korea shun luxury for local brands. Link
  • PayPal data shows 35% of Chinese ecommerce took place on overseas sites in 2015. Link
  • As its market grows, Nigerian ecommerce startup Africa Internet Group raises $83M. Link
  • Aeropostale to open shops in Thai department stores. Link
  • UK online retailer Finery to open in-store shops at six John Lewis stores. Link
  • American Apparel testing UPS service for international delivery. Link
  • How fashion is cashing in on Chinese New Year. Link
  • Australia’s Cotton On plans international expansion. Link

Emerging Tech/Mobile

  • Virtual reality: coming soon to a clothing retailer near you. Link
  • Under Armour CEO sees technology as company’s undeniable future. Link
  • Amazon’s artificial intelligence agent, Echo, can order you pizza an turn on Spotify. Link
  • Loreal’s latest beauty secret – it’s acting like a tech company. Link
  • Leading virtual reality company is building a cross-platform VR content network. Link

Weekly Industry Brief 2.1.2016

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Sorry I missed the update last week– was busy, busy!  Check out some industry highlights from the last two weeks. Sources can be found in the hyperlinked text after the headline.

Brand / Retailer:

  • Sephora created an accelerator program for female-led beauty startups. Link
  • Tiffany’s cuts jobs as sales lose sparkle. Link
  • Ikea wants you to stop throwing away your furniture. Link
  • Birchbox cuts 15% of staff and puts Canada plans on pause. Link
  • Macy’s opens ‘the Etsy Shop’ in an effort to attract millennial shoppers. Link
  • H&M will again open more than one store per day this year. Link
  • Coach is slowly restoring its upscale aura. Link
  • Amazon Payments’ transaction volume surged in 2015. Link
  • Amazon hints at new shipping business. Link
  • Under Armour moves to control own future by opening 200 new stores in 2016. Link
  • Gap taps Abercrombie and Fitch alum as new CMO. Link
  • Amazon’s clothing selection is now bigger than 250 WalMart super centers combined. Link

Social Media / Marketing:

  • Spotify ready to introduce video product. Link
  • Fashion and beauty brands are investing more than ever in influencer marketing. Link
  • Google Glass disappears from social media accounts. Link
  • Google’s ad revenue rises in 2015 despite continued decline in prices. Link
  • Why cross-device programmatic advertising is ready to take off in 2016. Link
  • Facebook launches a sports hub just in time for Super Bowl. Link
  • Instagram is showing you a lot more ads than it used to. Link
  • Teenagers reveal what they think is cool – and what isn’t – in 2016. Link
  • Twitter and GoPro team up for Periscope live-video streaming. Link
  • Weibo, beating Twitter to the punch and lengthens its 140 character limit. Link

Start Ups:

  • Uber prepares meal-delivery service for 10 U.S. cities. Link
  • These 7 startups are poised to join the unicorn club in 2016. Link
  • Uber Rush spells the end of retailer las mile delivery innovations. Link
  • Sesame launches a venture arm to invest in startups that help kids. Link

International:

  • Apple makes a play to open retail stores in India. Link
  • Uber expands cooperation with Alibaba’s Alipay. Link
  • Alibaba teams with Nvidia in $1B bet on cloud computing. Link
  • com tests drones for rural China delivery. Link
  • Google brings wifi to Mumbai’s railway station. Link
  • Why Italian luxury companies are still betting on China. Link
  • Bloomingdale’s continues Middle East expansion with Kuwaiti location. Link
  • Amazon to create 2,500 jobs in the UK this year. Link
  • Facebook criticized in India over free limited internet. Link
  • Alibaba revenue growth seen slowest on record to intensify fight with JD.com. Link

Mobile / Wearable / Emerging Tech:

  • Samsung is opening a VR film studio in New York City. Link
  • WhatsApp joins the billion users club. Link
  • Facebook to shut Parse, tool for mobile apps. Link
  • Google to make smartphones that recognizes faces. Link
  • Facebook and Twitter: users consume mobile content faster. Link

Weekly Industry Brief: 1.18.2016

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Here is a recap of news around the industry from the last week. Sources can be found in the hyperlinked text after the headline.

Brand / Retailer:

  • Big retailers search for their spot in shopping’s future. Link
  • Music meets fashion as Stella McCartney shows pre-fall line. Link
  • GoPro lays off 7% of staff, warns of poor sales. Link
  • Under Armour tumbles after analysts say it has a woman problem. Link
  • American Eagle managed to beat the odds this holiday season. Link
  • The Zappos exodus continues after radical management experiment. Link
  • Amazon to open pick-up spot on University of Pennsylvania campus in Philadelphia. Link
  • Amazon is expanding into the world of ocean freight shipping. Link
  • Why Under Armour is paying big ten money to sponsor Yale University sports. Link
  • Best Buy lowers sales outlook after holiday sales drop. Link
  • WalMart to close hundreds of stores. Link
  • US holiday sales rose 3%, missing projections. Link

Social Media / Marketing:

  • How Snapchat plans to compete with Facebook for advertising dollars. Link
  • Marketing in the moments, to reach customers online. Link
  • Coach invests in new campaign to help revive ailing brand. Link
  • Foursquare CEO steps down as app seeks to boost growth. Link
  • Twitter brings Periscope live video into the newsfeed. Link
  • WhatsApp is ditching its $1 annual subscription fee. Link
  • Marketers, welcome to the world of emotional analytics. Link
  • Marriott’s adventure in online content marketing continues with premier of latest film. Link
  • How Michelle Phan is changing the marketing playbook for makeup. Link

Start Ups:

  • Meet the houseware startups making high design more affordable. Link 
  • Ex-Googler’s new venture is turning weed into a hip, lifestyle brand. Link
  • Venture capital is terrible at online shopping. Link
  • Jawbone raises $165M at half its last valuation. Link

International:

  • Apple inks deal for Champs-Elysees deal for flagship store. Link
  • Burberry is growing in mainland China again. Link
  • Black Friday fuels surprise surge in Brazilian retail sales. Link
  • NetFlix global expansion attracts some unexpected customers. Link
  • China’s Baidu says in talks to invest in Indian ecommerce startups. Link
  • Slump in Hong Kong, Macau hit Burberry’s Christmas sales. Link

Mobile / Wearable / Emerging Tech:

  • Apple’s recent acquisitions point to an AR future. Link
  • Why other location-based technologies could steal beacons’ thunder in 2016. Link
  • Top IoT and wearable technology trends for 2016. Link

Weekly Industry Brief: 1.11.2016

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Here are some of the things that happened over the last week in retail, technology, and fashion. All sources can be found in the hyperlinked text after the headline.

Have a great week!

Brand/Retailer:

  • Apple Music now has more than 10M subscribers. Link
  • Warm weather cost apparel stores hundreds of millions this fall and winter. Link
  • Ace to open hotel in New Orleans. Link
  • Hudon’s Bay to acquire Gilt Groupe for $250M. Link
  • What’s next for the American department store? Link
  • Why Finish Line is closing 150 stores even though ‘athleisure’ is booming. Link
  • Off-price retailers like TJ Maxx and Ross are thriving. Link
  • Holiday sales rise but not all retailers are cheery. Link
  • Holiday season winners and losers. Link
  • LuLuLemon reaches a turning point. Link
  • Macy’s slashes 4,000 jobs after huge drop in holiday season sales. Link
  • Old Navy sales tumble. Link
  • Kohl’s is debating whether to take itself private or break up the company. Link

Marketing/Social:

  • Instagram is now curating videos about live events. Link
  • Snapchat is building its own ad platform. Link
  • Target partnering with SoulCycle. Link
  • Burberry debuts on Apple TV with menswear fashion show. Link
  • Longer tweets said to be coming soon to Twitter. Link
  • What lies ahead for marketing in an increasingly ad-free future. Link
  • The White House joins Snapchat. Link
  • Burberry runs lunar New Year WeChat campaign. Link
  • Twitter wants to let brands turn your tweets into ads. Link

Startup:

  • How this bootstrapped company, Homepolish, is competing with a rival that raised $200M. Link
  • Japan’s fashion rental service AirCloset snags $8M. Link

International:

  • Amazon is letting UK shoppers to buy now, pay later. Link
  • Hong Kong retail sales figures fall for 12th straight month. Link
  • Wayfair roles out Canadian ecommerce site. Link
  • What Amazon Prime is like around the world. Link
  • Louis Vuitton sues counterfeit online sellers in China. Link
  • Victoria’s Secret to open first Southeast Asia flagship in Singapore. Link
  • Dolce & Gabbana appeals to Muslim consumers. Link

Mobile/Wearbles/Emerging Technology:

  • Under Armour gets serious about fitness tech with HealthBox, a big box of gadgets. Link
  • L’Oreal unveils smart skincare patch at CES. Link
  • Samsung’s smart clothes are wearables you’d actually wear. Link
  • Fashion icon Iris Apfel is designing wearables for Wisewear. Link
  • Apple acquires startup that reads emotions from facial expression. Link
  • Apple rolls out new betas across its platforms. Link

Weekly Industry Brief: 1.3.2016

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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

 

Weekly Industry Brief: 11.30.2015

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Happy Cyber Monday!  Below are some industry highlights from the last week.  Sources can be found in the hyperlinked text after the headline.

Note: I’ll be taking a short break with the weekly updates as I ramp up at my new job. More to come soon. Cheers!

Holiday:

  • When and where do Black Friday’s biggest crowds actually hit? Link
  • Black Friday shopping with thinner crowds as Americans spend more online. Link
  • Black Friday News: fewer people in stores, Everlane gives profits to factory workers. Link
  • US holiday sales on track amidst online boost. Link
  • US store sales down slightly for Thanksgiving and Black Friday. Link
  • Online sales surge ahead of brick-and-mortar retailers’ big day. Link
  • Holiday shopping unlikely to cheer many investors. Link
  • Thanksgiving/Black Friday online sales hit $4.5B, 34% of purchases made on mobile. Link
  • Google shares Black Friday location data for marketers. Link

Brand/Retailer:

  • Neiman Marcus web site suffers outages for second straight day. Link
  • Burberry, Google launch interactive video experience at London flagship. Link
  • Wal-Mart revamps ecommerce technology as Amazon applies pressure. Link
  • Amazon touts new drone prototype, plans multiple designs. Link
  • Kate Spade’s CMO talks phone-charging purses, Pixar and dressing room selfies. Link

Marketing/Social:

  • How Nordstrom and Sephora are nailing social media going into Black Friday. Link
  • J.Crew and American Girl embrace social commerce ads for the holidays. Link
  • Target’s big digital holiday campaign combines Snapchat, Facebook, and Instagram. Link
  • Snapchat debuts Story Explorer, a more detailed approach to live events coverage. Link
  • Shopping app Spring proves to be an inexpensive asset for young brands. Link
  • Vine arrives on the Apple Watch. Link
  • These ecommerce companies are seeing lots of referral traffic from Pinterest. Link

Startups:

  • Jet.com snags a fresh $350M in funding. Link
  • Deliveroo, an on-demand food delivery services, rasies $100M. Link
  • Rocket Internet’s latest company is ZenRooms, a budget hotel platform for Southeast Asia. Link

International:

  • Facebook prepares for instant articles push in Asia. Link
  • Facebook expands free internet service in India. Link
  • Apple plans to launch Apple Pay in China by February. Link
  • China’s mobile payments war is going global. Link

Mobile/Emerging Tech:

  • Swatch to start selling mobile payment watch in US in 2016. Link
  • Smartphones overtake desktops for holiday shopping. Link
  • Swatch teams up with Visa for a watch that can make payments. Link

WEEKLY INDUSTRY BRIEF: 11.23.2015

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Happy Monday! Check out industry highlights from the last week.  Sources can be found in the hyperlinked text after the headline.

Holiday:

  • Amazon bets on same-day delivery this year to target the procrastinator. Link
  • Best Buy reports softer sales, cautions ahead of holiday quarter. Link
  • WalMart is about to turn Cyber Monday into Cyber Sunday. Link
  • DHL’s new U.S. head talks holiday ecommerce, global trade and China. Link

Brand/Retailer:

  • Sephora’s new retail stores will take cues from YouTube. Link
  • ASOS launches wedding line. Link
  • Retailers scale up online sales distribution networks. Link
  • Consumers increasingly seeking services over things, giving new challenge for department stores. Link
  • Ikea tests click-and-collect in smaller stores. Link
  • Macy’s is launching a Korean beauty shop-in-shop. Link
  • Goop will open a holiday pop-up shop in New York City. Link
  • Polo Ralph Lauren debuts interactive fitting rooms at Fifth Avenue flagship. Link
  • Abercrombie shares rise after third-quarter sales top estimates. Link
  • Here’s why Gap just cut its 2015 profit forecast. Link
  • Martha Stewart ditches eBay for Amazon. Link

Marketing/Social:

  • The potential of geolocation for revolutionizing retail. Link
  • Polyvore on why they sold to Yahoo. Link
  • On Snapchat, brands trust influencers, but verify with only screenshots. Link
  • Conde Nast to shutter Details. Link
  • Facebook launches Fundraiser product to allow nonprofits to set up campaign pages. Link
  • Snapchat’s lackluster ad business threatens $16B valuation. Link
  • Jimmy Fallon unveils brilliant collaboration with J.Cew. Link

Startups:

  • LivingSocial offers a cautionary tale to today’s startups. Link
  • Caeden, a wearable tech start-up, introduces a smart bracelet. Link

International:

  • Apple Pay now available in Canada. Link
  • Louis Vuitton to close shops in China amid luxury slowdown. Link

Mobile/Emerging Tech:

  • Samsung Gear VR sold out online at Amazon and Best Buy. Link
  • Google lets users tap mobile apps without downloading them. Link
  • Google brings app into browsers, blurring mobile-desktop lines. Link
  • Dunkin Donuts tests mobile ordering in bid to catch up with Starbucks. Link
  • Can artificial intelligence sell shoes? Link
  • Facebook at Work gets its own version of Messenger with debut of Work Chat. Link
  • Brands look far and wide for a niche in virtual reality. Link

Weekly Industry Brief: 11.16.2015

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Happy Monday! Check out industry highlights from the last week.  Sources can be found in the hyperlinked text after the headline.

Holiday:

  • H&M to close US stores on Thanksgiving. Link
  • Target keeps Thanksgiving opening at 6pm. Link
  • Don’t expect holiday far at Nordstrom until Black Friday. Link
  • Walmart scales back on Black Friday, offers longer-term discounts. Link
  • Walmart to offer most Black Friday promotions online first. Link

Brand/Retailer:

  • Apple’s Angela Ahrendts on where the company is taking retail next. Link
  • Postmates to buy Sosh, a service for discovering local activities. Link
  • Beats music to shut down on November 30. Link
  • J.C. Penney sales beat estimates, helped by Sephora. Link
  • Rent the Runway will launch everyday fashion rentals next year. Link
  • Urban Outfitters to buy Vetri restaurants. Link
  • How Revolve Clothing took its brand global. Link
  • Marriott buying Starwood in deal valued at $12.2B. Link
  • Yoox Net-a-Porter raises savings estimates amid merger benefits. Link
  • Fossil Group to buy wearable fitness company Misfit for $260M. Link
  • Kohl’s taps Reed Krakoff for its next collaboration. Link

Marketing/Social:

  • Tumblr rolls out instant messaging on both web and mobile. Link
  • YouTube launches its long-awaited music app. Link
  • Shopify launches an Instagram for classified listings. Link
  • Oscar winning filmmaker directs a short film for Canada Goose. Link
  • Facebook launches Notify, a notifications app. Link
  • Facebook adds photo recognition to messenger. Link
  • Snapchat says it has 6 billion video views a day. Link
  • Pinterest’s new tool lets you do searches using pictures. Link

Startups:

  • You can now request an Uber through Slack. Link
  • Cola, a new start-up introduces ways to do more in text messages. Link
  • Uber signs digital mapping deal with TomTom. Link

International:

  • Macy’s joins Singles’ Day debutantes in Chinese spending spree. Link
  • China shatters online shopping records in just 12 hours on Singles’ Day. Link
  • Alibaba to invest in U.S. startups as part of expansion plan. Link
  • Amazon may export delivery lessons from India to cut costs abroad. Link
  • Spain’s Mango to shut 450 U.S. sales outlets. Link
  • Facebook restricts more content in India than anywhere else. Link

Mobile/Emerging Tech:

  • Apple, banks in talks on mobile person-to-person payment service. Link
  • Apple may be launching Venmo competitor. Link
  • LG and Google introduce a phone-free smartwatch. Link

Weekly Industry Brief: 11.9.2015

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Hi! Here is a recap of industry news over the last week.  Sources can be found in the hyperlinked text after the headline.

Brand/Retailer:

  • American Eagle acquires high-end men’s label Todd Snyder. Link
  • Google aims to begin drone package deliveries in 2017. Link
  • Best Buy hopes same-day delivery will fend off Amazon. Link
  • Amazon opens a bookstore in Seattle. Link
  • Sephora blends mobile with bricks-and-mortar for first connected boutique. Link
  • Burberry to unify brands under one label in bid to boost appeal. Link
  • Chanel expands ecommerce business with sunglasses. Link
  • JD sues Alibaba for misleading users with speedy delivery pledge. Link
  • H&M’s limited supply of Balmain overwhelms stores, website. Link
  • Michael Kors CEO vows to end retail rollout. Link
  • Holiday shoppers plan to spend more as retailers introduce marketing promotions. Link

Marketing/Social:

  • Starbucks’ seasonal #RedCups triggers excitement online. Link
  • Facebook debuts a new way to share music with your friends. Link
  • Vice’s new Viceland channel promises to remake cable with edgy infomercials. Link
  • Pinterest pushes buyable pins to Android phones, introduces Pinterest Shop. Link
  • YouTube now supports 3D virtual reality video. Link
  • Why the collection should be called Balmain x H&M x Instagram. Link
  • Twitter stars and favorites are replaced by hearts and likes. Link
  • Facebook says ad-blocking technology could have impact on sales. Link

Startups:

  • How this startup used Slack to prototype its app’s coolest feature. Link
  • Match, owner of dating sites like Tinder, seeks $403M in IPO. Link
  • Deliv acquires Zipments to grow its same-day delivery service in NYC. Link

International:

  • Sephora to open shops in Iran next year. Link
  • Ikea to double stores in Canada even as website sales soar. Link
  • Why Singles’ Day in China is bigger than Cyber Monday. Link

Mobile/Emerging Tech:

  • The North Face gives shoppers virtual reality experience. Link
  • Urban Outfitters embraces mobile shopping’s future with 3D Touch support. Link
  • Honest Beauty line comes to mobile with an app offering shopping and makeup tips. Link
  • Best new features of Android Marshmallow. Link
  • MIT is opening an innovation center in Hong Kong. Link
  • Apple debuts shopping category on the app store. Link

Weekly Industry Brief: 11.2.2015

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Check out industry news from the last week. All sources can be found in the hyperlinked text after the headline.

Brand/Retailer:

  • Walgreens to buy Rite Aid for $9.4B. Link
  • Poshmark adds retail brands to its seller community. Link
  • Urban Outfitters to end on-call shifts nationwide. Link
  • 76% of online shopping in the US this holiday season will be spent on 1% of products. Link
  • Five retailers that will dominate this holiday shopping season. Link
  • Target will offer free shipping on all online orders. Link
  • Wal-Mart won’t promote free shipping deals over holidays. Link
  • Macy’s makes moves to counter shoppers’ changing habits. Link
  • REI to close on Black Friday. Link
  • Lord & Taylor jumps into discounts game. Link
  • Wal-Mart tries offering fewer products, adding to tensions with suppliers. Link
  • UPS to increase fees, add new one for third-party sellers. Link
  • Kohl’s to add smaller stores in urban areas. Link
  • Some retailers step back from Black Friday frenzy. Link
  • Mall of America gets ready for holiday shoppers by adding WiFi. Link
  • Microsoft goes upscale with Fifth Avenue flagship store. Link
  • Warby Parker expanding beyond eyewear. Link
  • Wal-Mart bets on in-store pickup in holiday showdown with Amazon. Link
  • Coach sales starting to look up. Link
  • Carine Roitfeld x Uniqlo has landed. Link

Marketing/Social:

  • Facebook introduces slideshow ad unit to reach consumers in emerging markets. Link
  • Yelp continues shift away from display advertising. Link
  • Target boosts digital, social to 61% of holiday budget. Link
  • Snapchat adds to native ad arsenal with sponsored lens. Link
  • How LuLuLemon puts more focus on feelings. Link
  • Macy’s starts off holiday effort with wish fulfillment. Link

Startups:

  • Why is Silicon Valley pouring millions of dollars into old clothes? Link
  • Doorman is a startup eliminating missed package deliveries. Link
  • New mobile search startup focuses on apps. Link

International:

  • Apple Pay hitting Canada and Australia in 2015, Spain and more in 2016. Link
  • Facebook strives to bring cheap wifi to rural India. Link
  • Hong Kong shoppers go downmarket. Link

Mobile/Emerging Tech:

  • Amazon launches ‘Pay with Amazon’ buttons for mobile apps. Link
  • Nike embraces weather app in campaign to sell gear suited to local conditions. Link
  • QVC: the unlikely juggernaut of mobile shopping. Link
  • JPMorgan challenges Apple Pay with mobile app offering discounts. Link
  • App Store to feature ecommerce apps in new Shopping category ahead of Black Friday. Link
  • Facebook says nearly one third of online shopping transactions are on mobile. Link
  • Samsung sells more phones but for less money. Link
  • Baublebar and Jawbone collaborate on a bracelet for the wearable tech market. Link