July 26 (Reuters) – Canada’s Shopify Inc (SHOP.TO) is laying off 10% of its workforce as the ecommerce company struggles with slowing growth due to a pullback in online shopping after benefiting from a pandemic-fueled surge in demand.

Its shares tumbled 14.7% on the US bourses and on the Toronto Exchange, they shed 14% on Tuesday, pulling Canada’s wider main stock index lower. The shares have lost 75% of their value so far in the year.

Shopify’s turn of fortunes from the most valuable company in Canada last year to its present-day struggle to increase sales come as easing lockdowns have led consumers to return to brick-and-mortar stores.

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Shopify down over 75% YTD

Its sales growth during the pandemic led the Ottawa-based company to ramp up hiring and invest in technology, betting that the shift to online from physical retail shops

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Gas prices are rising. Inflation is squeezing us all. And yet there are still things you need to buy. The prices of items on shelves can be shocking these days, but there are ways to ensure that you’re getting the best deals.

That’s where price-comparison apps come in. You can use them whether you’re shopping in a store or online, especially during big sales such as Amazon Prime Day or Black Friday. A quick search can make sure you’ve found the best bargain on that item you really want or need, and maybe even an additional coupon code. The apps are also useful if you’re just bargain hunting, as many of them show you the latest deals and flyers from stores.

There are some things to know before you use a price comparison app:

  • Make sure you’re looking at the same product across stores. Find the exact name and model

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AB2026, the additional bill, seeks to reduce the amount of single-use plastic packaging and filler material that online retailers commonly use while shipping their products. The bill was approved by the state Assembly in May and is being considered by the Senate’s appropriations committee, where it faces a crucial deadline in less than two weeks.

Senators are weighing AB2026 after the Legislature already endorsed a much broader plastic-reduction measure, SB54, that was signed into law by Gov. Gavin Newsom in late June. SB54 gives manufacturers 10 years to make sure that plastic packaging and food ware items can be recycled, composted or reused. They also have to cut back the amount of plastic they generate to begin with.

But State Sen. Scott Wiener, D-San Francisco, said Saturday that AB2026 is still needed so California can specifically address the issue of plastic waste from online retail.

“Now we have a

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Amazon vans line up at a distribution center to pick up packages for delivery on Amazon Prime Day in Orlando, Florida.

Paul Hennessy | NurPhoto | Getty Images

Amazon’s carbon emissions jumped 18% last year, as the company reckoned with a pandemic-driven surge in e-commerce and grew its business to meet that extra demand.

in its annual sustainability report issued Monday, Amazon said its activities emitted the equivalent of 71.54 million metric tons of carbon dioxide in 2021. That’s up 18% from 2020, and an increase of nearly 40% from 2019, the year Amazon first began disclosing its carbon footprint.

Amazon lowered its carbon intensity, which measures emissions per dollar of sales, by 1.9% in 2021, compared with a 16% decline in 2020.

The Covid-19 pandemic led to a massive influx of orders at Amazon and other e-commerce companies. Many consumers, flush with stimulus check money, opted to do their

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The mantra of 2022 should really be: No one knows anything.

It’s stunning how little we understand about how the pandemic has changed our lives and our country. It’s not clear whether the US economy is hot or not, or if big cities like New York will be forever scarred. We aren’t sure if women’s careers have been permanently impaired or if our mental health will be OK.

The future of our online shopping habits is another unknown.

The government disclosed recently that America’s e-commerce boom during the pandemic was even bigger that it was previously believed. But in 2021, that trend started to backslide a bit. Physical stores beat e-commerce last year, and they continue to do so this year. The trajectory of internet buying has flipped from bananas to bananas confusing.

Now, corporate executives, retail analysts and economists are trying to figure out how quickly we might move

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