Author Archives: Betsy White

When the beginning of the COVID-19 pandemic in March 2020 resulted in government-mandated shutdowns, consumer spending for things other than essential grocery items fell off a cliff. Because of the lack of spending, coupled with federal stimulus payments and uncertainty surrounding the pandemic, and despite growing unemployment, personal savings rates increased dramatically. The author of […]

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With the massive shift in consumer purchasing over the last eight months from brick and mortar to ecommerce, it should be no surprise that Amazon sales during the two-day event last Wednesday and Thursday called Prime Day increased versus last year. Amazon announced that Prime Day sales of its third-party sellers increased 60% to $3.5 […]

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In an attempt to keep some of the millions of new customers it gained during the pandemic, at the end of this month Walmart is reportedly ready to announce the debut of its new loyalty program, called Walmart+. Walmart, like other ubiquitous brick and mortar and ecommerce retailers selling essentials, gained sales and new customers […]

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A number of major companies across restaurants and retail made announcements last week regarding their April rent payments (and beyond).  Cheesecake Factory announced it would not be paying April rent, and is in negotiations with landlords regarding what will happen with rents that are “otherwise payable during the period of the COVID-19 related closure.”  The […]

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My favorite story last week was Megxit – the announcement on Instagram that the Duke and Duchess of Sussex, Harry and Meghan, are stepping away from their roles as ‘senior’ members of the British royal family, will divide their time between the UK and North America, and will look to become financially independent. While the […]

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