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The "fifth wave" of retail is conversational

Dan Primack, author of Pro Rata

1-800 Flowers CEO Chris McCann believes that the future of retail success involves using technologies like chatbots and AI concierges to casually interact with customers. Per an interview with Yahoo Finance:

“We see a fifth wave emerging now, which we’re calling and others are calling conversational commerce."

Go deeper

Caitlin Owens, author of Vitals
3 hours ago - Health

Biden taps ex-FDA chief to lead Operation Warp Speed amid rollout of COVID plan

Photo: Alex Wong/Getty Images

President-elect Joe Biden has picked former FDA chief David Kessler to lead Operation Warp Speed, a day after unveiling a nearly $2 trillion pandemic relief plan that includes $400 billion for directly combatting the virus.

Why it matters: Biden's transition team said Kessler has been advising the president-elect since the beginning of the pandemic, and hopes his involvement will help accelerate vaccination, the New York Times reports. Operation Warp Speed's current director, Moncef Slaoui, will stay on as a consultant.

Go deeper (1 min. read)Arrow
Cara Shillenn, Courtenay Brown
3 hours ago - Economy & Business

The case of the missing relief money

Illustration: Sarah Grillo/Axios

A chunk of stimulus payments is missing in action, thanks to a mix up that put as many as 13 million checks into invalid bank accounts.

Why it matters: The IRS (by law) was supposed to get all payments out by Friday. Now the onus could shift to Americans to claim the money on their tax refund — further delaying relief to struggling, lower-income Americans.

Go deeper (2 min. read)Arrow
Jim VandeHei
4 hours ago - Politics & Policy

The post-Trump GOP, gutted

McConnell (L), McCarthy (R) and Trump. Photo: Erin Schaff-Pool/Getty Images

Republicans will emerge from the Trump era gutted financially, institutionally and structurally.

The big picture: The losses are stark and substantial.

Go deeper (1 min. read)Arrow