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Retail Sales Rise 0.4% Retail sales rose 0.4% in September after inching up just 0.1% in August, according to the Commerce Department, beating expectations of a 0.3% increase. Non-store retailers, which include ecommerce platforms, saw sales rise a healthy 7.1% year over year. Total retail and food service sales reached $714.4 billion in September, a 1.7% increase from the same time last year. Core retail sales, which exclude automobiles, gasoline, building materials and food services, increased by 0.7% in September after rising by 0.3% in August. Restaurant sales were up 0.4%; economists consider dining out a non-essential expense so when restaurant sales rise, they believe it points to consumer confidence in spending. Sales were up 1.4% for online retailers in August and were up 7.8% year over year. Home and garden centers and sporting goods stores sales also rose, but sales were down in many other categories. Sales have risen at a modest 2.1% pace in the past 12 months. Before the pandemic, retail sales rose by about 3.6% a year. Consumers have been showing signs of stress, with credit-card debt rising and savings rates falling, trends that could weigh on spending in future months. Retail sales represent about one-third of all consumer spending and offer clues on the strength of the economy. The Home Depot The Home Depot announced the winners of the annual Innovation Awards, recognizing products that have transformed the home improvement landscape. Overall Award Winner was Starlink, recognized for their Standard Kit that revolutionizes home connectivity by providing customers with high-speed, low-latency internet access in remote locations all bundled into an easy to install kit. Milwaukee’s FORGE Batteries and Super Charger was the first runner up; THD noted the innovative product saved pros time and money. The Home Depot also honored Partners of the Year, including Pratt Industries as Environmental Partner of the Year, Echo as Interconnected Partner of the Year, and Whirlpool as Marketing Partner of the Year. Walmart Walmart will offer their subscription only plan, Walmart+, at half-price from November 4 through December 2, which slashes the cost of membership from $98 to just $49. Walmart is trying to close the gap between them and Amazon Prime, which recently raised subscription prices to $139 year. Some Walmart and Sam’s executives are quitting rather than relocating to corporate headquarters in Bentonville, Arkansas. Cheryl Ainoa, the chief technology officer at Walmart-owned Sam’s Club, is leaving her position after almost five years because she doesn’t want to relocate. Walmart announced months ago corporate staff would need to relocate to headquarters or risk losing their jobs and began sending out relocation packages. Aiona, who helped oversee innovations such as the exit technology that allows customers to leave the warehouses without receipt checks, will remain in her position until February. She will be succeeded by Sanjay Radhakrishnan, Walmart’s senior vice president of global technology. Ace Hardware Ace Hardware hosted an online sales event exclusively for members of Ace Rewards, the company’s free loyalty program. Deals included discounts on power tools, grills, paint and lawn and garden supplies. Ace also introduced a new benefit for Ace Rewards members, offering free assembly and delivery on snowblowers and push mowers in addition to the service that is already available for grills priced at $399 and up. Ace Reward members also get free delivery from local stores on qualifying orders. Ace retained their fifth-place ranking in the annual Franchise Times Top 400 List for the third year in a row. The Franchise Times Top 400 is an exclusive annual ranking of the largest US-based franchise systems by global systemwide sales. Ace Hardware once again shares their ranking in the top five with global fast food giants McDonald's, KFC and Burger King, as well as convenience store chain 7-Eleven. True Value True Value has filed for Chapter 11 bankruptcy and will sell all of their business operations to Fort Wayne, Indiana-based home-improvement company Do It Best for a reported $153 million in cash. True Value will continue their day-to-day operations serving 4,500 independently owned retailers. Those independently-owned stores are not part of the Chapter 11 proceedings with the exception of one company-owned store in Palatine, according to True Value. The deal with Do It Best is expected to be completed by the end of the year. True Value was founded in Chicago by John Cotter in 1948 and took on the True Value name in 1962. In 2018, Acon Investments bought 70% of what was then a co-op. Amazon Amazon has developed Vision-Assisted Package Retrieval (VAPR) in order to cut down on the time and effort it takes drivers to retrieve packages. VAPR projects a green “O” on packages that need to be dropped off at an address and a red “X” on those that should remain in the van. The tech will also use audio and visual cues to let drivers know they’ve found the right package. Amazon says early tests have showed the technology helped reduce "perceived physical and mental effort" for drivers and saved them more than 30 minutes per route. Amazon is offering Prime members fuel savings of ten cents per gallon at about 7,000 BP, Amoco and ampm stations across the country. In 2025, Amazon will start offering additional savings on electric vehicle charging with plans to add an offer with bp pulse, bp's EV charging business. More details will be revealed next year. To activate the gas offer, Prime members need to visit amazon.com/fuelsavings. When additional Amazon packaging is required to ship a product, they’re prioritizing paper-based packaging solutions where possible. Amazon said they were able to quickly expand their use of paper filler made from 100% recycled content and replacing plastic air pillows with the overall goal of reducing packaging and increasing their use of materials that can be recycled. In North America, plastic pillows are the number one packaging material that cannot be recycled. © Robert Bosch Tool Corporation. All rights reserved, no copying or reproducing is permitted without prior written approval.
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