Influencer cafés, The Louvre & €9 croissants
This Week in Review☕: Online shopping slows dramatically across the world | Overtourism strains Europe as locals push back | Zara return packages are a problem | Amazon Prime Day is here | Texas Flood
Quick Bites:
Retail 🛍️: Online shopping slows dramatically across the world.
If you’ve noticed fewer Zara packages piling up on your neighbor’s doorstep, you’re not alone.
According to CNBC, this is “The first widespread pullback in online category growth in over a decade.”
Yep.. Gone are the days when you're browsing for an iPhone charger and come away with a brand new microwave arriving with free 1-day delivery, along with vegan Chipotle mayo and a bottle of imported Malaysian coconut oil
📉 What’s going on?
Trump's US tariffs have thrown digital retailers into chaos. Purchases for home delivery dropped double digits year-over-year across major categories.
Meanwhile, return rates are climbing and delivery costs are soaring.. because obv, if we’re going to have inflation, it might as well come with the added joy of paying more to ship back that sequin jumpsuit that didn’t fit 😏
🇨🇳📦 Shein & Temu:
The two Chinese e-commerce giants, Shein and Temu, saw purchases nosedive between March and June- thanks to:
-New tariffs on Chinese goods
-The death of a juicy tax loophole that once let them ship products to US customers without paying import duties.
Pour one out for the $2 mesh top that shipped from Guangdong in 3 days flat. 🕊️
👛 Us: “We're just gonna grab one thing.”
🛒 Temu: “Here’s 97 things for $11.29.”
🇺🇸 US Government: “Not so f**king fast.”
🛍️ So what now?
Retailers are now juggling higher costs, cautious consumers, and fewer impulse buys.
It’s a triple whammy. Or as Gen Z would call it: “Late-stage capitalism energy.”
In all seriousness, the combination of trade policy, rising delivery costs, and return headaches means online shopping as we know it is shifting- and fast.
If your brand relies on fast, cheap e-commerce logistics, it’s time to rethink strategy.
Travel ✈️ : Over-tourism strains Europe, Bloomberg reports.
Tourism to Europe has increased by a record 46 million people in 2024 compared to last year, and while that’s great for economies, it’s turning peaceful piazzas into local chaos.
Turns out, while you're living your Eat, Pray, Love fantasy, Europe’s locals are praying for peace, eating dinner in silence (hopefully), and loving you a little less 🖕🏻
Locals in popular destinations like Spain, Venice, and Mallorca are responding back.
-In parts of Spain, residents are spraying tourists with water pistols.
-In Mallorca, residents are marching in protest, holding signs like “Tourists Go Home”- which feels a bit harsh tbh, but after your 3rd Aperol Spritz while blocking the crosswalk? They may have a point.
-The Louvre in Paris is reportedly at a “breaking point”
🎨 Mona Lisa: “Smile? For who? Y’all brought 46 million new people here." 😐
💸 Overtourism = Real Economic Pain
The influx of travelers isn’t just causing traffic jams and long gelato lines- it’s straining water supplies, jacking up home prices, and making short-term rentals nearly impossible for locals to compete with.
In cities like Lisbon, Venice, and Barcelona, locals are watching their own neighborhoods disappear- replaced by influencer cafés, "authentic" Airbnb lofts, and €9 croissants.
Local trying to rent a 1BR: “It’s €3,000 a month, but it comes with free jetlag and 15 strangers outside your window taking selfies.”
🛑 A Tourism Backlash Is Brewing
This isn't just a few angry tweets. It’s becoming a real political and cultural movement.
Cities are introducing tourist taxes, limits on cruise ships, and even caps on short-term rentals- trying to balance economic gain with livability.
Our Thoughts💡:
🧳 Us booking our 3rd trip to Italy this year: “We're not tourists, We're travelers.”
👵 Local grandma trying to buy groceries: “Ma’am, you’re in my f**king way.”
Culture 📱 : Speaking of.. While global online shopping trends may be slowing, Amazon appears to be the SOLE exception.
Prime Day is here and is expected to boost retail to $23.8 billion- which they're calling the equivalent of 2 Black Fridays, Reuters reports.
Yep, ready your carts and your coping mechanisms folks- Amazon Prime Day is back, and it’s not just a day. Or even two. It’s four full days of "add to cart" chaos: July 8–11.
💡 Wait, Four Days? What Happened to "Prime Day"?
Bank of America analysts believe the extension means Amazon’s got greater inventory and discounting power than ever.
Which makes sense, considering the warehouse-to-door speed is now faster than our emotional recovery time after buying all the coffee beans and Tide pods we didn’t need 🙄🙄
🛒 And It’s Not Just Amazon Anymore:
Every retailer with a website is joining in. Expect sales from:
-Target’s “Circle Week”
-Walmart’s “Deals Event”
-Best Buy
-Wayfair
-Shein
And probably your friend’s Etsy store who just renamed their clearance section “Prime-inspired.”
🌍 Bigger Stakes This Year
Retailers are treating this sale season with extra urgency because of the tariffs.
There’s uncertainty around new global tariffs on imported goods- especially from China- expected to come to a head this fall.
Umm Personally we're thrilled. It's never too early to start buying crap we don't need. 'Tis the season to be a PRIME MEMBER 🎉
Big Tech 🌍 : US, China discuss TikTok deal.
Just when you thought the TikTok drama was over, Donald Trump has entered the group chat (again).
This week, Trump told reporters that the US is kicking off bilateral talks with China over TikTok’s operations, claiming “We pretty much have a deal.”
What that deal is? TBD. But it involves more money, more billionaires, and probably a few NDA-bound Zoom calls no one wants to be in 😏
💼 The Investor Lineup? Basically a VC Avengers Assemble
According to Bloomberg, the deal in the works involves a very chill group of investors:
-Oracle (they’re always somehow in the mix)
-Blackstone (big money energy), and
-Andreessen Horowitz (your favorite VC’s favorite VC).
Basically, imagine TikTok pitching on “Shark Tank” and saying:
“Hi, I’m a wildly viral Gen Z app with effing crazy government issues. Who’s in?”
🦈 Kevin O’Leary: “I’ll offer $15 billion for 60% and I want you to move your servers to Austin.”
🧠 But Wait... There’s a New TikTok App Too?
While the billionaires work out the fine print, TikTok isn’t just sitting idle.
According to The Information, the company is secretly building a brand-new version of the app just for US users- like a TikTok 2.0- and it’s expected to drop on September 5.
Is it just a different back-end? Is it a legally clean clone? Will it still serve you 14 cooking videos and one oddly timed motivational speech before bed?
Yes. Probably. Hopefully. 🤞
🤔 So Why All the Fuss?
TikTok’s been on Washington’s ban list for years, with concerns about data privacy, Chinese ownership, and the ever-terrifying possibility of Gen Z having too much influence.
Trump’s renewed involvement in TikTok talks is part national security, part economic opportunity, and part: “Let me remind everyone I’m still here.” 👋
World News 🇺🇸: One of the Deadliest Floods in a Century Hits Central Texas.
The flooding, which began on Friday following days of relentless rain, has already claimed the lives of at least 110 people, according to officials- including 27 children and staff from a nearby summer camp, WSJ reports.
At a press briefing Tuesday, Texas Governor Greg Abbott confirmed that over 160 individuals are still missing, and emergency teams are continuing search and recovery operations under extremely difficult conditions.
“This is one of the most tragic natural disasters Texas has faced in recent memory.”
🛟 Rescue Efforts Continue as Hope Fades
Emergency workers are navigating washed-out roads, unstable terrain, and dangerous water currents in hopes of locating survivors- or recovering the missing.
The Guadalupe River, typically a serene summer tubing destination, became a lethal torrent in a matter of hours.
Many victims were caught off-guard by the sudden intensity of the floodwaters, including campers and staff who were sheltering in what they believed to be a safe area.
“They never had a chance to evacuate,” said one local responder. “It came too fast.”
⚠️ Among the Worst Floods in U.S. History
According to reporting by The New York Times, this disaster now ranks among the deadliest floods in the United States in over a century.
The scale of destruction has prompted national attention, with federal disaster relief agencies mobilizing additional support.
📉 What Happens Next?
With floodwaters slowly receding, the grim task of recovery begins.
Officials are urging the public to avoid the area, respect ongoing rescue operations, and refrain from sharing unverified information on social media- as misinformation is already complicating coordination efforts.
Quicker Bites:
🇺🇸 Trump announces 50% tariffs on copper and 200% on pharmaceuticals, sending shockwaves through market.
🌍 US special envoy to Ukraine, Keith Kellogg, heads to Rome July 10–11 for an aid summit focused on military support.
🤝 Trump warns of additional 10% tariffs on BRICS nations, escalating trade tensions as the bloc’s summit continues in Brazil.
⚖️ World Court to issue a non-binding advisory on nations’ legal duties in climate change on July 23.
💦 Central Texas flash floods along the Guadalupe River have killed over 100, with over 160 still missing and search efforts ongoing.
🌐 Global investors brace for market volatility amid looming US‐EU tariff deadlines.