Amazon ads are at the centre of today's briefing, with the FTC and 22 states alleging in an updated, unredacted complaint that Amazon secretly inflated prices in its search ad auction, which gives every brand buying those ads a live court record to read. For retail leaders, the rest of the briefing points the same way: control is moving, as Walmart scales drone delivery, Visa reports 42.8% of AI shopping test runs failed, and Zalando moves to own the customer session.
00:00 Intro00:05 ASOS returns to GMV growth00:35 Aldi: Which? cheapest supermarket for 12 months00:55 ABF annual report and the Primark demerger01:18 FTC and 22 states on Amazon's ad auction01:45 Walmart adds 300 Zipline drone sites02:09 Visa: 42.8% of AI shopping test runs fail02:29 Zalando Extended and its AI checkout agent02:56 Shein expands its hub in Poland
Sources:- ASOS: ASOS Posts First Year-on-Year GMV Growth Since FY22; EBITDA Up 29% https://www.linkedin.com/posts/asos-com_today-we-published-our-fy26-financial-results-activity-7524070963538300928-GvhB- Aldi UK: Aldi Named Which? Cheapest UK Supermarket for 12 Consecutive Months https://www.aldipresscentre.co.uk/business-news/aldi-crowned-which-cheapest-supermarket-for-a-whole-year/- Associated British Foods: ABF Publishes 2026 Annual Report With Update on Primark Demerger Plans https://www.linkedin.com/posts/associated-british-foods-plc_annual-report-2026-activity-7524048150240600064-V8VY- FTC: FTC and 22 States Allege Amazon Secretly Inflated Search Ad Auction Prices https://www.ftc.gov/news-events/news/press-releases/2026/11/new-details-emerge-amazon-ads-auction-rigging-case- Walmart: Walmart Adds 300 Drone Delivery Sites in Expanded Zipline Partnership https://www.linkedin.com/posts/walmart_were-taking-drone-delivery-to-new-heights-activity-7524261512199372800-Ka9Y- Visa: Visa Tests 22 AI Models on Shopping Tasks; 43% of Runs Fail https://investor.visa.com/news/news-details/2026/Visa-Releases-First-of-Its-Kind-Industry-Benchmark-for-AI-Shopping-Almost-Half-of-Test-Runs-Fail/default.aspx- Zalando: Zalando to Let AI Agent Shop External Sites; Westwing First https://corporate.zalando.com/en/financials/zalando-q3-2026-results- Shein: Shein Puts Another €500m Into Polish Hub; EU Investment Reaches €1bn https://www.linkedin.com/posts/shein_shein-sheinpoland-investment-activity-7524106202524569600-YzxW- RetailDetail EU, for the import duty point, which is its reporting and not Shein's: https://www.retaildetail.eu/news/fashion/shein-is-investing-an-additional-half-a-billion-in-poland-to-circumvent-european-import-duties/
Join me at NRF 2027: Retail's Big Show in New York this January. I'm the Host of the Innovation Stage at the Innovators Showcase, all three days. Register and come say hello: https://nrfbigshow.nrf.com/register?utm_source=theretailpodcast&utm_medium=Podcast&utm_campaign=MK_BIGSHOW27