Executive Summary

• This week’s note “From the Desk of Deborah Weinswig” discusses developments in the cashless convenience store landscape since Amazon first announced its Amazon Go format in late 2016.
• Amazon, Berkshire Hathaway and JPMorgan Chase are partnering on ways to address healthcare for their US employees, with the aim of improving employee satisfaction and reducing costs.
• Spanish fashion chain Zara has opened a digitally focused concept store at London’s Westfield Stratford City mall that offers a selected range of men’s and women’s clothing for online purchase. Staff members equipped with tablets are available to assist shoppers with purchases and customers can choose from a variety of payment methods.
• Alibaba’s cloud-computing business is set to assist Malaysia’s government with the running of its capital city and potentially other parts of the country in the future through City Brain, an Alibaba Cloud service that uses big data and artificial intelligence.