Squawk Pod: Black Friday with Shopify & Amazon - 11/28/25

Retail & E-commerce Trends - Black Friday is still a very important day for retail, with the National Retail Federation predicting 1304 million Americans will shop in some form [3] - Adobe predicts US online sales will hit nearly $12 billion, up more than 8% from last year [3] - Shopify reports $24 million sales per minute and 23000 change orders per minute [3] - Since last night, Shopify has seen 17 million unique shoppers across all stores [3] - Top product categories on Shopify include skincare, vitamins, supplements, and activewear [3] - Shopify merchants are generally offering discounts ranging from 10% to 30% [4] - Shopify reports that consumers are looking for value more than discounts, preferring to buy from brands they love [4] - Last year, Shopify did $93 billion over the 4-day period, and this year they did $115 billion [4] Supply Chain & Geopolitics - Nexperia China responded to an open letter, stating there's no situation where it cannot be contacted and accusing the Dutch company of destructive measures [2] - Concerns arise over an Intel hiring a TSMC executive, with Taiwan investigating potential transfer of chip secrets [2] Amazon & Prime Video Strategy - Amazon is investing heavily in sports to add more value to Prime membership, including NFL, NBA, NASCAR, and Champions League Soccer [5] - Amazon Prime Video advertising for Black Friday is up 40% year-over-year [5] - Amazon is making all sporting events available globally for free to any Amazon customer [7]