With brief, occasional, italicized and sometimes gratuitous commentary…
• Bloomberg reports that "Apple Inc. is preparing to allow customers to buy many of its products, including iPads, Macs and AirPods, over monthly installments via its Apple Card credit card.
"The Cupertino, California-based technology giant is planning to roll out the service in the coming weeks, according to people familiar with the plan. The offering will let customers buy a product through Apple and split up the cost over several months with interest-free payments … The payments will be managed through the Apple Card section in the Wallet app on the iPhone and charges will be added to a customer’s monthly Apple Card bill. Apple started a similar program for the iPhone last year, offering 24 months no interest."
I lease my MacBook Pro through a leasing company. It is the second or third laptop that I've leased this way - I find it to be a cost-effective way to make sure I have up-to-date technology. (In the past, I tended to keep my laptops for way too long.) But if Apple wanted me to lease by using an Apple Card, I'd probably do it … and it would be a smart way for Apple to bring me into that ecosystem.
• CNN reports that Gap has figured out what it is going to do with all the clothes that were in its closed stores and went unsold during the past few months during shelter-at-home and lockdown orders throughout the country.
It is going to pack them up and try to sell them next year.
The policy is called "pack-and-hold."
According to the story, "The retailer is planning to store the summer and fall products that it couldn't sell and bring them into its locations in 2021. This includes merchandise that was never delivered to shops across Gap's namesake brand as well as Banana Republic, Old Navy and Athleta. Gap didn't say whether the year-old products would sell at regular price or at a discount."
I've heard of being fashion-forward. Is this being fashion-backward?
• USA Today reports that "Yelp is making it easier for users to locate black-owned businesses amid renewed calls for racial equality in America.
"The app known for crowd-sourced reviews is launching a tool within the next two weeks that lets businesses identify themselves as black-owned, Yelp recently announced in a blog post. Only businesses that chose to opt-in will show up in the results. So far, it's unclear whether there will be a vetting process."
