蘑菇AV

The growing trade war could dim America鈥檚 birthday and beyond: With flags and fireworks largely produced in China, July Fourth may be quieter鈥攁nd holiday gifts scarcer.

Hugo Boss is adjusting to the macro landscape on the fly: The German fashion house is rerouting China-made goods to other markets and stockpiling in the US to blunt the impact of tariffs.

China-based firms look to skirt the tariffs: Some have reached out to Indian exporters to fill orders on their behalf, while others turn to bonded warehouses.

Walmart promises support for tariff-hit Chinese manufacturers: The retailer will help suppliers get in front of domestic shoppers as it tries to stay on Beijing鈥檚 good side.

Retailers aren鈥檛 likely to get certainty any time soon: The Trump administration is considering slashing China tariffs down to a still-astronomical 50% or 65%, leaving merchants to stay cautious on merchandising.

Australia will exempt YouTube from its under-16 social media ban: The promise is receiving backlash from Meta and TikTok, and will require brands to adapt.

Trump鈥檚 鈥淟iberation Day鈥� tariffs landed harder than expected. Uncertainty remains, given the pause on reciprocal tariffs for countries willing to negotiate with the US鈥攁long with an escalating trade war with China. Which markets will take the greatest hits? And how might our US forecasts change?

Nvidia woos global AI partners, HP shifts output to Mexico and Vietnam, and Lenovo pivots to India鈥攃lear signs that risk mitigation now outweighs China鈥檚 diminishing cost advantage.

The situation: A perfect storm of consumer pullbacks, rising prices from new tariffs, and the suspension of the de minimis tax exemption will drag US ecommerce sales growth this year to its weakest pace since the Great Recession in 2009. We expect US online sales to grow just 5.0% this year in our moderate tariff scenario, which reflects the current policy landscape. That鈥檚 a 3-percentage-point drop from last year. Looking ahead: We expect ecommerce growth to experience a modest rebound to 5.3% growth in 2026. But more headwinds are on the horizon. The tax-and-spending package known as the 鈥淥ne Big Beautiful Bill鈥� will close the de minimis loophole that lets most packages under $800 enter duty-free from countries outside China and Hong Kong. While that will eliminate the possibility of some workarounds, it could also reshape the economics of cross-border ecommerce鈥攁nd place even more strain on platforms, suppliers, and price-sensitive consumers alike.

The news: Ad quality has a big impact on whether gamers will stay in the game or walk away from a session. Over half (52%) of gamers in the US, the UK, Germany, and Japan would quit playing if they encountered multiple disruptive ad features, per Deloitte鈥檚 Quality Drives Value: A Look into Mobile Gaming Ads survey. Our take: Prioritizing features like rewards and skip options can help players feel in control and properly compensated for their time, helping mobile gamers to stay engaged, click through, and return. Poorly timed or deceptive ads, on the other hand, risk alienating gamers and increasing churn.

The Trump administration injects more uncertainty into supply chains with new ship fees: While less stringent than initially proposed, the levies will raise costs and complicate operations.

The news: Amazon is testing humanoid delivery robots, per The Information, which could work in tandem with human drivers or as part of an autonomous fleet of delivery vehicles. The humanoid robotics team is working on incorporating large language models (LLMs) from Chinese companies DeepSeek and Alibaba so the bots can contextualize real-world surroundings. Our take: Delivery bots could help with heavy loads and ease the burden on human drivers, but Amazon might be better served with a less human form factor, such as a platform with walking legs to carry packages. The focus on humanoids could limit functionality, and bringing the uncanny valley to consumers鈥� front door could be off-putting.

Temu pulls its Google Shopping ads: The escalating US-China trade war puts the company鈥檚 business model at risk and threatens ad giants like Meta and Google.

Retail sales in China in March grew 5.9%: Government subsidies drove the fastest growth since December 2023, but the escalating US鈥慍hina trade war is likely to curb spending in the months ahead.

Discounts are a primary motivator for TikTok Shop purchases: But that tactic may not be sustainable for sellers reeling from the impact of China tariffs.

Shein, Temu take advantage of tariff reprieve: Shein is raising prices while Temu resumes China shipments, as both retailers try to undo a sales slump.

JD plans $27.9 billion investment in Chinese manufacturers to ease tariff impact: Ecommerce peers Alibaba and Meituan will join to help export-oriented companies attract domestic customers.

Walmart will raise prices soon to offset 鈥渢oo high鈥� tariffs: Even with the reduction in China duties, the cost is too much for the retailer and its suppliers to absorb.