Consumer

Exclusive news, analysis, and commentary on consumer-facing sectors, like sellers of clothing, food, and electronics.

Consumer

Climate Change Forces Starbucks Deeper into Coffee R&D

Photo by Shelby Murphy Figueroa via Unsplash

Starbucks is buying two farms in Central America to conduct research on the crop at the heart of its business: coffee.

2 min read
Consumer

PepsiCo Adds Tortilla Chip Aficionado to Its Portfolio

Photo by Ja San Miguel via Unsplash

PepsiCo announced on Tuesday that it has agreed to buy Siete Foods for $1.2 billion, another food M&A deal this year.

1 min read
Consumer

Walmart Wants to Cut Out Credit Card Networks

Photo by Taurus Emerald via CC BY-SA 4.0

Walmart will soon roll out an option that would allow consumers to pay for online orders directly via instant bank account transfers.

2 min read
Consumer

Shein’s London IPO Overshadowed by Transatlantic Geopolitics

Photo by DMCGN via CC BY 4.0

A Labour Party official said he’d like to see legislation that heavily impacts imports of Chinese textiles — a potential problem for Shein.

1 min read
Consumer

Christie’s Adds Classic Car Auction House to Its Luxury Portfolio

Photo by Bryan S via CC BY-SA 2.0

Auction house Christie’s has agreed to buy Gooding and Company, a classic auto auction house, to expand its luxury offerings.

1 min read
Consumer

McDonald’s Lengthens the Meal Deal Wars

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McDonald’s announced that its $5 summer meal deal, which was only supposed to last through June, will now be extended into December.

1 min read
Consumer

Gym Group Finally Profitable Again Post-COVID

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The Gym Group announced on Wednesday that in the first six months of this year it swung back to a profit for the first time since 2019.

1 min read
Consumer

Back-to-School Spending Is Flat or Falling, Depending on Whom You Ask

Image Credit: iStock, Nadezhda1906

Early data this year suggests back-to-school season spending is either flat from last year, or took a slight dip.

1 min read
Consumer

Lego Thrives Amid Higher Business Cost and a Slowing Toy Market

Image Credit: Lego.com

Danish company Lego reported generating $4.65 billion in revenue for the first half of 2024, up 13% from a year earlier.

1 min read
Consumer

Economic Strains Starting to Hit Wealthier Americans, Survey Finds

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Mizuho found that both low- and high-income Americans alike are trying to get as thrifty as possible, reducing spend.

1 min read
Autos

RV Having Fun Yet? The Ups and Downs of Camper Economics

Photo illustration by Connor Lin / The Daily Upside, Photo by Nerthuz via iStock

In addition to offering mobile headquarters for families on vacation, recreational vehicle sales are a pretty good indicator of the economy.

5 min read
Consumer

Is Peloton’s Turnaround Plan Finally Working?

Photo by Phillip Pessar via CC BY 2.0

Peloton reported sales growth of 0.2% in the latest quarter, its first quarter of year-over-year revenue growth since late 2021.

1 min read
Consumer

Target and TJ Maxx Win Big By Keeping Prices Low

Photo by Ajay Suresh via CC BY 2.0

Both Target and TJ Maxx posted stellar earnings results on the strength of the incredibly resilient US consumer.

1 min read
Industries

The Hot Trend for Americans Cutting Back on Alcohol, If Only a Little

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Functional beverages — drinks producers tout as having health benefits because they have been infused with bioactive compounds.

2 min read
Consumer

Mars Scores Biggest Acquisition Ever with Pringles Maker

Photo by Mike Mozart via CC BY 2.0

Mars announced on Wednesday that it has agreed to buy snack maker Kellanova, a spin-off from Kellogg’s, for a mouth-watering $35.9 billion.

1 min read
Consumer

Starbucks Abruptly Dumps CEO, Poaches Chipotle Boss

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For Starbucks chief Laxman Narasimhan, the daily grind is over. The embattled coffee chain named Chipotle CEO Brian Niccol his successor.

1 min read
Consumer

Uber Coasts to Another Quarter of Profitability

Photo by Raysonho via CC0 1.0

Uber returned to profitability in the second quarter, bucking macroeconomic trends and proving it can diversify its revenue streams.

2 min read
Consumer

Temu Faces a Supplier Revolt

Photo via Connor Lin / The Daily Upside

Suppliers are upset Temu is swapping to a more Amazon-esque supplier model and trying to drive prices ever-downward.

2 min read
Consumer

McDonald’s Made It Official: Consumers Have Reached Their Limit

Photo by Erik Mclean via Unsplash

McDonald’s warned that customers might be getting sick of price hikes. It was right. Sales fell year-over-year for the first time since 2020.

1 min read
Technology

Online Education Provider 2U Files for Bankruptcy

Photo by Katerina Holmes via Pexels

Pioneering online education company 2U filed for bankruptcy, even as the public writ large has gradually embraced online learning.

2 min read