Online retail sales grew 25.47% year over year in January, according to CNBC and the National Retail Federation’s Retail Monitor. The year’s online sales started slightly better than 2023 ended, with January sales up 0.68% month over month, according to the NRF. Meanwhile, total retail sales also grew in January (2.34% year over year), according to the Retail Monitor. Month over month, January sales were nearly flat, decreasing just 0.16%, the new report showed.

Passed (in France) in 2020, the Anti-Waste Law For A Circular Economy (AGEC) dictates that receipts will be printed at the customer’s request, except in special circumstances. Since then, several “start-ups” have aligned themselves to electronic receipts. Taking advantage of the new law, which has been postponed several times, they have developed communication campaigns highlighting the environmental interest of not using paper receipts. Faced with this flood of greenwashing, Two Sides France submitted two case complaints that seemed fitting for the Advertising Ethics Jury. On January 31st 2024, the jury agreed with Two Sides on those cases. Aside from the fact that it’s hard to see how, if a consumer doesn’t need a paper ticket, giving them a digital ticket would be more virtuous, the communications from these companies frequently resort to clichés commonly employed to endorse digital “solutions.” Consequently, an excess of statements has emerged featuring generic ideas and sweeping statements praising the merits of avoiding paper, while omitting the environmental consequences of digital alternatives, claiming forest conservation, and asserting the positive aspects of an eco-friendly digital receipt allegedly in compliance with the above mentioned AGEC law.

The Company reported fourth quarter 2023 reported revenue of $3.152 billion, an increase of 7% compared to the fourth quarter of 2022. Fourth quarter GAAP net income increased 34% to $579 million and GAAP diluted earnings per share increased 38% to $1.83 driven primarily by strong Ratings growth and lower merger-related costs. Excluding the impact of Engineering Solutions (ES), revenue growth would have been 11% year over year. Adjusted net income for the fourth quarter increased 19% to $988 million and adjusted diluted earnings per share increased 23% to $3.13. For the full year 2023, reported revenue increased 12% year over year to $12.497 billion. 2023 GAAP net income decreased 19% to $2.626 billion and GAAP diluted earnings per share decreased 19% to $8.23, driven primarily by a gain on sale of assets in 2022 and restructuring costs in 2023.

The U.S. Postal Service announced its financial results for the first quarter of fiscal year 2024. The net loss for the quarter totaled $2.1 billion, compared to a net loss of $1.0 billion for the same quarter last year. Results for the quarter were negatively impacted primarily by non-cash workers’ compensation expenses due to actuarial revaluation and discount rate changes, the amortization of unfunded retiree pension liabilities, and the continued effect of inflation on operating expenses. Controllable income for the quarter was $472 million, compared to controllable income of $187 million for the same quarter last year, reflecting that the positive impacts of the Delivering for America plan are beginning to be realized. Total operating revenue was $21.6 billion for the quarter, an increase of $115 million, or 0.5 percent, compared to the same quarter last year. Revenue for the overall Shipping and Packages category increased $240 million, or 2.7 percent, on a volume increase of 98 million pieces, or 5.1 percent, compared to the same quarter last year. Marketing Mail revenue decreased $235 million, or 5.4 percent, on a volume decline of 2.4 billion pieces, or 13.5 percent, compared to the same quarter last year.

Costco Wholesale Corporation reported net sales of $22.08 billion for the retail month of January, the five weeks ended February 4, 2024 an increase of 4.5 percent from $21.13 billion last year. For the 22 weeks ended February 4, 2024, the Company reported net sales of $104.94 billion, an increase of 6.0 percent from $99.00 billion for the 22 weeks of fiscal year 2023 ended January 29, 2023.

Key Fourth Quarter Highlights • The Company added approximately 300,000 net digital-only subscribers compared with the end of the third quarter of 2023, fueled by bundle and multi-product subscriber additions • Total digital-only average revenue per user (“ARPU”) grew 3.5 percent year-over-year to $9.24 primarily as a result subscribers graduating from promotional to higher prices and price increases on tenured non-bundled subscribers • Higher digital subscribers and ARPU drove year-over-year growth in subscription revenues from digital products of 7.2 percent • Digital advertising revenues decreased 3.7 percent year-over-year largely as a result of the five fewer days in the fourth quarter of 2023 compared to 2022 as well as declines in revenue from our podcasts and creative services • Operating costs decreased 4.8 percent year-over-year and adjusted operating costs (defined below) decreased 0.7 percent, largely as a result of lower cost of revenue, partially offset by higher salesand marketing and product development costs • Operating profit of $129.0 million, a 38.7 percent increase year-over-year, with adjusted operating profit (defined below) of $154.0 million, an 8.5 percent increase year-over-year primarily as a result of higher digital subscription and other revenues as well as lower adjusted operating costs, partially offset by lower advertising revenues

*Second quarter revenues were $2.59 billion, a 3% increase compared to $2.52 billion in the prior year, driven by growth at the Digital Real Estate Services, Dow Jones and Book Publishing segments *Net income in the quarter was $183 million, compared to net income of $94 million in the prior year *Second quarter Total Segment EBITDA was $473 million, compared to $409 million in the prior year

Total revenues across all categories for November 2023 were down 0.5% as compared to November 2022, coming in at $1.0 billion. Year-to-date revenues were up 0.6%, at $11.7 billion for the first eleven months of the year. November: Trade (Consumer Books) revenues were down 0.2% in November, coming in at $858.0 million. In terms of physical paper format revenues during the month of November, in the Trade (Consumer Books) category, Hardback revenues were up 2.0%, coming in at $368.8 million; Paperbacks were down 1.9%, with $262.5 million in revenue; Mass Market was down 53.4% to $9.1 million; and Special Bindings were up 13.8%, with $22.7 million in revenue.

Today Media, a publisher of regional lifestyle magazines, business publications and websites in several East Coast markets, has acquired Bethesda magazine and the news site MoCo360 from Z-Pop Media, the company announced on Friday. Terms were not disclosed. Bethesda and MoCo360, which cover Montgomery County in suburban Maryland, are “a great fit” for Today Media, says Rob Martinelli, CEO of Today Media. Based in Wilmington, Delaware, Today Media publishes in four East Coast markets, including New York's Westchester County and the Hudson Valley, Delaware and suburban Philadelphia.

Savvas Learning Company, a next-generation K-12 learning solutions leader, today announced that it has acquired Outlier.org, an edtech startup that has created a portfolio of high-quality, turnkey, online college-level courses that enable high school students to earn dual credit while never having to leave their school building. Outlier.org combines cinematic video and charismatic professors with the best in modern, evidence-based teaching techniques to virtually transport the student to a college lecture hall. Its diverse catalog of award-winning courses in the arts, humanities, social sciences, and natural sciences are taught by hand-picked, world-class instructors from NASA, MIT, Harvard, Yale, and other top institutions.

FY24 second quarter service performance scores covering January 1 through January 26, included: *First-Class Mail: 82.7 percent of First-Class Mail delivered on time against the USPS service standard, a decrease of 3.2 percentage points from the fiscal first quarter. *Marketing Mail: 92.2 percent of Marketing Mail delivered on time against the USPS service standard, a decrease of 1.5 percentage points from the fiscal first quarter. *Periodicals: 80.2 percent of Periodicals delivered on time against the USPS service standard, consistent with performance from the fiscal first quarter.

Domtar now offers the Cougar® Paper Trails printing primer to help professionals and novices find the optimal paper for their project. The Cougar® brand of uncoated paper has long been known by printers, marketers and creative professionals as the ideal medium for personal exploration and storytelling. And now, the Cougar Paper Trails printing primer offers a valuable resource to anyone new to the print industry. “We are proud to offer a new generation of advertisers, printers, designers and creatives of all kinds a user-friendly primer,” says Meredith Collins, channel marketing manager at Domtar. “Cougar Paper Trails is an easy-to-understand guide to the important characteristics of paper and the printing and finishing techniques that make creative work shine.”

Gannett Co., Inc. and the USA TODAY Network today announced a multi-year agreement to become the official content partner of the Big Ten Conference, the oldest Division I collegiate athletic conference in the United States As part of the agreement, syndicated content from across USA TODAY Network’s local network of more than 200 publications will be featured on BigTen.org. This includes content from The Columbus Dispatch, The Des Moines Register, Detroit Free Press and The Indianapolis Star among several others. USA TODAY will also continue to produce souvenir covers to commemorate the winners of the Big Ten Championship Games in football and men’s and women’s basketball. These covers are presented to athletes on the field or court after the final whistle. This tradition began last year with the Big Ten Football Championship Game and continued this year with the “A-MAIZE-ING” headline celebrating Michigan’s win in the conference title game.

Fourth Quarter 2023 *Net sales increased 14% to $170.0 billion in the fourth quarter, compared with $149.2 billion in fourth quarter 2022. *Operating income increased to $13.2 billion in the fourth quarter, compared with $2.7 billion in fourth quarter 2022. *Net income increased to $10.6 billion in the fourth quarter, or $1.00 per diluted share, compared with $0.3 billion, or $0.03 per diluted share, in fourth quarter 2022. Full Year 2023 *Net sales increased 12% to $574.8 billion in 2023, compared with $514.0 billion in 2022. Excluding the $0.1 billion unfavorable impact from year-over-year changes in foreign exchange rates throughout the year, net sales increased 12% compared with 2022. *Operating income increased to $36.9 billion in 2023, compared with $12.2 billion in 2022. *Net income was $30.4 billion in 2023, or $2.90 per diluted share, compared with a net loss of $2.7 billion, or $0.27 per diluted share, in 2022.

Fourth Quarter 2023 Highlights *Delivered sales of $4.0 billion, up 5.1%, or 5.5% on a daily, organic constant currency basis *Achieved reported operating margin of 13.9%, down 40 basis points, or 14.6% on an adjusted basis, up 80 basis points *Announced plans to open a new 1.2 million square-foot distribution center near Houston, Texas in 2026. Full Year 2023 Highlights *Grew sales to $16.5 billion, up 8.2%, or 9.5% on a daily, organic constant currency basis *Realized reported operating margin of 15.6%, up 110 basis points, or 15.7% on an adjusted basis, up 130 basis points

Grainger announced plans to open a 1.2 million-square-foot distribution center (DC) in Hockley, Texas in 2026. The new "Houston Texas Distribution Center" will provide additional capacity for the company to continue delivering best-in-class, next-day complete orders to customers. Grainger plans to break ground this spring. Grainger's Houston Texas Distribution Center is expected to house more than 250,000 industrial supply items, such as hand and power tools, heating, ventilation and air conditioning (HVAC) equipment, fluid power solutions, lighting, power transmission equipment, and motors. The company anticipates the new facility will employ approximately 400 team members within a year of opening in 2026.

Postal Regulatory Commission Vice Chairman Thomas G. Day and Commissioner Ashley E. Poling recently toured two U.S. Postal Service processing facilities to witness, first-hand, ongoing network changes made by the Postal Service as part of its Delivering for America plan. Guided by a senior postal official on January 17, Vice Chairman Day and Commissioner Poling toured the Postal Service’s newly constructed Regional Processing and Distribution Center in Palmetto, GA. The tour took place from 10 p.m. to 1:30 a.m.—peak hours for some of the busiest processing intervals and a key period for incoming and outgoing transportation. As of that date, package processing was operational, but the letter and flats operations were still undergoing installation. On January 19, the two Commissioners visited the Postal Service’s first Sortation and Delivery Center in Athens, GA. During their 6 a.m. tour, they observed the Postal Service’s delivery unit package sortation operations along with the routine preparation of mail delivery carriers for their daily routes. They also viewed the new charging infrastructure for future electric postal delivery vehicles.

Walmart Inc. announced that it will conduct a split of its outstanding shares of common stock at a ratio of 3:1. The stock split is part of Walmart’s ongoing review of optimal trading and spread levels and its desire for its associates to feel that purchasing shares is easily within reach. More than 400,000 associates participate in Walmart’s Associate Stock Purchase Plan today, which allows eligible associates to buy stock conveniently through payroll deductions and provides a 15% company match on the first $1,800 each year. “Sam Walton believed it was important to keep our share price in a range where purchasing whole shares, rather than fractions, was accessible to all of our associates,” said Doug McMillon, President and CEO of Walmart. “Given our growth and our plans for the future, we felt it was a good time to split the stock and encourage our associates to participate in the years to come. As Sam said, ‘We’re all in this together. That’s the secret.’”

The Association of American Publishers welcomed the release of the 2023 Review of Notorious Markets for Counterfeiting and Piracy by the Office of the U.S. Trade Representative (USTR). The Notorious Markets List highlights online and physical markets around the world engaged in industrial-scale copyright infringement and counterfeiting, which adversely impacts the interests of U.S. publishers, authors, and other rights holders. “The publishing industry thanks USTR and the interagency for their work in protecting the intellectual property of publishers and authors, whose livelihoods depend on the protection and enforcement of their rights,” said Lui Simpson, Senior Vice President for Global Policy at AAP. “The Notorious Markets report remains a critical tool for exposing online sites and marketplaces that traffic in infringing copies of books and journal articles.”

FY24 second quarter service performance scores covering January 1 through January 19, included: *First-Class Mail: 84.0 percent of First-Class Mail delivered on time against the USPS service standard, a decrease of 1.9 percentage points from the fiscal first quarter. *Marketing Mail: 92.1 percent of Marketing Mail delivered on time against the USPS service standard, a decrease of 1.6 percentage points from the fiscal first quarter. *Periodicals: 80.6 percent of Periodicals delivered on time against the USPS service standard, consistent with performance from the fiscal first quarter.

Wiley, one of the world’s largest publishers and a global leader in research and learning, today announced a new 5-year open access agreement with the Jean and Alexander Heard Libraries at Vanderbilt University, beginning on January 1, 2024. This transformative agreement will provide Vanderbilt University affiliates with access to Wiley’s complete journal portfolio and enable participating researchers to publish research in Wiley’s complete portfolio of nearly 2,000 hybrid and gold open access journals, including those published by Hindawi, starting January 1, 2024.

The Daily Iowan, a student newspaper at the University of Iowa, has acquired two community papers, the Mount Vernon-Lisbon Sun and Solon Economist, from Woodward Communications, effective with their Feb. 8 editions, the Iowan announced. The terms were not disclosed. The Daily Iowan is part of the non-profit corporation Student Publications, Inc.

The Postal Regulatory Commission issued a notice today to clarify the outcome of a recent Market Dominant Negotiated Service Agreement (NSA) approved by the Commission. The Commission reaffirmed its commitment to timely review and approval of Market Dominant NSA applications that comply with the law and recognized the importance of innovation. In its request, the Postal Service stated that it intended to begin implementing the agreement “in January 2024 or shortly thereafter.” The Commission approved the Market Dominant NSA on November 22, 2023, consistent with the Postal Service’s request. On January 17, 2024, the Postal Service informed the Commission that the mailer had decided not to implement the NSA.

Savvas Learning Company, a next-generation K-12 learning solutions leader, today introduced the new edition of myView Literacy, its leading K-5 core English Language Arts (ELA) program. Combining powerful Science of Reading-based instruction with engaging student-centered practice opportunities, myView Literacy © 2025 is designed to develop strong readers and writers, improving learning outcomes for all students. The new edition of myView Literacy comes at a time when the Science of Reading movement has gained national momentum, with many states now requiring the use of evidence-based strategies for teaching students to read. More and more school districts today are making it a priority to use high-quality instructional materials that not only demonstrate both efficacy and a positive impact on student achievement but also provide teachers the training and support they need to successfully implement the curriculum.

Two Maryland newspapers, The Dispatch and Ocean City Today, are merging after more than 30 years of rivalry. The resulting product, OC Today/Dispatch, will debut on Feb. 2. The product will be “stronger as one rather than continuing to compete against each other for the same news and sales every week, says Steve Green, editor ofThe Dispatch.

Jonathan provided an update on Two Sides’ activity, results in 2023, and focused on the tools, resources and information that your business can use. The Love Paper campaign, focussed on improving consumer perceptions of our products, reached a milestone in 2023 with over 2,000 advertisements featured in national newspapers and magazines. This initiative reaches more than 240 million consumers, communicating the sustainable narrative of magazines, newspapers, and all paper-based products. Year after year, we are reaching a growing number of consumers, making it a focus of our ongoing efforts. Across Europe, the challenge of Greenwashing persists, with companies disseminating misleading messages that portray a digital transition as inherently better for the environment. Slogans like “Go green, go paperless” not only misguide but pose a significant threat to our industry. Two Sides actively engages businesses, brands, and organizations, urging them to refrain from making such deceptive statements regarding print and paper.

The latest and exciting NEW issue of The Page, the magazine produced by Two Sides to promote the sustainability and value of print, is now available! In the latest edition of The Page, we take a look at what’s in store for 2024. After a turbulent 2023, we pick the brains of our finest industry experts about their predictions for print, paper and paper-based packaging. Getting your customers’ ATTENTION and keeping it is the Holy Grail of marketing. Now attention metrics shows that print is one of the best performers. You can read more about it in the latest edition of The Page. more at: https://twosides.info/uk/the-page-january-2024

FY24 second quarter service performance scores covering January 1 through January 12, included: *First-Class Mail: 85.8 percent of First-Class Mail delivered on time against the USPS service standard, consistent with performance from the fiscal first quarter. *Marketing Mail: 93.7 percent of Marketing Mail delivered on time against the USPS service standard, consistent with performance from the fiscal first quarter. *Periodicals: 81.5 percent of Periodicals delivered on time against the USPS service standard, an increase of 0.8 percentage points from the fiscal first quarter.

Country Walking, the UK’s best-selling walking magazine has launched its annual challenge #Walk1000Miles with a dedicated 64-page supplement, available in the February issue. Founded 9 years ago by Country Walking’s Editor Guy Procter, the popular annual walking challenge encourages anyone of any age, fitness level and experience to walk 1000 miles in one year. It takes under an hour a day to reach 1000 miles in 12 months – just 2.74 miles daily – or the equivalent of Land’s End to John o’Groats the long way. Since launch, Country Walking’s #Walk1000Miles challenge has amassed more than 170k registrations and over 44,000 members to its growing Facebook community.

The Hearst Foundations announced that they have surpassed $1.5 billion in grants to over 6,400 organizations since their founding in 1946 by William Randolph Hearst. The announcement was made by Presidents of the Hearst Foundations, William R. Hearst III and Virginia Randt. Operating independently from Hearst, the Foundations are national philanthropic resources for organizations working in the fields of culture, education, health and social service. Grantmaking also includes administering two unique annual programs: the United States Senate Youth Program for high school juniors and seniors as a public service immersion in Washington D.C. and the Journalism Awards Program for undergraduates studying journalism at accredited schools of journalism.

The United States Postal Service (USPS), alongside White House officials, unveiled its first set of electric vehicle (EV) charging stations at its South Atlanta Sorting and Delivery Center (S&DC). Charging stations like these will be installed at hundreds of new S&DCs across the country throughout the year and will power what will be the nation’s largest EV fleet. Electrification and modernization of the Postal Service’s delivery fleet is part of the organization’s $40 billion investment strategy to upgrade and improve the USPS processing, transportation, and delivery networks. “The improvements we need to achieve in sustainability are an integral outgrowth of the broader modernization efforts we have undertaken through our 10-year Delivering for America plan,” said Postmaster General Louis DeJoy.

Print media consumption rose in 2023, and this trend should continue in 2024, according to a study by Pew Research Center. MRI-Simmons reports that 80%+ of 100+ national magazines have lower readership than they did a decade ago. But, over the past two years, nearly 90% of those have maintained or actually increased readership. Catalogs are also growing apace. "Amazon’s Holiday Dash catalog which tops 100 pages, has been described as a mashup of the iconic Sears catalog and Highlights magazine," Pew writes.

The United States Court of Appeals for the Fifth Circuit today affirmed the preliminary injunction of the “Reader Act” (formerly HB 900) granted by Judge Alan D. Albright of the U.S. District Court for the Western District of Texas, Austin Division in a written opinion issued on September 18, 2023. The law would have required independent bookstores, national chain bookstores, large online book retailers, book publishers and other vendors to review and rate millions of books and other library materials according to sexual content if those books are sold to school libraries, and to do so according to vague labels dictated by the state without any process for judicial review. In affirming Judge Albright’s earlier ruling, Judge Don Willett of the Fifth Circuit Court of Appeals noted that “Plaintiffs have an interest in selling books without being coerced to speak the State’s preferred message,” going on to say that he was “unpersuaded” by the State’s argument that the READER Act does not implicate Plaintiffs’ First Amendment rights.

Savvas Learning Company, a next-generation K-12 learning solutions leader, today announced that Successmaker, its continuously-adaptive, personalized learning math and reading programs for all K-8 students, met ESSA Level 2 evidence standards by demonstrating significantly higher math proficiency and reading gains for students. ESSA, formally known as the Every Student Succeeds Act, is the federal K-12 education law requiring that all students in America be taught to high academic standards that will prepare them to succeed in college and careers. ESSA provides states and school districts guidance as well as flexibility in selecting evidence-based learning solutions that have demonstrated a positive effect on student performance.

The U.S. Postal Service is raising the price of stamps AGAIN on January 21. This is the fourth increase in 18 months—the most mailing rates have increased during the U.S. Postal Service’s 248-year history. These increases have harmed mail volume and have not helped the USPS achieve financial stability. In fact, the USPS posted a $6.5 billion loss for FY2023 and is predicting a $6.3 billion loss this fiscal year. And yet, the USPS appears to be on track to raise stamp prices yet again this July. These increases pose a significant threat to consumers and businesses that rely on the USPS. Representatives Emanuel Cleaver (D-MO) and Sam Graves (R-MO) have teamed up to send a letter to the USPS Board of Governors urging them to delay any further increase this year until the effects of the unprecedented twice-a-year increases on mail volume and revenue are better understood. Keep US Posted encourages everyone who supports affordable postage and quality service to contact their members of Congress to ask them to join Rep. Cleaver and Graves in sending the letter.

FY24 second quarter service performance scores covering January 1 through January 5, included: *First-Class Mail: 87.5 percent of First-Class Mail delivered on time against the USPS service standard, an increase of 1.6 percentage points from the fiscal first quarter. *Marketing Mail: 93.4 percent of Marketing Mail delivered on time against the USPS service standard, consistent with performance from the fiscal first quarter. *Periodicals: 82.0 percent of Periodicals delivered on time against the USPS service standard, an increase of 1.3 percentage points from the fiscal first quarter.

Specialty outdoor retailer REI Co-op announced expansion plans to open 10 new stores in 2024 to better serve its members and outdoor community. Locations have been finalized for summer 2024 openings in Glendale, Arizona and Rancho Mirage, California. A store in St. George, Utah will open in fall 2025. The co-op will open its doors in formerly occupied retail spaces at Arrowhead Promenade in Glendale, The River in Rancho Mirage, and St. George Place in St. George. Each location will offer a wide assortment of apparel, gear and expertise for camping, cycling, running, fitness, hiking, climbing and more. In addition, a full-service bike shop will be staffed with technicians to tune, repair and enhance the performance of all bikes. The new Utah location will also feature a ski and snowboard shop.

The 10-campus University of California system and 48 private and public academic and research institutions represented by the Statewide California Electronic Library Consortium (SCELC) have reached a new open access agreement with Wiley, one of the world's largest publishers. The three-year deal begins this month and will make more research eligible for open access publication than any partnership of its kind in California. “Some of the most groundbreaking research in the world is done right here in California, driving advances in medicine, environmental sustainability and society. I am excited about this opportunity for more California scholars, from UC and beyond, to make their work freely available so that people around the globe can benefit from and build on their discoveries,” said Maria De Prano, professor of Art History at UC Merced and chair of the UC faculty Academic Senate’s systemwide committee on library and scholarly communication. “I appreciate the partnership of our colleagues at SCELC and Wiley for making open access to California research possible at this scale.”

Firestorm Books, a collectively-owned radical bookstore in Asheville, N.C., has acquired 22,500 copies of 46 children's books that were banned from the Duval County Public School system in Florida. Under a campaign named "Banned Books Back!," the bookstore plans to distribute these books to children and families across the United States, starting with Florida. Last year, Duval County school administrators ordered the removal of numerous titles focused on gender issues, racism, colonialism and more. Half of the titles that were pulled focused on LGBTQIA+ topics. "When we were told that these books were at risk of being destroyed, we knew we had to act," Esmé Joy, co-owner of Firestorm Books, said.

OverDrive reps reported this week that a record 152 library systems and consortia across seven countries—including 41 states and seven Canadian provinces—surpassed the one million digital lends benchmark in 2023, which includes e-books, digital audiobooks, and digital magazines. The numbers represent a significant jump from the 129 library systems that hit the milestone in 2022. The 152 public libraries hitting the milestone are based in the U.S., Canada, Australia, Canada, Germany, New Zealand, Singapore, the United Kingdom, and the United States.

Journalism is in jeopardy unless publishers are fairly compensated for use of their content by GAI companies, Roger Lynch, CEO of Condé Nast, argued in Congressional testimony on Wednesday. Speaking before the the Senate Judiciary Subcommittee on Privacy, Technology, and the Law, Lynch said, “We urge Congress to take immediate action to clarify that the use of publisher content for both Gen AI training and their output must be licensed and compensated.”

Inspirit Capital, a UK-based investment firm, has entered into a definitive agreement with Wiley to acquire Wiley Edge (“Edge”), an early-career talent, training and placement business serving global employers. The transaction is expected to close in the first quarter of 2024, subject to satisfaction of customary closing conditions. Edge is an industry-leading provider of Hire, Train, Deploy (“HTD”) talent solutions, supporting multinational employers by sourcing, training and deploying high-potential entry-level talent on a contract-to-hire basis. Currently operating in 11 countries, the business plays an important role in addressing the enduring global skills gaps in high-demand areas of technology and business. Edge has a leading recruitment and selection operation, with access to diverse talent around the globe, and delivers bootcamp-style courses through its Academy. In addition to its core early-career HTD services, Edge also offers tailored training programs to reskill clients’ existing workforces, enhancing employee retention and helping employers address internal skill gaps in an increasingly competitive global labor market.

The Association of American Publishers released its StatShot report for October 2023 reflecting reported revenue for Trade (Consumer Books), Higher Education Course Materials, and Professional Publishing. Total revenues across all categories for October 2023 were up 1.8% as compared to October 2022, coming in at $1.2 billion. Year-to-date revenues were up 0.7%, at $10.6 billion for the first ten months of the year. Trade (Consumer Books) revenues were up 1.3% in October, coming in at $975.0 million. In terms of physical paper format revenues during the month of October, in the Trade (Consumer Books) category, Hardback revenues were down 2.3%, coming in at $441.8 million; Paperbacks were up 5.5%, with $301.1 million in revenue; Mass Market was up 44.4% to $10.4 million; and Special Bindings were up 3.7%, with $25.8 million in revenue.

Urban Outfitters, Inc. announced net sales for the two and eleven months ended December 31, 2023. Total Company net sales for the two months ended December 31, 2023, increased 10% compared to the two months ended December 31, 2022. Total Retail segment net sales increased 8%, with comparable Retail segment net sales increasing 6%. Comparable Retail segment net sales increased 20% at Free People and 14% at Anthropologie and decreased 13% at Urban Outfitters. Wholesale segment net sales increased 15% driven by an increase in Free People wholesale sales primarily due to increases in sales to department stores and specialty accounts, partially offset by a decrease in Urban Outfitters wholesale sales. Nuuly segment net sales increased 71% primarily driven by a 58% increase in our subscribers versus the end of the prior year's comparable period.

The United States Postal Service reported new delivery performance metrics for the thirteenth week of the first quarter for fiscal year 2024. The average time for the Postal Service to deliver a mailpiece or package across the nation was 2.7 days. FY24 first quarter service performance scores covering October 1 through December 29, included: *First-Class Mail: 85.4 percent of First-Class Mail delivered on time against the USPS service standard, a decrease of 5.7 percentage points from the fiscal fourth quarter. *Marketing Mail: 93.8 percent of Marketing Mail delivered on time against the USPS service standard, a decrease of 1.5 percentage points from the fiscal fourth quarter. *Periodicals: 80.8 percent of Periodicals delivered on time against the USPS service standard, a decrease of 5.2 percentage points from the fiscal fourth quarter.

Costco Wholesale Corporation reported net sales of $26.15 billion for the retail month of December, the five weeks ended December 31, 2023 an increase of 9.9 percent from $23.80 billion last year. For the seventeen weeks ended December 31, 2023, the Company reported net sales of $82.86 billion, an increase of 5.9 percent from $78.26 billion for the seventeen weeks of fiscal year 2023 ended December 25, 2022. Net sales for the seventeen weeks were negatively impacted by approximately one-half to one percent from the shift of the fiscal calendar, as a result of the fifty-third week in fiscal year 2023.

Adobe released online shopping data for the 2023 holiday season, covering the period from Nov. 1 through Dec. 31, 2023. Based on Adobe Analytics data, the report provides the most comprehensive view into U.S. e-commerce by analyzing commerce transactions online, covering over one trillion visits to U.S. retail sites, 100 million SKUs and 18 product categories. Adobe Analytics is part of Adobe Experience Cloud, relied upon by over 85% of the top 100 internet retailers in the U.S.* to deliver, measure and personalize shopping experiences online. Consumers spent $222.1 billion online from Nov. 1 to Dec. 31, up 4.9% year-over-year (YoY) and setting a new record for e-commerce. A total of $123.5 billion was spent online in the month of November (up 6% YoY), bolstered by a strong Cyber Week—the five days between Thanksgiving and Cyber Monday—which drove $38 billion in spend online (up 7.8% YoY). In December, consumers spent a total of $98.6 billion online (up 3.7% YoY), driven in part by discounts that lingered past Cyber Monday.

Wellington, Florida will soon be home to a luxury magazine called Lux Wellington. It will appear in February. The product is the latest glossy print edition being offered by Luxury Lifestyle publications. It will serve the Wellington-Palm Beach area. The initial digital edition will cover travel, men's/woman's fashion, dining, the local home market, VIP profiles, luxury autos, health and beauty and the equestrian lifestyle.