Hey Friends,
The holidays are here and I hope everyone is able to enjoy some much needed time with their friends and family. The last few weeks of the retail year are always surrounded with shopper frenzy, but there is no shortage of news coming out of the retail space.
British retail sales rose far more than expected in November and at their fastest monthly pace since the start of 2023, suggesting the sector “turned a corner” with help from Black Friday discounts ahead of the key Christmas period. The strong rise last month suggests some consumer resilience against high prices and borrowing costs helped by store discounts, easing inflation and improving consumer confidence.
British retail sales rose far more than expected in November and at their fastest monthly pace since the start of 2023, suggesting the sector “turned a corner” with help from Black Friday discounts ahead of the key Christmas period.
Apple (AAPL) has officially halted online sales of its Apple Watch Series 9 and Apple Watch Ultra 2 in the US due to a patent dispute between the tech giant and medical technology company Masimo related to the devices' blood oxygen sensors. The web pages for both the Series 9 and Ultra 2 list them as currently unavailable with no option to purchase them. In-store sales, as well as delivery and pickup of online orders, will stop Dec. 24. In October, the International Trade Commission (ITC) issued cease-and-desist and limited exclusion orders that force Apple to stop importing the watches and selling them through its first-party stores after a presidential review period that ends Dec. 25.
The Federal Trade Commission’s trial against Amazon (Seattle) alleging antitrust practices will not start until 2026, with the possibility of further delays, according to a court status report jointly filed by both parties this week. The FTC estimated May 2026 as a start date for the trial. Amazon countered that it would not be prepared for a trial until December 2026.
Rite Aid has been banned from using facial recognition technology for surveillance for five years. The terms are part of a court case settlement announced Tuesday by the company and the Federal Trade Commission. The FTC says the AI-based technology, which the company deployed to identify and track potential shoplifters “or other troublemakers,” collected and stored images of people without their knowledge and generated thousands of false positives.
Walmart adds Affirm’s buy now, pay later option to self-checkout. In an expanded partnership between the two companies, Walmart is adding a BNPL option at its checkout kiosks at most stores.Amid its pursuit of offline customers, installment payments platform Affirm announced it has integrated its pay-over-time services into Walmart’s self-checkout kiosks at more than 4,500 U.S. locations, according to a Tuesday press release.
Tonal on Monday launched a trade-in program for Lululemon Studio customers as the apparel brand phases out its Mirror fitness device by year’s end. Through the trade-in program, Tonal is offering customers $250 off the purchase of a certified refurbished Tonal Trainer, a free Tonal membership for the first year and the removal of the customers’ Mirror device from their homes at no charge.
Vuori has tapped Karen Riley-Grant as its next chief marketing officer effective Jan. 22, according to a press release shared with Retail Dive. She will report directly to founder and CEO Joe Kudla. Riley-Grant will be responsible for the overall marketing division, including “overseeing the creative development and execution for all marketing across retail, brand, eComm, wholesale and digital,” per the release. The departure of Nikki Larson Sakelliou as its CMO comes as the executive looks to spend more time with her family, the company said via email. Vuori has bet big on physical retail, with the company embarking on a plan to open 100 stores by 2026.
This will be the final installment of This Week in Retail for 2023. I cannot say thank you enough for your support and I look forward to seeing everyone in the new year.