Congratulations if you’ve made it this far into the month and stuck to your New Year’s resolutions. For those of you who haven’t, think of Feb. 1 as a second fresh start. And for those participating in Dry January, you only have three more days to let everyone know about it.
But enough words of wisdom and encouragement—here’s what’s going on in retail this week.
In product launches: Apple is unveiling its take on the VR headset on Friday: the Vision Pro, which comes with a $3,500 price tag. It’s one of Apple’s most anticipated new product launches in a decade. CEO Tim Cook even described it as “the most advanced consumer electronics device ever created.”
The Vision Pro integrates a 3D user interface that’s controlled by the user’s eyes, hands, and voice, and sits within the user’s field of vision.
But some expressed skepticism about Apple’s foray into VR technology, wondering if Apple might be too late to the party, and pointing out that services like Netflix, YouTube, and Spotify won’t be integrating the visionOS software into their apps.
Apple will also report earnings the day before Vision Pro’s release.
“Is this Apple entering a market late but coming in with the best product and therefore will be successful?” Michael Gartenberg, a technology analyst and former Apple marketing director, asked the New York Times. “Or is there not an existing market because there are no $3,500 headsets aimed for the mass market?”
In earnings: Amazon’s gearing up to reveal its Q4 results Thursday, and by all indications, it was a good one. Amazon is coming off a strong Q3 that saw a 13% year over year bump in revenue. The tail end of Q3 overlapped with the start of the holiday shopping season, but the majority of holiday shopping took place in Q4.
From Nov. 17 through Cyber Monday, Amazon reported “record-breaking” sales, when consumers were able to save up to 70% more on a YoY basis during the 11-day period.
In mass exodus: On Thursday, three Walmart executives will be leaving the company, including CEO of Walmart International Judith McKenna; Kelvin Buncum, EVP of neighborhood market; and Chief Belonging Officer Denise Malloy. The former two are retiring, while Malloy is stepping away from the newly created role after less than a year.