Hester Prynne wore a scarlet A, but CFOs and other executives are apparently looking lower in the alphabet for their own memorable letters. And right now, they’re wearing a scarlet K.

Talk of a K-shaped economy—in which top-earning households drive the bulk of spending, while lower-income households pull back—has reached something of a fever pitch in recent weeks. The phrase is likely resonating because of the murkiness of this current moment in the US economy, when mixed signals—like relatively low unemployment but also hiring sluggishness and deflated consumer sentiment—add up to a muddled snapshot, making it easier to let an intriguingly shaped consonant explain away all our economic woes.

Never ones to shy away from a buzzword, execs are clearly taking note, often bringing up the K-shaped economy because they know it’s on everyone’s minds.

Keep reading.—NP

Maybe you’ve heard: The economy is…weird.

Every new bit of economic data paints an increasingly muddy portrait, and the latest update is no different. US consumers, formerly glum, are feeling a bit better: Consumer sentiment ticked up to 53.3 from a final reading of 51 in November, according to the University of Michigan’s preliminary reading released December 5. Heck, even Black Friday spending was up—to a record $11.8 billion, per Adobe Analytics—and we spent $14.25 billion online on Cyber Monday.

Keep in mind: Consumers are still decidedly gloomy: The index nosedived from a 71.7 reading in January. But that gloom is only weird because consumers are also clearly spending.

For evidence, look no further than the latest earnings reports from mall staples Ulta Beauty and Victoria’s Secret.

Keep reading.—NP

The comeback is always greater than the setback, even for a retail giant like Walmart, which was once late to the world of e-commerce—and is now making strides in the retail industry with AI.

Gone are the days when Walmart was only known for its low-priced inventory and vast selection of products under one roof. Today, Walmart has been driving conversations around AI and how it can be deployed within the retail industry. The scale of Walmart’s tech ambition is significant, with Global Chief Technology Officer and Chief Development Officer Suresh Kumar saying this is “just the beginning” for the legacy retailer.

Walmart earned an advantage by being early to the AI race, Scot Wingo, CEO of ReFiBuy, an AI startup focused on solving problems for retailers using advanced AI frameworks, told Retail Brew.

“They’re one of the first people to do something, and they’re not just a fast follower of Amazon,” Wingo added. “It’s a really interesting signal to me that they’re charting their own course.”

Several experts told IT and Retail Brew that Walmart, after a long game of catch-up in the e-commerce space, has found its bearings with its organization-wide AI deployment. But what does its AI strategy actually look like?

Keep reading on IT Brew.—BM, VC