Online shopping

L'Oreal, the world's biggest cosmetics group, posted higher-than-expected revenue growth for the fourth quarter in part as beauty shoppers flocked online during the coronavirus pandemic.

During a remade shopping season, many Americans ditched stores for digital outlets. And pandemic buying trends that favored household goods and food over apparel continued, according to early sales data from firms that track shopper spending.

Walmart Inc WMT.N said on Tuesday it was optimistic about its holiday sales prospects in a pandemic-ridden year after the big-box retailer beat Wall Street expectations for quarterly results as Americans increasingly shift their spending online.

Sony Corp’s PlayStation 5 (PS5) console launched in core markets on Thursday to intense interest online, but with first day real-world sales limited to pre-order pick-ups.

Amazon AMZN.O said on Monday it had opened three more logistics centers in Brazil to take advantage of the boost the COVID-19 pandemic has given to e-commerce in South America's largest economy.

Amazon Prime Day has become the new, unofficial start of the holiday shopping season. Millions of packages will be shipped out, but six feet is the number workers are expected to focus on inside Amazon facilities.

Amazon.com Inc on Thursday said more than 19,000 of its U.S. frontline workers contracted the coronavirus this year, or 1.44% of the total, a disclosure sought by labor advocates who have criticized the COVID-19 response of the world’s largest online retailer.

But what happens to the online furniture retailer as the world opens back up?

TJX Cos Inc (TJX.N) on Wednesday forecast current-quarter same-store sales to fall up to 20% after reporting a bigger-than-expected loss for the previous three months, sending the off-price retailer’s shares down about 7%.

Walmart Inc’s (WMT.N) margins and online sales are expected to benefit in the second quarter as the largest U.S. retailer cashed in on shoppers using government stimulus checks to buy higher-priced products like sneakers and toys along with daily essentials.