The Daily Valet. - 8/25/20, Tuesday

✔️ Go Big or Go Home

August 25, 2020

Tuesday, August 25th Edition

Cory Ohlendorf, Editor in Chief of Valet.

Bring on the simulated plane cocktails ...

Cory Ohlendorf , Editor ⋯ @coryohlendorf

Today’s Big Story

Big Box Stores Thrive During Quarantine

Government shutdowns of “nonessential” retailers were a huge gift for the big guys

Nearly six months into the coronavirus pandemic in the U.S., big-box retailers are emerging as business winners while competitors—including some apparel sellers and small businesses—struggle, reports the Wall Street Journal.

First, consumers shifted to bulk-buying and one-stop shopping. Then smaller, non-essential stores were forced to close temporarily. Meanwhile, the big players, which had already added curbside and delivery services, cashed in when COVID-19 pushed a lot of shopping online.

According to Intelligencer, tens of millions of Americans shifted to doing work and school from home, and they needed supplies, like office chairs and computers. The government sent stimulus payments in the spring that made consumers more eager to spend. The funds led to a burst in spending on discretionary goods, like televisions.

Target, Walmart and, of course, Amazon all recently reported record sales or profits metrics for their second quarters ending in June or July, reports Recode. Big grocery chains that were deemed essential as well as home-improvement stores like Home Depot and Lowe’s have also fared well.

In fact, sales at Walmart, Amazon, Target, Home Depot and Lowe’s now account for a third of all U.S. retail sales, according to consulting firm Customer Growth Partners (up from around 25% last year).

Meanwhile, sales at small businesses stand at negative 28 percent, down nine points from May when it was at net negative 19 percent, reports NBC News.

↦ FYI: From March 1 to Aug. 11, over 155,000 American small business shuttered, according to Yelp.

Recapping Day 1 of the GOP Convention

Republicans portrayed Democrats as “radical” and condemned “cancel culture”

With a struggling economy, new protests calling for an end to racial injustice and more than 170,000 lives lost to the coronavirus, Republicans on Monday painted an ominous picture of what losing the White House would mean for the country, reports ABC News.

The first day's lineup of speakers fell in lockstep with President Trump's frequent attacks on Joe Biden and Kamala Harris—painting the Democratic ticket as far-left. Senator Tim Scott, of South Carolina, said, “Make no mistake: They want a cultural revolution. A fundamentally different America. If we let them, they'll turn our country into a socialist utopia.”

According to NBC News, former U.N. Ambassador Nikki Haley, considered a candidate to run for president in 2024, and Donald Trump Jr. (who could be planning to run in '24 as well at this point) tried to counter critics who say the President is a racist. “They put political correctness ahead of the safety and security of the American people,” said Trump Jr.

What we didn't hear much of yet was the plan for a second term. But one thing's clear: Trump doesn't plan on going anywhere. Earlier in the day, when he made an appearance after his formal renomination in Charlotte to chants of “four more years,” he responded: “If you want to really drive them crazy, say twelve more years.”

↦ Dig Deeper: The RNC's roll call showcased a stark contrast between the parties, as pointed out by the Washington Post's Robin Givhan.

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Audible Has a New, Cheaper Plan

And consolidates its Gold and Platinum plans

Audible is introducing a cheaper plan that includes access to its exclusive audio content, reports Engadget.

With the $7.95 monthly Audible Plus plan, you'll get unlimited access to over 68,000 hours of material from more than 11,000 titles, including podcasts, audiobooks and Audible Originals.

Alongside its new plan, Audible is consolidating its Audible Gold and Platinum plans into something called Audible Premium Plus. For $14.95 a month, subscribers will gain access to the full Audible catalog, like Plus subscribers, but will also receive one credit to be used for any content in the Audible library, regardless of price or length.

Having taken a dominant position in audiobooks, the Amazon-owned company has been trying to break into the booming market for podcasts and other non-music audio. According to Bloomberg, the company has commissioned programs from best-selling authors and celebrities, emerging as one of the biggest backers of original audio shows.

↦ FYI: Audible says that these updated plans are in a preview phase, and it'll take feedback into account before the full launch.

The New Flight Simulator?

Because this is where we are now in 2020

We're all so eager to fly somewhere, right? But Delta just announced a furlough of nearly 2,000 employees. And American Airlines' new plane disinfectant works for a full week, but doesn't stop the main way COVID-19 spreads. So what's a hopeful traveler to do?

Microsoft's Flight Simulator 2020 might be having a moment, but there's a new game coming that's even wilder (and you don't have to worry about actually flying the plane).

According to Input, the coming Airplane Mode is a game where you play as a window seat passenger for the real-time duration of a long-haul commercial flight across the Atlantic.

Developer Bacronym is promising an “airline travel experience down to every last detail—from the design of your seat and the seatback in front of you, to the contents of your carry-on bag and smartphone hard drive, to the behaviors of cabin crew and other passengers.” Hey ... I'll take what I can get at this point.

↦ BTW: Travelers lost about $900K in cash at airport checkpoints last year.

In Other News

Other Things We’re Talking About Today

Uniqlo’s restocked AIRism masks

Tough love from Jerry Seinfeld

This organized closet tour

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Sales We’re Eyeing

The North Face Balham 500 jacket$299 / $209.90

For more than half a century, Nordstrom has been celebrating its anniversary with an epic end-of-summer sale. And what's great about this sale is that it's actually new clothes, grooming and home goods that are temporarily discounted. You see, come August 31, the prices go back up to full retail. So you'd better move fast.