🛒 Rescanning self-checkout

…and China’s weak Golden Week   “Remove item from bagging area” (Jeff Greenberg/Getty Images)   [Sponsored by]( Yesterday’s Market Moves   Dow Jones 33,605 (+0.59%) S&P 500 4,336 (+0.63%) Nasdaq 13,484 (+0.39%) Bitcoin $27,626 (-1.10%) Dow Jones 33,605 (+0.59%) S&P 500 4,336 (+0.63%) Nasdaq 13,484 (+0.39%) Bitcoin $27,626 (-1.10%) Hey Snackers, The Israel-Gaza war entered its third day yesterday, with Hamas continuing to fire missiles into Israel and threatening the lives of at least 150 hostages, and Israel declaring a “complete siege” on Gaza while dialing up its airstrike response. At least 900 people have been killed in Israel, including 260 at a music festival, and over 680 people in Gaza are dead. Oil prices continued to climb over instability worries, and energy and defense companies saw shares rise. US stocks ticked up after Fed officials hinted that more rate hikes may not be needed this year. Scan With shrink hitting returns, some retailers are rescanning self-checkout strategies Unexpected update in bagging area… Retailers that’ve leaned into self-checkout are taking a second look at their receipts as costs and losses pile up. [Walmart]( [Costco]( [Kroger]( and [Amazon]( have recently [adjusted]( scan-it-yourself strategies, removing kiosks or adding new, potentially intrusive tech to make them less vulnerable to theft (retailers with self-checkout have higher rates of theft). - Hands-on: Walmart announced that a handful of stores are being renovated to replace self-checkout lanes with OG registers. It also assigned more employees to the lanes to help (and monitor) shoppers. This year, Amazon closed eight of its cashier-less Go stores. - Supervision: Costco has started stationing workers at self-checkouts to check IDs against membership cards. Kroger invested in AI that monitors customers as they bag — and it dispatches employees to investigate abnormalities. - Price tag: As more employees head to the DIY lane, and self-checkout’s role in theft becomes clearer, some experts are questioning how much $$ the tech actually saves companies. Banana-scanning slipups… US retailers last year lost a record $112B+ to inventory shrink (items lost to theft, damage, or misplacement), and self-checkout may’ve played a role. Since unsupervised scanning can be easily manipulated (think: weighing a steak as grapes), losses can rise up to 60% above average in stores with self-checkouts. Companies like Costco and Best Buy that don’t rely as heavily on the tech have seen smaller shrink rates than rivals. THE TAKEAWAY Trade-offs don’t always scan… While self-checkout tech can lower labor costs for companies, its role in shrink might not be cost-effective — especially if employees have to monitor the expensive kiosks anyway. That trade-off isn’t worth it to all retailers: Trader Joe’s has so far passed on self-checkout tech (opting for chatty cashiers), and Wegmans last year halted its self-checkout app. Sponsored by EnergyX Meet the startup on a mission to power the future of sustainable energy Untapped potential: For investors looking for the next high-potential tech startup, [EnergyX]( is producing one of the most important resources on earth: lithium. Lithium is an essential component of nearly all technology, including smartphones, batteries, but mainly the rapidly expanding electric car industry, which uses 10,000x the lithium of an iPhone. Mine blowing: Lithium has so many applications that the demand currently far exceeds supply. [EnergyX]( has solved these problems of inefficient traditional lithium mining with technology that can increase lithium output from hard-to-reach areas by 300%. Having General Motors as their lead investor, EnergyX is gaining traction quickly. What’s more? For a limited time, [you can become an EnergyX shareholder today]( WeakWeek China wraps up a lackluster Golden Week as its economic slump drags on Not-so-golden years… As spending continues to sputter in China postpandemic, the gov’t looked to its annual Golden Week holiday to herald the country’s [economic comeback](. But that didn’t exactly happen. After eight days of national OOO concluded over the weekend, China’s gov’t shared data that showed tourism and spending came in below its expectations. - Staycation: 826M people traveled domestically in China during Golden Week, spending more than $100B — that’s more total $$ than in 2019, but less per traveler. Int’l travel to and from China recovered to 85% of 2019 levels. - “For Sale” signs: Compared to last year, home sales declined during the week known for real-estate dealmaking as property prices continue to plummet. Chinese stocks dipped on all the weaker-than-expected data. Postpandemic problems… China’s economy was expected to come roaring back after the gov’t lifted its zero-Covid restrictions that essentially shuttered business. But the reboot has been more on pace with a dial-up IBM than a zippy new Mac. The country’s GDP grew less than 1% in the second quarter, showing slowing momentum from the first quarter’s sluggish 2.2% as real-estate values plunged and consumers spent conservatively. US industries that rely on spending from Chinese tourists (like: travel, luxury) have lamented the slow recovery. THE TAKEAWAY A slow comeback is still a comeback… Golden Week’s weak data may be a sign that China’s economic recovery is shaped less like a V and more like a checkmark in progress. While spending is ticking up, analysts say pandemic financial habits may stick around, and that the gov’t needs to roll out more stimulus measures. Heads up: China’s Q3 GDP is expected next week, which could signal just how long the tail on this checkmark-shaped recovery might be. What else we're Snackin' - [Ground]( United, Delta, and American Airlines suspended flights to Tel Aviv after Hamas’ attacks on Israel. Cruise lines Carnival and Royal Caribbean also changed itineraries in the area. - [Worked]( 4K UAW members joined the strike against automakers after rejecting an agreement with Mack Trucks. Work stoppages continue at the Big Three, with GM seeing the largest # of workers on strike. - [BrAIdy]( Meta’s paying celebs like Tom Brady and MrBeast $1M+ to use their likenesses for AI chatbots. The biz showed off 28 AI celeb bots, with boss Mark Zuckerberg saying he expects the trend to gain steam next year. - [DNA]( 23andMe shares sank 4% after the genetics-tracking company confirmed some user data was being illegally sold online. Last week a hacker exposed millions of genetic profiles by guessing account passwords. - [Switch]( Chip giant Nvidia canceled its AI Summit in startup hub Tel Aviv over security concerns. 2.5K participants were set to attend sessions led by execs from the likes of Microsoft and Amazon. 🍪 Thanks for Snacking with us! Want to share the Snacks? Invite your friends to sign up [here](. Snack Fact Of the Day Indian Americans are now the largest Asian American group in the US [Read more]( Tuesday - Earnings expected from Pepsi Authors of this Snacks own shares of: Amazon, GM, Delta, Walmart, Microsoft, and Nvidia *Advertiser’s disclosure: This is a paid advertisement for EnergyX’s Regulation A+ Offering. Please read the [offering circular]( and [related risks]( at invest.energyx.com. Sherwood Media, LLC produces fresh and unique perspectives on topical financial news and is a fully owned subsidiary of Robinhood Markets, Inc., and any views expressed here do not necessarily reflect the views of any other Robinhood affiliate... [See more]( [Sherwood Terms and Conditions]( • [Our Editorial Principles]( • [Contact Us](mailto:hellosnacks@sherwoodmedia.com) • [Privacy Policy]( • [Advertise with us](mailto:advertising@sherwoodmedia.com) [Unsubscribe](