Hello Omni Talk Fans! I hope everyone had a wonderful weekend. As an avid reader, I find today’s first headline quite intriguing.
In today’s Retail Daily Minute:
- Spotify partners with bookshop.org to sell physical books through its app.
- Tractor Supply accelerates its final-mile delivery initiative, adding 150+ new hub locations to cover over 1,200 stores while targeting $10 million in annual freight savings.
- Costco delivers impressive January results with 9.3% net sales growth and explosive 34.4% digitally-enabled comparable sales growth despite calendar headwinds.
Plus, a quote uttered inside my favorite fictional travel book shop.
👇 Listen now
Today’s Top Headlines
1. Spotify Enters Physical Books Through Bookshop.org Partnership
Spotify partners with Bookshop.org to sell physical books on its platform, launching spring 2025 in the US and UK. The company will introduce “Page Match” to sync physical books with audiobooks. Spotify also raised its US premium subscription price by $1 to $12.99. Shares fell 4.5% following the announcement. (Read More)
2. Tractor Supply Expands Final-Mile Delivery Via 150 New Hubs
Tractor Supply plans to add over 150 hub locations in 2026 for its final-mile delivery initiative, bringing total hubs to 375 covering 1,200+ stores. The company aims to deliver 95% of large-item orders in-house by 2030, projecting $10 million in annual freight savings to help offset Q4 margin pressure from transportation costs. (Read More)
3. Costco Reports Strong January Sales Growth As Digital Surges
Costco reported January net sales of $21.33 billion, up 9.3% year-over-year. Total company comparable sales grew 7.1% for the four-week period, while digitally-enabled sales surged 34.4%. First 22 weeks sales totaled $123.16 billion, an increase of 8.5% from last year. The warehouse retailer operates 924 locations globally. (Read More)
4. PepsiCo Slashes Prices on Snacks Amid Inflation to Boost Sales
PepsiCo is slashing prices up to 15% on popular snacks including Doritos, Cheetos, Lay’s, and Tostitos to win back inflation-weary consumers. After testing showed improved purchase frequency, the company is rolling out broader U.S. price cuts this week, joining General Mills in addressing declining volumes amid consumer price sensitivity. (Read More)
5. Anthropic’s Super Bowl Campaign Pledges Ad-Free Claude
Anthropic is spending millions on Super Bowl commercials criticizing rival OpenAI’s decision to add ads to ChatGPT. The company pledges its Claude chatbot will remain ad-free, generating revenue through enterprise contracts and subscriptions instead. Anthropic’s campaign features the tagline “Ads are coming to AI. But not to Claude.” (Read More)
Upcoming Live LinkedIn Event
Walton’s Weekly Wrambling
Be careful out there,
— Chris, Anne, and the entire Omni Talk team
Omni Talk® is the retail blog for retailers, written by retailers. Chris Walton and Anne Mezzenga founded Omni Talk® in 2017 and have quickly turned it into one of the fastest growing blogs in retail.