Ready for flu szn… As Americans look for easily accessible healthcare, retailers are racing into the industry. Last week Amazon launched its first virtual healthcare clinic to treat patients for everything from allergies to acne. Amazon also agreed to buy clinic chain One Medical in July. Last year, Walgreens took a $5B stake in VillageMD and is now opening an average of one clinic every three days. Meanwhile, CVS has grown its HealthHUBs, where shoppers can meet with medical pros in stores. Retailers could help capture 30% of the primary-care market by 2030.
Credit cards are red hot… because swiping is soaring. Card balances rose 15% last quarter from last year — the fastest jump in two decades — as cash-strapped shoppers leaned on plastic for inflated expenses. But as the Fed hikes rates, IOUs have gotten pricier: some cards have interest rates of 30%+ (translation: a $1K purse would cost $700+ in annual interest if you didn’t pay off the full balance on time). With 60% of Americans now living paycheck to paycheck, historically low delinquency rates are starting to rise.