Dennis Green

Fifty-four workers were treated by emergency medical services after an incident at an Amazon warehouse in Robbinsville Township, New Jersey, on Wednesday, a local official has confirmed.

A damaged can of aerosol bear repellent released fumes after falling off a shelf in the warehouse at about 8:50 a.m., according to John Nalbone, the communications and public information officer for Robbinsville Township.

Twenty-four people were sent to local hospitals, and one is in critical condition, Nalbone said.

Those affected reported having difficulty breathing and experiencing a burning sensation in the eyes and throat. Bear repellent is mostly made of capsaicin, the chemical found in hot peppers.

Officials determined that the entire warehouse did not need to be evacuated, and the affected area is being ventilated.

"Today at our Robbinsville fulfillment center, a damaged aerosol can dispensed strong fumes in a contained area of the facility," the Amazon spokeswoman Rachael Lighty told Business Insider in a statement. "The safety of our employees is our top priority, and as such, all employees in that area have been relocated to safe place and employees experiencing symptoms are being treated onsite. As a precaution, some employees have been transported to local hospitals for evaluation and treatment. We appreciate the swift response of our local responders."

Read more: <a id="974a39ae-6af2-3c16-a4a5-d85adbf837fc" href="https://www.businessinsider.com/amazon-warehouse-safety-and-deaths-2018-4?utm_source=intl&amp;utm_medium=ingest"> 7 people have died on the job in Amazon's warehouses since 2013 — here's what happened </a>

The company has come under fire for its workplace practices before. A report released earlier this year by the National Council for Occupational Safety and Health, a private nonprofit worker advocacy group, named Amazon as one of its "dirty dozen" companies. Amazon landed on the list for what the report called a "disturbing pattern of preventable deaths," noting that <a id="116abccc-32f9-3156-aad1-5b0844664977" href="https://www.businessinsider.com/amazon-warehouse-safety-and-deaths-2018-4?utm_source=intl&amp;utm_medium=ingest"> seven Amazon workers had died </a> on or near the job since 2013.

"We are proud of safety record and thousands of Amazonians work hard every day innovating ways to make it even better," an Amazon representative said in a statement at the time of the report's release.

Editor's note: This story was updated to include new information about the number of workers affected by the incident.

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54 workers became sick and one is in critical condition after a can of bear repellent released fumes in an Amazon warehouse (AMZN)

There may be more disappointed children this Christmas morning than last year.

That's because it could end up being more difficult to find this season's hottest toys in stock without Toys R Us around. The chain was America's only nationwide specialty retailer dedicated to toys <a href="https://www.businessinsider.com/toys-r-us-closing-all-stores-report-2018-3?utm_source=intl&amp;utm_medium=ingest" id="e8f8f6ca-aa0f-3196-ab08-9bcb96a70189"> before it liquidated earlier this year. </a>

"Toys R Us, they were not afraid to buy merchandise in December because they could spread it to January, February, March, April," Isaac Larian, CEO of toy company MGA Entertainment, said to Business Insider. "But that's not the situation with the other mass merchants."

A <a href="https://www.businessinsider.com/walmart-target-battle-for-toys-r-us-holiday-shoppers-2018-10?utm_source=intl&amp;utm_medium=ingest" id="ec40cb92-5fe6-3725-a0c2-c926108c73a3"> Target </a> or Walmart or even Best Buy store sells much more than just toys. So even though <a href="https://www.businessinsider.com/walmart-toy-sales-growth-plan-2018-9?utm_source=intl&amp;utm_medium=ingest" id="53a448f4-4b9d-30c6-a87c-447d14b56e2f"> these chains have announced plans to expand their toy sections </a> for the holiday season, and keep them larger even in January and beyond, the focus inevitably shifts.

Basically, it's not just about raw numbers of merchandise. In order to ensure things would stay in stock throughout the holidays, Toy R Us would buy more toys earlier and later in the season than other retailers typically do, Larian said.

Read more: <a href="https://www.businessinsider.com/lol-surprise-dolls-hottest-toy-holiday-2018-11?utm_source=intl&amp;utm_medium=ingest" id="d70139c1-c903-3f3d-a5fe-4abcec1770f9"> A doll with a bizarre name has become the biggest toy of the holiday season by taking over YouTube with unboxing videos </a>

That bodes especially ill for shoppers looking for hot toys like <a href="https://www.businessinsider.com/lol-surprise-dolls-hottest-toy-holiday-2018-11?utm_source=intl&amp;utm_medium=ingest" id="974c238b-898d-3234-acf0-02b6a7a2242b"> MGA's LOL Surprise series of dolls </a> , which has been flying off shelves this season, according to industry analysts. Its success has surprised even Larian.

"A lot of scalpers buy these and charge people two to three times more. It bothers me," he said. "We try to make sure to ship enough goods that that doesn't happen, but it's selling more than we expected."

Larian is hopeful that it won't always be this way.

"Someday, somebody's gonna fill that void with Toys R Us," Larian.

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A toy exec explains the biggest reason why hot toys will be so hard to find this year

The company <a id="4085eab2-2616-35e4-a38a-17faff260135" href="https://news.walmart.com/2018/12/06/adding-artcom-to-our-palette"> announced on Thursday </a> that it plans to acquire Art.com, which it says is the world's largest online seller of artwork.

Walmart will acquire the entire company — catalog, intellectual property, trade name, and all of its US-based operations — for a price it did not disclose. The deal will close early next year, the company said.

Walmart says it will continue to operate Art.com as a standalone site, adding to the rest of its growing online portfolio, which now includes the websites Jet, Bonobos, ModCloth, Eloquii, Moosejaw, Hayneedle, and Bare Necessities. The company will eventually sell Art.com products on Walmart.com, Jet.com, and Hayneedle.com.

Read more: <a id="4f8a0e23-bb01-39f7-a707-edcfdd28f713" href="https://www.businessinsider.com/walmart-third-biggest-online-retailer-2018-11?utm_source=intl&amp;utm_medium=ingest"> Walmart just hit a major milestone in its quest to take on Amazon </a>

Art.com will slot in where the rest of Walmart.com's assortment for the home stops: the wall.

"A big factor in creating that space starts with the wall," Anthony Soohoo, head of US Walmart e-commerce for the home category, said in the blog post announcing the acquisition. "When decorating, redecorating, or even just infusing some new life into a room — many times the best and lowest-priced place to start is by hanging a piece of art on the wall."

Walmart has been on something of a buying streak lately, adding companies born online to its growing portfolio. Many of these companies are focused on the higher end of offerings, as it moves to court the higher-earning customers who like to shop online — and mostly do so with Amazon.

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Walmart is acquiring the world's largest online seller of art (WMT)

Like it or not, <a id="172a468b-14b9-39f8-a90d-07e2db81550c" href="https://markets.businessinsider.com/stocks/amzn-stock?utm_source=intl&amp;utm_medium=ingest"> Amazon </a> has chosen Long Island City, Queens, for one of the campuses for its second headquarters project, which it calls <a id="16773828-f70b-3d77-a549-fc1cb4d623a2" href="https://www.businessinsider.com/category/amazon-hq2?utm_source=intl&amp;utm_medium=ingest"> HQ2 </a> .

It turns out, most New Yorkers do in fact like it, according to a new poll done by Quinnipiac University. In fact, 57% of New Yorkers say they welcome Amazon moving to the neighborhood, while 26% oppose it. The margin is even larger — 60% approval to 26% rejection — in Queens, where Amazon will be eventually be based.

That's a notable two-to-one margin, and comes as something of a surprise <a id="8bdb9d0c-4990-3b4b-af07-ab1c43adc794" href="https://www.businessinsider.com/alexandria-ocasio-cortez-and-other-nyc-democrats-slam-amazon-hq2-2018-11?utm_source=intl&amp;utm_medium=ingest"> after local politicians and some community groups voiced opposition </a> to Amazon's selection. Quinnipiac surveyed 1,075 New York City voters via random calls to landlines and cell phones in late November and early December in order to conduct the poll.

New Yorkers are split, however, on the package of up to $3 billion in tax incentives the city and state are offering the company. It's a much narrower divide, with 46% supporting the incentives and 44% opposing it citywide.

Read more: <a id="eabaab79-6ff4-364e-ac26-ff3de3eeb21d" href="https://www.businessinsider.com/nyc-mayor-bill-de-blasio-says-amazon-boycott-continues-2018-11?utm_source=intl&amp;utm_medium=ingest"> New York City Mayor Bill de Blasio says he will continue to boycott Amazon as the state offers more than $1.5 billion for its HQ2 </a>

"While New Yorkers give the thumbs up to Amazon moving one of its new headquarters to Long Island City, they are divided over the sizeable carrot offered to the online retail giant," Mary Snow, polling analyst for the Quinnipiac University Poll, said in a statement. "They are united, however, in their view that New York City should have more of a say about Amazon's plans."

Respondents to the poll said they are mostly worried about housing costs rising, with 31% mentioning it as their biggest concern about Amazon's HQ2. That is followed by 25% worried about transportation and 20% concerned about general changes to quality of life. Around 19% of respondents are worried about all of that.

Adding to voters' dissatisfaction was how both New York Mayor Bill de Blasio and New York Gov. Andrew Cuomo handled the HQ2 deal. Both got mixed grades from voters in the poll. New Yorkers also said they would have preferred the city to be more involved in the selection process.

Amazon is reportedly in late-stage talks with media-relations firm SKDKnickerbocker to handle its New York public outreach, according to the Wall Street Journal.

"We are excited to work with New Yorkers over the coming months and years to bring a new Amazon headquarters to Long Island City and help support the community," an Amazon spokeswoman told the Journal. "We are at the beginning of this process and we are going to be all hands on deck to ensure we continue to learn about the neighborhood and the community."

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Most New Yorkers support Amazon coming to town but many hate the deal, a new poll says (AMZN)

Walmart is giving store employees the full power Walmart.com in the palm of their hands.

Starting Tuesday, Walmart is deploying an app to store employee's in-store touchscreen devices allowing them to help customers buy items on Walmart.com.

"The Dotcom Store offers customers even more assortment options than what’s on our physical shelves – whether that be different sizes, colors or varieties," said Tom Ward, head of digital and central operations for Walmart US, said in a statement.

If a shopper in a Walmart store can't find exactly what they're looking for, the employee can help the shopper place an order for any item shipped and sold by Walmart online. They can choose to have it sent to their home or the store for free pickup.

A barcode is then produced — sent via an email, text, or a printed ticket — which is then given to the store's cashier at the end of the shopping trip to be scanned. Once scanned, the shopper can use any form of payment to cover the item — including cash — and the order begins to be processed by Walmart's online order fulfillment network. The customer pays for any physical purchases at the same time, in one transaction.

The service will be available in nearly all of Walmart's 4,700 stores in the US, greatly expanding their ability to sell customers what they want. The service is currently only available for items sold and shipped by Walmart, but the company said it plans to offer items sold by its marketplace partners soon.

With online sales still only measuring less than 10% of total retail sales in the US, it make sense that Walmart is looking to flex its muscles in the area and show that physical stores still matter for many customers.

It's a clear move to target the shopper that wouldn't first think of going online to buy something — either because they primarily do their shopping in stores and always have, or they lack the means to shop online.

Most customers, one assumes, would just whip out their phone instinctively to find something online if they couldn't find it in store. But some have still not yet been initiated into the world of online shopping, and would need employee assistance getting there.

There's also still a large part of the US population that is considered unbanked — that means no checking account, savings account, or credit cards of any kind.

That leaves this population — <a id="9ea8aaee-59c0-3745-a1e0-f54e5abffa5f" href="https://www.forbes.com/sites/alanmcintyre/2017/05/10/banks-need-to-focus-on-a-new-customer-the-unbanked/#76f7f3ce59c8"> an estimated 15.6 million people </a> — without <a id="a80de5f4-de89-3e20-a51c-2c5df3dbe2c3" href="https://www.businessinsider.com/amazon-shopping-without-credit-card-2018-5?utm_source=intl&amp;utm_medium=ingest"> any way to shop online via traditional means </a> . This customer segment has long been one of Walmart's forte, and they have their own products geared toward this customer, like low-fee checking accounts and money services that are done in the store, like low-fee check cashing and bill pay.

Dotcom Store crucially allows for the payment of online sales in cash, which has been something of a holy grail for retailers like Walmart with a large base of low-income consumers.

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<a id="172a468b-14b9-39f8-a90d-07e2db81550c" href="https://markets.businessinsider.com/stocks/amzn-stock?utm_source=intl&amp;utm_medium=ingest"> Amazon </a> is constantly looking for quicker ways to get customers to part with their money.

After all, that's the main goal of the technology used in the company's cashierless <a id="1f8c7dbb-d3bf-3b41-af85-41bc822352c8" href="https://www.businessinsider.com/category/amazon-go?utm_source=intl&amp;utm_medium=ingest"> Amazon Go </a> stores, which use advanced technology to track what customers take, then charge them for it without making them wait in line.

Now Amazon is looking to expand the use of that technology to larger stores, <a id="0e8b34f2-1be4-3845-a692-3eda871e364d" href="https://www.wsj.com/articles/amazon-tests-its-cashierless-technology-for-bigger-stores-1543776320"> according to a new report by the Wall Street Journal. </a> The company recently started testing the use of the tech in a larger space in Seattle, the Journal reported. An Amazon spokesperson declined to comment when contacted by Business Insider Monday morning.

The most obvious use case for this would be Amazon's own fleet of grocery stores, Whole Foods, which are much larger than the Amazon Go convenience stores the company has been opening in cities across the country.

While Whole Foods stores were an average of 40,000 square feet as of 2017, Amazon Go stores have all been less than 2,300 square feet — more convenience store than full-scale fresh grocery.

But that could change once Amazon is able to crack the code of scaling the technology to spaces where there are more items for sale, more people shopping, and just generally more information to take in and process.

Whether or not it happens in the next year or the next decade, it's clear where retail is going. Technology that allows customers to walk out without having to check out has proliferated this year, though without Amazon's array of fancy technology.

Retailers including Nike have implemented in-store technology that allows customers to buy items with just a smartphone. It's not quite the neat plan Amazon has for its stores, but it has a similar result: skipping the lines before the cashier.

Read more: <a id="b1a4875a-be34-36ec-a350-d878b67ae6ef" href="https://www.businessinsider.com/nike-store-nyc-opens-tech-collection-2018-11?utm_source=intl&amp;utm_medium=ingest"> Take a look around Nike's enormous new flagship store in New York City, complete with the world's largest for-sale collection of Nike shoes </a>

<a id="a81cf05c-b7a0-31bf-a9e5-0dfdbf083e0f" href="https://www.businessinsider.com/category/nike?utm_source=intl&amp;utm_medium=ingest"> Nike </a> recently debuted what it calls "instant purchase" in its <a id="32d65639-f140-3493-ada9-b1ab459e9e9e" href="https://www.businessinsider.com/nike-opens-new-flagship-store-new-york-2018-11?utm_source=intl&amp;utm_medium=ingest"> new flagship store on Fifth Avenue in Manhattan, New York </a> . Customers use the Nike app to instantly purchase items, which they can then take home from the store with no questions asked. All they have to do is point the app at the item's barcode. Small kiosks are littered throughout the store, with bags for shoppers to take and use as well as a place to ditch hangers.

Instant purchase is now rolling out to all Nike stores. It's only a matter of time before cashierless tech moves out of sneaker-buying and into grocery-buying in a more meaningful way.

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Amazon reportedly just took one step closer to automating Whole Foods stores, and it reveals a road map for the future of shopping (AMZN)

European regulators have set Amazon in their sights.

Germany's competition watchdog — the Federal Cartel Office, or the Bundeskartellamt — <a id="a4d7a1a7-250c-3fad-ab10-0dbc46314244" href="https://www.businessinsider.com/amazon-under-investigation-by-german-competition-watchdog-2018-11?r=UK&amp;IR=T?utm_source=intl&amp;utm_medium=ingest"> announced on Thursday that it had opened an investigation into Amazon </a> .

"Its double role as the largest retailer and largest marketplace has the potential to hinder other sellers on its platform," Andreas Mundt, the president of the FCO, <a id="3a7ae71e-4a77-37f6-af31-e80c4fcb75c5" href="https://www.bundeskartellamt.de/SharedDocs/Meldung/EN/Pressemitteilungen/2018/29_11_2018_Verfahrenseinleitung_Amazon.html?nn=3591568"> said in a statement </a> . "Because of the many complaints we have received we will examine whether Amazon is abusing its market position to the detriment of sellers active on its marketplace. We will scrutinize its terms of business and practices towards sellers."

In a statement to Business Insider on Thursday, Amazon said that it would not comment on ongoing investigations, but pledged to "cooperate fully with the Bundeskartellamt and continue working hard to support small and medium-sized businesses and help them grow."

Germany's watchdog isn't the first to take notice of this aspect of Amazon's business and its potential anti-trust implications. The European Commission, led by Margrethe Vestager, announced in September that it <a id="7b8c0f7f-3e6b-3305-aadc-1fd750ab2401" href="https://www.businessinsider.com/amazon-investigated-by-eu-commissioner-margrethe-vestager-2018-9?utm_source=intl&amp;utm_medium=ingest"> had launched a preliminary investigation </a> to see whether Amazon's dual role has meant that its use of data has been in violation of European competition law.

"The question here is about the data," Vestager said in response to a journalist's question at a press conference in Brussels, Belgium, at the time.

The commission sent questionnaires to hundreds of third-party retailers this summer, it said.

Read more: <a id="168edec5-0460-36d3-a0a9-e08f7f23ceb3" href="https://www.businessinsider.com/amazon-customers-names-email-address-exposed-2018-11?utm_source=intl&amp;utm_medium=ingest"> Amazon is getting slammed for a confusing email telling customers they don't need to change their password after a data leak </a>

Across the Atlantic, US Sen. Elizabeth Warren <a id="af18a91a-9be9-38f3-a649-d9e083f34a16" href="https://www.businessinsider.com/elizabeth-warren-criticizes-amazon-for-seller-practices-2018-9?utm_source=intl&amp;utm_medium=ingest"> has echoed the European regulators' sentiment </a> .

Speaking with The New York Times' Andrew Ross Sorkin in September, Warren centered her criticism on the dual role Amazon plays.

The problem, Warren says, is that Amazon gets the data from sales on its platform and doesn't necessarily share it. With that information, Amazon could then potentially create its own market conditions and develop a private-label brand.

"Amazon gets this special information advantage that it [can] then exploit to wipe out [a business]," Warren told Sorkin. "That is a serious problem."

Warren said that, ultimately, Amazon should not be in both businesses.

"You got to pick one business or the other, baby," Warren said. "You want to be a competitor, be a competitor. That's great. You want to be the platform provider, that is a different function. If you're getting a huge competitive advantage from being a platform provider because of all this information you keep scraping off, then we no longer have competition going on."

Amazon's marketplace has become core to its retail growth. Marketplace <a id="8f028402-811c-3904-a3d8-a04434b0d819" href="https://qz.com/1256651/amazon-marketplace-sold-more-stuff-than-amazon-itself-in-2017/"> has grown to account for more than half </a> of the website's sales. Its growth is outpacing Amazon's direct sales of merchandise. It has also more closely integrated offerings by third parties into its own services, which Amazon collects fees on, so customers often can't tell the difference when shopping the site.

That's a powerful tool for Amazon, as it drastically increases the number of items available for purchase on the website. Should regulation not let Amazon sell products that compete with those sold by third parties on its own website, Amazon's future retail growth could be impacted.

<ul><li> <a href="https://www.businessinsider.com/lol-surprise-dolls-hottest-toy-holiday-2018-11?utm_source=intl&amp;utm_medium=ingest">A doll with a bizarre name has become the biggest toy of the holiday season by taking over YouTube with unboxing videos</a> </li><li> <a href="https://www.businessinsider.com/black-friday-cyber-monday-vs-singles-day-sales-2018-12?utm_source=intl&amp;utm_medium=ingest">Black Friday and Cyber Monday set records — but combined, they still only made up half of Alibaba's Singles Day online sales</a> </li><li> <a href="https://www.businessinsider.com/millennials-kill-industries-because-poor-fed-report-2018-11?utm_source=intl&amp;utm_medium=ingest">Millennials are killing countless industries — but the Fed says it's mostly just because they're poor</a> </li></ul>

SEE ALSO: Amazon's reputation is taking another hit in the wake of its HQ2 decision

One of Amazon's most powerful tools is putting a target on its back, and it could turn into a problem for the company (AMZN)

<a id="172a468b-14b9-39f8-a90d-07e2db81550c" href="https://markets.businessinsider.com/stocks/amzn-stock?utm_source=intl&amp;utm_medium=ingest"> Amazon </a> announced on Tuesday that this year's Cyber Monday was its <a id="8051ddfe-7c16-3cd3-aa05-319b9bb542bd" href="https://www.businessinsider.com/amazon-cyber-monday-black-friday-2018-biggest-shoppings-days-ever-2018-11?utm_source=intl&amp;utm_medium=ingest"> single biggest shopping day in history </a> , continuing a pattern for the e-commerce giant, as it was previously 2017's Cyber Monday.

"Black Friday and Cyber Monday continue to break records on Amazon year over year, which tells us that customers love shopping for deals to kick off the holiday shopping season," Jeff Wilke, the CEO of Amazon's worldwide consumer business, said in a statement.

Read more: <a id="0a472093-a7f5-38b1-a990-076e49f71b81" href="https://www.businessinsider.com/thanksgiving-is-killing-black-friday-2018-11?utm_source=intl&amp;utm_medium=ingest"> Thanksgiving is killing Black Friday by replacing it </a>

Amazon also revealed the best-selling items on its website on Cyber Monday. Top movers <a id="fa553dbf-cbc4-36a7-a0b2-60f7bd7d4f4e" href="https://www.businessinsider.com/amazon-echo-dots-black-friday-deals-2018-11?utm_source=intl&amp;utm_medium=ingest"> included the Echo Dot </a> , which is frequently discounted to half price or more on days like Black Friday or Prime Day, as well as the AncestryDNA kit, Bose QuietComfort 25 noise-cancelling headphones, Michelle Obama's book "Becoming," the classic game Jenga, and the six-quart version of the Instant Pot.

Some experts <a id="12cbe9b2-2f0c-3d9b-a5aa-778af0143991" href="https://www.businessinsider.com/black-friday-online-sales-kill-cyber-monday-2018-11?utm_source=intl&amp;utm_medium=ingest"> have questioned how long Cyber Monday can go on as its own event </a> . This Black Friday, online sales came in at $6.2 billion, just shy of last year's Cyber Monday total of $6.6 billion, according to Adobe Analytics.

The latest shopping trends challenge the idea of Black Friday as the day for in-store shopping and Cyber Monday as the day for online shopping. Customers don't necessarily look at it that way anymore.

"Significantly, early reports of buyer intent shows that 33% of US shoppers will mostly or only shop Black Friday online, taking away from some of the Cyber Monday uniqueness," Ray Wimer, an assistant professor of retail practice at Syracuse University, said in an email before Black Friday.

Cyber Monday saw an estimated $7.9 billion in online sales, about 19% growth over last year, according to Adobe Analytics. It's still a record, but it didn't match the pace of growth seen on Thanksgiving (28%) and Black Friday (23.6%) this year.

Here's the list of Amazon's Cyber Monday best-sellers:

<h1> AncestryDNA: Genetic Testing Ethnicity </h1>

<h1> Bose QuietComfort 25 acoustic noise-cancelling headphones for Apple devices </h1>

<ul><li> <a href="https://www.businessinsider.com/new-yorkers-storm-amazon-store-hq2-protest-2018-11?utm_source=intl&amp;utm_medium=ingest">New Yorkers are storming one of Amazon's stores in protest of HQ2. Here are all the reasons why people are furious.</a> </li><li> <a href="https://www.businessinsider.com/target-best-buy-black-friday-empty-photos-2018-11?utm_source=intl&amp;utm_medium=ingest">I visited Target and Best Buy on Black Friday — and I couldn't believe how empty they were</a> </li><li> <a href="https://www.businessinsider.com/cyber-monday-2018-predicted-biggest-online-shopping-day-us-history-2018-11?utm_source=intl&amp;utm_medium=ingest">Cyber Monday 2018 is forecast to be the biggest online shopping day in US history</a> </li></ul>

SEE ALSO: Amazon is encouraging shoppers to do something retailers hate on Black Friday

DON'T MISS: Walmart and Amazon are offering massive deals to keep Cyber Monday from getting killed

Amazon reveals the best-selling items that it says helped Cyber Monday become its biggest shopping day in history (AMZN)

Surprising nobody, <a id="172a468b-14b9-39f8-a90d-07e2db81550c" href="https://markets.businessinsider.com/stocks/amzn-stock?utm_source=intl&amp;utm_medium=ingest"> Amazon </a> again announced on Tuesday that this year's <a id="e7b603f7-54b5-343d-a8a5-ac8660bbefe1" href="https://www.businessinsider.com/amazon-cyber-monday-black-friday-2018-biggest-shoppings-days-ever-2018-11?utm_source=intl&amp;utm_medium=ingest"> Cyber Monday and Black Friday broke records </a> .

The company didn't offer many details but did say this past Cyber Monday was its biggest shopping day in history, surpassing last year's event.

The real story, however, isn't in the blockbuster days but in those that lie between. Amazon even has a cutesy name for the five-day stretch from Thanksgiving to Cyber Monday: "the Turkey 5." It introduced that name in a press release last year and continued it this year.

While it may seem silly at first blush, it reveals an evolution for the kickoff of the holiday shopping season. Amazon said customers purchased 180 million items over the five-day weekend — millions more than the same holiday weekend last year.

Read more: <a id="96fc74f0-1916-35a2-aaf3-813f12c7268e" href="https://www.businessinsider.com/black-friday-online-sales-kill-cyber-monday-2018-11?utm_source=intl&amp;utm_medium=ingest"> Americans' shopping habits are fundamentally changing, and it's killing Cyber Monday </a>

While Black Friday usually is considered the start of the holiday shopping season, <a id="2d169aff-14a5-3a85-a878-9f5ce5b475cc" href="https://www.businessinsider.com/thanksgiving-is-killing-black-friday-2018-11?utm_source=intl&amp;utm_medium=ingest"> Thanksgiving has largely replaced it online, </a> with most steep discounts starting at midnight or even earlier.

<a id="1557f556-710c-33ee-ac1a-248bdaa4c192" href="https://www.businessinsider.com/thanksgiving-day-online-shopping-surges-2018-11?utm_source=intl&amp;utm_medium=ingest"> Online sales grew 28% </a> on Thanksgiving this year, according to Adobe Analytics, which takes data from 80 of the top 100 online retailers. Cyber Monday grew by a comparatively small 19%, suggesting that the distinction could one day disappear. Adobe estimates that $7.9 billion in online sales were made on Cyber Monday, compared with Black Friday's $6.2 billion.

But the rise of Thanksgiving isn't the only factor at play. The following Saturday and Sunday also set records, each growing at a rate of over 25% online — higher than the growth of both Black Friday and Cyber Monday, according to Adobe. Black Friday's online sales grew 23.6% this year.

The ease and growth of online shopping are morphing Cyber Monday and Black Friday into wildly different events than they have been in the past. Sales are now spread more throughout the days before and after the demarcated holidays, as are the deals being offered to customers.

The marquee sales days are likely to keep growing, but look for Thanksgiving and the following Saturday and Sunday to take a larger bite out of early holiday shopping each year, as we witness the rise of the Turkey 5.

<ul><li> More on Black Friday 2018 : </li><li> <a href="https://www.businessinsider.com/walmart-lowes-black-friday-nightmare-tech-issues-2018-11?utm_source=intl&amp;utm_medium=ingest">Stores like Walmart, Lowe's, and J.Crew have a new nightmare for Black Friday — and it signals a fundamental shift in how we shop</a> </li><li> <a href="https://www.businessinsider.com/target-best-buy-black-friday-empty-photos-2018-11?utm_source=intl&amp;utm_medium=ingest">I visited Target and Best Buy on Black Friday — and I couldn't believe how empty they were</a> </li><li> <a href="https://www.businessinsider.com/thanksgiving-is-killing-black-friday-2018-11?utm_source=intl&amp;utm_medium=ingest">Thanksgiving is killing Black Friday by replacing it</a> </li><li> <a href="https://www.businessinsider.com/black-friday-deals-sell-out-before-friday-2018-11?utm_source=intl&amp;utm_medium=ingest">Black Friday deals sold out at stores like Walmart and Target before Friday even began — and people are furious</a> </li><li> <a href="https://www.businessinsider.com/macys-jcpenney-kohls-critcized-open-on-thanksgiving-2018-11?utm_source=intl&amp;utm_medium=ingest">Macy's, Best Buy, Kohl's, and J.C. Penney are being slammed for being open on Thanksgiving — and some people are threatening not to shop with them this holiday season</a> </li><li> Now tell us about your holiday shopping! </li></ul>

NOW WATCH: <a id="20809092-6137-37e9-a0a3-a249009f4efb" href="https://www.businessinsider.com/amazon-warehouse-cyber-monday-inside-video-2016-11?utm_source=intl&amp;utm_medium=ingest"> We went inside an Amazon warehouse on Cyber Monday </a>

<ul><li> <a href="https://www.businessinsider.com/amazon-cyber-monday-best-sellers-2018-11?utm_source=intl&amp;utm_medium=ingest">Amazon reveals the best-selling items that it says helped Cyber Monday become its biggest shopping day in history</a> </li><li> <a href="https://www.businessinsider.com/jcrew-website-black-friday-tech-problems-continue-2018-11?utm_source=intl&amp;utm_medium=ingest">J.Crew's website is on day 4 of tech glitches after crashing on Black Friday</a> </li><li> <a href="https://www.businessinsider.com/amazon-black-friday-best-sellers-echo-dot-fire-tv-stick-2018-11?utm_source=intl&amp;utm_medium=ingest">Amazon may have just had its best Black Friday yet. Here's what shoppers were buying.</a> </li></ul>

Amazon's emphasis on 'the Turkey 5' reveals Black Friday and Cyber Monday as we know them are dying (AMZN)

The decline of America's middle class is starting to catch up with retailers.

While retailers have enjoyed calm seas this year, with high consumer confidence and a holiday season that looks to be record-setting, Moody's has a warning for the road ahead.

In a report released on Monday, the financial services firm warned that slow wage growth in the lower half of the job market, combined with rising interest rates, will depress the ability of some lower-income US households to purchase items from retailers.

"Since income gains have been unevenly distributed, rising interest and other costs will constrain the capacity of many households to increase consumption," Moody's writes in the report.

R ead more: <a id="24eb0281-6679-3f7c-a087-129898013b1f" href="https://www.businessinsider.com/amazon-renames-thanksgiving-weekend-turkey-5-2018-11?utm_source=intl&amp;utm_medium=ingest"> Amazon's emphasis on 'the Turkey 5' reveals Black Friday and Cyber Monday as we know them are dying </a>

That will cause US consumption to grow at a slower pace in 2019 than in 2018, even as employment rates stay strong, according to the firm. Further, Moody's says rising prices and interest rates mean spending growth from lower-income households may even peak and then start to decelerate.

The firm also found in surveys that compared to high earners, lower-earning consumers are less certain about keeping their income next year, which may depress their willingness to part with their money. There's the added wrinkle of Trump's tariffs, which could make many household goods more expensive.

The woes that could come in 2019 have been a long time in the making, as the middle class increasingly gets squeezed economically and higher-income earners take a larger share of the pie. This has fueled retailers that cater to lower-earning customers, like <a id="3339a21a-57ac-3f3e-aedd-e6b17c7dcf48" href="https://www.businessinsider.com/dollar-general-sales-soar-death-of-american-middle-class-2017-12?utm_source=intl&amp;utm_medium=ingest"> Dollar General </a> , <a id="701f0bd0-c77a-3fa2-af2f-865b8e08ad9a" href="https://www.businessinsider.com/mcdonalds-strategy-confirms-the-death-of-the-american-middle-class-2018-1?utm_source=intl&amp;utm_medium=ingest"> McDonald's </a> , and <a id="38e05059-0327-3098-a7a2-aaf933c233f2" href="https://www.businessinsider.com/amazon-and-walmart-confirm-the-death-of-the-middle-class-2017-6?utm_source=intl&amp;utm_medium=ingest"> Walmart </a> , while contributing to the deaths of American middle-class stalwarts <a id="deed777f-d384-3575-aec9-c4401b532ede" href="https://www.businessinsider.com/american-middle-class-disappearing-department-stores-suffer-2018-6?utm_source=intl&amp;utm_medium=ingest"> like department stores </a> .

Still, Moody's estimates that spending growth remained strong at 3% in the third quarter of this year. That's higher than the annual average of 2.3% since 2010 and will likely remain strong during the holiday season. Consumer confidence is near all-time highs, and rising income fueled much of the strong growth this year.

<ul><li> <a href="https://www.businessinsider.com/chick-fil-a-college-block-sparks-outrage-2018-11?utm_source=intl&amp;utm_medium=ingest">People are furious at a New Jersey college for cutting Chick-fil-A as a potential campus dining option</a> </li><li> <a href="https://www.businessinsider.com/dunkin-donuts-original-vs-dunkin-store-future-photos-2018-11?utm_source=intl&amp;utm_medium=ingest">We compared Dunkin's first store to its brand-new 'store of the future' — and it showed how far the coffee giant has come</a> </li><li> <a href="https://www.businessinsider.com/starbucks-juniper-latte-hits-menus-2018-11?utm_source=intl&amp;utm_medium=ingest">Starbucks has debuted a new holiday beverage as it doubles down on festive cheer</a> </li></ul>

SEE ALSO: Walmart and Amazon are offering massive deals to keep Cyber Monday from getting killed

Moody's warns the decline of the middle class will make 2019 a rough year for retailers

<a id="0802b7af-56e2-33a5-a3e4-9da51841add8" href="https://markets.businessinsider.com/stocks/ebay-stock?utm_source=intl&amp;utm_medium=ingest"> Ebay </a> had a blockbuster Black Friday and Cyber Monday, the company said on Tuesday.

Both Black Friday and Cyber Monday marked records for the site. Cyber Monday beat Black Friday in terms of dollar sales, meaning it was likely the company’s biggest day in history, though an Ebay spokesperson would not confirm that. Cyber Monday was Ebay's largest sales day ever in 2017, <a id="c9bfc577-ccda-30bd-acad-09bb0970d14f" href="https://techcrunch.com/2017/11/28/ebay-says-cyber-monday-was-its-biggest-sales-day-ever/"> according to TechCrunch </a> .

"Ebay drove record sales on Black Friday and Cyber Monday," Scott Cutler, SVP of the Americas for Ebay, said in a statement.

"We're delivering what customers want – the best prices with guaranteed delivery."

Ebay also released some top sellers for Cyber Monday and Black Friday. It said it sold aNintendo Switch console every 13 seconds and an Apple Watch every 26, while deals on theApple iPhone X, Apple MacBook Air, and Adidas Yeezy 350 Boost V2 Cream Triple White shoes sold quickly.

Read more: <a id="eda96619-9e08-3e72-aee6-828999b41573" href="https://www.businessinsider.com/amazon-cyber-monday-best-sellers-2018-11?utm_source=intl&amp;utm_medium=ingest"> Amazon reveals the best-selling items that it says helped Cyber Monday become its biggest shopping day in history </a>

The website did not say how much its sales increased over last year in either hard numbers or by percentage.

According to Adobe Analytics, which takes data from 80 of the top 100 online retailers,Cyber Monday saw an estimated $7.9 billion in online sales, representing about 19% growth over last year. It's still a record, but it didn't match the pace of growth seen on Black Friday this year, when online sales grew by 23.6% to reach $6.2 billion.

In recent years, Ebay has pivoted from its auction-style roots to become a marketplace for brands to sell to consumers, much like Amazon. Now, about 80% of its sales are non-auction, buy-it-now offerings. It often offers deals on shopping holidays in the hopes of becoming a holiday-shopping destination like Amazon, Target, Best Buy, and others.

<ul><li> <a href="https://www.businessinsider.com/black-friday-online-shoppers-outnumbered-in-store-2018-11?utm_source=intl&amp;utm_medium=ingest">More people shopped online than in stores as the holiday shopping season kicked off, signaling the end of Black Friday as we know it</a> </li><li> <a href="https://www.businessinsider.com/amazon-renames-thanksgiving-weekend-turkey-5-2018-11?utm_source=intl&amp;utm_medium=ingest">Amazon's emphasis on 'the Turkey 5' reveals Black Friday and Cyber Monday as we know them are dying</a> </li><li> <a href="https://www.businessinsider.com/walmart-amazon-cyber-monday-deals-2018-11?utm_source=intl&amp;utm_medium=ingest">Walmart and Amazon are offering massive deals to keep Cyber Monday from getting killed</a> </li><li> <a href="https://www.businessinsider.com/amazon-cyber-monday-deals-2018?utm_source=intl&amp;utm_medium=ingest">Amazon's best late-night Cyber Monday deals you don't want to miss — here's your cheat sheet</a> </li></ul>

<ul><li> <a href="https://www.businessinsider.com/black-friday-online-shoppers-outnumbered-in-store-2018-11?utm_source=intl&amp;utm_medium=ingest">More people shopped online than in stores as the holiday shopping season kicked off, signaling the end of Black Friday as we know it</a> </li><li> <a href="https://www.businessinsider.com/amazon-renames-thanksgiving-weekend-turkey-5-2018-11?utm_source=intl&amp;utm_medium=ingest">Amazon's emphasis on 'the Turkey 5' reveals Black Friday and Cyber Monday as we know them are dying</a> </li><li> <a href="https://www.businessinsider.com/amazon-cyber-monday-best-sellers-2018-11?utm_source=intl&amp;utm_medium=ingest">Amazon reveals the best-selling items that it says helped Cyber Monday become its biggest shopping day in history</a> </li></ul>

SEE ALSO: Amazon's emphasis on 'the Turkey 5' reveals Black Friday and Cyber Monday as we know them are dying

Ebay says that Cyber Monday and Black Friday set sales records for the site (EBAY)

The hottest toy this holiday? There's only one word shoppers need to know: LOL.

LOL Surprise, a brand of dolls with a somewhat bizarre name, has risen to the top of the pile to become the hottest-selling toy of the season.

It was a top seller at multiple stores over the shopping holiday, including at <a id="f8a53014-8e71-3d05-a06b-dc10448aee3f" href="https://www.businessinsider.com/target-black-friday-items-tvs-ipads-apple-watches-2018-11?utm_source=intl&amp;utm_medium=ingest"> Target </a> and <a id="a30f0687-326c-35b5-a4c6-886d0de59434" href="https://www.businessinsider.com/amazon-cyber-monday-best-sellers-2018-11?utm_source=intl&amp;utm_medium=ingest"> Amazon </a> . It was also an online best seller for the entire five-day Thanksgiving weekend, including Cyber Monday and Black Friday, <a id="46bcf26f-a07b-3191-aa47-39a63e838c80" href="https://www.businessinsider.com/holiday-2018-best-selling-items-online-so-far-2018-11?utm_source=intl&amp;utm_medium=ingest"> according to Adobe Analytics </a> .

LOL Surprise dolls <a id="23456957-02a4-3e96-a600-01db8bdc899b" href="https://www.prnewswire.com/news-releases/lol-surprise-tots-dolls-now-the-1-toy-of-the-year-in-the-united-states-300569870.html"> were a top seller last year </a> , but they were nowhere near as dominant then as they are this year.

Read more: <a id="4b045321-3827-3b30-a6ca-5b1e761adf2e" href="https://www.businessinsider.com/most-popular-toys-holiday-shopping-adobe-2018-11?utm_source=intl&amp;utm_medium=ingest"> These will be the most popular toys this holiday season, according to the data </a>

"LOLis the biggest thing that we have ever done," Isaac Larian, CEO of MGA Entertainment, which makes the dolls, told Business Insider. "It'sthe cuteness, it's the mystery, all the attention to detail that we put in the product ... the combination of all of this has made this a major phenomenon."

MGA has sold more than $4 billion of the dolls worldwide so far, up dramatically from the total of $600 million it had sold as of last year, <a id="5c2cdd75-f38d-32a3-a03f-f33d862397e6" href="http://www2.philly.com/philly/business/retail/lol-bigger-surprise-dolls-unicorn-xmas-walmart-youtube-target-20181128.html"> according to the Philadelphia Inquirer </a> . LOL Surprise now accounts for seven of the top 10 toys in the United States, according to NPD, and it was the top toy in October.

LOL Surprise stands for Little Outrageous Little Surprise — words that would also describe the toy's meteoric rise.

The appeal of the toy is in its surprise factor, since nobody knows what's inside each capsule until they buy and open it. The packs come with the collectible dolls as well as accessories or new clothes for them.

That mystery factor has led to a <a id="56153f0f-c29b-3c91-abcc-8dfe36f43059" href="https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=XUCOxLfnxAk"> huge proliferation </a> of <a id="e06c1327-7034-3d83-a7fc-e0c4741c719f" href="https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=ETSznh4QBfY"> unboxing videos </a> , fueled by the fact that each box contains a multitude of surprises to unwrap. Larian described LOL Surprise as "the ultimate unboxing toy" in an interview with the Inquirer.

"This started with adults buying iPhones and unboxing it and putting a video on YouTube and then the kids followed," Larian said to Business Insider.

Hundreds of videos on YouTube show customers — from professional and amateur toy reviewers as well as everyone else — unboxing the toys. Some videos have <a id="620a8f2d-bed1-3c9b-ab94-bd4c8a63f33e" href="https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=jWMqDM0-LNE&amp;t=147s"> garnered more than a million views </a> .

Larian attributes LOL's success to the attention to detail MGA has given its product, which drives kids' urge to unbox and discover.

"You cannot put garbage in a box. People think thatyou can put anything in the closed box and kids will buy it," he said.

"Kids are very smart. They're looking for uniqueness, they're looking for detail, they're looking for cuteness."

<ul><li> <a href="https://www.businessinsider.com/black-friday-online-shoppers-outnumbered-in-store-2018-11?utm_source=intl&amp;utm_medium=ingest">More people shopped online than in stores as the holiday shopping season kicked off, signaling the end of Black Friday as we know it</a> </li><li> <a href="https://www.businessinsider.com/apple-store-vs-microsofts-flagship-store-pictures-details-2018-1?utm_source=intl&amp;utm_medium=ingest">We compared Apple's and Microsoft's flagship stores in New York City — and the winner was obvious</a> </li><li> <a href="https://www.businessinsider.com/amazon-renames-thanksgiving-weekend-turkey-5-2018-11?utm_source=intl&amp;utm_medium=ingest">Amazon's emphasis on 'the Turkey 5' reveals Black Friday and Cyber Monday as we know them are dying</a> </li></ul>