Rebecca Day

Warehouse staffing, consumer expectations for delivery, and the Trade Act Section 301 tariffs on Chinese goods are among challenges Sonos is juggling as the company ratchets up its e-commerce business amid the pandemic, said John Hills, senior manager-logistics, America.

The HBO Go app won’t be available on most devices as of July 31, WarnerMedia advised customers in a Wednesday email announcing “important changes." The AT&T company told subscribers they can sign into HBO Max, launched in May (see 2005270033), with provider credentials “just as you did for HBO GO” for no additional cost.

Borrowing a model-year approach from the automotive world, Vizio announced its 2021 TV and audio lineup Tuesday, which “shipped a little bit late,” said spokesperson Mike Wood on an embargoed pre-briefing last week. The 2021 designation lets consumers shopping before or after the holidays know that they are "current models into 2021,” said Wood.

Marketing firm Sailthru singled out Best Buy’s curbside pickup experience in a Monday holiday season retail playbook. Best Buy outlines “every step of the process,” provides links to help topics and displays relevant recommendations in post-pickup confirmations, said retail consultant Monica Deretich.

With more employees working from home during the pandemic, and possibly beyond, home network security is a growing concern. Nearly 80% of U.S. consumers surveyed by Parks Associates are concerned about a data security break or privacy issues, said analyst Brad Russell on a Wednesday webinar with cybersecurity company Bitdefender.

Olympus, which began peddling cameras with Zuiko lenses in 1936, is selling its sagging imaging business, after logging operating losses for the past three fiscal years, it said Wednesday. The company signed a memo of understanding with Japan Industrial Partners to carve out its imaging business to a new company; it will then transfer its shares to a fund handled by JIP. Sony made a similar deal with JIP in 2014 when it sold the Vaio PC business (see 1402070080).

Sonos is eliminating 12% of its global workforce as part of a plan to cut operating expenses and preserve liquidity, said a Wednesday SEC filing. It didn't respond to questions on which departments would be affected. It's also closing its New York retail store, which opened in 2016 (see 1607190049), and six satellite offices. The store in Manhattan's SoHo neighborhood was reportedly damaged during the violence associated with the Black Lives Matter protests.

The iPhone as a car fob, facial recognition in HomeKit webcams and an immersive sound experience on AirPods Pro were among the highlights of Apple’s virtual Worldwide Developers Conference keynote Monday launching iOS 14. Missing due to the coronavirus pandemic were the rank-and-file developers and journalists who typically populate Apple Park for the summer event.

Work- and learning-at-home trends emerging from the pandemic are straining broadband networks not equipped for the extra traffic and ISPs’ ability to support consumers’ swelling Wi-Fi management, cybersecurity and technical support needs. Several third-party companies are hoping to fill the gap on the consumer side, said executives on home Wi-Fi panels Wednesday.

“Millions and millions” of Americans learned to shop online during the COVID-19 pandemic, said Target CEO Brian Cornell on a Thursday National Retail Federation Leadership Series webinar. Target had 5 million new online users in Q1 and did $3 billion in sales.