News Briefs

TikTok isn’t waiting for Thanksgiving to start its Black Friday and Cyber Monday promotions.

TikTok Shop, the U.S. e-commerce platform of TikTok, is hosting a Black Friday and Cyber Monday sales event from Wed. Nov. 11 to Monday, Nov. 30. TikTok Shop brings shoppable videos and livestreams from retailers, brands and content creators directly to user feeds.

According to the video-focused social media app, content related to the #holidayshopping hashtag content rose 263% month-over-month in September and nearly one-third of U.S. TikTok users expect to buy a gift on the app this Black Friday (Nov. 27). TikTok Shop plans to feature exclusive offerings, product bundles, and unique collaborations with brands and retailers throughout the holiday season.

During the 2025 four-day Black Friday-Cyber Monday weekend, TikTok Shop reported sales surpassing $500 million and sellers hosting livestreams seeing 84% year-over-year sales growth across more than 760,000 sessions and 1.6 billion views. 

The social commerce retailer also reports that its TikTok Live Shopping livestream platform sales more than doubled sales in the first half of 2026 compared to the prior-year period. In the upcoming holiday season, TikTok expects Live Shopping to play a bigger role in e-commerce sales.

A three-day delivery badge will mark eligible products expected to arrive within three business days. And new for this holiday season, eligible purchases can be returned at approximately 10,000 Happy Returns locations across the U.S. with no box or label needed.

[READ MORE: TikTok integrates box-free, label-free returns into its e-commerce site]

Best Buy is also getting an early start on holiday sales via TikTok. Starting in late October,  the consumer electronics giant will operate a storefront on TikTok Shop, with its launched timed to coincide with the holiday season.

A partnership between Wildfire Systems and Badge extends rewards programs to the mobile wallets of Apple, Google and Samsung.

Loyalty and consumer insights platform Wildfire Systems is teaming with mobile wallet infrastructure provider Badge to bring personalized merchant offers and rewards into consumers' native mobile wallets. Wildfire client can integrate their existing rewards offerings into Apple Wallet, Google Wallet and Samsung Wallet through Badge technology. Meanwhile, Badge clients gain access to offers from Wildfire's network of more than 50,000 merchant programs - without the need to build new infrastructure or merchant relationships.

Customers who add their rewards pass will see personalized cashback and savings from Wildfire's merchant network in their compatible mobile wallet. Badge keeps the pass current as offers change through dynamic updates, push notifications, and location-aware reminders. 

[READ MORE: One-third of consumers spend more when using digital wallets]

"Our clients are constantly looking for ways to deliver more value to customers," said Jordan Glazier, CEO of Wildfire Systems. "Our partnership with Badge gives clients a way to extend their existing rewards programs into mobile wallets, meeting their customers where they are to discover and use offers. In turn, our merchant network gives Badge's clients a steady stream of relevant offers to put in front of their customers."

Both companies plan to develop new capabilities and expand their reach across the market for digital payments and loyalty services via their partnership.

"The next evolution of mobile wallets is about what happens beyond the transaction," said Eric Senn, CEO of Badge. "By combining our technology with Wildfire's merchant offer network, we can help our clients put relevant savings opportunities directly into consumers' hands, whether they're shopping online or walking into a store. It's about making rewards more accessible, timely and useful in everyday life."

Teriyaki Madness will provide a drone-based delivery option to customers in two Texas cities later this year.

The fast-growing Japanese cuisine restaurant franchisor is collaborating with Zipline, an American robotics company that designs, manufactures and operates what it says is the world’s largest autonomous delivery system, to fly orders straight to customers across the Dallas-Fort Worth Metroplex and Houston markets before the end of 2026. Drone delivery will start at a Teriyaki Madness location in Denton, Texas, and then expand to additional stores in the state.

[READ MORE: Teriyaki Madness is out to bring Seattle’s tastiest dish to the nation]

“Getting bowls to people faster has always been the mission, and at some point you run out of shortcuts on the ground,” said Jodi Boyce, chief marketing officer of Teriyaki Madness. “Zipline has more flight experience than anyone out there, so we knew our bowls were in good hands — or, really, in good drones.”

To receive drone delivery, a Teriyaki Madness customer places an order in the Zipline app. Once the order is ready, Zipline’s drones autonomously retrieve it and fly it to the delivery destination. Upon arrival, the drone stays up to 300 feet in the air while a smaller pod containing the order descends to the ground on a tether. The pod places the order on the ground and can deliver in high winds and bad weather conditions. 

After delivery, the drone flies back to charge for its next order. Zipline’s all-electric drones are entirely autonomous and have zero-emissions. Most orders arrive in less than five minutes.

“Zipline brings customers the food they’re craving the fastest way possible,” said Emily Snyder, VP of restaurant sales at Zipline. “With Teriyaki Madness’s focus on fresh, premium ingredients, Zipline can make sure those quality meals are delivered exactly as the restaurant intended.”

Photo credit: Teriyaki Madness

The prices of key construction materials jumped in September driven by higher fuel costs and the impact of tariffs.

Overall construction input prices (includes energy, materials and equipment) increased 2.2% in September, according to an Associated Builders and Contractors (ABC) analysis of the U.S. Bureau of Labor Statistics’ Producer Price Index data. Commercial construction costs rose 1.7%.

Crude petroleum and unprocessed energy materials prices increased 28.3% and 22.2%, respectively. Natural gas prices increased 5.1% for the month. The cost of fabricated structural metal prices rose 1.4%, and insulation prices increased 1.6%. Steel mill products rose 2.2%.

“Construction input prices have risen more than 11% over the past 12 months, the largest year-over-year increase in nearly four years,” said ABC chief economist Anirban Basu. “While higher fuel prices brought about by the conflict in Iran have driven a substantial portion of the increase, prices for tariffed materials like iron, copper and other metal products continue to rise rapidly.”

[READ MORE: Colliers: National retail vacancy rate hits 4.3% in Q3]

Associated Builders and Contractors is a national construction industry trade association established in 1950 with 67 chapters and 24,000 members.

Google is helping consumers get ready for the holidays with tools to streamline online shopping and research-backed seasonal shopping tips.

The online giant is releasing upgrades to the Universal Cart, an intelligent digital shopping cart it introduced in May; and also launching a new holiday shopping resource called the “When to Buy Guide” which advises when holiday discounts may hit their peak, based on data from 2025.

Following are overviews of each new Google offering:

Universal Cart

When a customer adds a product to Universal Cart, it automatically begins finding deals and price drops and provides insights on price history and alerts the shopper when an item is back in stock. Now it will save a shopper’s progress across Google so they never have to start their shopping from scratch.

Universal Cart also now takes advantage of its Google Wallet foundation to understand user card perks and intelligently help them choose among payment methods and show relevant promo codes right from the cart.

In addition, customers can now transfer items directly to a retailer’s cart to finish purchases on their site. Participating retailers include Nike, Sephora, Target, Ulta Beauty, Walmart, Wayfair, and many Shopify merchants. Either way, shoppers will receive direct confirmations and customer support from the retailer, and they will remain the seller of record.

[READ MORE: Google upgrades Universal Commerce Protocol; adds retail AI tools]

When to Buy Guide

This new digital shopping resource uses Google search and discount data to show when holiday deals peak. It also provides pricing trends and insights into last-minute gifting habits, such as which state claims the most last-minute shoppers.

Tips from the guide for the upcoming holiday season include purchasing fragrances early, waiting till mid-December to buy handbags and waiting until late December to purchase luggage and electronic toys.