December 4, 2025

  • Small Business Saturday sales figures underwhelmed this year, according to American Express Consumer Insights data. Spending at U.S. small businesses was pegged at an estimated $18 billion on Saturday, Nov. 29, a figure which is ~20% lower than 2024’s statistic of $22 billion. “Despite consumers’ good intentions—American Express found 77% of consumers strongly agree it is important to support the small businesses in their good community—harsh economic reality trumped their goodwill,” Forbes contributor Pamela N. Danziger wrote (via Forbes).
  • Fanatics has landed a major deal to run retail and merchandising for the upcoming 2026 FIFA World Cup. “There is no larger sporting event in the entire world than the World Cup… we’ve been doing a lot of events; this is the biggest one we’ll have done yet,” Andrew Low Ah Kee, CEO of Fanatics Commerce, said (via CNBC).
  • U.S. consumers are finding holiday promotions confusing, misleading, or unclear, according to Relex Solutions survey data. An overwhelming majority (84%) indicated as much, and nearly half (45%) indicated they will curtail spending, or stop shopping entirely, with retailers they no longer trust based on this metric. “There’s a massive gap between promotional strategy and execution. Marketing teams can design compelling campaigns, but if supply chains can’t deliver inventory or pricing systems can’t clearly communicate savings, the promotion becomes a trust-breaking moment instead of a sales driver,” said Thom Iddon-Escalante of Relex Solutions (via Chain Store Age).
  • Micron, manufacturer of Crucial-branded memory in the consumer marketplace, is exiting the consumer market due to increased demand for its products from the AI industry. “The AI-driven growth in the data center has led to a surge in demand for memory and storage. Micron has made the difficult decision to exit the Crucial consumer business in order to improve supply and support for our larger, strategic customers in faster-growing segments,” Sumit Sadana, Micron business chief, said (via press release).
  • A massive cheese recall has been enacted by the FDA, based on a voluntary recall from Great Lakes Cheese Co. The recall was issued “because the products may contain metal fragments,” per the FDA, and affects brands ranging from Great Value to Aldi and H-E-B private labels (via Axios).