Amazon is rapidly opening store-sized delivery hubs in dozens of U.S. and foreign cities to fulfill customers’ most urgent product needs in 30 minutes or less.

Walmart delivered another impressive quarter as the promise of lower prices and speedy deliveries attracted a broader spectrum of Americans from cash-strapped to wealthier households during the critical holiday shopping period.

Google is expanding the shopping features in its AI chatbot by teaming up with Walmart, Shopify, Wayfair and other big retailers to turn the Gemini app into a virtual merchant as well as an assistant.

Walmart CEO Doug McMillon is planning to retire early next year and his successor has been named.

Walmart plans to build or convert more than 150 U.S. stores in the next five years, while continuing to remodel existing stores.

Millions of kids logging onto virtual school this fall has parents scrambling to find furniture for them. But John Furner, who runs Walmart’s U.S. stores, acknowledged low stocks of kid’s desks and laptops in a ABC News interview on Sept. 11. “It’s not as cute or trendy as a bought desk and I wish it had drawers for storage,” said Fry. Will the homemade desk make it through the school year? “I could not believe in three weeks how much damage he’s done to this desk.”_____Follow Joseph Pisani on Twitter @ josephpisani