Costco's $33B Online Lesson, Toys R Us Returns and Best Buy on TikTok Shop | Five Things Friday US, Week 40

The Retail Podcast · Sep 30, 2026 · 12m

Costco's digital sales just passed $33 billion, Toys R Us is opening 120 stores, and Best Buy is taking 10,000 products to TikTok Shop. Alex Rezvan and Jill Dvorak of NRF cover the five retail stories US leaders need this week.

This week:

(00:44) Costco digital sales top $33 billion, up more than 20%

(02:43) Toys R Us opens 120 holiday stores with creator studios and cafés

(04:50) Best Buy joins TikTok Shop with nearly 10,000 products

(06:57) 53% of shoppers won't let an AI assistant buy for them (ACI Worldwide)

(08:58) Record $13.5B Halloween and August core retail sales up 3.47% (NRF)

Five…