Facebook is buying Kustomer, a customer relationship management (CRM) company, in a $1B deal to improve its social commerce offerings. Kustomer uses AI to analyze customer messages and generate replies, such as product pricing inquiries, via built-in chatbots.

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• Kustomer also enables companies to gather customer data from different channels and view them on a single screen.
• The startup’s AI features may have "also been a factor" behind the acquisition, which will be Facebook's largest in terms of deal size since its Oculus acquisition in March 2014 and its third-largest acquisition overall. 
• The CRM platform startup has raised at least $173M from investors, including Cisco Investments and Tiger Global Management.
• Facebook's Messenger and Instagram are already integrated with Kustomer. In October, Facebook said that the number of people messaging businesses through Instagram and Messenger has increased by 40% over the last year.
• The acquisition of Kustomer would be Facebook's sixth acquisition in 2020, which includes a $400M Giphy deal. Facebook has acquired around 100 companies overall.

Adobe reported that Cyber Monday spending reached $10.8B this year, making it the largest shopping day in the U.S. It also said that the overall holiday spending reached $184B, up 30% YoY.

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• Adobe previously estimated that Cyber Monday sales would be around $12.7B, and overall holiday sales would be $189B.
• In terms of overall holiday sales, curbside pickup increased by 30% YoY, and 37% of digital purchases were made through mobile phones.
• The National Retail Federation said that the sales during the five day holiday period decreased as retailers started to offer discounts earlier this year. 
• Amazon noted that this year's holiday sales were its biggest ever. Its independent retailer's sales increased by 60% YoY, and around 71,000 retailers earned more than $100,000. 

Wendy’s has partnered with Rebel Foods to open 250 ghost kitchens across India. The strategic partnership is part of Wendy’s larger strategy to expand its international presence in markets with high-growth potential.

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• Ghost kitchens, also referred to as cloud kitchens, are commercial locations that have been established solely for fulfilling online delivery orders.
• Rebel Foods is the world’s largest ghost kitchen operator with 300 locations across India, the U.K. and the U.A.E. It is backed by Sequoia Capital, Goldman Sachs and former Uber CEO Travis Kalanick.
• Food delivery has risen in popularity this year due to the COVID-19 pandemic. Deliveries make up 5.5% of Wendy’s business in the U.S. and 11% in Canada.
• Unlike its competitors, McDonald's and Burger King, Wendy’s has a limited international presence with only 1,000 of its 6,800 physical stores located outside the U.S. It only has nine locations in India.
• As a result, Wendy’s has also partnered with Sierra Nevada Restaurants to open 150 brick-and-mortar locations in India over the next decade.

The U.S. is on track to become the world’s largest online alcohol market by 2021. Online alcohol sales are on track to hit $5.6B in 2020, an 80% increase YoY. 

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• The rise in demand has been attributed to more Americans staying home due to the COVID-19 pandemic. Online sales only rose by 19% in 2019.
• Across 10 key markets globally, which include the U.S., China, Germany and the U.K., online sales will rise by 42% YoY to $24B.
• The rise in demand peaked during the first three months of the pandemic. Online alcohol sales experienced 10 years worth of growth between March to May.
• Wine currently makes up 54% of all orders, with beer, cider, and canned cocktail expected to experience rapid growth over the next few years.
• Despite the spike in online orders, total alcohol sales across the world are expected to fall by 8% in 2020, according to IWSR Drink Markets Analysis. In May, IWSR projected global alcohol sales won’t return to pre-pandemic levels until 2024

Sephora will open around 850 stores in Kohl’s by 2023, with 200 of them opened by fall next year. Sephora’s share price rose by 14% on the news announcement.

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• Sephora stores will occupy about 2500 sq. ft and replace the current Kohl’s beauty section.
• The deal is for ten years with renewal options. Sephora is owned by LVMH and has around 500 stand-alone stores in the U.S. Sephora has about 2,600 stores globally.
• The deal comes after Target forged a similar partnership with Ulta Beauty.
• Hundreds of JCPenney stores have Sephora stores as a part of a deal made in 2006. The deal would come to an end in 2023. Also, JCPenney is set to be acquired by Simon and Brookfield after it filed for bankruptcy in May. It announced that it plans to close around 30% of its 850 stores.

QUICK HITS:

• During this holiday season, find out how SimpliSafe is protecting over 3 million homes with less markup and more security.*
• Walmart dropped its $35 minimum shopping limit to be eligible for free delivery using Walmart+.
• KKR is set to add $800M worth of warehouses for its portfolio, including around 100 properties across the U.S.
• Jimmy Johns will partner with DoorDash, but said that it would continue to deliver its sandwiches. In 2019, the restaurant chain said it would never partner with third-party delivery service providers.
• Revtown’s changing the denim game by applying the best parts of workout clothes—comfort, flexibility & durability—to jeans.*

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