Executive Summary

• This week’s note “From the Desk of Deborah Weinswig” discusses retailers’ tightening of previously generous return policies due to changing consumer behavior and an increase in fraudulent activity.
• US retail gasoline prices moved lower for the first time this year, following broader markets and sector metrics, with a national average retail price of $2.57 per gallon, 3 cents lower than last week.
• Britain’s biggest supermarket chain, Tesco, is set to launch a separate grocery brand to take on discounters Aldi and Lidl. The new banner is expected to match the German retailers on price and offer a smaller range of products than the average Tesco store.
• Alibaba is furthering its physical retail footprint, acquiring a 15% stake in Beijing Easyhome Furnishing for ¥45 billion, or around $867 million, and pumping $486 million into a big data retail firm.