Half of U.S. states will raise their minimum wage in 2021 at CNBC. "There’s growing evidence that voters on both sides of the aisle support a $15 minimum wage. In November, Florida became the eighth state to choose to phase in a pay floor at that rate, thanks to a ballot referendum approved by 60% of voter in an election in which Donald Trump won." Read more   Surge in online shopping is straining America’s busiest port, official says at CNBC. "Port of Los Angeles Executive Director Gene Seroka in an appearance Monday on CNBC said cargo volume is [...]

  Drugmakers rush to test whether vaccines stop coronavirus variant at Reuters. "Ugur Sahin, chief executive of Germany’s BioNTech...said on Tuesday he needs another two weeks to know if his shot can stop the mutant variant of the virus." Read more   Q3 gross domestic product increased 33.4% at Fox News. "A bump of 0.3 percentage points from the second estimate and ahead of the 33.1% that analysts surveyed by Refinitiv were expecting." Read more   Britain tells shoppers food is plentiful but supermarkets fret about next week at Reuters. "Interior minister Priti Patel said Britons should not be concerned [...]

  Walmart will pick up items shipped and sold by Walmart.com from customers' homes through a new partnership with FedEx at CNN. "Walmart said the "incredibly convenient" option is free and will remain in place beyond the busy holiday shopping season." Read more   Amazon closes New Jersey warehouse after workers test positive for coronavirus at CNBC. Read more   Nike Q2 revenues were $11.2 billion, up 9% / Nike direct sales were $4.3 billion, up 32% Press release   Walmart using ‘pop-up’ option to meet online holiday demand at Talk Business. "The pop-up space will be inside 42 of [...]

  TOO LATE - NRF: A record number of people plan to shop the Saturday before Christmas at CNBC. "Over 150 million Americans plan to shop the Saturday before Christmas this year, up slightly from 147.8 million in 2019, according...42% are planning to do so online only, avoiding crowded malls and stores." Read more   At Home CEO says retailer can increase its store count almost threefold at CNBC. "While the home decor superstore invests in building out its digital presence, the company continues to see opportunity in physical stores, which Bird called the “center of our universe.” Currently operating [...]

  Rite Aid Q3 comp sales +4.3% (6.1% increase in pharmacy sales / 0.7% decrease in front-end sales) Press release   ...Rite Aid's stock rockets after big profit beat, raised outlook at MarketWatch. "For fiscal 2021, the company revised its revenue guidance to $23.9 billion to $24.2 billion from $23.5 billion to $24.0 billion, its same-store sales growth view to 3.5% to 4.5% from 3.0% to 4.0%." Read more   Amazon asks U.S. to include warehouse, grocery staff in vaccine rollout at Reuters. "The U.S. National Retail Federation made a similar request on the industry’s behalf Wednesday as well." Read [...]

  U.S. Retail Sales Fell 1.1% in November at CNN. "Sales were expected to be down 0.3% month-over-month in November, according to a survey of analysts compiled by Refinitiv." Read more   NAHB/Wells Fargo Housing Market Index drops from record high as rising prices hit buyers at CNBC. "Of the index’s three components, current sales conditions dropped 4 points to 92. Sales expectations in the next six months fell 4 points to 85. Buyer traffic also decreased 4 points to 73." Read more   E-Commerce to Total a Quarter of Global Retail by 2024, GroupM Forecasts at The Wall Street [...]

  Costco CEO says company is doubling down on brick-and-mortar, even as it invests in e-commerce at CNBC. "Jelinek: “It’s still important to get people physically in the stores. I still think brick-and-mortar is not going to go away. We want to continue to get people in the stores, and there’s no better way to do it than a $1.50 hot dog and a rotisserie chicken” for $4.99, he said." Read more/Video   FedEx, UPS are managing surge in packages with strict limits on shippers at Fox Business. "Richard Galanti, Costco’s finance chief, said that some days UPS and FedEx [...]

  Holiday retail workers seek "temporary lifeline" in warehouse jobs, if they can find one at Reuters. "Lidl took an opportunistic approach to finding candidates this season in Germany, where a partial lockdown is likely to be toughened in coming days. “Bar work is so yesterday,” read a November 30 recruitment ad. “Look forward to a secure job for €12.50 an hour - switch industries and get into retail.” Read more   Amazon’s self-driving company Zoox unveils autonomous robotaxi at CNBC. "Zoox said it’s currently testing in three cities — Las Vegas, Nevada; Foster City, California; and San Francisco, California. [...]