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Commentary and Discussion From the Retail Community
Will the newest Walmart c-store concept be the one that sticks?
News of Amazon Go has been reverberating around both the tech and convenience store worlds in recent weeks. But another major player is making a big, albeit more conventional, new…
The RetailWire Christmas Commercial Challenge Goes Global: Week 3
The first two weeks of the global version of RetailWire’s Christmas Commercial Challenge featured spots produced by U.K. retailers. This week, we head to the European continent with spots from…
Will test show Amazon’s drone program is ready to take off?
With the news this week that Amazon had successfully completed its first drone delivery to a customer in England, many will continue to have questions about the wisdom of pursuing…
Will Amazon button down the menswear category with its new private label line?
Amazon.com has not been coy about its goal to become the largest seller of clothing in the U.S. As department stores, mass and specialty retailers have done before it, Amazon…
Will Santa’s helpers deliver gifts in time for Christmas?
Many remember the Christmas of 2013 when many gifts ordered online never made it to American homes in time for the holiday. While no one is predicting a 2013 redux,…
Why are retail employees going around company systems?
When discussing the future of the store, when the part about workforce transitions arrives, heads nod about how Gen Z is even more likely than Millennials to be impatient with,…
Are retail surveys hopelessly flawed?
A study by Interaction Metrics has concluded that most major retailers are horrible at conducting surveys. Do you think most retailers intentionally use leading questions and biased language in customer…
The RetailWire Christmas Commercial Challenge: Macy’s vs. Target
In week five of this year’s Christmas Commercial Challenge, we are putting up a spot from the department store chain, Macy’s, versus another from Target, a discount retailer that traces…
Will turning Starbucks into Pokémon stops boost coffee sales?
Starbucks is launching “Pokémon Go Frappuccino” in a partnership with Niantic, the maker of the hit augmented reality game. The initiative will see more than 7,800 Starbucks locations in the…
Is in-store videoconferencing omnichannel’s logical next step?
Within the next three years, 16 percent of retailers plan to utilize videoconferencing to allow a customer to shop from home with the help of an associate in the store…
Is appreciation the best gift retailers can give workers this Christmas?
According to a survey of small and medium-sized business owners (SMBs), 61 percent are celebrating the holiday season as a way to thank employees. What are the best ways for…
Rent the Runway borrows from Apple with a fashion rental flagship
Since 2013, Rent the Runway has pursued a careful, multi-faceted expansion from online-only into brick and mortar. Now the startup has taken a bigger physical step with a Fifth Avenue…
Does Costco need to follow a different path online?
There’s one thing you can say about Costco’s management team. They are confident in the company’s position in the marketplace and don’t feel the need to follow what retail rivals…
Amazon offers incentives for Prime members to wait on deliveries
Even with all its logistics might, Amazon.com apparently also needs help making all its shipping promises. Earlier this year, the internet-giant quietly launched a program exclusively for Prime members called…
Study: Diversity works for retail stores
Retailers looking to drive their revenues higher might not need to run as many sales promotions if they had a more diverse workforce, according to a study published last year…
Will e-gifting replace gift cards?
Gift cards may be considered less crude than cash, but are often seen as less exciting and meaningful as providing a tangible gift. Loop Commerce’s e-gifting solution promises the safety…
The RetailWire Christmas Commercial Challenges Goes Global – Week 2
Marks & Spencer’s “Mrs. Claus” was the clear winner of our week one competition. We now turn to two British department stores — Harrods and John Lewis — for the…
Will expanded parental leave boost IKEA’s recruitment and retention efforts?
IKEA’s workers in the U.S. will have a new perk in their employment packages beginning on Jan. 1. The company announced that it is expanding its existing policy to offer…
Are retail associates ready to deal with abusive customers?
Any job dealing with the public can be a tough gig, but retail employees are experiencing treatment from customers that veers into the territory of abuse with an alarming frequency,…
Zara succeeds with speed
A Wall Street Journal story on the fast-fashion chain Zara tracked the development of a new coat being sold by the chain, which went from prototype design to store racks…
H-E-B’s go local approach produces results
Luby’s, the Texas-based cafeteria chain, will bring its famed Mac & Cheese to retail for the first time. But the dish will only reach the frozen food aisles of another…
