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Commentary and Discussion From the Retail Community
Will Walmart become a fashion destination in 2020?
One of Walmart’s big goals for 2020 is to finally become fashionable. Turning around some of its digital fashion e-commerce brands is up near the top of the list of…
Is Amazon more friend or foe for digital start-ups?
Amazon.com offers an upside and a downside as a marketing and sales channel for digital start-ups, according to a panel of venture fund managers at an NRF Big Show session. …
NRF puts on another ‘big show’ for a hopeful industry
Here are some quick hits from George Anderson’s experience over the past three days walking the halls of the Jacob Javits Center in New York, taking in as much as…
Will ‘guests’ love Target even more as Circle members?
At a session Sunday at the NRF Big Show, Rick Gomez, EVP, chief marketing and digital officer, Target, explained why he decided against using points as the incentive when launching…
Consumers want up-to-date online reviews
In BrightLocal’s annual study of online reviews, recency overtook star ratings as the most important factor consumers pay attention to in judging online reviews. Why has recency become a more…
Is Walmart’s Alphabot what the future of e-grocery fulfillment will look like?
Grocery giant Walmart is implementing an automated, robotic mini-warehouse to help better manage its e-commerce fulfillment. Is Walmart’s plan to expand its pilot of the Alphabot an indication of how…
Walmart U.S. CEO: Good retail jobs are much more than good pay
At a keynote session Sunday at NRF, Walmart U.S.’s new CEO said the first step he took to drive employee satisfaction when leading Sam’s Club was to invest significantly in…
Does humanizing virtual assistants undermine consumer privacy?
A university study finds people increasingly attributing lifelike qualities to virtual assistants and warns this may cause them to reveal more personal information to the companies that use them than…
Is ‘re-commerce’ going mainstream?
Rent the Runway’s and thredUP’s success has inspired other entrepreneurs to get into apparel rental and the industry is becoming a market worth billions, according to a panel at The…
Will endless aisles and better supply chain management negate Amazon’s edge?
The 2019 holiday shopping period has come and gone and we in the retail trade are left to figure out what went right and what didn’t. In terms of the…
Should Ahold-Delhaize, Albertsons, Kroger or Walmart buy Grubhub?
Grubhub is exploring its strategic options, including a possible sale, and it appears as though there are plenty of food retailers interested in kicking the tires of the online meal…
Walmart rolls out self-serve ads
Walmart has rolled out a self-serve portal that enables advertisers to directly buy on-site search and sponsored product ads on walmart.com through a bid auction-based marketplace. How critical is the…
Will ‘five pillars’ provide the foundation Bed Bath & Beyond needs to succeed?
Investors seem to think Bed Bath & Beyond (BBY) is in for more difficult times ahead. The retailer’s share price fell eight percent in extended trading yesterday. Are Mark Tritton’s…
Will coffee drinkers miss single-use cups?
Blue Bottle, the coffee chain, is ditching paper cups at two San Francisco locations as a test of nationwide “zero single-use cup” rollout. Do you expect a sizable backlash from…
Kroger goes beyond meat and looks for impossible growth with private brand
Look out Beyond Meat, Impossible Foods and all the other brands with plant-based meat alternatives. Kroger is rolling out its own private label meatless brand. What will Kroger’s private label…
Can casinos save the mall?
In Pennsylvania, mini-casinos later this year will replace a Sears at York Galleria Mall and a Bon-Ton at Westmoreland Mall. How open should shopping development operators and their tenants be…
Pier 1 to close up to 450 stores as it faces uncertain future
Pier 1 Imports announced on Monday that it plans to close up to 450 stores, an unspecified number of distribution centers while cutting the numbers of people who work at…
Does ‘selfish shopping’ justify post-holiday discounting?
After another holiday season spent focused on others, shoppers are spending their post-season run-down spending money on themselves, according to one regional grocery chain. Is there a new wave of…
Do alcohol and shopping mix?
More shoppers in Virginia will be able to drink alcohol beverages openly at shopping centers if a recently-introduced law is passed. Are there more pros than cons in expanding open-container…
Will 3-D printing tech change the footwear industry?
In partnership with the Massachusetts Institute of Technology (MIT)’s Self-Assembly Lab, Canadian footwear brand Native Shoes has created a technology that prints full shoes out of liquid rubber. What is…
Group says Amazon wants workers to keep quiet on its climate change strategy
At least two Amazon.com employees who publicly criticized the company’s environmental policies have been warned they could be fired for future violations of its communications policy. Are Amazon’s updated public…
