Carlos Mendez 
A federal court has approved a revised FTC order that lifts the Amazon Prime settlement refund cap from $51 to $200 and opens automatic payments to members who used 11 to 20 benefits a year. New payments begin October 1, 2026, with no claim form required.
Amazon has raised its minimum starting wage for full-time US operations employees to $20 an hour and paired the $1.5 billion raise with a 10-20% grocery discount from October 1 and a lifetime credit union membership. The move matches Costco and lands three weeks before Prime Big Deal Days.
Belgian customs logged 53% fewer low-value parcel declarations in July and Dutch customs 46% fewer across July and August after the EU’s EUR 3 flat duty took effect on July 1, 2026. Both agencies say the goods are shifting to bulk import and EU warehouses ahead of a November 1 handling fee.
Kroger beat on adjusted EPS at $1.09 but identical sales without fuel grew just 0.2% in the quarter to August 15, and the grocer cut its 2026 sales outlook to 0.2-0.8%. Profit guidance, a $1bn buyback and a 20% e-commerce gain cushion the miss ahead of an October 20 investor update.
Primark will offer home delivery in Great Britain for the first time, ending a store-only model it defended for two decades. ABF has bought an automated Sheffield fulfilment centre from Debenhams Group for £90m to run it, but has not said when the service launches.
Announced US retail seasonal hiring is likely to set another record low when Challenger reports in late September 2026, at or below last year’s 372,520. The more useful call is that the headline will likely overstate the real contraction, because retail’s announcement channel is going dark faster than its labor demand is falling.
Google sunset the Content API for Shopping on August 18, 2026, and progressive errors began September 1. Three signals point to a two-tier merchant data layer hardening by the end of Q1 2027, with API-native catalogs keeping full AI shopping distribution.
The CFPB’s revised Section 1033 proposal entered White House regulatory review on 4 August 2026 and is likely to publish between late October and mid-December, with comments closing in Q1 2027. That timing means no enforceable US open banking rule binds merchants or their payment vendors through the 2026 holiday season, and probably not before 2028.
A San Francisco judge denied California Attorney General Rob Bonta’s request for a preliminary injunction against Amazon in the state’s retail price-fixing case. The claims survive intact and go to trial on January 19, 2027.
Gap Inc. named Michael Francis chief executive of Old Navy effective November 2, replacing Haio Barbeito after the brand posted a 4% comparable sales decline. Shares rose about 15% in extended trading as the company raised its adjusted profit guidance.