Walmart Beats Amazon 🚀

Amazon extended its summer Prime Day sale to four days, hoping to drive engagement, but according to a Bloomberg report, many shoppers ended up flocking to Walmart instead. Walmart’s competing “Deals” event, which ran for a week, outperformed Amazon’s longest-ever Prime Day across several metrics, including spending growth, web traffic, and app usage — pointing to shifting consumer habits in U.S. e-commerce.

🚀 Growth Story: Spending on Walmart.com rose 24% year-over-year during its July 7–13 “Deals” event, six times the growth seen by Amazon during its July 8–11 Prime Day sale, according to credit and debit card transaction data compiled by Bloomberg Second Measure

📊 App Usage: Similarweb reported that Walmart’s app usage grew 22% during the event, while Amazon’s increased only 3%

🗣️Amazon’s Response: However, in response, an Amazon spokesperson told Bloomberg that the third-party data "do not accurately reflect" the strong customer response and claimed this year’s Prime Day delivered record-breaking sales and savings

Ground shipping costs surged to an all-time high in Q2 2025, driven by persistent surcharges from FedEx and UPS and a slowdown in discounting, according to the latest TD Cowen/AFS Freight Index report. Per-package ground rates rose 32% over the index’s January 2018 baseline — up from 26.2% in Q2 2024 — and are projected to remain elevated at 29.2% in Q3.

💸 Expensive Affair: Despite a 1.9% fall in fuel prices, ground fuel surcharges rose 5.1% in Q2

📦 Pricing Squeeze: FedEx and UPS have reduced their discounting, giving them more pricing power over shippers, according to the report. Both carriers have introduced new surcharges, with UPS being especially aggressive in raising fees

📈 Express Climb: Express parcel rates are also rising, with the average per-package rate projected to hit 2.3% in Q3 2025, up from just 0.7% in 2024

LVMH is reportedly in discussions to sell U.S. fashion label Marc Jacobs in a deal that could be valued at around $1 billion, according to The Wall Street Journal. The luxury group, which acquired the brand in 1997, has been exploring options since last year after receiving interest from potential buyers.

Brand management firms, including Authentic Brands, Bluestar Alliance, and WHP Global, are said to be among those involved in the talks. While LVMH rarely divests major labels, CFO Cecile Cabanis said the company is willing to part with brands that no longer fit its portfolio, citing recent sales of stakes in Off-White and Stella McCartney.

Marc Jacobs, founded in 1984, has grown into a globally recognized name in fashion and handbags. A potential sale would mark one of LVMH’s largest brand divestments since offloading Donna Karan’s parent company in 2016.

Walmart is rolling out a suite of four AI-powered “super agents” designed to simplify interactions between different user groups—shoppers, employees, suppliers, and developers—with the company. Walmart is banking on AI to accelerate its digital transformation, with a goal of making e-commerce account for half of its total sales within the next five years.

One of them, “Sparky,” is already active on the Walmart app. For sellers, suppliers, and advertisers, Walmart is developing a super agent called “Marty” to handle onboarding, order management, and ad campaign creation. Another tool, the “Developer” super agent, will serve as the platform for testing and building all future AI tools.

As part of its AI push, Walmart has also hired former Instacart executive Daniel Danker as Executive Vice President for AI acceleration, product, and design, and created a new EVP of AI role that remains vacant.

Amazon has quietly increased prices on more than 1,200 low-cost household staples over the past five months, despite earlier promises to keep prices steady.

A Wall Street Journal analysis of nearly 2,500 products found that items such as deodorant, protein shakes, pet supplies, and even U.S.-made Campbell’s soup saw an average price hike of 5% since January.

In response to the report, Amazon denied a systemic price shift, saying the data was “cherry-picked” and not representative of broader trends.

However, it is worth noting that a separate DataWeave study for Reuters found that U.S. prices for China-made goods on Amazon rose a median 2.6% between January and mid-June—well above the rate of core goods inflation—with steeper increases in May and June.

American Eagle’s latest marketing gamble is paying off. The apparel brand launched a high-profile campaign featuring actress Sydney Sweeney, sending its stock up 19% in premarket trading and closing nearly 4% higher on the day. Though financial details weren't disclosed, the campaign is reportedly the most expensive in the company’s history.

American Eagle is aiming to reignite sales—especially ahead of the back-to-school season—after reporting a 5% drop in revenue last quarter. Sydney Sweeney’s influence appears to be giving the brand a needed boost; she previously helped drive buzz in a campaign for Dr. Squatch, which was recently acquired by Unilever.

Amazon has acquired Bee, a startup behind an always-on AI wearable that records ambient conversations and turns them into daily summaries, to-do lists, and behavioral insights. Available as a $50 bracelet or free Apple Watch app with a $19/month subscription, Bee continuously listens and transcribes speech, though it claims to store only transcripts—not audio.

Despite lukewarm reviews, the device offers Amazon valuable data on human interaction that could help train future AI models. The move aligns with broader industry trends as tech giants race to develop AI-infused wearables, including Google’s Gemini smartwatch, Meta’s AI Ray-Bans, and a secret device from Jony Ive and OpenAI.

China’s leading e-commerce giants—Alibaba, JD.com, and Meituan—have launched a $28 billion subsidy-driven price war in the country’s booming instant retail sector, which promises delivery within 30 to 60 minutes.

The aggressive competition, aimed at capturing a market projected to hit $279 billion by 2030, is drawing scrutiny from regulators and economists concerned about its broader economic impact.

The State Administration of Market Regulation has summoned the companies, warning against unsustainable tactics. State media outlet Xinhua criticized “zero yuan purchases” and deep discounting, saying they risk creating a “bubble market.” Retail sales growth slowed to 4.8% in June, down from 6.4% in May, amplifying deflationary concerns.

Puma expects to post a loss this year, slashing its financial outlook as U.S. tariffs and slowing sales take a toll on margins. The German sportswear brand stated that currency-adjusted sales are now forecast to decline by at least 10% in 2025, a sharp reversal from its earlier projection of low- to mid-single-digit growth.

The company also warned that new U.S. import tariffs could wipe out €80 million from gross profits this year, despite efforts to adjust pricing and optimize supply chains. North America sales dropped 9.1% in Q2, while Europe declined 3.9%, contributing to overall quarterly revenue of €1.94 billion—below analyst expectations.

The update comes just weeks after former Adidas executive Arthur Hoeld took over as CEO, with the brand struggling to recover amid sector-wide and company-specific headwinds.

Hershey is raising prices on popular chocolate products, citing surging cocoa costs driven by poor harvests in West Africa. The company informed retail partners of price hikes in the "lower double-digit range," following a 178% spike in cocoa futures last year and continued volatility in 2025.

The company emphasized the increase is not tariff-related but reflects ingredient inflation. Cocoa prices have been pushed up by extreme weather in Ghana and the Ivory Coast—nations that produce nearly 60% of the world’s cocoa. Despite the hikes, Hershey says 75% of its portfolio remains under $4.

Luckin Coffee, the Chinese chain that overtook Starbucks in its home market, has entered the U.S. with two stores in Manhattan—one of them less than 200 feet from a Starbucks. Known for its mobile-only ordering system and steep discounts, Luckin is offering $1.99 iced lattes and promoting speed, customization, and app-based convenience.

After nearly collapsing in 2020 due to an accounting scandal, Luckin cleaned house, restructured, and rebounded to become China’s top coffee brand with over 24,000 stores.

Interestingly, Luckin’s expansion reflects a broader trend among Chinese consumer brands—such as Pop Mart and HEYTEA—looking westward for growth.

German electronics retailer Ceconomy, owner of MediaMarkt and Saturn, has confirmed it is in advanced discussions with Chinese e-commerce giant JD.com for a potential €2.2 billion ($2.6 billion) takeover. JD is considering a voluntary public cash offer of €4.60 per share under German takeover regulations, though no binding agreement has been signed yet.

Ceconomy operates over 1,000 stores across Europe and employs 50,000 staff. It generated €22.4 billion in revenue last fiscal year, with €5.1 billion coming from online sales. JD.com sees potential to enhance Ceconomy’s operations through its logistics capabilities, as it expands global ambitions amid growing pressure in the Chinese market.