Brands shift away from coupons despite inflation - July 8, 2022

Startup funding is dropping for the first time in three years, plunging 23% over the last three months. Startup sales and initial public offerings have already plummeted 88% this year – a rarity in the startup ecosystem which has enjoyed more than a decade of growth. The decline is being attributed to rising interest rates and inflation, which is prompting more investors to demand startups tighten their belts and improve their margins. The Supreme Court’s decision to overturn Roe v. Wade and the subsequent criminalization of abortion in several states has sparked an increased interest in how data is being used and online privacy. Many women are concerned about their period tracking apps and some lawyers warn online search history and payment data could become problematic. Planned Parenthood said it will remove the marketing trackers on its search pages related to abortion after previously sharing data with third-party tracking companies including Google and Facebook. Cruise, a subsidiary of General Motors, has reported multiple outages with its autonomous cars deployed in San Francisco. Recent internal messages show that nearly 60 vehicles were disabled across the city over a 90-minute period after losing touch with a Cruise server at the end of June. The incidents have caused traffic jams, but some worry outages could also hinder emergency vehicles and endanger motorists and pedestrians. Commercializing autonomous vehicles has proved to be more challenging than predicted a few years ago as U.S. lawmakers introduce more regulatory processes. Global food prices dropped in June according to the United Nations, potentially offering some respite to strained households. Food prices climbed during the pandemic and spiked even higher after the war in Ukraine stifled grain exports. Global food prices are up 65% globally in the last two years and 12% this year alone. Brands and retailers have shifted away from clipped newspaper discounts but the digital version hasn’t grown fast enough to catch up, worrying consum