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Commentary and Discussion From the Retail Community
How will 3-D printing take hold at retail?
According to a survey from Interactions, 95 percent of shoppers are looking forward to purchasing products created through 3-D printing. Yet the technology, around since the late 1980s, continues to…
Will Sears get traction with its new appliance and mattress store concept?
Building on the success of the first Sears Appliances store that opened last year, Sears last week announced the grand opening of its first Sears Appliances & Mattresses location. Do…
Will putting a spotlight on associates help boost Kroger’s business?
At its annual shareholder meeting last week, Kroger formally introduced a new mantra, “Feed the Human Spirit,” that in part focuses on store associates’ connections to local communities. With so…
Is e-commerce making vendor compliance programs more important?
A recent column for spendmatters.com describes vendor scorecards as “hideous instruments for the collection of insight into supplier relationships.” Are vendor scorecards and vendor compliance programs becoming more important, giving…
What will a Nike/Amazon deal mean for the brand and other retailers?
Nike is hoping a new direct deal with Amazon.com will help the brand boost sales while curtailing the counterfeiting activity that has affected its top and bottom line performance for…
How can retailers make employee recognition resonate?
By transforming employee milestones into opportunities to applaud their achievements before peers, organizations could elevate such moments from hollow to powerful — both psychologically and behaviorally. In what ways do…
Should brands ditch the slang?
With competition fierce to gain attention on social media and other communications channels, brands are ramping up the irreverence. But, according to a study, consumers aren’t impressed when brands use…
Does Costco need to significantly undercut Amazon’s prices?
Costco has long stated that its focus is driving customers to its clubs where members often spend more due to the treasure hunt experience. So why is the retailer aggressively…
Is Starbucks passing the buck to baristas on customer service?
When it comes to social issues, Starbucks has positioned itself as one of the more politically progressive chains out there, but that image doesn’t always hold when it comes to…
Will a new price match program lead more people to shop on eBay?
Yesterday, eBay announced the launch of a price match guarantee on more than 50,000 new, unopened items sold as part of its daily deals selection. Whether this will be enough…
Will Amazon Prime Wardrobe change how Americans shop for clothes?
Amazon is beta testing a new perk for its Prime subscription program that may spell big trouble for department stores and other clothing retailers. How likely is Prime Wardrobe to…
How did mobile become the ‘glue’ in the Sephora shopping experience?
One of the driving forces behind Sephora’s success has been a strategic dedication to embedding the mobile experience into every step of the customer journey — before the shopping trip,…
Why did McDonald’s end its Olympic sponsorship?
Joining Budweiser and other major advertisers, McDonald’s has ended its a 41-year run as a sponsor of the Olympics. What do you think is the primary reason McDonald’s ended its…
Will UPS’s Black Friday delivery surcharge have retailers seeing red?
Christmas is going to get a bit more expensive this year for retailers. UPS announced yesterday that it will add a surcharge to packages delivered during peak holiday shipping periods…
Can humanizing self-checkouts reduce theft?
Researchers from Queensland University of Technology in Australia believe theft is high at self-checkouts partly because shoppers feel less guilty about stealing from a machine than a human being. What…
How effective are Jet.com’s efforts to better understand its customers?
At the IRCE in Chicago, Ben Babcock, director of UX research at Jet.com, and Michael Mace, VP of product marketing at UserTesting, discussed the solutions and best practices the Walmart-owned…
Did Amazon just patent tech that could end showrooming in its stores?
With Amazon opening its own stores, it’s reasonable to ask how the retailer plans to deal with showrooming. Based on new reporting, one answer may be to use technology to…
Will the Bonobos acquisition give Walmart a fashion edge?
Overshadowed by the Amazon/Whole Foods deal, Walmart on Friday reached an agreement to acquire men’s retailer Bonobos for $310 million, its biggest acquisition since Jet.com. Is acquiring Bonobos a big…
Why are so many associates being deprived of tech by their employers?
According to a survey from Salesfloor, store associates want tech tools. So why aren’t the devices omnipresent across selling floors? Is the cost, distrust or some other factor the main…
What happens now that Amazon is acquiring Whole Foods?
Reports that John Mackey had called the people behind Jana Partners “greedy bastards” intent on ruining his reputation and forcing a sale of the company. As it turns out, it…
Will AI transform gift giving?
According to a survey, artificial intelligence researchers see a 50 percent chance that AI will be able to perform all human tasks better than humans by 2060. So why can’t…
