Rebecca Day

Predicting a “huge” holiday sales season, eMarketer analyst Andrew Lipsman said on a Tuesday webinar that 2021 will be the second trillion-dollar holiday season in total retail spending, with a 9% growth rate to $1.147 trillion for November and December. Sales will be driven by “post-vaccine optimism,” with 70% of the population being fully vaccinated, leading to the top-gaining holiday retail sales season in over 20 years, he said.

Energous received an FCC Part 15 grant of equipment authorization for a wireless power transmitter at any distance, an “inflection point” for wireless charging, acting CEO Cesar Johnston told Consumer Electronics Daily Tuesday. “You’re seeing the transition of the increase of power and the increase of distance, which effectively opens up now a potential market that did not exist before,” he said, citing retail, medical, industrial and consumer applications.

A battle about data sharing is brewing between content owners and distributors and platforms they’re on, said Nick Cicero, Conviva vice president-strategy, on a Parks Associates webinar last week. Cicero noted an uptick in media companies building their own devices, citing Comcast’s Sky Glass TVs unveiled this month by its Sky Group division in London (see 2110070026), plus Amazon’s Fire TV and Roku TV platforms.

New AirPods, colorized HomePod minis, a MacBook Pro and M1 family chips highlighted Apple's Monday product launch event. The company also added a premium voice control feature for personalization of content for Apple Music subscribers.

Rising inflation and sluggish supply chains “remain a concern” even after consumer spending tipped to retail in September, said the National Retail Federation Friday. September spending “might have been higher if not for shortages of items consumers are eager to purchase,” said NRF CEO Matthew Shay.

Global smartphone shipments dropped 6% in Q3 as vendors struggled to meet demand amid a “chipset famine,” Canalys reported Friday. The smartphone industry is straining to maximize device production, while chipmakers bump prices to “disincentivize over-ordering," in an attempt to close the gap between demand and supply, said analyst Ben Stanton, saying shortages won’t ease until “well into 2022.” High global freight costs hiked device pricing at retail, Stanton said. Verizon dropped its $1,000 iPhone offer Thursday, scaling it back to a maximum $500 off, and AT&T’s website Friday showed the $1,000 deal expiring Oct. 14. New Street Research's Jonathan Chaplin wrote that the end of the $1,000 offers put the brakes on a “wireless industry selloff” around subsidies offered with the iPhone 13 launch. The moves may improve T-Mobile’s ability to take share in Q4, said the analyst: The carrier was offering up to $1,000 “on us” Friday via 30 monthly bill credits for customers choosing the Magenta Max plan and trading in an eligible device.

Becoming a major player in the U.S. market has always been an objective in Italy-based Nice’s long-term plans, emailed Nortek Control CEO Edoardo Malfe after Nice’s purchase of Nortek last week for $285 million (see 2110050066). The purchase doubled Nice’s R&D capabilities, now at 16 centers globally, Malfe said, as the company looks to “develop integrated solutions for our customers that simplify their everyday movements.” Malfe was Nice's vice president-global operations before the purchase.

Concern over shipping delays is pushing U.S. consumers to shop earlier this holiday season, said a Thursday Blackhawk Network report. Consumers plan to spend more this holiday season, “but there have been notable shifts in what consumers find important and how they are planning to navigate shipping delays and potential out-of-stock issues,” said Blackhawk's Theresa McEndree, head-global marketing and brand. Nearly a third of consumers surveyed said they will shop earlier this year due to concern over shipping delays; 36% are worried the COVID-19 pandemic will hinder their ability to shop, it said.

Lady Gaga is headlining through Oct. 31 at Dolby Live at Park MGM, an integrated performance venue on the Las Vegas Strip offering live concerts in Dolby Atmos. Dolby and MGM Resorts announced Dolby Live Thursday as a way for consumers "to enjoy a Dolby Atmos experience while deepening and expanding our engagements with the artist community,” said CEO Kevin Yeaman. Dolby engineers designed, calibrated and tuned the playback system for the 5,200-seat theater, which has a 140-foot-wide stage, nine HD and 4K projectors and a 240-foot-wide projection surface. The space will be used mostly for live concerts but can support musicals and esport events, they said. Dolby Atmos “takes performances to the next level by taking listeners inside the music to reveal details with unparalleled clarity and depth,” they said. In Lady Gaga Jazz & Piano, the artist will perform "stripped-down" versions of her hits alongside music from the Great American Songbook, said the venue. Tickets started at $239 on Ticketmaster Thursday. Upcoming acts include Bruno Mars, Aerosmith and Cher.

Voxx has a “great deal of optimism” for FY 2022, after navigating the "global turmoil" of components shortages and supply chain bottlenecks, said CEO Pat Lavelle on a Wednesday call, reporting fiscal Q2 earnings. The company instituted two price increases to address higher supply chain costs -- the latest in September to offset a steep hike in container pricing -- and has the inventory "on hand to deliver in our all-important third quarter," he said.