This is a preview of a research report from Business Insider Intelligence, Business Insider's premium research service. To learn more about Business Insider Intelligence, click here. Current subscribers can read the report here.

Outside of the US Postal Service (USPS), FedEx and UPS have dominated the domestic logistics industry — and in particular, the last-mile of the delivery — for decades. On a quarterly earnings call in 2016, FedEx estimated that itself, UPS, and USPS executed a whopping 95% of all e-commerce orders.

But rapidly rising volumes have put the pair of legacy shippers in a bind. E-commerce sales have risen over 50% and are projected to continue their ascent into the next decade. High volumes are already straining shippers' networks — UPS struggled to bring consumers their parcels on time due to higher-than-anticipated package volume, which upset some big-name retail partners, including Macy's, Walmart, and Amazon. As online sales surge further, package volumes will outstrip legacy shippers' capacities, creating space for new entrants. 

Amazon is uniquely well-positioned to dethrone UPS and FedEx's duopoly. It's built up a strong logistics infrastructure, counting hundreds of warehouses and thousands of delivery trucks.

Further, as the leading online retailer in the US, it has a wealth of data on consumers that it can use to craft a personalized delivery experience that's superior to UPS and FedEx's offerings. Amazon must act soon, however, as UPS and FedEx are hard at work fortifying their own networks to handle the expected surge in parcel volume.

The longer the Seattle-based e-tailer delays the launch of a delivery service, the more it runs the risk that these legacy players will be able to defend their territory. 

In a new report, Business Insider Intelligence, Business Insider's premium research service, explains how the age of e-commerce is opening up cracks in UPS and FedEx's duopoly. We then outline how Amazon's logistics ambitions began as an effort to more quickly get parcels out the door and fulfill its famous 2-day shipping process and how it'll be a key building block for the company if it builds out a last-mile service. Lastly, we offer concrete steps that the firm must take to maximize the dent it makes in UPS and FedEx's duopoly.

The companies mentioned in this report are: Alibaba, Amazon, FedEx, and UPS.

Here are some of the key takeaways from the report:

• While UPS and FedEx have dominated the US last-mile delivery market for the last few decades, the surge in e-commerce is creating more volume than shipping companies can handle.
• Amazon is uniquely well-positioned to put a dent in UPS and FedEx's duopoly due to its strategic position as the leading online retailer in the US.
• Amazon can carry its trust amongst the public, a wealth of consumer data, and its ability to craft a more personalized delivery experience to the last-mile delivery space to ultimately dethrone UPS and FedEx.
• The top priority for Amazon in taking on UPS and FedEx needs to be offering substantially lower shipping rates — one-third of US retailers say they'll switch to an Amazon shipping service if it's at least 20% cheaper than UPS and FedEx. 

In full, the report:

• Outlines Amazon's current shipping and logistics footprint and strengths that it would bring to the last-mile delivery space in the US.
• Lays out concrete steps that Amazon must take if it wants to launch a standalone last-mile delivery service, including how it can offer a more memorable, higher-quality delivery experience than UPS and FedEx.
• Illustrates how Amazon can minimize operating costs for a delivery service to ultimately undercut UPS and FedEx's shipping rates in the last-mile space.

SEE ALSO: Amazon and Walmart are building out delivery capabilities

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This is a preview of The Reverse Logistics Report from Business Insider Intelligence. Current subscribers can read the report here.

With e-commerce becoming a lucrative shopping channel, retailers and their logistics partners have been primarily focused on how to quickly move goods through the supply chain and into the hands of consumers — a process commonly referred to as forward logistics. However, the opportunities presented by the growing popularity of e-commerce also come with a challenging, multibillion-dollar downside: returns.

Return rates for e-commerce purchases are between 25% and 30%, compared with just 9% for in-store purchases. Turning reverse logistics — the process of returning goods from end users back to their origins to either recapture value or properly dispose of material — into a costly and high-stakes matter for retailers.

Not only are retailers experiencing more returns as a result of e-commerce growth, but consumer expectations also demand that retailers provide a seamless process. In fact, 92% of consumers agree that they are more likely to shop at a store again if it offers a hassle-free return policy (e.g. free return shipping labels). Some consumers even place large orders with the intention of returning certain items. 

And e-commerce sales are only going up from here, exacerbating the issue and making retailers' need for help more dire. However, for logistics firms that can offer cost-effective reverse logistics solutions, this has opened up a significant opportunity to capture a share of rapidly growing e-commerce logistics costs in the US, which hit $117 billion last year, according to Armstrong & Associates, Inc. estimates. 

InThe Reverse Logistics Report, Business Insider Intelligence examines what makes reverse logistics so much more challenging than forward logistics, explores the trends that have driven retailers to finally improve the way in which returns move through their supply chains, and highlights how logistics firms can act to win over retailers' return dollars.

Here are some of the key takeaways from the report:

• E-commerce is now a core shopping channel for retailers, and it's still growing. US e-commerce sales are set to increase at a compound annual growth rate (CAGR) of 14% between 2018 and 2023, surpassing $1 trillion in sales, according to Business Insider Intelligence estimates.
• Booming e-commerce sales have driven product returns through the roof. Business Insider Intelligence estimates that US e-commerce returns will increase at a CAGR of 19% between 2018 and 2023, surpassing $300 million dollars. 
• Consumers have high expectations about how returns are handled, and retailers are struggling to find cost-effective ways to meet their demands. Sixty-four percent of shoppers stated they would be hesitant to shop at a retailer ever again if they found issues with the returns process. And retailers don't have the expertise to effectively keep up with how demanding consumers are about returns — 44% of retailers said their margins were negatively impacted by handling and packaging returns, for example.
• Logistics firms are well positioned to solve — and profit from — returns. These companies can take advantage of their scale and expertise to solve pain points retailers commonly experience as goods move through the reverse supply chain. 
• Reverse logistics solutions themselves present a lucrative opportunity — but they're also appealing in the potential inroads they offer to supply chain management. The global third-party logistics market is estimated to be valued at $865 billion in 2018, according to Bekryl. 

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Hype around artificial intelligence has never been higher — and one industry where it has a chance to make a major impact on profits is retail.

Business Insider Intelligence projects that AI will boost profitability in retail and wholesale by nearly 60% by 2035, setting off a wave of excitement and investment among companies.

The areas where AI will have its biggest impact are personalization, search and chatbots.

But as hype and misunderstanding continue to build, it’s become harder than ever to keep sight of the true disruptive potential of AI.

Find out how AI is being implemented in these three areas and how each one can impact revenue in this new FREE slide deck from Business Insider Intelligence.

In this third and final installment of the three-part Future of Retail 2018 series, Business Insider Intelligence takes a hard look at the retail use cases where AI can make an impact, explores noteworthy examples of retailers implementing the technology, and weighs the benefits of investing in AI today.

As an added bonus, you will gain immediate access to our exclusive Business Insider Intelligence Daily newsletter.

To get your copy of the third part of this FREE slide deck, simply click here.

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LONDON — One of the big questions in British politics as we head into the New Year is whether 2019 will be Theresa May's last year as a prime minister — and if so, who will replace her?

This month she claimed she would not lead the Conservatives into the next general election — scheduled to take place in 2022 — and there is chatter in Westminster that she could step down once Brexit divorce talks finish in March. 

A number of leading Conservatives have already started strutting their feathers, knowing that they need to be popular with the Conservative party membership and MPs to have any chance of succeeding May as prime minister.

In no particular order, here are the most likely candidates to inherit May's throne.

Sajid Javid

Home Secretary Sajid Javid is the name on all lips in Westminster at the moment.

Could he be the UK's first ever BAME prime minister? 

The ex-banker has made his mark on the Home Office since replacing Amber Rudd as Home Secretary earlier this year. His eye-catching move to legalise cannabis for medicinal purposes was the first sign of his ambition, and since then he has become a key player in the Cabinet's Brexit discussions, often siding with Brexiteers on key issues.

Javid reluctantly campaigned for Remain in the 2016 referendum and he knows that he must boost his pro-Brexit credentials in order to woo a Conservative party membership which is overwhelmingly Eurosceptic.

Earlier this month he hosted a drinks reception with his Cabinet colleague, Andrea Leadsom, who we'll come onto later. It fuelled speculation that he was planning a leadership bid.

Penny Mordaunt

Matching Javid's ambition is International Development Secretary, Penny Mordaunt.

The MP for Portsmouth North has recently emerged as a favourite to succeed May amid her growing influence in Cabinet decision-making. This is particularly the case on Brexit, over which she has threatened to resign from the government. She campaigned for Leave and is popular with pro-Brexit Conservative MPs. 

As Business Insider reported earlier this month, her Cabinet colleagues believe she is already laying the groundwork for a leadership pitch. In September, she penned a lengthy article explaining what she believes makes an effective leader. This was seen as a precursor for her inevitable leadership bid. 

Jeremy Hunt

Few names on the list have as much Cabinet experience as Foreign Secretary Jeremy Hunt.

The ex-health secretary is a seasoned government minister who is generally well-liked across Westminster. He has been particularly well-received by Foreign Office staff who were keen to see the back of his predecessor, Boris Johnson.

Like Javid, he campaigned for Remain. And like Javid, he has said some Brexit-y stuff recently in what could be interpreted as an early pitch to the Conservative party's pro-Brexit membership.

In October he raised eyebrows by comparing the EU to the Soviet Union. More recently, he insisted that the UK could "flourish and prosper" under a no deal Brexit. Quite the journey for someone who called for the UK to have a very close relationship with the EU and a second referendum immediately following the vote in 2016.

Just a few days ago, he said he would like to "have a crack" at being prime minister.

Jacob Rees-Mogg

Jacob Rees-Mogg's lack of government experience (he has never served as a minister) and general divisiveness make him seem like an unlikely candidate to replace May as prime minister.

However, perhaps similarly to Jeremy Corbyn's unlikely rise to the top of the Labour party, Rees-Mogg has captured the imagination of his party members. Like them, he is very pro-Brexit. In fact, he is the leader of the European Research Group of vehemently pro-Leave Conservative MPs who tried to oust May a few weeks ago.

He is also an old-school Conservative who holds "traditional" Tory views, like opposition to abortion and same-sex marriage. This goes down well with a Conservative party membership containing lots of people who think the party went too far to the left under the modernisation project of David Cameron.

Given the rules of Conservative party leadership contests, in which MPs decide who the final two will be, the odds look to be stacked against Rees-Mogg. However, if the last few years have taught us anything, it is to expect the unexpected.

Amber Rudd

If you're a Conservative member and Rees-Mogg really isn't your thing — if you're an avid Remainer Anna Soubry, for example — then Work & Pensions Secretary Amber Rudd might just be your candidate.

The MP for Hastings and Rye had a torrid summer when she was forced to resign as Home Secretary for misleading MPs after weeks of outrage about the Windrush scandal. However, since then, she has been fiercely loyal to May, and has quickly found her way back into government. She is also very well-respected by her ministerial colleagues.

Rudd is also one of the few flag-bearers for Remain in Cabinet. Last week she said there was a "plausible" argument for another referendum and has been a staunch opponent of calls to leave the EU without a deal.

Her very slim majority is an issue. At the last election, she won by just 346 votes, making her incredibly vulnerable the next time Brits go to the polls. Nevertheless, she'd be the first choice of many moderate Conservative MPs.

Boris Johnson

The bookies' favourite to replace May, despite everything, is ex-Foreign Secretary Boris Johnson.

The last few years of Johnson's career have basically been one big pitch to be prime minister. Ever since his uncanny conversion from a mild Europhile into a staunch Brexiteer, he has had his eyes on 10 Downing Street.

His performance as Foreign Secretary has hugely damaged his reputation among Conservative MPs who once upon a time would have considered backing him. His role in the Nazanin Zaghari-Ratcliffe saga had MPs on all sides calling for his sacking long before he eventually resigned. His claim that Libyan city of Sirte could be the new Dubai if they "clear the dead bodies away" was just one of many remarks that landed him in hot water. 

Nevertheless, he remains incredibly popular with a significant number of Conservative party members. You only needed to see how many queued up to hear his speech at Tory conference in October to know that.

This month he has been "ramping up" preparations for a leadership bid, his allies told Business Insider.

Dominic Raab

An influential figure in Tory circles, who has been involved in previous leadership campaigns, told Business Insider this month that they believed former-Brexit Secretary Dominic Raab would be the next prime minister.

His resignation as Brexit Secretary earlier this year in protest against May's Brexit plans enhanced his popularity among pro-Brexit Conservative MPs and members. He is also someone from the party's new generation, and was tipped to go far long before being chosen to replace David Davis as Brexit Secretary.

Andrea Leadsom

Will House of Commons leader Andrea Leadsom take a second bite of the cherry?

She along with May got to the final two of the 2016 leadership contest and Conservative figures believe she would have won with the membership had she not been forced to drop out for remarks she made about May not being a mother.

Last year, she refused to rule out another leadership bid in an interview with Business Insider, claiming: "Anything can happen." She is popular among the Brexiteers and her allies say she is one of the most influential figures in Cabinet.

One ally recently told Business Insider that a Leadsom-Javid joint leadership bid would make a "dream ticket."

Michael Gove

You can't rule out Michael Gove.

The Environment Secretary is widely regarded as one of the Conservative party's shrewdest operators, evidenced by his record of generating positive headlines for the numerous departments he has led. 

And compared to most of his fellow Brexiteers, Gove is arguably more capable of winning the support of pro-Remain Conservatives. After all, avid Europhile Nicky Morgan backed him in 2016.

Whether he is still popular with his pro-Brexit base is another question. His steadfast loyalty to May's Brexit plans when others have resigned has led some to question his commitment to the cause of delivering a 'proper' Brexit.

David Davis

Finally, we have David Davis. 

Davis has been rejected by Conservative members in two previous leadership contests but the original Brexit Secretary will fancy one last run, given that is a champion of the clean Brexit that so many Tories members would like to see.

Pro-Brexit Tory MPs also believe he is a much safer bet than someone like Johnson, given that he is less volatile and has the experience of being around the negotiating table with EU leaders during his time as Brexit Secretary.

He has reportedly been getting into shape ahead of a leadership contest. He has lost one and a half stone, according to The Sunday Times, and reportedly told friends: "I do three or four miles. It's mostly sprinting."

SEE ALSO: 5 things you need to know about Theresa May's plans for immigration after Brexit

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NOW WATCH: Anthony Scaramucci claims Trump isn't a nationalist: 'He likes saying that because it irks these intellectual elitists'

• Markets are being driven by politics and hedge funds are already beginning to assess the risk that US President Donald Trump may face impeachment in 2019.
• It's not the only risk on their radar, of course, and nor is it the most likely. But investors are talking about it as a possibility.
• At least three Wall Street hedge funds are trying to assess how an impeachment might affect the markets.

Investors have a lot to worry about in 2019 — there's the trade war with China, Federal Reserve policy, and oil prices to name a few.

Recently, a new worry has cropped up: a possible Trump impeachment.

At least three Wall Street hedge funds and asset managers have started talking about the possibility of the impeachment of US President Donald Trump as a potential market catalyst in 2019, according to people familiar with their thinking.

It's an unwelcome development for hedge fund managers, who are finding it difficult to adjust their strategies to fit the increasingly uncertain political reality thanks to a soon-to-be Democrat-controlled House of Representatives. They can handle normal macro factors like central bank activity and trade tensions, but they view impeachment as a wild card — and it's thrown a wrench into their best-laid plans.

"That's something you really can't model for," said Larry Newhook, the CEO of Alpha Innovations. The firm runs a managed account platform for institutions to access smaller strategies and funds.

It's a relatively new market catalyst, coming after the midterms which saw Democrats win a majority in the House of Representatives and ever-present turmoil in the administration. In betting markets, the odds that Trump will be booted from office next year are shortening. After the midterms that saw Democrats flip the House and pick up dozens of seats, oddsmaker Bovada increased the likelihood of an impeachment, with a $100 bet on a Trump impeachment only paying out $125 compared to a $160 payout before November. Currently, the oddsmaker has a $100 impeachment bet paying out $150. 

It's now also enough of a possibility to land on the radar of big investors.

"Internally, we're talking about this because it's interesting, but if it gets more significant we will talk about it more," said one London-based asset manager at a Wall Street firm. "I'm not sure it's a market positive, but it may not be a market negative. And it will take a long time."

Markets can react sharply to big geopolitical and global economic events, leading to big paydays for so-called "macro" investing strategies. A Trump impeachment would be behind other, more pressing macro risks next year, the asset manager said, such as, in order of magnitude: Fed policy, the US-China trade war, the "leveraged loan" boom, eurozone drama, emerging market turmoil and volatile oil prices. (The person added that Brexit is much higher on that list for UK-focused investors).

Newhook said that even comparing it to Bill Clinton's impeachment in 1998 wouldn't do much good because the market has changed so much in the years since.

Correctly gauging price moves from geopolitical events can be incredibly profitable. Big macro funds like Jeffrey Talpins' Element Capital have posted stellar returns in a year when the average hedge fund through the end of November has declined 2%.

But the last quarter of 2018 has been brutal for investors of all stripes — the average macro fund, according to data from Hedge Fund Research, lost 4.1% through November. Even one of the world's best macro traders, George Soros, is reportedly pulling back on the strategy. Soros Fund Management has cut its allocation to macro investments to $500 million compared to $3 billion last year.

"All you can do is say 'Hey, do I want to be aggressive with my risk-taking or not?'" said Newhook, who was formerly the head of due diligence for hedge-fund giant Steve Cohen. "The one thing you don't want to be doing if you think impeachment is possible is be short volatility. The bottom line is that this is just another source of volatility."

SEE ALSO: Goldman Sachs just dropped its annual Christmas crossword — see how many clues you can get

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NOW WATCH: The legendary economist who predicted the housing crisis says the US will win the trade war

• The gaming studio behind "Angry Birds" has made a version of the famous mobile game for mixed-reality headset Magic Leap.
• I got to demo the game, and it was the perfect use of Magic Leap's tech.
• I selected a spot on a real table, and up sprang the familiar setup of green pigs perched atop various combinations of blocks. Then you get to work knocking them down.
• What's impressive is Rovio built "Angry Birds" having not seen the Magic Leap kit.

If you love "Angry Birds," you will go wild for "Angry Birds" on Magic Leap.

Rovio, the gaming studio behind the franchise, teamed up with VR/AR specialists Resolution Games to bring its original slingshot to the much-hyped mixed-reality headset.

Magic Leap first revealed its long-awaited glasses in August, and they were met with some disappointment from critics.

But having spent just 30 minutes with the game (which was released in October) at a demo in London, it is possibly the perfect application of Magic Leap's tech.

Read more:Andy Serkis says Magic Leap has gone from a Frankenstein-like contraption to the future of storytelling

When I first put the headset on, a field of white dots spread out, mapping the room. Then, I was invited to place the game wherever I wanted.

I selected a spot on a table, and up sprang the familiar setup of green pigs perched atop various combinations of blocks. You then use a very simple slingshot mechanic to catapult the birds towards the pigs, as in the original mobile game.

The game was extremely intuitive, and intensely addictive. I walked all around the table looking for the best angle. I also stooped in so close my nose was almost touching the pigs, who mocked me as I peered at them. As I moved around, a group of birds followed me around on the table, ready to be launched.

Most amazing was probably the fact that when I accidentally overshot and saw a bird fly into the corridor and bounce off a chair. The fact that the kit had rendered that far was a moment of astonishment — although I was told that the tech still struggles with mirrors, as it confuses them for a window into another room.

Rovio's creative director of extended reality Sami Ronkainen told me that the after teaming up with Resolution in January, the studio batted around a few different ideas before settling on the classic slingshot game. "We had ideas like the pigs building stuff on structures, and maybe chasing the pigs around and all that kind of thing," he said.

Flying Blind

Ronkainen said Rovio opted for the more familiar slingshot mechanic because they had a short time-frame to make the game, and hadn't actually seen the Magic Leap kit yet.

"We knew we would be working with hardware still in development, we couldn't be a hundred percent sure of the performance of it so we didn't want to rely on the 3D modelling working correctly all the time," he said.

Without having seen the Magic Leap kit, Resolution had to develop the game itself using a VR simulation living room, CEO Tommy Palm told Business Insider. It took five engineers six months to build the game, and then in the summer they finally got their hands on an actual Magic Leap headset.

"Three days later we had a running version of the game that actually worked," Palm said. He credited the fast turnaround to a "bit of luck" along with some "good estimations on what the hardware was capable of."

Ronkainen is pleased with how the original idea for "Angry Birds" translated into mixed-reality. "I think what works really nicely is because the slingshot game is physics-based by nature, so then combining the game physics with the real-world physics works really natural," he said.

For Rovio, taking "Angry Birds" onto Magic Leap is largely a research and development project. The Magic Leap headset currently costs $2,300, so people won't be playing the game en masse any time soon.

Still, Rovio is ramping up its AR and VR ambitions. Last week, Rovio and Resolution revealed a new VR game in the franchise called "Angry Birds VR: Isle of Pigs." Should AR and VR headsets become a commercial reality, Rovio will be well prepared.

SEE ALSO: $2.3 billion later, Magic Leap's futuristic headset has the same problem as Microsoft's HoloLens

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A bar on London's South Bank has been named the best in the world.

The World's 50 Best Bars list, now in its 10th year, is based on the opinions of more than 500 drinks experts, who each cast seven votes.

For 2018, the experts named Dandelyan, the bar of the Mondrian Hotel in London, the best in the world.

The bar was created by the award-winning bartender Ryan Chetiyawardana, or "Mr. Lyan," the creator of the "Lyan" family of bars that includes Super Lyan, Cub, and White Lyan, which is now closed.

Dandelyan, his oldest bar, is "inspired by the great botanists, fruit hunters, and bon vivants who brought back new tastes from foreign lands."

Located in Sea Containers House right on the River Thames, Dandelyan offers some pretty stunning views — and its interior is just as impressive.

However, there was one main thing that surprised me about the best bar in the world when I went to visit.

Here's what it was like.

SEE ALSO: The 50 best bars in the world in 2018

Dandelyan, in the Mondrian Hotel on London's South Bank, was named the best bar in the world for 2018. Situated right on the River Thames, the bar boasts some pretty stunning views of sites like St. Paul's. Here's what it looks like when it's empty (and shot with a professional camera).

And here's what it looked like when I visited on a Friday night. I was taken aback by the bar's location, right on the river path, meaning plenty of tourists and pedestrians walk by and look right in at you (or even come inside).

The stylish interior has an art deco vibe, paying homage to the Sea Containers building the bar and hotel are in. The space, by the British designer Tom Dixon, is inspired partly by "the luxurious cruise liners of generations past" filled with luxe purples, pinks, greens, and golds.

Source: Dandelyan

• The People's Vote campaign is preparing for the key months ahead in its mission to stop Brexit in 2019.
• The campaign expects two Conservative MPs, including a current minister, to join next month.
• One of the campaign's leading groups has set up a unit for creating ads targeted at constituencies.
• The unit — known as "Pod"— has strategists with experience of working for David Cameron and Barak Obama.
• Theresa May has consistently ruled out another referendum.
• However, with MPs almost certain to vote down her Brexit deal and time running out, many believe the prime minister may be left with no choice but to hold one.

LONDON — The People's Vote campaign for a second Brexit referendum is on the brink of recruiting at least two Conservative MPs, including one government minister, as it prepares for a pivotal few months in its mission to stop the UK leaving the European Union.

The campaign is gaining momentum amid increasing uncertainty over Brexit. The number of MPs behind it is growing and Theresa May is now a regular user of the term "People's Vote."

"We live rent-free in the prime minister's head these days," one insider told Business Insider last week, while one of the group's senior figures said: "I'm chuffed ... it means we get coverage even when we don't do anything!"

The only occasions May actually uses the term are to rule it out altogether. The prime minister is completely against another referendum. She even felt compelled to use a House of Commons statement to attack the idea last week.

Nevertheless, the People's Vote campaign — which brings together a host of anti-Brexit groups — is increasingly confident that bereft of other options, May will use another vote to break the current parliamentary stalemate.

A senior campaign figure told Business Insider this week that at least two more Conservative MPs would declare their support next month. The pair is set to be a current government minister and an MP from the backbenches.

They will follow in the footsteps of ex-transport minister Jo Johnson and former universities and science minister Sam Gyimah, who both quit the government to back a People's Vote over the last few weeks.

The former in particular caused ripples in Westminster, taking to a stage with the unlikely pro-Remain hero and former footballer Gary Lineker at a People's Vote rally across the road from the Houses of Parliament in November.

Johnson's announcement and subsequent public appearance caught even some within the People's Vote campaign by surprise. An insider revealed how Johnson, brother of ex-Foreign Secretary and staunch Brexiteer Boris, did not want to be interviewed by a political journalist at the event because he felt it would be" too formal," leading to a mad rush to find a suitable alternative.

"We didn't know Lineker was confirmed until we picked him up from the station 40 minutes beforehand," they said.

Project 'Pod'

Plenty is happening behind the scenes, too.

Best For Britain, one of the most high-profile groups under the People's Vote umbrella, has assembled a team of seasoned political campaigners who will spend the next few weeks creating ads targeted at specific constituencies.

The unit, known internally as "Pod," contains three former Labour Party employees and two who used to work for the Conservatives. The unit's staff have experience running campaigns for former US President Barack Obama, and David Cameron.

READ MORE: Leading Brexiteer tipped to replace Theresa May accused of 'hypocrisy and dishonesty' by Cabinet rivals

"Pod" has already started producing anti-Brexit adverts tailored for a total of 74 constituencies. Some seats are represented by Conservative MPs who backed Remain but do not support a People's Vote, like Nicky Morgan and George Freeman, and Labour MPs who fall under the same category, like Lisa Nandy and Hilary Benn.

For example, for Crewe and Nantwich which marginally voted Leave in 2016, the unit has made an ad which says: "Where will our 1,073 farmers around Crewe be without the £15 million EU support they need?

"I want a final say. Tell your MP we don't need to miss out."

Crewe & Nantwich is represented by Labour MP Laura Smith.

The Hastings & Rye seat represented by Work & Pensions Secretary Amber Rudd is also on the list. Rudd made headlines last week when she said they could be a "plausible argument" for another Brexit referendum.

Best For Britain has also commissioned constituency-level polling in order to put pressure on Labour MPs to support a People's Vote. The aim is to pressure MPs into backing a referendum if, or when, May's deal is voted down by MPs next month. 

"They are the key seats we think their MPs are vital to the debate," a senior campaign source said.

These include seats like Brexit-voting Stoke-in-Trent Central, represented by Labour's Gareth Snell.

There is a strong belief among People's Vote campaigners that the key to another referendum lies is securing the backing of Labour leader Jeremy Corbyn, who currently won't commit to anything beyond simply keeping it "on the table."

As part of the People's Vote campaign's efforts to improve relations with the official opposition, it has developed a close working relationship with anti-racism group, Hope Not Hate. Corbyn ally Samuel Tarry is one of the group's community organisers and provides a potential new route into the Labour leader's office.

A so-called People's Vote has gone from a pipe dream to a very real prospect in just a few months. Downing Street figures privately predict that another referendum will come to pass — no matter how much they don't want it.

However, campaigners know that cannot afford to rest on their laurels, as the most crucial months lie ahead of them.

DON'T MISS: Exclusive: The government's post-Brexit immigration plans are 'skewed', vague and risk severe staff shortages, industry leaders warn

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NOW WATCH: The true story behind the name 'Black Friday' is much darker than you may have thought

• In 2018, the trucking industry went through an upheaval because of the implementation of the electronic logging device mandate.
• The ELD mandate enforces the hours of service law, which how much truck drivers can drive and when. They cannot drive for more than 11 hours during a 14-hour period.
• Many truck drivers have told Business Insider that they hate ELDs, which make their jobs too inflexible. Industry experts say the law helps promote safety.
• The ELD mandate has also helped make products more expensive for regular consumers.

At the end of 2017, Dalton Jackson's job suddenly became unbearable.

"Everything got worse due to the ELD law enforcement in December," Jackson, who lives in Chestertown, Maryland, told Business Insider in May 2018.

The 57-year-old has been trucking for 18 years. He's one of many long-haul truckers who have told Business Insider that the electronic logging device mandate made their jobs hauling freight more dangerous and decreased their pay in 2018.

While America's 1.8 million tractor-trailer truck drivers are quite aware of what ELDs are, few consumers understand how the ELD mandate has affected their own lives this year. 

Here are some common questions about the safety law, and how it's played out for drivers, industry leaders, and Americans who aren't in trucking: 

SEE ALSO: Truck driver salaries have fallen by as much as 50% since the 1970s — and experts say a little-known law explains why

DON'T MISS: The US has a major truck driver shortage — but the co-founder of a trucking startup that's attracted $80 million in funding says there are 3 other issues that are making the shortage seem worse than it is

What is an electronic logging device (ELD)?

Electronic logging devices (usually called ELDs or E-logs) record driving hours by monitoring a  vehicle's engine. 

Using that, companies or truckers can ensure they're following the hours of service (HOS) law, which mandates how much a driver can work in a day. (We'll explain that next.)

Some companies used ELDs for years.

Others only started in December 2017, when the ELD rule came into effectunder a larger act passed by former President Barack Obama in 2012. Called MAP-21, the act was the first highway legislation with long-term provisions since 2005.

Previously, truckers may have logged their hours by hand with paper logs. 

What is the hours of service (HOS) law?

The ELD by its own merely logs how much a driver has been working. What gives the ELD mandate teeth is the hours of service (HOS) law.

Under HOS, truckers may drive a maximum of 11 hours in a consecutive on-duty window of 14 hours. After that, they must take 10 consecutive hours off-duty. 

They must also take a 30-minute break at some point in that 14-hour window. (The Federal Motor Carrier Safety Administration is considering changing that part of the law.)

These stipulations ensure drivers do not become exhausted and therefore more prone to accidents. In 2016, 4,440 large trucks and buses were involved in fatal crashes.

What is the ELD mandate?

The HOS law has existed since the federal government first started regulating trucking in 1938. But, the only way to ensure that drivers were following HOS was to review their paper logs, which are easily fabricated. As a result, many truckers could lie about their hours and work more than legally allowed.

The ELD mandate required that most trucks implement logging devices by December 2017. This enforces the HOS law in an unprecedented manner.

The law is one of many provisions in a larger act passed by former President Barack Obama in 2012.

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• Casper is arguably the most popular mattress startup of many. 
• Its most popular mattress, The Casper, has more than 40,000 reviews between those posted on Google, Amazon, and its own site, and still has a 4.8/5 rating. On a typical day, the queen size is $995.
• Through Tuesday, January 1, you can celebrate New Year's with Casper — get 10% off any order with a mattress when you apply the code "2019" at checkout.

If you've been paying attention to subway ads or watching any TV in the last few years, you've probably noticed that a lot of online mattress startups have popped up. They've taken out the middlemen and added costs of showrooms and as a result, offer an often superior mattress for less money and less hassle than you'd find in a brick-and-mortar store. 

Of the many startups out there, Casper might be king.

The brand has become synonymous with successful online startups, and has expanded from its first mattress sale in 2014 to begin selling sheets, pillows, and even dog beds. It also doesn't hurt that every mattress comes with a 100-night money-back guarantee and a 10-year warranty, which is pretty much par for the course in the industry.

In other words, Casper is a grown-up cult-favorite, and the company owes a lot of that success to a really great mattress, convenience of no-hassle home delivery, and pretty awesome prices. 

On a regular day, you can get the company's best-seller, The Casper, from $595 for a twin size, and the streamlined Essential mattress from as low as $350. The upgraded high-end mattress, The Wave, comes in at $1,250 to start.

Right now through New Year's Day, though, you'll find additional savings. You can get 10% off any order with a mattress when you apply the code "2019" at checkout. So, for example, if you add a queen-size Casper Wave Mattress ($2,250) to your cart, you'll save $250 on your purchase.

If you've been meaning to get a new mattress — or bedding of any kind — now is a great time to act. Casper's prices are already low to remain competitive, and sales don’t happen often. 

Get 10% off any Casper order with a mattress with the code "2019"

If you're interested in learning more before committing to a Casper mattress, these guides will help you out: 

• The best mattresses you can buy
• The best mattresses for side sleepers
• The best mattresses for back pain
• The best foam mattresses
• The best air mattresses
• The best mattress toppers
• The best mattress protectors

SEE ALSO: The best mattresses you can buy

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• The eight-year-old migrant boy who died on Christmas Eve spent nearly a full week in US Border Patrol detention, after he was moved around to three different holding facilities.
• According to Customs and Border Protection rules, migrants shouldn't be held for longer than 72 hours in Border Patrol's holding facilities.
• CBP said in a statement they have "continued to see a dramatic increase in unaccompanied children and family units arriving at our borders."
• But in response to the boy's death, CBP said it will review its policies on detaining children younger than 10 years old, particularly when they are in custody for longer than 24 hours.

The eight-year-old migrant boy who died in Border Patrol custody on Christmas Eve was detained for nearly a full week, against the agency's own rules, Customs and Border Protection said in a statement.

Guatemalan authorities have identified the boy as Felipe Gómez Alonzo, who was arrested with his father, Agustin Gomez, on December 18. The child died late on December 24, after being transferred between three different holding facilities and eventually a hospital.

The agency's own rules state that "detainees should generally not be held for longer than 72 hours in CBP hold rooms or holding facilities," and that "every effort must be made to hold detainees for the least amount of time required for their processing, transfer, release, or repatriation as appropriate and as operationally feasible."

But despite that rule, CBP has reportedly been detaining hundreds of children at Border Patrol stations for longer than 72 hours for months.

Read more: An 8-year-old Guatemalan child died on Christmas Eve while in Border Patrol custody, agency says

The agency has often cited its struggles with handling both an influx in families with young children crossing the US-Mexico border, and a backlogged system for placing children in longer-term shelters.

"DHS has continued to see a dramatic increase in unaccompanied children and family units arriving at our borders illegally or without authorization," CBP said on Tuesday. "Consistent with existing law, these individuals are held at federal facilities pending their removal or release into the interior of the United States with a notice to appear at a court hearing."

CBP is reviewing its policies on detaining children after Alonzo's death

In response to Alonzo's death, CBP said it will review its policies on detaining children younger than 10 years old, particularly when they are in custody for longer than 24 hours.

"This is a tragic loss. On behalf of U.S. Customs and Border Protection, our deepest sympathies go out to the family," CBP Commissioner Kevin McAleenan said in a statement.

According to CBP's timeline of Alonzo's death, agents first noticed on the morning of December 24 that the boy was coughing and "appeared to have glossy eyes." Within half an hour, agents had begun transferring the boy and his father to a New Mexico hospital, where staff diagnosed him with a cold and gave him Tylenol.

Read more: The 7-year-old migrant girl who died in Border Patrol custody received medical care 90 minutes after first showing symptoms

When staff evaluated Alonzo for release, they found he had a 103-degree fever and held him for observation, before releasing him around 3 p.m. with a prescription for amoxicillin, an antibiotic, and the anti-inflammatory drug ibuprofen.

Border Patrol agents gave Alonzo the medicine around 5 p.m., and by 7 p.m., he began vomiting, according to CBP. Though Alonzo's father apparently declined further medical help, Alonzo became "lethargic and nauseous again" by 11 p.m. that night, prompting Border Patrol agents to return Alonzo and his father to the hospital.

CBP said the child vomited again and lost consciousness in the ride to the hospital, and died at 11:48 p.m. on December 24.

Alonzo is the second young child to die in Border Patrol custody in December. A seven-year-old Guatemalan girl, Jakelin Caal Maquin, died on December 8, shortly after she and her father were arrested while illegally crossing the border in a remote area of the desert in New Mexico.

A CBP timeline showed she had not been able to access emergency medical care until roughly 90 minutes after she first began showing symptoms.

• • Read more:
  • Trump tweeted a design for 'steel slats' along the border with spikes on top — and called it 'totally effective while at the same time beautiful'
  • Trump reportedly thinks referring to the border wall as 'steel slats' will get more Democrats to agree to fund it
  • Migrant father contradicts US officials, says his 7-year-old daughter who died in Border Patrol custody was given no water for 8 hours
  • ICE wrongly flagged an American citizen to be deported, so a Florida sheriff's department detained him for weeks. Now he's suing.

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NOW WATCH: Anthony Scaramucci claims Trump isn't a nationalist: 'He likes saying that because it irks these intellectual elitists'

Facebook’s striving to break the Apple-Google app store duopoly by expanding the audience and incentivizing development for its Instant Games platform.

Instant Games are HTML5-based games that can be launched within Facebook’s chat apps, eliminating the need to download a game or be redirected from Facebook’s properties. The ability to launch an app within Facebook’s entities means users can bypass an app store, which presents a threat to revenue generation for both the App Store and Google Play, particularly in the casual and social gaming categories.

And as Facebook continues to build out the Instant Games platform, its ability to pull users and developers away from Apple’s and Google’s app stores grows.

Here’s an overview of the latest moves Facebook made to boost consumer usage and adoption of Instant Games:

• Facebook announced that it's expanding the platform to the stripped-down Facebook Lite app in October. The integration with Facebook Lite is a big move, as Facebook Lite’s user base will likely be attracted to the download-free nature of Instant Games since the app caters to users who have handsets with limited storage space and memory.
• And it opened Instant Games to the Facebook Groups tab in the same month.This gives gaming-focused Groups users easier access to something they already love; each month, 90 million people actively participate in more than 270,000 Facebook Groups dedicated to gaming. Now, those users can play some of the games they’re discussing without leaving the Groups space.

• Facebook brought Instant Games to its Portal smart displays in December. Initial support on Portal devices included a preliminary package of games such as Words with Friends, Battleship, and Draw Something. The new support means users can play Instant Games on handsets, tablets, computers, and now smart speakers. 

Facebook also made Instant Games more appealing to developers by increasing their revenue share on Android. As of August 1, Facebook no longer takes a 30% cut of revenue from in-app purchases (IAP) from Android-based Instant Games, leaving developers to relinquish 30% to Google only.

When Facebook first introduced IAP to Instant Games in May, Facebook and Google each retained 30% of IAP revenue on Android, leaving developers with the rest. Providing Instant Games developers with a better revenue split from their games could encourage more developers to switch and rely on the Instant Games platform.

SEE ALSO: VR isn't just for gamers — here's how Audi, Lowe's and Macy's are using it to boost sales and employee training

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• BlockTower Capital, which manages more than $130 million in client assets, made a $1 million bet last year that bitcoin's price would rise above $50,000 by Friday.
• On Friday, the call options expire, and the firm will lose $1 million unless the bitcoin jumps from its current price of roughly $3,700 to more than $50,000. 
• The crypto hedge fund will be able to buy 275 bitcoin at $50,000 a piece, if the price gets that high, through the bitcoin-derivative platform known as LedgerX.
• Watch bitcoin trade live.

It was a shocking bet even when it was made during bitcoin's sharp rise last year: $1 million that by the end of 2018, bitcoin would be worth more than $50,000.

The bet, made by the crypto hedge fund BlockTower Capital, would have given the manager the chance to buy 275 bitcoins at $50,000 apiece — any time before December 28, 2018, a purchase that would have cost $13.8 million. The manager spent just under $1 million on those call options, which will expire this Friday. 

Bitcoin is currently trading at less than $4,000 per coin — a drop of more than 80% from its peak when BlockTower made its bet. 

BlockTower — a Stamford, Connecticut, based manager that runs more than $130 million in client assets and has a minimum investment of $1 million — defended the purchase of the options at the time as a way to "risk a little to win a lot,"according to the manager's co-founder Ari Paul. In a CNBC interview a week after the firm bought the options, Paul said "it was not a bet that something will happen, but a bet that something could happen," and that he liked the odds and payout of the move. 

In an email to Business Insider earlier this month, Paul wrote that "we were not betting on or expecting" a bitcoin rally.

"In contrast, the options were a way for us to maintain exposure to an extreme rally while reducing overall crypto exposure," he wrote. 

Paul declined to say if he had any other options out of bitcoin's future price. 

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NOW WATCH: Bernie Madoff was arrested 10 years ago today — here's what his life is like in prison

This is a preview of the Internet of Things (2018) research report from Business Insider Intelligence. To learn more about the IoT ecosystem, tech trends and industry forecasts, click here.

The Internet of Things (IoT) is transforming how companies and consumers go about their days around the world. The technology that underlies this whole segment is evolving quickly, whether it’s the rapid rise of the Amazon Echo and voice assistants upending the consumer space, or growth of AI-powered analytics platforms for the enterprise market.

And Business Insider Intelligence is keeping its finger on the pulse of this ongoing revolution by conducting our second annual Global IoT Executive Survey, which provides us with critical insights on new developments within the IoT and explains how top-level perspectives are changing year-to-year. Our survey includes more than 400 responses from key executives around the world, including C-suite and director-level respondents.

Through this exclusive study and in-depth research into the field, Business Insider Intelligence details the components that make up the IoT ecosystem. We size the IoT market and use exclusive data to identify key trends in device installations and investment. And we profile the enterprise and consumer IoT segments individually, drilling down into the drivers and characteristics that are shaping each market.

Here are some key takeaways from the report:

• We project that there will be more than 55 billion IoT devices by 2025, up from about 9 billion in 2017.
• We forecast that there will be nearly $15 trillion in aggregate IoT investment between 2017 and 2025, with survey data showing that companies' plans to invest in IoT solutions are accelerating.
• The report highlights the opinions and experiences of IoT decision-makers on topics that include: drivers for adoption; major challenges and pain points; deployment and maturity of IoT implementations; investment in and utilization of devices; the decision-making process; and forward- looking plans.

In full, the report:

• Provides a primer on the basics of the IoT ecosystem.
• Offers forecasts for the IoT moving forward, and highlights areas of interest in the coming years.
• Looks at who is and is not adopting the IoT, and why.
• Highlights drivers and challenges facing companies that are implementing IoT solutions.

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• Though Cardi B is featured on Maroon 5's "Girls Like You," the rapper won't join them for their 2019 Super Bowl halftime performance.
• A representative for the rapper told Page Six she won't do it because of how she feels about the NFL's treatment of Colin Kaepernick.
• But the representative also said there was never an official offer.

Cardi B won't be joining Maroon 5 for their 2019 Super Bowl halftime performance.

Through a statement from her representative, the 26-year-old rapper, who's featured on the second version of Maroon 5's song "Girls Like You,"said she wouldn't want to perform because of how she feels about the treatment of Colin Kaepernick. 

Read more: Over 21,000 people have already signed a petition demanding that Maroon 5 drop out of the Super Bowl to support Colin Kaepernick

“The rumor circulating that she wants a million dollars and she wants her own set is false," a representative told Page Six. "There was never a firm offer to begin with for a performance. There [were] talks about it, but she was not particularly interested in participating because of how she feels about Colin Kaepernick and the whole movement ... But again, there was never a solid offer for her to say yes or no to regarding the Super Bowl. She is already confirmed to do a set with Bruno Mars that weekend."

Kaepernick, the former San Francisco 49ers quarterback, is an activist who protests racial injustice. He was the first football player to take a knee during the National Anthem, sparking a national movement. 

Other artists have been reluctant to join the halftime performance. Rihanna reportedly turned down a spot at the Super Bowl, and Jay Z is reportedly trying to dissuade Travis Scott from performing. 

Visit INSIDER's homepage for more.

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NOW WATCH: Why Harvard scientists think this interstellar object might be an alien spacecraft

• Democratic leadership is tweeting through the government shutdown — and placing the blame squarely on the president. 
• "It's Christmas Eve and President Trump is plunging the country into chaos," House Minority Leader Nancy Pelosi and Senate Minority Leader Chuck Schumer said in a joint statement Monday. 

Democratic leadership is tweeting through the government shutdown — and placing the blame squarely on the president. 

House Minority Leader Nancy Pelosi and Senate Minority Leader Chuck Schumer released a statement on Monday slamming President Donald Trump for allowing the government to shut down over the holidays. The shutdown resulted in the closing of nine federal agencies, leaving hundreds of thousands of federal government employees without pay. 

"It's Christmas Eve and President Trump is plunging the country into chaos," Pelosi and Schumer said in a joint statement. "The stock market is tanking and the president is waging a personal war on the Federal Reserve — after he just fired the Secretary of Defense."

This came as the Dow had its worst day of Christmas Eve trading ever — and its worst December since the Great Depression.

Read more: Federal employees affected by the government shutdown are using the Twitter hashtag #ShutdownStories to share their hardships

Pelosi and Schumer also said they've gotten mixed messages from the White House on what Trump would agree to in a deal with Democrats to re-open the government. They argued that as long as Trump aligns himself with right-wing media and the ultra-conservative House Freedom Caucus — which pushed him to reject a stop-gap funding bill — he won't reach an agreement with Democrats. 

"Different people from the same White House are saying different things about what @realDonaldTrump would accept or not accept to end his #TrumpShutdown, making it impossible to know where they stand at any given moment," they wrote. ".@realDonaldTrump wanted the #TrumpShutdown, but he seems not to know how to get himself out of it."

This came after Trump spent days tweeting his demands for billions of dollars in funding for a wall on the US-Mexico border and blaming the shutdown on Democrats even after he said he would be "proud" to close the government over border security. 

"I am all alone (poor me) in the White House waiting for the Democrats to come back and make a deal on desperately needed Border Security," he wrote on Christmas Eve. "At some point the Democrats not wanting to make a deal will cost our Country more money than the Border Wall we are all talking about. Crazy!"

SEE ALSO: Trump tweets he's 'all alone (poor me)' on Christmas Eve as he spends the day attacking everyone from Democrats and the Fed to James Mattis

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NOW WATCH: I'm a diehard iPhone user who switched to Android for a week — here's what I loved and hated about the Google Pixel 3 XL

• Juventus remained unbeaten through 18 matches with a 2-2 draw against Atalanta on Boxing Day.
• Cristiano Ronaldo did not start for the first time since joining Juve.
• Manager Massimiliano Allegri said his star player was available but wanted him to get some rest and it was thought that Ronaldo would not play.
• When Juventus fell behind, 2-1, in the second half and were down to 10 men, Ronaldo entered the match in the 65th minute.
• Ronaldo leveled the match in the 78th minute on a header with the second touch off a corner kick.
• Juventus now has 16 wins and two draws on the season.

Here is the goal, via ESPN+:

Read more:Liverpool scores one of the most bizarre goals of the season for stunning stoppage-time game-winner

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NOW WATCH: The legendary economist who predicted the housing crisis says the US will win the trade war

• Scottish singer Judy Brown enjoys pulling pranks on her dad.
• Two years ago, she wrapped brussels sprouts in Ferrero Rocher chocolate wrappers.
• This year, she took it a step further and dipped brussels sprouts in chocolate, coated them in nuts, wrapped them in the gold foil, and resealed the box.
• Her dad fell for it.

Two years ago, Scottish singer Judy Brown disguised brussels sprouts in golden Ferrero Rocher chocolate wrappers to pull a Christmas prank on her father.

Last year, she left all of the chocolates intact to throw him off the scent.

But this year, Brown went above and beyond in a prank so elaborate that people on Twitter are calling her an "evil genius."

Instead of merely wrapping brussels sprouts in the chocolate wrappers again, she dipped them in chocolate, coated them in chopped nuts, wrapped them in the gold foil, and glued the box shut so that the package looked brand new. Her dad was suspicious at first, but popped one in his mouth after careful examination.

"His face played a symphony of emotions: satisfaction, triumph, smugness, consternation, confusion, realisation, horror, disgust," Brown wrote on Twitter. "I am still chuckling. I will all day long. I know his retribution will be swift and terrible, but no Christmas gift could be greater than this: seeing my Dad, despite his efforts to avoid it, unwittingly eat a raw sprout."

She detailed the entire operation in a Twitter thread.

The thread has been retweeted over 53,000 times and liked nearly 150,000 times.

Brown may be getting coal in her stocking next year, but it was worth it.

Visit INSIDER's homepage for more.

• Read more:
• A traveler pranked airport-goers with fake outlets and the results are priceless
• A 17-year-old kid put a pair of glasses on the floor of a museum and people thought it was art
• Discount shoe retailer Payless opened a fake luxury store and convinced influencers to pay $600 for $20 footwear
• Golfers running over other players with golf carts has become a viral prank

Join the conversation about this story »

NOW WATCH: Why Harvard scientists think this interstellar object might be an alien spacecraft

• All around the country, federal workers impacted by the current government shutdown took to Twitter to share their #shutdownstories.
• Many federal workers said they're concerned about how they will cover bills and Christmas expenses with no paychecks. 
• Others, including a DACA recipient, said they are worried the lack of services might affect their day-to-day lives. 

The day after the government shut down, Taylor Futch, a stay-at-home mother of two in Tennessee, took to Twitter to vent: 

"My husband is a Park Ranger in the Great Smoky Mountains National Park, and he had to sign his furlough papers," she wrote. "We don't know when his next check will come. Mortgage is due, Christmas 2 days away." 

In followup tweets, Futch thanked those offering advice and support. She and her husband, she tweeted, didn't vote for Trump. But now, like nearly 800,000 federal workers and their families around the country, they're facing the consequences of a Trump administration shut down. 

Many federal workers and their family members used the hashtag #shutdownstories on Twitter to share how the government shutdown is hurting them this holiday season. Though many of those participating were federal workers, regular Americans also pitched in, saying the lack of federal services is also impacting their lives. 

A DACA recipient shared that he was worried he wouldn't be able to renew his permit. 

A user whose city was ravaged by the Carr Fire said the area where the fire started is now unattended due to the shutdown.

Another user said the shutdown will also affect new government hires waiting for their background checks to clear. 

Some shared stories of the good deeds they're doing to help out government employees.   

Another user pointed out that, even though employees deemed essential will get retroactively paid after the shutdown, the government won't be able to cover many of the related costs workers are incurring. 

Read more: 

• The National Christmas Tree is dark because of the government shutdown
• Government enters shutdown after Trump border-wall demands leave Congress in gridlock
• Here's what happens to Social Security and disability benefits during a government shutdown

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NOW WATCH: Anthony Scaramucci claims Trump isn't a nationalist: 'He likes saying that because it irks these intellectual elitists'

• Apparel sales grew by 7.9% between November 1 and December 24, the best growth rate since 2010, according to new data from Mastercard SpendingPulse.
• According to an expert, this boom in sales is being driven by three factors – shoppers spending more on themselves, the cold weather driving more winter purchases, and retailers maintaining better inventory levels, thus requiring less discounting.

Americans are buying clothes again. 

According to new data from Mastercard SpendingPulse, consumers spent more on apparel this holiday season than they have the past eight years. 

Read more:Retailers saw biggest increase in holiday sales since 2012

Apparel sales grew by 7.9% between November 1 and December 24, the best growth rate since 2010. In 2017, apparel sales were up by a more modest 2.7%.

This follows a strong sales run in the lead up to the holidays – apparel spending was up 5.4% over the Black Friday weekend, which is the highest growth rate since 2011, according to data from consulting firm Customer Growth Partners, reported by CNBC. 

According to Neil Saunders, managing director of GlobalData Retail, this boom in apparel spending is being driven by three factors: a consumer who is more willing to splurge on themselves now than in the past, the cold weather driving more purchases of winter products, and retailers maintaining better inventory levels, which leads to fewer discounts.

According to GlobalData Retail's survey of 2,000 consumers' spending and purchases, 68% of people spent more on clothing for themselves this holiday season than they did over the same period last year. This is down to better selections in stores and people being more receptive to this, Saunders said in an email to Business Insider.

Retailers have also been hot on inventory levels this holiday season after excess stock led to heavy discounting in 2017. 

Strong apparel spending signifies that consumers have confidence in the economy and are prepared to spend money on more frivolous purchases. In times of uncertainty, these are usually items that consumers first cut back on. 

"When consumers splash out, it shows that they have money to spare and are confident enough to spend it on products," Saunders said. 

US consumer confidence hit an 18-year high in October but cooled somewhat in November. 

SEE ALSO: Amazon announces 'record-breaking' holiday sales with more orders than ever

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NOW WATCH: Millennials and teens are making Gucci cool again — here's how the brand nearly doubled its sales in 2018