Valentine's Day is right around the corner and 1-800-Flowers.com has been working overtime in an attempt to deliver the perfect gift. Chris McCann, CEO of 1-800-Flowers.com, joins The Long and The Short to discuss the season of love.
McCann says Valentine's Day is actually the company's third busiest time of year. He says other companies within the 1-800-Flowers.com brand, such as Harry & David, have boosted the company's revenue and growth. The company has had to widen its product offerings in an effort to attract younger customers. McCann says the sentiment of gifting hasn't changed, but the type of gifts have. However, the biggest trend for this Valentine's Day season? Purple flowers!
Plus, how technology has impacted the way flowers are sold. McCann says voice assistants are becoming a popular way to order flowers. 1-800-Flowers.com has tried to embrace technology as much as possible to cater to the changing needs of its customers.
An independent watchdog within the IRS reports that while taxpayer services have vastly improved, the agency is still too slow to resolve identity theft cases. And National Taxpayer Advocate Erin Collins says those delays are “unconscionable.” Erin M. Collins said in the report released Wednesday that overall the 2024 filing season went smoothly, though IRS delays in resolving identity theft victim assistance cases are worsening. It took nearly 19 months to resolve self-reported identity theft cases as of January, and Wednesday's report states that now it takes 22 months to resolve these cases.
Amazon.com Inc. surpassed $2 trillion in market value for the first time in afternoon trading on Wednesday. The push higher for Amazon’s stock market valuation comes a little more than a week after Nvidia hit $3 trillion and briefly became the most valuable company on Wall Street. Nvidia’s chips are used to power many AI application and its valuation has soared as a result. Amazon has also been making big investments in AI as global interest has grown in the technology. Most of the company’s focus has been on business-focused products.
Climate change doesn’t just mean more extreme weather – it also leads to billions of dollars in lost productivity, tourism, and stresses infrastructure.
