Global Scans · Shopping · Weekly Summary

• [New] Coffee shop Dutch Bros opened 160 new locations in 2025, and plans to open 175 more in 2026, giving stalwarts like Starbucks a run for their money. Cheapism
• [New] Siemens' Industrial Copilot integrates AI directly on the shop floor for rapid decision-making, while collaborations with companies like JetZero showcase the use of digital twins to de-risk manufacturing and accelerate innovation. Bizclik Media Ltd
• [New] Social commerce (Instagram Checkout, Shop tabs) becomes an expected feature, with DM-based shopping flows streamlining the purchase journey. AI Video Cut
• [New] Many brands in the U.S. are struggling with tariffs, which could explain why prices are higher on TikTok Shop if companies are passing along costs to consumers. Digiday
• [New] Visa says it remains on track to deliver secure, personalized AI-enabled commerce to consumers by early 2026, marking a sea-change in how customer shop online. FinExtra
• [New] Super Saturday shoppers are expected to embrace multiple channels in 2025, with nearly half, or 71.6 million, planning to shop both in-store and online, up from 69.5 million in 2024. Midland Paper
• [New] As consumers grow more comfortable with using AI, retail industry leaders see 2026 as a pivotal year in shaping how the emerging technology disrupts the way people shop. eMarketer
• By 2025, everyone, from healthcare professionals to the neighborhood coffee shop, will be leveraging audio content to tell their tales. gotcha! Mobile Solutions
• Super Saturday shoppers are expected to use multiple channels in 2025, with 45% planning to shop in-store and online. Arkansas Online
• In the U.S., social commerce is on track to exceed $100 billion in annual sales by the mid-2020s, fueled heavily by TikTok Shop, Instagram Shopping, Facebook / Meta platforms and retail media tie-ups. The AI Innovator
• The airline industry is fast heading for a future where AI agents, not humans, decide which brands get booked - and carriers that fail to adapt are at risk of quietly disappearing from the digital shop window. The Register
• By day 29 of the window for Americans to shop for Affordable Care Act plans in 2025, nearly 5.8 million people had picked one. WJXT News4JAX
• Walmart has announced a new partnership with OpenAI that will start with allowing customers and members to soon shop with the US retail giant through ChatGPT using Instant Checkout. Retail Technology Innovation Hub
• Amazon claims Perplexity's covert AI agents are in violation of computer fraud and abuse statutes, adding it may be putting the security of customer data at risk, does not allow users to shop for the best prices and allegedly misappropriated Prime membership benefits to users. Retail Dive
• Rolls-Royce IntelligentEngine and Pratt & Whitney EngineWise Intelligence consume rich telemetry and maintenance histories, then forecast health, flag anomalies, and optimise shop visits (Rolls-Royce; Pratt & Whitney). FliegerFaust
• Rolls-Royce's IntelligentEngine strategy links digital twins to live engine data so operators can predict health, protect time-on-wing, and plan shop visits around evidence rather than estimates (Rolls-Royce). FliegerFaust
• Marshalls, Home Goods Opening New Stores Nationwide Soon - Bargain hunters will have new places to shop thanks to a rapid expansion by the discount retailers. Cheapism
• Gen Z and millennials plan to shop with tighter budgets, shorter gift lists, and more creative cost-saving measures. CNBC

Last updated: 05 January 2026