Kohl's Brings Its AI Gift Finder Into the Holiday Quarter, Amazon Opens Its Sixth Annual Holiday Beauty Event
5 min read · October 15, 2026 · Covering October 14 · 10 stories from 6 sources
Yesterday in ecommerce: Kohl's leans harder into its AI Gift Finder for the holidays, Amazon opens its sixth annual Holiday Beauty Event, and Moody's turns more upbeat on retail as tariff refunds kick in. 10 stories, about 5 minutes.
01AI & Agents
Kohl's brings its AI-powered Gift Finder into the holiday quarter
Kohl's Gift Finder, an AI shopping agent launched for Mother's Day on Google Cloud's Gemini Enterprise, is now its main tool for the holidays. Shoppers describe who they're buying for, add style and budget details, and get picks they can cart without leaving the chat. In July Kohl's folded it into a wider assistant for comparisons and store pickup. CEO Michael Bender called adoption "still small," and Kohl's hasn't shared usage or conversion numbers.
For your store:If your store sells gifts, a simple chat-based finder guiding shoppers by recipient and budget can shorten decision time during the holiday rush.
Amazon kicks off its sixth annual Holiday Beauty Event
Amazon's Holiday Beauty Event runs October 19 to November 1, offering up to 30% off skin care, makeup, hair care, fragrance and grooming from brands like Clinique, Dyson, Lancome and Native. Seven 48-hour flash-sale windows rotate through different categories, topping out at 40% off, and Prime members get free shipping. Amazon is also pointing shoppers to Alexa for Shopping to find deals and gift sets by prompt.
For your store:Beauty and personal-care sellers should expect Amazon's discounting to set shopper price expectations two weeks before Black Friday; plan your own promos around that window.
Moody's turns stable on retail and apparel as tariffs ease
Moody's Ratings moved its global retail and apparel outlook from negative to stable, projecting 2% to 4% revenue growth and 0% to 2% EBIT growth over the next 12 to 18 months, reversing a 2025 EBIT decline. Walmart and Target alone hold roughly $4 billion in tariff refunds they can reinvest in pricing, and off-price chains like TJX and Dollar General should benefit most from cautious shoppers. Moody's called spending "resilient but increasingly bifurcated."
For your store:Expect heavier discounting from bigger rivals this quarter; price-conscious shoppers are the growth story, so lead with value messaging, not margin protection.
Bath & Body Works tests dessert-scented perfumes at trend speed
Bath & Body Works' new Hype Lab turns social trends into fragrances in 8 to 12 weeks, sold through its Drops exclusives platform. Three dessert-themed mists launched in September sold out online in about three minutes, and a spooky-season scent follows next. EVP Kristie Lewis built a small cross-functional team pulling ideas from social media, sports and podcasts, saying it's about "creating fragrance at the speed of culture." Sales aren't the main metric; repeat engagement and buzz are.
For your store:A small, fast-moving limited-batch line, even just a handful of SKUs, can test demand and generate buzz without committing to a full assortment.
US toy prices rose 4.2% seasonally adjusted from August to September and 6.6% year over year, per Bureau of Labor Statistics data, as overall inflation hit 3.7% annually. Nearly half of consumers call their household finances insecure heading into the holidays, per Ibotta, and over 70% plan to prioritize saving. Yet Circana logged the toy industry's best first-half in six years, up 17% in dollar sales, with adults now buying more toys than preschoolers do.
For your store:If you sell toys or gifts, price increases won't necessarily cool demand; bundle or tier offers so budget-conscious shoppers still find an entry point.
Target upgrades its store app to cut employee busywork
Target rebuilt its myDay store-operations app after gathering feedback from 50 stores, grouping similar tasks and ranking to-do lists by urgency. A new Leader View lets managers pin metrics like shelf-stocking or pickup status, and a Scan to Divert feature decides whether newly received items go to the floor or the backroom based on demand and space, already worth $25 million in reinvestable value. Manager task assignment and AI-enabled insights are coming next.
For your store:Even a small team benefits from a single prioritized task list instead of scattered checklists; it's one of the cheapest efficiency wins in-store.
Fed finds spending steady even as shopper confidence slips
The Federal Reserve's October Beige Book found economic activity grew in nine of 12 districts, though most saw little change in consumer spending, and over half said high-income households drove most of it. Separately, PYMNTS' Consumer Expectations Index fell for a second straight month to 54.1, with 51.8% of consumers saying their savings would last three months or less without income, and 85% reporting higher essential costs than a year ago.
For your store:Lean into value and payment flexibility in your messaging; shoppers are still buying, but a thinner financial cushion makes them pickier about price.
Monica + Andy moves beyond kids' clothing into baby care
DTC kids' clothing brand Monica + Andy launched its first major category expansion: five baby-care products, including a 2-in-1 shampoo and wash, bedtime cream, balm, soap and laundry detergent, priced $10 to $20. They're sold on its own site and through Walmart, where the brand has been stocked since 2023, and will be promoted through its micro-influencer network. Founder Monica Royer said what touches a baby's skin first "was always something I felt incredibly passionate about."
For your store:A trusted niche audience is fertile ground for an adjacent product line; look for the next logical category your existing customers already trust you with.
Only 1 of 148 businesses surveyed already uses stablecoins
A Cleveland Fed survey of 148 businesses found just one already uses stablecoins and only seven more plan to; the rest are unsure or unfamiliar, over a year after the GENIUS Act gave the tokens a legal framework. About a third want more proof stablecoins beat existing payment rails on cost or speed, and a third say they'd need customers to actually ask for it. Economist Peter Zimmerman said researchers "didn't expect the results to be as lopsided."
For your store:Stablecoins aren't worth chasing for most storefronts yet; watch cross-border payments, where consultants say the real near-term use case sits.
Saks leans into 'main character energy' for its first post-bankruptcy holiday
Saks Fifth Avenue built its first holiday season since parent company Exemplar Luxury Group exited Chapter 11 in June around a New York flagship campaign called Main Character Energy, following friends on a shopping spree, plus a holiday market, a returning light show and Epicure gift tins. More than half of Saks Fifth Avenue's stores closed during bankruptcy, leaving 15, while debt dropped from $3.4 billion to $840 million; the company targets about 7% annual revenue growth through 2030.
For your store:A strong seasonal flagship moment can signal stability to shoppers and press alike, even while the broader footprint is still shrinking.
The Daily Checkout is a daily summary written by KonvertiQ. Every story links to its original source, where you will find full reporting and context. Covered today: About Amazon, Glossy, Modern Retail, PYMNTS, Payments Dive, Retail Dive.