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Commentary and Discussion From the Retail Community
IKEA assembles holiday messages to drive sales
How IKEA goes about driving traffic to its stores and online during the season is not the same in every market, so we’ve curated a short list of commercials for…
Will Active Ride Shop customers be stoked over lifetime commissions?
Under Active Ride Shop’s new “The Crew” program, referring friends can earn customers a “lifetime commission.” What do you think of Active Ride Shop’s referral program tied to lifetime commissions…
Walmart: Floor cleaning robots will give associates more time to serve customers
Walmart announced earlier this week that it is deploying robots to 360 of its stores to clean floors. Will the deployment of Auto-C scrubbing robots in Walmart’s stores positively…
What is the dollar value of trust?
New research by Accenture Strategy assigns a dollar value to trust among organizations and finds companies that experience a material decline in trust could miss six percent in potential sales,…
Will Instagrammers all scream for Baskin-Robbins’ new ice cream concept?
Baskin-Robbins is rolling out a new store concept to meet the demands of 21st century customers (and no, that doesn’t mean freeze-dried astronaut ice cream). What will it take for…
Drugstore/grocery pilot is two-thirds Walgreens and one-third Kroger
Kroger and Walgreens have provided more details on the 13-store pilot program the two chains announced in October. What does dedicating one-third of its selling space to Kroger Express say…
What’s next for Small Business Saturday?
Small Business Saturday, held on November 24, saw a jump in year-over-year revenues, but customer traffic slid for the third straight year. Does Small Business Saturday need a reinvention?
The RetailWire Christmas Commercial Challenge: Pier 1 Imports vs. TJX Companies
This week’s RetailWire Christmas Commercial Challenge puts Pier 1 Imports up against TJX Companies and its corporate branding spots for HomeGoods, Marshalls and namesake banner. What is your critique of…
Walmart gives associates a tool to deal with out-of-stocks
Walmart is not known for having large numbers of associates on its sales floors, but it may need to add more if a new tech tool for workers becomes popular…
Are subscriptions an untapped gifting opportunity for retailers?
Nearly one-third of consumers have interest in receiving a subscription as a gift, while 44 percent are somewhat to very likely to give a subscription as gift, according to a…
Are weekend deals the key to Target’s holiday success?
Target is the place for shoppers to be on the weekends leading up to Christmas, so the chain is bringing back its weekend deals promotion for the second holiday season…
Payless scores with mock-up luxury shop
Payless ShoeSource created a viral sensation and earned widespread media coverage by opening a “fake luxury store” and duping fashion influencers into purchasing Payless shoes at exorbitant prices. What lessons…
Can Gap cut its way to profitability?
Gap Inc. admitted that the long struggles at its namesake chain are no longer only due to merchandise and pricing issues but because it has way too many underperforming stores…
Has Amazon figured out how to scale its Go cashier-free tech to bigger stores?
Amazon is reported to be working on a way to put the technology behind its Amazon Go convenience stores in much larger store environments. What do you see as the…
What will it take for retailers to win the last-mile race for customers?
Top retailers have improved their speed in last-mile fulfillment drastically over the last two years and those gains have been instrumental in helping them stay afloat. How can retailers best…
Is J.Crew’s new Amazon relationship already over?
Does nothing good ever last? First, there was the news that Ariana Grande and Pete Davidson split up ;o) and now it appears as though the burgeoning relationship between Amazon.com…
Aldi gets creative for Christmas
Aldi, the German hard discount grocery giant, is known for its private labels and low prices in markets around the globe. But how it communicates to its customers can vary…
Store employees of the future will be affiliates, not associates
Retailers are creating affiliate-like programs to enable associates to create digital profiles, drive online engagement with shoppers, and potentially earn themselves fat commissions. But such programs require adjustments. What do…
How can retailers get customers to complete feedback surveys?
Some 44 percent of consumers across the U.S., U.K. and Australia say they’ve abandoned a customer feedback survey without completing it, according to a recent study. Are traditional forms of collecting…
Are retailers better off going cashless?
The foodservice and retail industries appear headed to a cashless future. While proponents suggest it cut cash handling costs and reduce losses, it may also leave groups of consumers without…
Can customer lifetime value scores work against retailers?
A recent Wall Street Journal article pointed to some of the benefits and downsides that consumers may receive from the use of customer lifetime value scoring by retailers. Do you…
