It’s not just executives or knowledge workers in offices who are using artificial intelligence. It’s being adopted in fields like healthcare, retail, hospitality, and food services, too. But frontline workers often aren’t prepared for AI adoption. In fact, many are completely unaware that it’s being implemented in their workplaces at all.
Workplace management platform Deputy surveyed 1,500 frontline workers across the U.S., U.K., and Australia for its “2025 Better Together Survey: How AI and Human Connection Will Transform Frontline Work.” The survey found that nearly half of workplaces (48%) use AI. However, only 1 in 4 workers say they regularly interact with it. But, surprisingly, 10% don’t know if their workplace is even using the technology to begin with.
That could be due to the fact that employers aren’t being totally transparent about whether their companies have adopted AI. Just 17% of shift workers say their employer was open about the company’s AI use. Likewise, only 15% say they were consulted about new AI tools in the workplaceeven though they want to bewith 63% of frontline workers saying that communication about AI is essential.
“Employees are sending a clear message: They want to be part of the conversation about how AI is used and introduced in their organizations,” Dan Schawbel, managing partner at research and advisory firm Workplace Intelligence, said in a press release.
“When workers feel informed and included, trust growsand thats what unlocks the full potential of AI. Empathy, transparency, and inclusion arent just soft skills; theyre the foundation of successful AI adoption,” he said.
While AI’s role in the workplace isn’t always clear, what is clear is that the workers using it are having positive experiences with the technology. In fact, 96% of shift workers say they are happy with the technology’s role, which shows up in tasks like scheduling, in AI-powered kiosks for ordering, as well as streamlining administrative tasks, and more, in their workplace. Likewise, 94% say it makes their job easier. That’s likely why nearly 1 in 4 employees who were surveyed said they’d rather have more AI support than an extra week of PTO (23%) or even a promotion (24%).
And that’s likely why workers want to be in the know when it comes to how their organization is using the technology: 27% say they desire more transparency and communication about the technology and how it’s being used.
“New tech arrives. We’re supposed to just figure it out,” one food worker who took part in the survey said. In retail, the statistic is even higher, with 31% saying more communication is needed, likely because the technology is so visible to customers. “They put in self-checkout without even telling us why,” one retail worker explained. “Customers ask us questions we can’t answer.”
Interestingly, while workers report positive experiences with AI, only 37% feel optimistic about the technology’s future at their workplace, which could point to how the technology is implementedoften with little communication. As another worker put it: Employees can’t integrate AI properly if it’s never been introduced to them, which leaves employees feeling the need to push back rather than use the tools to their advantage.
“If you explain it, we’ll accept it,” that same worker said. “If you don’t, we’ll resist.”
When you open Microsoft Excel to review quarterly results or check Waze to optimize your route to the office, youre tapping into technologies born not in corporate boardrooms, but in university labs. Thinking of innovation, our minds often jump to the titans of tech: Jobs, Musk, Altman, Gates, Bezos. But behind everyday tech innovations and healthcare breakthroughs are academic researchers whose work catalyzed billion-dollar industries.
The unsung heroes of the lab and lecture hall have laid the groundwork for some of the most transformative technologies of our time. A few make celebrity status as Nobel prize winners, but the glory of most academics is poorly understood for its formative early impact on products now essential to our livescivic, commercial, and medical.
As we gather for the World Changing Ideas Summit on November 19 in Washington, DC, cohosted by Fast Company and Johns Hopkins University, we shine a spotlight on those whose curiosity-driven research has sparked breakthroughs that quietly shaped the world around us.
ACADEMICS AND THE INNOVATION ECONOMY
Here are four ways academic researchers have quietly shaped America’s innovation economy and impacted daily life.
1. GPS: The backbone of modern logistics
You have probably tried to optimize your driving time and cherished every minute saved from your commute. Google Maps has over 2.2 billion monthly active users, and 71% of U.S. smartphone users rely on it weekly. At the root of this technology is the global positioning system (GPS), whose origins trace back to 1957. When Sputnik launched, two young physicists at the Johns Hopkins Applied Physics Laboratory (APL)William Guier and George Weiffenbachdriven by the national urgency of the Cold War and scientific curiosity, used the Doppler shift of Sputniks radio signals to determine its orbit. They and others at APL soon realized the inverse was also true. Their breakthrough inspired the worlds first global satellite navigation system, sponsored by DARPA and the U.S. Navy. This innovation, aimed at solving national security challenges for the U.S. government, became the foundation for modern GPS, revolutionizing navigation and telecommunications for military, government, and civilian applicationsfrom global defense operations to everyday delivery routes.
2. Spreadsheets: A new language for business
According to a survey, 84% of office workers use Microsoft Excel daily. Thank you, Bill Gates, right? Not so fast. The spreadsheet was not actually born in the Seattle tech scene; that credit goes to Dan Bricklin and Bob Frankston, students at Harvard and MIT. VisiCalc, the first spreadsheet software, was thought of as a magic blackboard, revolutionizing business modeling. The two werent aiming for market disruption, but simply trying to make homework easier. Bricklin was frustrated by tediously recalculating financial models by hand; Frankston, an experienced coder, helped bring it to life. VisiCalc launched in 1979 from a shared belief that computers should empower people. Their work was nurtured in university settings, supported by federal research grants and computing infrastructure. What began as an academic collaboration became the backbone of how we financially model todayfrom managing family budgets to forecasting industry trends. One could argue that this technology catalyzed our data-driven economy.
3. Self-driving cars: Autonomy realized
Science fiction has arrived! Thats what I was thinking as I stepped into my first self-driven Jaguar in San Francisco, courtesy of Waymo. Waymo alone operates over 1,500 robotaxis across major U.S. cities, with plans to expand to 3,500 vehicles by 2026. The roots of this revolution trace back to Sebastian Thrun, a German-born scientist, whose childhood love of robotics and desire to reduce traffic fatalities led him to Stanford. There, he directed the Artificial Intelligence Lab and spearheaded a team that won the DARPA Grand Challenge, a competition funded by the U.S. Department of Defense. That success caught Googles attention and ultimately led to the creation of Waymo and a multi-billion-dollar industry.
4. Cancer detection: Learning what to look for
Cologuard has been used over 16 million times. detecting more than 623,000 cancers and precancers, with 80% caught in the early stages. This technology started with the journey of Bert Vogelstein, a Johns Hopkins oncology researcher fixated on a simple scientific question: Why do some cells become cancerous? At Johns Hopkins, supported by sustained federal funding from agencies like the National Institutes of Health, Vogelstein, Ken Kinzler, and colleagues spent decades unraveling the genetic mutations behind tumor development. Their work led to the discovery of p53, a key tumor suppressor gene, and laid the foundation for our modern understanding of cancer as a genetic disease. Researchers insights into cancer cell origins enabled industry to develop methods for detecting disease. Today, we rely on genetic tests for early cancer detection, prenatal screenings, and personalized medicine.
IT TAKES THREE PARTS
So how do ideas from a university lab end up in your pocket or your car? Its a well-tested recipe. American innovation thrives on a three-part formula: federal investment, university research capabilities, and private sector development.
Federal funding fuels foundational science, long before theres a market. Universities cultivate talent and ideas, allowing researchers to follow where the science leads rather than what a corporate budget dictates. Once science shows promise, the private sector tailors the science toward specific applications and scales those ideas into products and companies.
Since 1980, federally funded academic research has resulted in over 17,000 startups and $1.9 trillion in economic output. But as global competition intensifies, the U.S. must double down on its research ecosystem.
This tripartite innovation ecosystem is not just a source of economic strength. Its a reflection of our American values: open inquiry, public good, and the belief that big ideas can come from anywhere. This three-pronged approach unleashed a century of American technological leadership. At a time when federal research funding is being severely cut, we are wise to remember its central role in our economyand its promise for American leadership throughout this century.
Christy Wyskiel is senior advisor to the president for innovation and entrepreneurhip, and executive director of Johns Hopkins Technology Ventures.
Being the children of Francis Ford Coppola had a profound impact on the filmmaking sensibilities of Sofia and Roman Coppola. But their mother, Eleanor Coppola, may have played a larger role in nurturing their creative pursuits.
She taught me how to be in charge without being loud, and the importance of being real, Sofia writes in her introduction to Two of Me: Notes on Living and Leaving, Eleanor Coppolas posthumous memoir, published by A24 on November 11.
[Cover Image: A24]
Sofia and Roman convened in New York City last week for a conversation about the book and their mother, who died in April 2024 at the age of 87. One of Eleanors last wishes was to have Two of Me, which she wrote over the course of a decade using material from the diaries she kept for 50 years, published as a book. Eleanors other last wish was to have the 100 hours of video footage she shot on the set of Sofias 2006 film Marie Antoinette edited into a documentary, which is expected to be included in a 20th-anniversary edition of the film to be released next year.
An artist and filmmaker whose mediums ranged from sculpture and conceptual art to photography and dance, Eleanor made her first documentary, Hearts of Darkness: A Filmmaker’s Apocalypse, after her husband asked her to shoot behind-the-scenes footage on Apocalypse Now. In 2016, at the age of 80, she became the oldest American woman to direct a debut feature film when she released the comedy Paris Can Wait.
At an event last week, moderated by Vogue editor Keaton Bell and held at Barnes & Noble Union Square, Sofia and Roman shared some of the ways in which their mother influenced them, both as artists and as people. Here are the five biggest lessons they learned from her.
1. Stories are made of details
Whether its the neon lights of Tokyos Shinjuku district in Lost in Translation or the elaborate floral arrangements in Marie Antoinette, Sofia Coppola is known for her filmmaking style that focuses on small details. She credits her mother with teaching her the importance of paying attention to such details. I got a lot from her just being this quiet observer, Sofia said. I notice details and I think thats in my films, which comes from her eye.
2. Everything is art
Shortly after Sofia was born, Eleanor presented a gift to husband Francis in the form of one of Sofias dirty diapers, as it was the only work of art that Sofia could create at the time. Eleanor also once turned her home into a performance art space where she welcomed friends to observe a young Sofia watching a video of her own birth on a TV. What inspired me in my work is, she was very interested in conceptual art, specifically, and conceptual films, Roman said. She dabbled in that in the ’70s. And so the notion that anything can be a work of art, and that sense of play and idea art is something Ive brought into my work.
3. Film is not the only visual art form
An avid appreciator of many different forms of art, Eleanor often brought her children to museums all over the world. One of Sofias most memorable experiences with her mother was being taken to see a performance by the German dancer and choreographer Pina Bausch. I was, like, Oh, we have to go to some weird modern dance with Mom. And it was one of the most incredible, most beautiful things Ive ever seen, Sofia said. Im really glad she brought us to see a lot of really interesting contemporary art that she was excited about.
4. Challenges are opportunities
As an adult dealing with some personal issues and financial issues, Roman Coppola learned how his mother valued the experience of struggling in life. I was sort of moping a little bit, and she was, like, Wow, this is really great. There are a lot of things you have to figure out now in your life, and youre really going to take that on, Roman said. Some of the lessons werent just average things, but how to sort of embrace difficulty. It spoke to her confidence, but also just instilled that push to strive to pull yourself out of things and to work hard and be committed.
5. Mothers can also be filmmakers
Eleanor didnt let her role as a mother prevent her from pursuing creative and artistic endeavors. She stressed to Sofia that it was important to make time to be both a mother and an artist. I learned from my mom that it was okay to do both, Sofia said. I think every mom that works feels guilty about it, so youre always torn. But she really encouraged me, and I was excited that I could do both.
Novo Nordisk, the Danish drug company that makes Ozempic and Wegovy, is now offering the drugs at lower prices for self-pay patients.
On Monday, the company announced it would offer both medications, Ozempic (the weight-loss version of the drug) and Wegovy (the version that addresses diabetes), at a discounted rate of $199 per month for a limited time. The introductory offer goes from now until March 31, 2026. The announcement noted that the pricing is only good for the first two months of treatment, and at the lowest doses of the medications. After the initial months of treatment, the cost will move to the new monthly self-pay rate of $349 per month, down from $499.
“As pioneers of the GLP-1 class, we are committed to ensuring that real, FDA-approved Wegovy and Ozempic are affordable and accessible to those who need them,” Dave Moore, executive vice president of U.S. operations at Novo Nordisk, said in a press release.
Moore continued: “The U.S. healthcare system is complex, with different types of insurance and various ways for patients to obtain their medicines. Our new savings offers provide immediate impact, bringing forward greater cost savings for those who are currently without coverage or choose to self-pay.”
Per the announcement, patients can access the new offers in three different ways: through Wegovy.com or Ozempic.com; through NovoCare Pharmacy; or through participating organizations and select telehealth providers that work directly with Novo Nordisk, such as Costco, GoodRx, WeightWatchers, Ro, LifeMD, and eMed.The offer comes amid the Trump administration’s call for the companies that manufacture weight-loss drugs to lower prices. Earlier this month while speaking in the Oval Office, Trump said that, after months of negotiation, a deal had been reached that would impact prices on the drugs for those who receive Medicaid and Medicare, and for users of the TrumpRx website, which is expected to launch by the end of the year.“Today, I’m thrilled to announce that the two world’s largest pharmaceutical manufacturers, Eli Lilly and Novo Nordisk, have agreed to offer their most popular GLP-1 weight-loss drugI call it the fat drug, rememberat drastic discounts,” Trump said.The competitive pricing comes as the obesity rate is trending down, as a result of reliance on weight-loss drugs. While in 2022, 39.9% of Americans met the criteria for obesity, that number today is down to 37%with 7.6 million Americans no longer meeting the threshold.
Looking for some holiday cheer? Customers who want to try Starbucks’ new holiday treat, the Frozen Peppermint Hot Chocolate drink, will have to go to Target, where it will be exclusively available throughout the holiday season at all in-store Starbucks cafes.
The drink is a creme Frappuccino with a blend of mocha sauce, milk, and ice, poured over a layer of peppermint-flavored whipped cream and red and green sprinkles, finished with another layer of that same whipped cream and sprinkles.
Starbucks is hoping to capitalize on the holiday season and the holiday craze around its special drinks and limited-edition cups. And customer enthusiasm is high, as evidenced by this year’s limited-run Bearista cupswhich have customers literally fighting and lining up at 3 a.m. to shell out $30 a pop.
“Last Thursdays Holiday launch was our biggest sales day ever in North America,” Starbucks CEO Brian Niccol said in a recent note. And according to the company, millennials and Gen Z customers are driving Q3 improvements in customer value perception. The new Frozen Peppermint Hot Chocolate appears to be an attempt to keep that momentum going.
The collaboration between the coffee chain and the big-box retailer debuts Monday for Target Circle 360 loyalty members, just in time for the busiest and most profitable time of the year: the run up to Christmas Day. The rest of us will have to wait till tomorrow, Tuesday, November 18.
Both Starbucks and Target have been hit hard by consumer backlash and boycotts respectively, at a time when Americans are buying less due to increased inflation and higher living costs.
Starbucks, which recently announced a wave of store closings, is under pressure to increase profits. At the same time, management is facing baristas striking for higher pay and better hours. (Last week, unionized workers went on strike at more than 65 Starbucks locations across 42 cities.)
Meanwhile, Target is facing its own problems as customers boycott the stores due to its rollback of diversity, equity and inclusion programs (DEI). It’s also contending with lower in-store foot traffic.
Starbucks financials
Starbucks reported fourth-quarter earnings on Wednesday, October 29, with quarterly same-store sales growing for the first time in nearly two years and global same-store sales rising 1%, but same-store sales in the U.S. staying flat for the quarter (which turned positive in September).
The company reported earnings per share (EPS) of 52 cents adjusted versus 56 cents expected, and revenue of $9.57 billion, beating expectations of $9.35 billion.
Target is set to report its third-quarter earnings results this week.
Last week, the baby nutrition company ByHeart recalled all of its infant formula over concerns that it may be contaminated with Clostridium botulinum, the bacterium that causes infant botulism.
Now the company is facing increasing legal drama and backlash from customers for potentially exposing babies to the dangerous illness.
According to a November 14 update from the Food and Drug Administration (FDA), a total of 23 infants in 13 states who were exposed to the formula have developed suspected or confirmed infant botulism. All of the infants have been hospitalized, and no deaths have been reported to date.
ByHeart had voluntarily recalled two batches of its infant formula on November 8. Just three days later, it expanded that recall to encompass all of its products, including any unexpired lots of formula cans and single-serve anywhere pack sticks.
Per the FDA, most babies with infant botulism will initially develop constipation, poor feeding, loss of head control, and difficulty swallowing, which can progress to difficulty breathing and respiratory arrest.
Symptoms of infant botulism, which is diagnosed clinically, can take as long as several weeks to develop following formula ingestion. Parents are advised to stop using any ByHeart infant formula products immediately.
As new botulism cases potentially related to ByHearts products continue to emerge, the companywhich positions itself as dedicated to making the best formula in the worldis facing backlash both through multiple lawsuits and a social media firestorm led by its own customers.
Legal backlash against ByHeart ramps up
As of this writing, at least five different lawsuits have been filed against ByHeart related to the infant botulism outbreak, according to federal court records.
All of the plaintiffs are identified in the complaints as buyers of ByHearts products. Three of the complaints are proposed class actions. In at least two cases, the plaintiffs have infant children whom they believe contracted infant botulism through the contaminated formula, the court filings show.
According to a November 12 legal complaint, plaintiffs Stephen and Yurany Dexter of Flagstaff, Arizona, decided to introduce formula three days after the birth of their child (referred to as E.D.) to supplement breast milk.
Looking at the available choices, they chose the ByHeart brand because of the healthy-looking labeling, top shelf placement, and higher price, the filing reads.
But over a month later, the child began to exhibit symptoms of infant botulism, it says, resulting in multiple hospital stays and hundreds of thousands in medical expenses.
In a second complaint filed on that same day, plaintiffs Michael and Hanna Everett of Richmond, Kentucky, detail a similar experience with their child, referred to as P.E.
This case arises from a parents worst nightmare: infant formula laced with dangerous Bacteria, the suit reads.
It goes on to explain that the Everetts purchased ByHearts products due to its promises to be a “healthier alternative to traditional formula, only for their four-month-old daughter to contract infant botulism.
Soon after consuming the formula, she developed constipation and alarming neurological symptoms, it reads. Plaintiffs brought their first-born daughter to the emergency department where doctors diagnosed P.E. with infant botulism. Public health investigators later confirmed that she was part of a multistate outbreak caused by ByHeart formula.
Reached for comment by Fast Company, ByHeart emailed a statement from cofounder and president Mia Funt.
Our number one priority is infant health,” Funt says. “We express our deepest sympathy to the families currently impacted by the cases of infant botulism. We are working with the FDA and independent experts to implement the recall quickly while the factual investigation continues. We are committed to getting answersincluding partnering with the FDA and independent expertsand will share updates as soon as we can.
Disappointed customers take to social media
Throughout the new lawsuits against ByHeart, a recurring theme is the idea that parents chose the companys products due to its positioning as a healthy, science-backed alternative to traditional formula.
And under an Instagram post from ByHeart apologizing for the recalls, hundreds of commenters have echoed those sentiments, expressing their disappointment in the brand.
I’m a sitting duck waiting around to see if my baby is okay because she consumed contaminated formula from you,” one commenter wrote, added that “we trusted you with nourishing our baby and you failed us.
Another added, From the bottom of my heart I hope your company goes bankrupt and that no retailer will ever carry your products again.”
New York-based ByHeart was founded in 2016 and most recently raised $72 million in a Series C round from undisclosed investors, according to PitchBook, for a post-valuation of $908 million.
In the wake of the recalls, ByHeart has updated its website to spotlight information about the situation, including a link to its customer support line (866-201-9069).
Fast Company reached out to the FDA for the latest details. The agency says it is continuing to investigate the outbreak along with the Centers for Disease Control and Prevention (CDC) and state-level public health officials.
Blue Origins New Glenn rocket successfully made its way to orbit for the second time on Nov. 13, 2025. Although the second launch is never as flashy as the first, this mission is still significant in several ways.
For one, it launched a pair of NASA spacecraft named ESCAPADE, which are headed to Mars orbit to study that planets magnetic environment and atmosphere. The twin spacecraft will first travel to a Lagrange point, a place where the gravity between Earth, the Moon, and the Sun balances. The ESCAPADE spacecraft will remain there until Mars is in better alignment to travel to.
And two, importantly for Blue Origin, New Glenns first stage booster successfully returned to Earth and landed on a barge at sea. This landing allows the booster to be reused, substantially reducing the cost to get to space.
Blue Origin launched its New Glenn rocket and landed the booster on a barge at sea on Nov. 13, 2025.
As a space policy expert, I see this launch as a positive development for the commercial space industry. Even though SpaceX has pioneered this form of launch and reuse, New Glenns capabilities are just as important.
New Glenn in context
Although Blue Origin would seem to be following in SpaceXs footsteps with New Glenn, there are significant differences between the two companies and their rockets.
For most launches today, the rocket consists of several parts. The first stage helps propel the rocket and its spacecraft toward space and then drops away when its fuel is used up. A second stage then takes over, propelling the payload all the way to orbit.
While both New Glenn and Falcon Heavy, SpaceXs most powerful rocket currently available, are partially reusable, New Glenn is taller, more powerful, and can carry a greater amount of payload to orbit.
Blue Origin plans to use New Glenn for a variety of missions for customers such as NASA, Amazon, and others. These will include missions to Earths orbit and eventually to the Moon to support Blue Origins own lunar and space exploration goals, as well as NASAs.
NASAs Artemis program, which endeavors to return humans to the Moon, is where New Glenn may become important. In the past several months, several space policy leaders, as well as NASA officials, have expressed concern that Artemis is progressing too slowly. If Artemis stagnates, China may have the opportunity to leap ahead and beat NASA and its partners to the lunar South Pole.
These concerns stem from problems with two rockets that could potentially bring Americans back to the Moon: the space launch system and SpaceXs Starship. NASAs space launch system, which will launch astronauts on its Orion crew vehicle, has been criticized as too complex and costly. SpaceXs Starship is important because NASA plans to use it to land humans on the Moon during the Artemis III mission. But its development has been much slower than anticipated.
In response, Blue Origin has detailed some of its lunar exploration plans. They will begin with the launch of its uncrewed lunar lander, Blue Moon, early next year. The company is also developing a crewed version of Blue Moon that it will use on the Artemis V mission, the planned third lunar landing of humans.
Blue Origin officials have said they are in discussions with NASA over how they might help accelerate the Artemis program.
[Photo: Blue Origin]
New Glenns significance
New Glenns booster landing makes this most recent launch quite significant for the company. While it took SpaceX several tries to land its first booster, Blue Origin has achieved this feat on only the second try. Landing the boosters and, more importantly, reusing them has been key to reducing the cost to get to space for SpaceX, as well as others such as Rocket Lab.
That two commercial space companies now have orbital rockets that can be partially reused shows that SpaceXs success was no fluke.
With this accomplishment, Blue Origin has been able to build on its previous experience and success with its suborbital rocket, New Shepard. Launching from Blue Origin facilities in Texas since 2015, New Shepard has taken people and cargo to the edge of space, before returning to itslaunch site under its own power.
New Glenn is also significant for the larger commercial space industry and U.S. space capabilities. It represents real competition for SpaceX, especially its Starship rocket. It also provides more launch options for NASA, the U.S. government, and other commercial customers, reducing reliance on SpaceX or any other launch company.
In the meantime, Blue Origin is looking to build on the success of New Glenns launch and its booster landing. New Glenn will next launch Blue Origins Blue Moon uncrewed lander in early 2026.
This second successful New Glenn launch will also contribute to the rockets certification for national security space launches. This accomplishment will allow the company to compete for contracts to launch sensitive reconnaissance and defense satellites for the U.S. government.
Blue Origin will also need to increase its number of launches and reduce the time between them to compete with SpaceX. SpaceX is on pace for between 165 and 170 launches in 2025 alone. While Blue Origin may not be able to achieve that remarkable cadence, to truly build on New Glenns success it will need to show it can scale up its launch operations.
Wendy Whitman Cobb is a professor of strategy and security studies at Air University.
This article is republished from The Conversation under a Creative Commons license. Read the original article.
Could the era of the super cheap phone case arriving from China in a week finally be ending? Thanks to a major change to European regulations, it just might.
European Union finance ministers have agreed to impose customs duties on low-value parcels entering the bloc at some point next year, scrapping the long-standing de minimis exemption for goods under 150 (or $175). The move is seen as a way to slow the flood of cheap Chinese imports from platforms such as Shein and Temu. These goods now account for the bulk of the EUs 4.6 billion small parcels a year, more than 90% of which came from China.
The EU’s move follows the U.S. governments decision to destroy its own de minimis waiver for Chinese e-commerce products.
Because companies like Shein and Temu depend on shipping huge volumes of low-value parcels directly from Chinese warehouses to consumers, they will be hit hardest by the EU’s change. Its difficult to see how they will find an easy way around italthough given its coming on the heels of the U.S. doing similar, Im sure they are already working on that, says e-commerce expert Ben Graham.
The regulatory shift will allow e-commerce to be more competitive across all digital channels. As a result, the shift is being presented as a big win for the EU, even if it happens to follow the United States taking a similar approach to small package rules earlier this year under Donald Trump.
Yet while the moves in both countries is aimed at Shein and Temu, it could also wind up harming homegrown companies in both Europe and the U.S. The removal of de minimis rules is reshaping global e-commerce, says Ronald Kleijwegt, CEO at logistics platform Vinturas. EU exporters now face tariffs on low-value items, extra customs paperwork, and higher shipping costs when selling to the U.S.
Kleijwegt says the impact cuts both ways: U.S. small businesses lose access to affordable European goods, while smaller EU firms lose duty-free access to the American market, he explains.
Its not just the infamous de minimis import duty benefit thats in the firing line in Europe: Brussels has also floated a 2 handling fee on every low-value parcel and is pushing member states to stop undeclared packages from slipping through customs. Some individual countries, including Romania and Italy, are already introducing their own national fees while they wait for the EU-wide regime to kick in.
Existential or not?
The question is whether Temu and Shein will face a simple hit to their margins, or an existential threat to their whole business model. Roberto Lobue, partner and retail sector expert at accountancy and business advisory firm Menzies, argues the changes will bite hard and fast. Since the U.S. scrapped its own de minimis duty free limit, the amount of low-value items exported to the U.S. has dropped dramatically, as firms like Shein and Temu focused increasingly on the EU market, he says. With Europe becoming a back door for lower valued goods, the EUs move to accelerate its own reversal next year comes as no surprise.
For Lobue, the end of duty-free thresholds is where the Temu and Shein model starts to crack. Once duties and handling fees apply from the first euro, prices will rise, logistics will get more complex, and Shein and Temu will need to shift to bulk imports, EU warehousing, and stricter customs compliance, he says. The change removes a long-criticized competitive distortion, and will likely dampen the impulse buying that fuels these platforms, as even small added fees can make a big impact.
As prices edge up, he warns, the whole purpose of the two platformsits ultracheap pricesgets weaker. As their prices climb, competitors like Amazon are already moving to capture bargain-hunters, with the launch of its new Haul feature, and others may seek to capitalize, he says.
Julian Skelly, managing partner of retail at Publicis Sapient, thinks Temu and Shein are unlikely to be killed off. But they will have to evolve. They’ve built impressive capabilities around direct-to-consumer logistics and demand sensing; now they’ll need to leverage those strengths differently, he says.
The attempt to hobble the Chinese companies might not have its intended goal. Platforms built on ultra-low-value cross-border shipping are under similar pressure, says Kleijwegt. Both Temu and Shein explored appointing U.S.-based entities or distributors to manage domestic clearance and distribution, but that adds cost and complexity to their operations, he adds.
Kleijwegt points out that the turbulence also exposes a bigger systems problem.
Businesses need systems that can adapt quickly, share information securely, and provide visibility across borders as trade tensions and new rules mount, he says. Stronger connectivity reduces compliance friction, enables companies to respond faster to regulatory change, cuts complexity, and builds the resilience needed to compete in an unpredictable trade environment. This can make the difference between staying competitive in international markets and being shut out.
Beep, beep: Amazon is making a bigger move into the market for used vehicles. The retail giant and Ford Motor Company announced a partnership today which will mean car buyers in three major cities can shop for, finance, and purchase a certified pre-owned Ford vehicle on Amazon Autos.
This new partnership is initially launching in Los Angeles, Seattle, and Dallas, with plans to expand, and will allow customers to complete all steps of the car-buying process online before scheduling a pickup time at a participating dealer and signing the paperwork.
The addition of Ford certified pre-owned vehicles to Amazon Autos represents an exciting expansion of our store, giving customers access to thousands of quality vehicles backed by Ford’s comprehensive inspection and warranty programs, Fan Jin, global leader of Amazon Autos, said in a statement.
This marks the third major partnership that Amazon Autos has struck in the nearly two years since it launched in late 2023. It first began selling new vehicles from South Korean automaker Hyundai and partnered with car rental company Hertz earlier this year to sell used vehicles through Amazon Autos.
As is true with the Hyundai partnership, the Ford dealer is ultimately the seller and handles the pricing, vehicle pickup, and future servicing needs. Amazon Autos merely serves as the facilitator of the online transaction.
USED VEHICLE MARKET
So far, more than 160 Ford franchised dealers have expressed interest in the new Amazon Autos program and about 20 dealers in those three cities are in the process of getting fully onboarded and launched, according to Ford.
Expanding the number of places where consumers can buy a vehicle is also a savvy move for Ford at a time when used car sales have become a bit more sluggish.
An uptick in prices for used vehicles has meant its taken longer for these vehicles to move off a dealers lot. For three-year-old vehicles, selling at more than $31,000 during the third quarter, it took an average of 41 days for these cars to sell, which was the slowest pace for this quarter since 2017, according to data from Edmunds.com.
CARVANA, CARMAX COMPETITION
Now that Amazon Autos will be offering vehicles that are new, certified pre-owned, and from the Hertz rental market fleet, it clearly is making a pretty aggressive move into territory once dominated by Carvana and CarMax. In the first three quarters of the year, Carvana sold more than 433,000 vehicles, compared to a 2024 total of 416,000-plus, according to figures from its quarterly earnings.
Shares of Carvana fell nearly 3% in midday trading on Monday, while CarMax shares were down more than 2%. Meanwhile, Ford shares are trading about 0.7% lower.
This weekend, Ford hosted the grand opening of its new, 2.1 million-square-foot headquarters. The Detroit-based automaker has sought to embrace a new era of innovation after some struggles in recent years. Rather than opt for the direct-to-consumer sales path that Tesla has favored, partnering with Amazon Autos may offer advantages.
Everyone has an Amazon account, Wendy Lane, senior manager of Fords Blue Advantage unit, told Yahoo! Finance. Knowing that it is a trusted source for consumers and having our vehicles listed there, were really excited to see how it works and how well consumers adopt it.
In its early days, the odds seemed good that YouTube was destined for failure. After a false start as a dating website, it wasnt clear whether the company could cover the cost of streaming video content, or avoid the fate of Napster, which was sued out of business for copyright infringement.
But after getting acquired by Google in 2006, and deciding to share ad revenue with creators a year later, YouTube went on not only to survive, but also to revolutionize the entire media ecosystemfrom “double rainbows” to the “Ice Bucket Challenge.” In 2024, YouTube took in $36.3 billion in ad revenue, and today it is the most-watched video provider in the U.S.not just among streamers, but cable and broadcast TV as well.
Fast Company spoke to CEO Neal Mohan and creators like Rebecca Black and Smosh about how YouTube continues to redefine what TV can be.
