Amazon is rapidly opening store-sized delivery hubs in dozens of U.S. and foreign cities to fulfill customers’ most urgent product needs in 30 minutes or less.

Walmart delivered another impressive quarter as the promise of lower prices and speedy deliveries attracted a broader spectrum of Americans from cash-strapped to wealthier households during the critical holiday shopping period.

Google is expanding the shopping features in its AI chatbot by teaming up with Walmart, Shopify, Wayfair and other big retailers to turn the Gemini app into a virtual merchant as well as an assistant.

Walmart CEO Doug McMillon is planning to retire early next year and his successor has been named.

Walmart plans to build or convert more than 150 U.S. stores in the next five years, while continuing to remodel existing stores.

Millions of kids logging onto virtual school this fall has parents scrambling to find furniture for them. But John Furner, who runs Walmart’s U.S. stores, acknowledged low stocks of kid’s desks and laptops in a ABC News interview on Sept. 11. “It’s not as cute or trendy as a bought desk and I wish it had drawers for storage,” said Fry. Will the homemade desk make it through the school year? “I could not believe in three weeks how much damage he’s done to this desk.”_____Follow Joseph Pisani on Twitter @ josephpisani

Black Friday sales might actually begin on Friday this year. Walmart announced it will close its U.S. stores on Thanksgiving Day to offer its employees the day off to spend with their friends and families after stepping up to meet demands amid the coronavirus pandemic. We hope they will enjoy a special Thanksgiving Day at home with their loved ones, President and CEO John Furner said. A spokesperson says this will be the first time in more than 30 years that Walmart stores will be closed for the holiday, Wall Street Journal reports. More information regarding Black Friday store and club hours will be shared at a later date.

HOUSTON – Walmart and Sam’s Club responded to the COVID-19 pandemic once more by taking additional steps to protect the health and safety of their employees. Both CEOs of the world’s largest brick-and-mortar chain announced in a joint statement Tuesday that stores will begin conducting temperature checks on employees prior to clocking in to work, provide masks and gloves to all employees, and introduce a “6-20-100” guidance protocol. They will also implement a “6-20-100” rule for all employees to follow: "6″ feet away from one another, “20” seconds of hand washing, and “100” degree temperature will send an employee home from work. If an employee reports to work but is detected a temperature of 100 degrees or more, they will be sent home. However, the employee will still be paid for the day, but cannot return to work until they are fever-free for at least three days.