Alex Bitter is a senior retail reporter covering the gig economy, food, and retail. His work focuses major gig delivery and ride-hailing apps, including Uber, Lyft, DoorDash, Instacart, and Walmart's Spark. He is interested in everything from what it's like to work on the apps to the companies' business strategies.
Some of his recent stories feature gig workers who have been deactivated on the apps, DoorDash hiring traditional employees to make deliveries, gig workers' use of bots, and gig work expanding into new professions, such as nursing.
Alex has also written about Aldi's US expansion, Starbucks' turnaround efforts, and the fallout from Kraft-Heinz's budget cutting. Convenience store chain Sheetz ended its "smile policy" after his reporting.
Before joining Insider in September 2020, he wrote about consumer and retail companies for S&P Global Market Intelligence. He's a graduate of the University of Hawai'i at Mānoa and grew up on the Big Island.
Alex lives in the Washington, DC, area, where you can find him studying ancient coins or searching for Civil War artifacts with his metal detector in his free time.
Got a tip? Reach out at [email protected] or via encrypted messaging app Signal at +1 (808) 854-4501.
Amazon CEO Andy Jassy said that some customers are "buying ahead" to beat tariffs and that some sellers may pass on cost increases to buyers.
Tech
2025-04-10T13:50:02Z
Amazon CEO Andy Jassy pointed to chips as "the biggest culprit" behind the cost of AI. "Most AI to date has been built on one chip provider."
Hooters of America is navigating Chapter 11 bankruptcy. I went to one of Hooters' restaurants to see why the chain is facing financial troubles.
A car dealer in the Midwest said he's bringing in more cars and car parts to prepare for the tariffs that Donald Trump announced on Wednesday.
Is it time to stock up ahead of tariff price increases? We asked Business Insider reporters and editors. Some of us are taking the opportunity to buy.
Macy's executives have to pay back more than $600,000 in bonuses after an accounting scandal inflated the payments, the retailer said.
Car buyers are trying to get ahead of Wednesday's tariff by heading to dealerships now, a dealer and analysts said.
Brian Niccol led turnarounds at Taco Bell and Chipotle before becoming CEO of Starbucks. Here are the highlights of his career in restaurants.
People are still spending on their pets, according to Chewy, even as fears about a recession force many consumers to pull back spending elsewhere.
Less formal indicators of a recession, from lipstick sales to diaper rashes, have persisted over decades even if their accuracy is dubious.
Layoffs have hit companies from HPE to Meta and Boeing already in 2025 amid a backdrop of cost-cutting and technological change.
Tech
2025-03-18T20:00:01Z
Nvidia and Yum! Brands, the owner of Taco Bell, have a strategic partnership for AI, meaning the technology could extend beyond drive-thru orders.
An Uber Eats driver in New York City says that changes on the app have made it harder to get work and earn money since the city's minimum wage law.
European wine, Kentucky bourbon, French Champagne, and other alcoholic beverages could be subject to tariffs if EU and US tariffs materialize.
Dollar General shoppers "have had to sacrifice, even on the necessities," CEO Todd Vasos said Thursday.
exclusive
Gig workers for Walmart's Spark delivery service were told they'd get a one-time $15 payment for verifying their IDs at a store.
Starbucks booked millions in profit at a Swiss subsidiary, where the company likely paid less in taxes than it would have elsewhere, a report found.
Worried that sales could fall, Stew Leonard's CEO plans to limit price increases on avocados if tariffs on Mexican imports take effect.
Ex-Kroger CEO Rodney McMullen left over $11 million on the table when he left the grocer, according to the company's SEC filings.
The Nordstroms built their empire from a single shoe store in Seattle to one of the biggest names in fashion retail.