Spotlight on Industry Headlines
AMAZON IS REPORTEDLY PLANNING TO BRICK AND MORTAR LOCATIONS
C onsumers make up nearly 70% of all activity in the U.S., so retail sales are watched closely as a gauge to overall economic health so when shoppers in the U.S. cut back their purchases in July even more than expect - ed as worries over the delta variant of Covid-19 dampened activity and government stimulus dried up it is reason for concern. Retail sales for the month fell 1.1%, worse than the Dow Jones estimate of a 0.3% decline and below the upwardly revised 0.7% increase in June. Excluding automobiles, sales declined 0.4%, according to Commerce Department figures. RETAIL SALES DROP WORSE-THAN-EXPECTED FOR JULY
R umours are buzzing that Amazon is planning to open large retail locations that resemble department stores. The locations will take up roughly 30,000 square feet, around the size of a typical Kohl’s or T.J. Maxx store, but only about the third of a size of a traditional department store. The move would mark Amazon’s latest experiment with physical retail stores after steal- ing market share in the retail landscape from incumbents with its e-commerce business. The department stores are expected to help Amazon sell more clothing and technology products, according to the Journal. The newspaper reported the company started approaching U.S. ap- parel brands about large-scale stores about two years ago, al- though it’s unclear which brands would be stocked. The e-com- merce giant also plans to sell its own private label goods.
U.S. JOBLESS CLAIMS HIT NEW PANDEMIC-ERA LOW
F irst-time filings for unemployment insurance hit a pan - demic-era low last week, a sign that the job market is improving heading into the fall despite worries over the delta Covid variant. The Labor Department reported that jobless claims for the week ending Aug. 14 totaled 348,000. That was below the Dow Jones estimate for 365,000 and a decline of 29,000 from the previous week. The last time claims were this low was March 14, 2020, just as the Covid-19 pandemic declaration hit and sent the U.S. economy spiraling into its deepest but briefest recession on record.
ALL FEDERAL PARTIES MAKING AFFORDABLE HOUSING AN ELECTION TOPIC. A s Canadian voters get ready to hit the polls in September, they will be hearing a similar message from each of the fed- eral parties during the current election campaign: housing has grown too expensive, and we have a plan to fix it. The consensus reflects the increasingly dire state of housing in Canada, experts say, which affects everyone from prospective homeowners feeling squeezed out of the market to lower-income families languishing on waiting lists for affordable housing.
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AUGUST/SEPTEMBER 2021 • SPOTLIGHT ON BUSINESS MAGAZINE
SPOTLIGHT ON BUSINESS MAGAZINE • AUGUST/SEPTEMBER 2021
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