Welcome to Five at Five, your late look at payments and commerce news you may have missed. Today’s stories include a fresh look at Amazon’s path to beat Walmart in sales, and a “connected apparel” project that involves Google, Levi’s and Uber. Toys R Us is going to have some sexy times at auction, Lyft is running strong and ADP is helping gig workers.
Amazon to Trump Walmart on Sales in as Little as Three Years
JPMorgan predicted Amazon will surpass Walmart in terms of sales in as little as two to three years. Currently, Walmart is the leader in terms of sales, with revenue of $495.8 billion. In the U.S. alone, the retail giant had annual revenue of $318.5 billion for the fiscal year ending in January.
Levi’s Dresses up Google’s Connected Jacket with Uber Notifications
Last year, Google’s Advanced Technology and Projects group (ATAP) introduced Jacquard, a connected apparel platform that lets clothing designers and manufacturers mesh connectivity, interactivity and clothes.
Toys R Us’ Surprisingly Sexy Inventory Auction
Several of the company-owned website domain names — including sex-toys-r-us.com, ihatetoysrus.com, toysrussucks.com, kinkytoysrus.com and adult-toys-r-us.com — are up for sale as the chain sheds assets. Toys R Us owns those names to prevent other firms from using them — and from encroaching on its brand.
Lyft Has 35 Percent of US Rideshare Market
The company and Uber competitor also says its market share is over 40 percent in 16 U.S. markets and that it has a majority share in “multiple” markets.
ADP’s Wisely Pay Bids to Smarten and Speed up Gig Economy Payments
The rise of the gig economy – and the embracing of payment cards – speaks to a desire of the project-based workforce to have flexibility in what they do, career-wise, and how they get paid. The PYMNTS Gig Economy Index has estimated that gig workers account for 3.7 percent of GDP, worth roughly $711 million of income in 2017.
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