Lowe’s is launching a drone delivery service in partnership with DoorDash, Alphabet at CNBC. “(Lowe’s) said the new drone delivery service — a first in the home improvement retail space — will give customers access to over 100 products in a delivery window as fast as 20 minutes. A pilot program is already live in North Carolina, with plans for expansion.” Read more

 

Amazon bets $3 billion on India’s fast-delivery boom, sources say at Reuters. “A key focus of the planned investment will be adding new small neighborhood ​warehouses…The other key areas of spending, the first person added, will be strengthening inventory management software at stores, deploying AI tools for demand prediction and expanding product selection.” Reuters subs.

 

Amazon brings free Prime delivery to merchants’ own websites Press release

 

Kroger Sets New Dress Code Rules for Its Grocery-Store Workers at Bloomberg. “Nearly 400,000 employees must now wear company-issued shirts instead of their own tops at all of Kroger’s 21 chains, which include Fred Meyer and Ralphs. The shirts sport the Kroger shopping-cart logo on front and back and come in blue, red and black. Each corporate division chooses one color.” Bloomberg subs.

 

Stitch Fix Q4: Net revenue +4.2% / Active clients -1.4% / Net loss of $2.1 million Press release

 

Dollar General & Toys: DG will offer more than 170 seasonal toys with approximately half $10 or less and debuts dedicated $5-and-under toy shelf Press release

 

Americans Are About to Lose Access to Cheap Gray-Market Prescriptions From Canada at WSJ. “As of next month, a loophole that allows (Diamantina Cavazosher) to personally import the ($10) medication, Xifaxan, for her painful gut condition, is closing. She will have to pay $1,100 a week for her prescription because she couldn’t get it covered by her insurer in the U.S.” WSJ subs.

 

Seattle becomes first city in nation to ban ‘surveillance pricing’ King 5

 

YouTube doubles down on video shopping with AI-powered ‘Ask YouTube’ feature at TechCrunch. “…if you search for a particular product, you might receive organized recommendations that include things like a comparison table showing various product attributes or categories, based on your preferences.” Read more

 

Best Buy will sell Amazon Fire streaming ads Press release

 

Mastercard expects the strongest holiday season in four years, with spending growth of 5.5%  Press release

 

Amazon is building a coalition to make sustainable fashion affordable at Fast Company. “More than 60 brands, from Stella McCartney to Brooks Running, are pooling their demand for low-carbon materials to bring prices down.” Read more

 

Gap partners with boy band Just Your Type in multiyear partnership AP