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Tech

Grocers want you to know they’re lowering prices

Consumers are fed up spending a million dollars every time they go shopping. So, retailers are adjusting. After years of higher costs on goods and rising inflation burning a hole in everyone’s wallet, retailers are starting to slash prices so they can stay competitive and entice shoppers back to the market.

Prioritizing prices

The average price of groceries shot up 25% over the past four years, setting the scene for customers to spend less (Q1 sales fell 3.7% year-over-year), and retailers are feeling the pain. So, they decided to adapt to adapt to consumer spending habits:

• Earlier this month, Target started slashing prices on 5,000 grocery store items including milk, diapers, drinks, fruit, and cleaning products.

• Walmart said price reductions on 7,000 items aided in the company increasing its sales last quarter.

  • The big-box retailer, which began lowering prices to pre-pandemic levels in March, also said temporary discounts were up 45% in April compared to the same time last year.

• To lure back customers sick of inflation, Amazon said that it was reducing grocery costs at its Fresh chain by as much as 30%.

• More than 250 products now have lower costs at Aldi. The retailer claims the discounts will save shoppers over $100 million.

The most recent chain to drop prices is Walgreens, which has been lowering prices since October, and said it plans to discount 1,300 more seasonal, food, health and wellness, and personal care items.

Walgreens saw a 45% dip in share price this year, but the company’s CCO, Tracey Brown, said in a release that, “Walgreens understands our customers are under financial strain and struggle to purchase everyday essentials.”

Consumer cost cutting

Price-conscious consumers are increasingly moving from name-brand to house brand products, in addition to cutting back on eating out and grocery shopping, per the WSJ.

However, higher-end stores have managed to steer out of the price slashing battle as supermarket continue to in order to remain competitive.

• Abercrombie & Fitch has killed it (as you may have seen on Tuesday’s edition), reporting a revenue increase for the sixth straight quarter, and Dicks Sporting Goods reported 5.3% sales growth.

While some retail stores may be comfortable where they’re at, consumers can at least have solace in knowing every grocery run shouldn’t cost 90% of their annual income.

Business

Spotify is upping its prices — again

Spotify is betting you must really like listening to true-crime podcasts. Well, enough not to cancel at least. The music streaming giant said on Monday its raising its prices again, for the second time in under a year.

As for the numbers:

• The monthly cost of a premium plan will increase to $11.99 for individuals (formerly $10.99).

• $16.99 for a "Duo" plan (previously $14.99).

• And $19.99 for the "Family" plan (previously $16.99).

The changes will go into effect sometime next month, and US users will automatically be swapped to the new pricing after an announcement in July.

It’s not much of a gamble

Spotify wants to stabilize its profits and push funding toward its new venture with audiobooks, hence the raise in subscription prices. Investors loved the news and turned on their hype playlists, as the company’s share price jumped 5.7% on Monday.

• The increase in prices comes as Spotify brought in 4 million paid subscribers between 2022 and 2023.

  • The company also has 614 million active users (as of Q4 2024), the most out of all music streaming platforms, according to RouteNote.

• According to Antenna data reviewed by Bloomberg, its 2% monthly churn rate is lower than notable competitors like Apple Music and Amazon Music Unlimited, not to mention the majority of video streaming services.

On top of the good numbers, Spotify has something other music streaming platforms don’t: customized playlists tailored to each user. Bloomberg’s Lucas Shaw argues that between the platforms soaring growth and unique elements, it can afford to charge its customers even more.

Finance

How to become a billionaire trading meme stocks

You might as well empty your bank account into GME as soon as you’re done reading (not financial advice). Trader Keith Gill posted a wordless meme on X last month which sparked a trading frenzy and caused GameStop's stock to skyrocket around 75%. Recently, he disclosed even more information, which is much less vague (and more intriguing).

On Monday, Gill, known by many as Roaring Kitty, sent GME shares up for a second time in less than a month after posting a screenshot of what appears to be his $116 million position in GameStop on Reddit.

• His position in stock and call options could reach close to a billion dollars.

Who is “Roaring Kitty”?

Keith Gill was one of the leaders of Reddit's r/WallStreetBets, the forum behind GameStop’s historic 2000% stock gain in 2021. Amateur investors initially started the mass trading by targeting hedge funds that bought short positions (betting the market value would fall) against GameStop.

Not long after, Gill disappeared from the public eye, with many assuming he had taken his money and run. But then, he came back.

• After a three year absence, Gill made his return to social media, sending GameStop shares to their highest level since 2022.

• The meme rapidly gathered tens of millions of views and investors around the globe (particularly ones active on r/WallStreetBets) started buying meme stocks like there’s no tomorrow.

According to Bloomberg, over 175 million shares of GameStop were exchanged in one day, more than 30 times what the company had seen traded on a daily basis over the last year.

Safe to say, he’s got some influence. And now he’s back yet again.

Where is GameStop now?

Thanks to Roaring Kitty, GameStop jumped 21% Monday, closing at $28 and peaking at around $40 a share. As of writing, the share price is sitting at $34, but as volatile as GME is, who knows where it’ll end up.

If he executes those shares, Gill would own 17 million shares in total, which would net him $646 million if executed at the current share price.

It would also make him GameStops fourth-largest shareholder.

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Grab Bag

Japan created the world’s first wooden satellite

From the paper you write on to the vacuum of space, wood has made it to the big leagues. In September, Japan is planning to launch the world’s first wooden satellite, named LignoSat, into space. Made from magnolia wood, LignoSat weighs 462,500 times less than the International Space Station. Although, it is just two pounds.

The small cube, built by Kyoto University and Sumitomo Forestry, took roughly four years to create and only measures four inches long. LignoSat will be launched from the Kennedy Space Center to the ISS later this year.

• It was developed with a customary Japanese technique that doesn't require glue or screws.

• Once it reaches the ISS, it will rest there for a month and then be sent off to explore the solar system for half a year.

But why wood?

Typically, aluminum is used to build satellites, but during their descent back to Earth, the metal gives off chemical pollutants. If LignoSat works as expected, it could lead to more environmentally friendly spacecraft and less space junk since it burns into a small pile of ash upon reentry.

• Researchers also looked at cherry and birch samples, testing them for “strength and workability” on Earth and aboard the ISS.

Researchers observed that magnolia in particular showed no signs of deterioration in space, most likely due to the absence of oxygen to burn it or organisms (except Xenomorphs) to decay it.

Saudi Arabia’s energy giant is selling off

Maybe multi-billion dollar projects in the middle of the desert really are hard to maintain - Saudi Arabia (probably). If you read anything about Neom in one of our previous articles, you’d know these things are anything but easy. That’s why the country’s state-controlled natural gas behemoth Aramco is selling off a 0.7% stake in the company.

Aramco started taking orders on Sunday for over 1.5 billion shares, and drew in more demand than the stock could offer, according to Reuters.

High-stakes

The Aramco sale comes as Saudi Arabia is facing an interesting predicament, by wanting to diversify its economic endeavors past oil and move to a new strategy under Crown Prince Mohammed bin Salman’s rather enthusiastic Vision 2030 plan.

As the government tried to wean itself off of what MBS calls “oil addiction”, the sale will prove to be a nice little fundraiser for the nations sovereign wealth fund, which will need some monetary gain if Saudi Arabia wants to pull off its ambitious plans.

Fast Facts

Game Time: YouTube published over 75 playable games on its website. State.io is pretty fun in the later stages.

Open Container: The French Open banned fans from drinking alcohol at the event because they have been “overstepping” their bounds and vowed to “take more steps” if their behavior doesn’t change.

Cheesy Creation: Pizza Hut created a new Cheeseburger Melt by forcing two slices of hamburger pizza together. Yummy?

Explicit Elon: X will now allow NSFW content as long as it is clearly marked. Sounds eerily similar to restaurants not letting people fill their water cup up with pop.

Space Silence: Japan’s space agency has lost communication with the only spacecraft orbiting Venus.