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Commentary and Discussion From the Retail Community
Are Amazon’s ambitions flying too high for comfort?
As eBay announced the end of its same day delivery trial, Amazon was grabbing headlines about its vision of controlled airspace for commercial drones, potentially unlocking its planned 30-minute-or-less U.S…
Selling emotion: What retail can teach e-tail
E-tailers may be blithely unaware of some of the subtle advantages that brick-and-mortar retailers enjoy. It’s related to “touch and feel,” but also has to do with emotional reactions humans…
Penney hires Home Depot and Target execs for omnichannel push
J.C. Penney has hired two senior executives from Home Depot and Target, both former employers of Mr. Ellison, to help make his omnichannel vision for the retailer a reality. How…
Will same-day delivery keep Macy’s ahead of Amazon?
A recent note to investors by Cowen analysts includes a prediction that Amazon.com will become the leading apparel retailer in the U.S. by 2017, topping Macy’s by a comfortable margin…
Has back-to-school become a non-event?
With families buying throughout the year, reusing last year’s purchases and delaying purchases into the school year, the back-to-school (BTS) selling season may be losing its appeal. Do you see…
Chicagoans make the best of a bag situation
In the interest of protecting the environment and ridding the sidewalks and parking lots of discarded plastic grocery bags, the city of Chicago decided to ban stores from using plastic…
How critical are cashiers to the in-store experience?
A new survey found that slow checkout speeds and long lines were the top grievances related to the store checkout experience, and yet a lack of quality human interaction and…
Navigating retailer in-store technology needs
A trend has been building over the past three years and it seems to have reached critical mass: Retailers are recognizing the real importance of the in-store employee in creating…
Yahoo buys a social shopping site
Yahoo! Inc. on Friday agreed to acquire Polyvore, a leading social shopping site and specialist in the field of native advertising. Do you see the use of native advertising on…
Will consumers try on a new type of e-tail site?
Ordering clothes, trying them on and returning them is nothing new for many online shoppers, typically across a number of brands from a single website, such as Zappos. Try.com provides…
Digital ads drive store visits and purchases
Digital ads work, particularly for dollar stores and warehouse clubs, according to research by Placed, a firm that specializes in location analytics. Will having the ability to track consumer behavior…
Google sees enterprise role for Glass
Google Glass is back and it’s ready to work. The second generation of the wearable device is being rolled out to a select number of certified “Glass for Work” partners,…
More retailers want in on online marketplaces
According to the National Retail Federation’s “State of Retailing Online 2015” report, online marketplaces — whereby a retailer sells goods via another retailer’s site — now ranks fifth in terms…
Should Whole Foods be worried?
With retailers from Aldi to Wegmans selling organic foods and other products, Whole Foods has never faced so much competition. The evidence is clear in the company’s third quarter results…
American Eagle Outfitters is not joining the race to the bottom
Back in December, a Forbes article questioned whether teen retailers Abercrombie & Fitch, Aeropostale and American Eagle Outfitters would “be around in five years.” The answer may be “yes,” at…
Amazon’s new card is ready for ‘Prime’ time
While Amazon.com drew lots of hoopla with its Prime Day event, another offering could also prove to be a powerful incentive for Prime membership: the Amazon Prime Store Card. What…
Did Walmart’s ‘Open Call’ discover a hit made in America?
In efforts to find suppliers that make part or all of their products stateside, Walmart recently held a full-day event called a Made in USA “Open Call,” inviting potential suppliers…
Target opens a security center to fight cyber threats
Target recently opened a state of the art Cyber Fusion Center to protect customer data from online threats, designed for a quick, team-based approach to security events, according to the…
EBay scraps same-day delivery
Count eBay out of the same-day delivery game. The online marketplace announced yesterday it is “retiring” its eBay Now service in markets where it has been available in the U.S…
All the news that’s fit to read with coffee
Starbucks has been linking some big partnerships to its loyalty program. Last week, the coffee giant announced a new deal with The New York Times. What is your assessment…
How willing should stores be to hire a convict?
With the challenge of re-integration of former prisoners back into society, among the largest obstacles this population must overcome is successfully seeking employment once no longer incarcerated. Should stores be…
