The week is starting off with a big policy change from a major retailer. Target is ending its “Price Match Guarantee” on Monday, meaning customers can no longer request price matching with products from rivals such as Walmart and Amazon. The change comes as many retailers strive, with varying degrees of success, to keep prices down in the face of President Donald Trump’s tariff policy.
Here’s what else is going on in retail:
In earnings: Q2 earnings season is heating up with results from both Apple and Amazon on Thursday. Analysts are expecting Amazon to turn in a strong quarter, with retail, advertising, and cloud services all growing. They are also anticipating the company to emphasise efficiency gain in its logistics. The e-commerce platform notably got some negative press from a Wall Street Journal report showing that the company hiked prices on 1,200 essential items despite its previously stated commitment to keeping prices low.
As for Apple, this is the tech giant’s last earnings call before the release of its fall product line-up in September. In the meantime, analysts are concerned the company is lagging on key areas such as artificial intelligence.
In webinars: Retail Brew is hosting an online event, “Successful Growth in a Complex World: Strategies to Navigate Tax, Tariffs and Trade,” this Wednesday featuring industry experts who will discuss the current global trade landscape, while also demonstrating how they are simplifying their operations and turning red tape into a runway.
In addition, Coresight Research is hosting its AI Council Monthly Meeting on Thursday. The invite-only group of senior leaders will examine strategies for using AI to increase margins and react to market conditions, while avoiding cannibalization of other pitfalls.
In conferences: If you’re in the Seattle area, you may be interested in the Seattle eCommerce Summit on Thursday. The event brings together locally based “retailers, brands, merchants, and solution providers,” including executives from Kraft Heinz, Wayfair, ThriftBooks, and the Seattle Seahawks, to discuss “strategy, marketing, operations, customer experience and more.”
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