Starbucks Corp. is being sued by a large shopping mall operator over plans to close 215 Teavana tea stores across the city of Indianapolis. Simon Property Group filed a lawsuit against Starbucks on Aug. 21, claiming the coffee giant had not fulfilled its lease obligations and "put its stock price above its contractual obligations, the viability of Simon and its Shopping Centers, other retailers and consumers who count on the Teavana stores."

A KFC brand in eastern China is rolling out a service that lets customer pay for orders with their faces. Diners approach a virtual menu, select the item they want to purchase, and then choose "facial scan" as a payment option. Users must input their phone numbers as an extra layer of verification, but the technology still works even if one's phone is turned off.

U.S. sales of new cars and trucks fell 2% in August, according to Autodata Corp. Harvey hurt demand in the Houston area cutting U.S. sales of new cars and trucks by an estimated 20,000 vehicles. Sales will likely pick up soon because people with damaged cars will need to replace them quickly. In the month following Superstorm Sandy in 2012, vehicle sales in the New York area jumped 49%.

Facebook has named a former brand marketing executive, Rebecca Van Dyck, to be chief marketing officer for the company's Oculus division. She succeeds Liz Hamren, who left to join Microsoft to work on its VR efforts last April, in the post. Van Dyck, who has also held marketing positions at Levi's and Apple, will report to Facebook VP of VR Hugo Barra.

Hurricane Harvey and its catastrophic aftermath likely destroyed more vehicles than any other natural disaster in U.S. history, according to several early estimates. The storm may have ruined up to one million vehicles along the Texas Gulf Coast, according to automotive data firm Black Book. In the Houston area, about one in seven cars may have been destroyed, according to analysts from Evercore ISI.

Even as the likes of Audi turn to VR to entice crowds to its showroom, Porsche remains unconcerned about being left behind by its competitors, arguing that the personal touch Porsche has with its cars and customers is more important, according to executives. Porsche understands that consumers are more digitally savvy in Asia than in Europe, and people have skipped the computer entirely at times to go straight to apps.

The Tennessee-based chain is encouraging customers, fans and other donors to visit its website through Labor Day. In return for buying a rocking chair online, Cracker Barrel will donate a rocker to a military family through Operation Homefront, which helps stabilize US military families in the short term and the long term-for example, by awarding mortgage-free homes to veterans and their families.

While Millennials and Generation Z are less likely to be loyal than previous generations - chiefly because there's more transparency and information available to them - there's a strong argument to be made that brands and retailers that get the customer experience right will see greater loyalty. Amazon is example number one of customer loyalty in a digital age, according to a report from Astound Commerce.