Breaking news, industry updates, and the latest developments shaping global retail, e-commerce, and commerce technology.
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.
Lululemon reports second quarter fiscal 2026 results on September 3, with guidance pointing to a 2% to 3% revenue decline and earnings per share of $1.76 to $1.81 against $3.10 a year earlier. Tariffs cut roughly 280 basis points from product margin last quarter, and incoming chief executive Heidi O’Neill starts five days later.
The EU’s harmonised legal guarantee notice becomes mandatory for every trader selling goods to consumers in the bloc on 27 September 2026, alongside the new GARAN durability label fixed by Commission Implementing Regulation (EU) 2025/1960. Twenty member states remain under infringement proceedings for missing transposition, but the application date has not moved.
Component costs have re-based upward while US electronics retail margins are still expanding, and that gap has to close. Signals point to the pass-through arriving as reduced base configurations, visible in holiday 2026 assortments and named in guidance by early March 2027.
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.
USTR set the 2026 Notorious Markets issue focus on superfakes and opened docket USTR-2026-0529, with comments due October 7. Three August signals point to a list, likely published in Q1 2027, that names the social, messaging and resale surfaces where high-quality counterfeits actually sell.
The EU Data Act’s data access by design obligation applies to connected products placed on the market after September 12, 2026, splitting retail catalogues in two. Sellers already carry a live pre-contractual disclosure duty under Article 3(2).
Abercrombie & Fitch reports second quarter fiscal 2026 results on August 26 before the bell, with consensus at about $1.24bn in sales and $1.90 in earnings per share. Guidance already carries roughly $20m of tariff cost, while a $100m refund claim sits outside the outlook.
Best Buy reports second quarter fiscal 2027 results before the open on August 27, with consensus at roughly $9.56bn in revenue and $1.37 in adjusted EPS. Unlike peers that booked tariff refunds, the swing factor here is a memory cost surge running through computing and mobile.