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Commentary and Discussion From the Retail Community
Shoptalk recap: Fulfillment’s faster, freer finale
In the frictionless world of online retailing, getting the order is easy. Delivering on the promise is hard. At Shoptalk last week, retail thought-leaders shared insights about the fulfillment challenge…
Why Apple must move beyond the ‘wow’ moment
Apple’s disappointing second quarter earnings — including the first-ever drop in sales for the iPhone — accelerated worries about how the company will deliver the strong growth investors have come…
Walmart to end price matching in some stores, but not really
When Walmart announced it was going national with its Savings Catcher price match program in 2014, the move was widely seen as the chain’s attempt to solidify its low price…
PIRCH’s in-store experience picks up where Home Depot leaves off
“Where a Home Depot leaves off, that’s where we start,” Jeffery Sears, PIRCH’s CEO, said last week to The New York Times just before the opening of the luxury home…
New Wegmans draws near-record crowds
Before the new Wegmans in Midlothian, VA ever opened its doors, 24,000 people had signed up for its rewards card. According to reports, the store’s lot was completely full before…
Millennials want money to leave home
The mystery known as Millennials can now be solved with two new research reports. One found that what really drives recent grads is M-O-N-E-Y. Another found that the percentage of…
Why isn’t in-store tech focused more on full-service?
A new study argues that the reason retailers struggle finding returns on technology investments is because ninety percent of retail sales still happen at brick and mortar stores and almost…
Amazon jacks up price on storage for holiday fulfillment
The 2016 holiday season is still a long way off, but Amazon is already looking for a way to prevent a costly mistake it made last winter. Amazon recently informed…
Is the paper receipt dying?
It’s been a long road for shorter receipts at CVS. Going back to 2009, the chain has been singled out over its long and wasteful paper receipts. Now, the company…
Are the new overtime rules a ‘career killer’ for retail workers?
Under new regulations set last week by the U.S. Department of Labor, employees earning up to $47,476 a year must receive time-and-a-half overtime pay when they work more than 40…
Finding the right balance between automation and people
McDonald’s has very publicly had to bear the brunt of wage hike advocates that are pushing for a national increase in the minimum wage. Yet the reality is that $1…
Nordstrom expands rewards to non-card holders
Nordstrom last week expanded its rewards program to allow customers without a Nordstrom card to earn points toward rewards. Do you see more advantages than disadvantages in Nordstrom extending rewards…
The Apple Store changed retailing 15 years ago
Yesterday marked 15 years since Apple opened its first two retail stores in Glendale, CA and Tysons Corner, VA. At the time, as an article on the MacRumors site reminds,…
Shoptalk recap: Are stores flying or dying?
For the movers and shakers who gathered at the inaugural Shoptalk conference this week, an existential question still remains unresolved: Are stores poised to soar in the digital stratosphere or…
Foot Locker specializes in vendor stores
Many vendors are opening their own stores. Retailers have expertise operating stores. Why aren’t retailers opening vendor-centric stores? Foot Locker Inc. is a rare retailer doing just that. Does it…
Will Amazon be the first to truly nail omnichannel retailing?
It’s clicks meet bricks in the brave new world of Amazon.com. Reports have it that Jeff Bezos and company plan to open more of their Amazon Books locations as well…
Will consumers prefer a virtual reality department store to the real thing?
Here’s the (virtual) reality of shopping in Australia: If you have a smartphone that fits inside a VR headset, you can go shopping in the world’s very first virtual reality…
Clean label-loving Millennials pose a challenge for food retailers
By whatever name, “clean label” products are hot and on-trend with consumers, representing a big opportunity. But what are clean label products, anyway? How big is the potential of “clean…
Is the retail sky falling?
Reading some of the headlines and listening to some of the pundits lately, you couldn’t be blamed if you concluded that all is doom and gloom in retail. But is…
What will former Nordstrom exec do for Target’s merchandising?
Is CEO Brian Cornell planning to take Target in a more upscale direction? That’s one of the logical questions coming out of yesterday’s announcement that Target has hired Mark Tritton,…
Loyalty: It’s more than free burritos
Following a February company-wide closure in response to a series of E. coli and norovirus outbreaks, free entrées were offered to anyone who texted “RAINCHECK” and subsequently provided their zip…
