Costco January comp sales (ex. fuel & f/x): US +6.8% / Canada +8.2% / Other Int'l +2.7% / Total Company +6.4% / Digitally-Enabled +33.1% Press release   Spotify Will Soon Offer Physical Books at WSJ. "Beginning this spring, the Swedish streaming service will allow premium subscribers in the U.S. and U.K. to buy hardcovers and paperbacks through its app, in partnership with Bookshop.org." WSJ subs.   This year’s Super Bowl commercials feature AI, weight-loss drugs and celebrities galore at AP   How Victoria’s Secret got its sexy back at Fortune. "(CEO Hillary) Super’s strategy is showing early signs of success. The [...]

  Amazon sets new Prime delivery speed record in 2025 Press release   PayPal shares sink 15% after forecasting weak 2026 earnings; HP’s Enrique Lores named new CEO at CNBC. "Online branded checkout growth decelerated to 1% in the fourth quarter, compared with 6% a year earlier. The company said this was driven by weakness in U.S. retail, international headwinds and tougher comparisons." Read more   Saks Global to exit Amazon partnership during bankruptcy at GlobalData/Yahoo   The Expensive Decision Walmart’s CEO Made That Changed Everything at WSJ. "Doug McMillon...sat down with WSJ ahead of his last day..." 7:15 video/WSJ [...]

  Home Depot lays off 800 workers, says corporate employees will return to office 5 days a week at CNBC. "About 150 of the employees were based at Home Depot’s headquarters in Atlanta and the rest were in remote jobs, with most in the technology organization of the company and some on other corporate teams...Decker said the five-day in-office policy will begin the week of April 6." Read more   Tractor Supply Q4 comp store sales +0.3% Press release   Amazon Found ‘High Volume’ Of Child Sex Abuse Material in AI Training Data at Bloomberg. "Amazon believes it over-reported these [...]

Amazon cuts 16,000 jobs in the latest round of layoffs at AP. "Beth Galetti, a senior vice president at the ecommerce company, made the announcement Wednesday in a blog post...She said U.S.-based staff would be given 90 days to look for a new role internally." Read more   South Carolina is the Nation’s Fastest-Growing State at US Census. "Population growth in the United States has slowed significantly with an increase of only 1.8 million, or 0.5%, between July 1, 2024, and July 1, 2025..." Census data   ...What the Census Says About the U.S. Population, in Six Charts at WSJ. [...]

  Amazon cuts 16,000 jobs in the latest round of layoffs at AP. "Beth Galetti, a senior vice president at the ecommerce company, made the announcement Wednesday in a blog post...She said U.S.-based staff would be given 90 days to look for a new role internally." Read more   South Carolina is the Nation’s Fastest-Growing State at US Census. "Population growth in the United States has slowed significantly with an increase of only 1.8 million, or 0.5%, between July 1, 2024, and July 1, 2025..." Census data   ...What the Census Says About the U.S. Population, in Six Charts at [...]

  BAIN FORECAST: Retail sales growth will slow in the US, UK, France, and Germany in 2026 "Bain projects US retail sales to grow 3.5% year over year in 2026, to $5.3 trillion, slightly down from estimated 4.0% growth in 2025. Volume growth will be modest, with inflation projected to hover between 2.6% and 3.0%." Press release   Target’s incoming CEO Michael Fiddelke, sent a message to employees on Monday, calls Minneapolis violence ‘incredibly painful' at CNBC. "Fiddelke...will step into the CEO role on Feb. 1. In the video message to employees, he said he’s looking forward to starting the [...]

  Consumer spending pushes US economy up 4.4% in third quarter, fastest in two years at AP. "America’s gross domestic product — the nation’s output of goods and services — rose at a 4,4% annual pace in the third quarter, the Commerce Department reported Thursday, up from 3.8% in the April-June quarter and from the 4.3% growth the department initially estimated. The economy hasn’t grown faster since third-quarter 2023." Read more   Americans Travel the World Only to Wind Up in Costco at WSJ. "Some may ask why Costco fans fly halfway across the planet to visit the same temple [...]

  Can a $1,699 Espresso Machine Help Walmart Challenge Amazon? at WSJ. "Walmart’s internal research shows that shoppers equate stylish designs with better quality, said Creighton Kiper, who runs the home category for Walmart in the U.S...“I went to Walmart because other people weren’t,” said (Drew) Barrymore of some other celebrity partnerships. When its (Beautiful) products hit Walmart stores, they were a hit...Beautiful is now expanding its offerings at Walmart, including a new line of outdoor furniture." WSJ subs.   Top 100 Fashion Trends for 2026 at Trendhunter   Here’s the Best Way to Sell a Hot Rotisserie Chicken at Stanford [...]