January 2023 Business News You Can Use

WALMART LAUNCHES DEDICATED E-COMMERCE SITE FOR BUSINESSES

Key Point: Walmart launched a new website catering to small- and medium-size businesses. Sign-up is available at no cost, but free shipping with no minimum order requires a Business+ membership at $98 per year. Other perks of the upgrade include free delivery (even groceries) on orders of $35 or more, 2% rewards credit for orders of $250 or more, and 5% savings on eligible subscription items.

Why would Walmart decide to begin targeting small businesses? Ashley Hubka, general manager for the new sales effort, put it like this: “We know millions of small and medium businesses and nonprofits utilize Walmart’s stores and website to purchase supplies to support their day-to-day operations. […] We are excited to help our customers save time, money and hassle.”

For additional information, check out Supply Chain Dive’s coverage of the story. Walmart, one might say, is now open for business.

AMAZON ADDS GENERIC PRESCRIPTION PERK FOR PRIME MEMBERS

Key Point: Amazon’s new RxPass marks a deeper dive into the company’s desire to provide prescription drugs for Amazon Prime members. For an additional five dollars per month, those shoppers will have access to Amazon’s list of 50 generic drugs. There’s no charge for delivery, and the pricing may be low enough to make RxPass an excellent alternative.

The program won’t accept patients using Medicaid or Medicare for payments and doesn’t carry insulin or drugs that aren’t generic. That said, the company’s chief medical officer, Vin Gupta, told CNBC during an interview that “Approximately 150 million people are on at least one of the medications included in the initial RxPass formulary.”

BRANDS TAKE A “NO YEAR’S RESOLUTION” APPROACH TO KICK OFF 2023

Key Point: Pointing to the drain on vitality delivered by the COVID pandemic, one vitamin company says their new “Do Less, Feel More” campaign is just what people need: Take a break, and stop worrying about the complexities of life. Know you are “doing enough” already. 

Other businesses are taking a similar approach. Nature Made says their 2023 marketing will drop “scare-based advertising,” and WeightWatchers wants people to stop criticizing themselves about their weight. Is giving yourself a break really the new normal, though, or is Marketing Brew on the wrong track with this article? You be the judge.

MICKEY MOUSE STEAMS AHEAD TOWARD THE PUBLIC DOMAIN

Key Point: The Walt Disney Company is known for taking extraordinary measures to protect its interests, so it seems unlikely Disney will let the copyright on Steamboat Willie expire without a fight. The company will need to come up with another version of the “Mickey Mouse Protection Act,” though, to maintain rights past 2024. 

To complicate the issue, Snow White and other classics are nearing the end of copyright protection. Trademark rights will remain in effect, but the case does bring to light something every citizen should keep in mind: The collection of content in the public domain arena grows larger by the year, and there are treasures galore waiting to be found. Get the full scoop here.

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