The year the internet won our wallet

In 2020, online shopping stopped being the future of retail and became the present.

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View on the web The year shopping changed forever It's hard to imagine how many Americans would have weathered the last year without online shopping. What was once a luxury — to buy practically anything with a few mouse clicks — became a necessity after the pandemic shut down most brick-and-mortar stores. Now that there's an end in sight to the Covid-19 crisis, however, it seems apparent that shopping will never be the same. Nearly 10,000 stores have closed since the start of the pandemic, and many will never come back. Meanwhile, online shopping has jumped from 13 percent of all retail purchases to about 20 percent. Amazon has become bigger, richer, and more powerful, while the e-commerce efforts from Walmart and Target provided those retailers with transformative years. Perhaps the biggest breakout success of 2020 was Shopify, which is now valued 50 percent higher than Target. Recode's Jason Del Rey takes us through how the retail landscape evolved in 2020 and what it might look like in 2021. Life without Amazon (well, almost) For concerned customers, avoiding one of the world's largest retailers and web service providers is proving harder than expected. [ John Herrman / New York Times ] Apple's longtime supplier accused of using forced labor in China New documents show Lens Technology, which makes iPhone glass and is owned by China's richest woman, received Uighur Muslim laborers transferred from Xinjiang. [ Reed Albergotti / Washington Post ] The factories in the camps Observers have long warned of rising forced labor in Xinjiang. Satellite images show factories built just steps away from cell blocks. [ Alison Killing and Megha Rajagopalan / BuzzFeed News ] In 2023, you won't be able to fly most drones in the US without broadcasting your location The FAA just shook up the drone world. [ Sean Hollister / The Verge ] Inside the Google-Facebook ad deal at the heart of a price-fixing lawsuit Lawmakers have called for an investigation into the tech giants' contract, dubbed 'Jedi Blue,' which allegedly allowed for auction rigging. [ Ryan Tracy and Jeff Horwitz / Wall Street Journal ] Earth actually has four north poles Facebook Twitter Instagram This email was sent to milburnkennedy@hotmail.com. Manage your email preferences, or unsubscribe to stop receiving emails from Vox Media. View our Privacy Notice and our Terms of Service. Vox Media, 1201 Connecticut Ave. NW, Washington, DC 20036. Copyright © 2020. All rights reserved.