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Commentary and Discussion From the Retail Community
Walmart adds supplier fees to cover costs
Walmart has sent notices to 10,000 suppliers notifying them that it will begin charging stocking fees for items in new warehouses and stores, seeking larger discounts for early payments and…
Are department store prices phony?
Listing discounts over essentially fake original prices, aka “price anchoring,” is used by many retailers to varying degrees. But regulators and courts don’t like it when retailers take the practice…
School’s out, it’s time to shop for back to school
While the timing may seem ridiculously early, research conducted last year by Prosper Insights & Analytics for the National Retail Federation found nearly 25 percent of families started their back-to-school…
Ahold and Delhaize merger to create U.S. grocery force
The long rumored merger between Ahold and Delhaize is finally coming to pass. Once completed, the combined company, to be known as Ahold Delhaize, will become the fifth largest grocer…
Martha, the brand, ain’t what it used to be
Martha Stewart Living Omnimedia will soon have a new owner, having agreed to Sequential Brands Group’s $353 million cash and stock offer. But, as an article by Walter Loeb on…
Will consumers ‘buy’ pay-as-you-go tech devices?
While monthly subscription services have arrived for beauty products, shavers, wine and other narrow categories, ByeBuy has much bigger ambitions in creating unlimited rentals for a wide range of tech…
Amazon uses artificial intelligence to improve review/rating system
Amazon.com has introduced a new platform it developed in-house that promises to make the reviews and ratings on its site more useful for its millions of customers. Do you expect…
Retailers remove Confederate flag merchandise
The racially motivated killings of nine members of the historic Emanuel African Methodist Episcopal Church in Charleston, SC, has achieved an unintended consequence — the removal of Confederate flag merchandise…
CVS launches innovation lab to spur cutting edge invention
CVS Health has announced the official opening of the company’s new Digital Innovation Lab in Boston with the stated goals of pursuing innovation in mobile, multi-channel e-commerce and personalization. What…
UPS flexes its muscles on shipping terms
The Wall Street Journal reports that UPS recently began to approach retailers about changing the terms of their contracts. How do you expect e-commerce companies to react to the positions…
Use of Big Data in CPG marketing still a work in progress
A national survey by the Shopper Technology Institute of CPG marketers found that few companies have an enterprise Big Data strategy in place, and most are simply not ready with…
Mobile loyalty programs fail to take off
Mobile loyalty programs, while still in their infancy, aren’t so far wowing customers, according to two recent surveys. What opportunities does mobile present for retailers to engage loyalty program members?…
Will personalized pricing ever make it to brick & mortar stores?
According to the author, grocers probably won’t deploy personalized pricing at the point-of-sale for every item to each customer any time soon. But the technology is there and the strategy…
Walmart welcomes back its greeters, sort of
Sam Walton may get the opportunity to flip back over in his grave again with the news that Walmart is testing the return of greeters in 300 of its stores…
My six favorite interview questions
Doug Fleener presents some of his favorite interview questions, loosely derived from behavioral-based interviewing techniques that provide insights into how the applicant acted in the past and how that might…
Why are strong CEOs so hard to find?
In May 2014, Kohl’s began an external search for a new chief merchant who had the potential to eventually become its next CEO. Last week, the department store chain added…
Report says Walmart stashing billions overseas
The phrase “economic patriotism” has been thrown around in recent years to put pressure on U.S.-based multinational corporations to stop using accounting maneuvers and legal loopholes to avoid paying their…
Is a dollar store price war coming?
What else can a chain that has lost market share in the discount space do but lower its prices? That appears to be the scenario set up for Family Dollar…
Walmart gets a quick return after raising employees’ pay
Walmart U.S. CEO Greg Foran said the decision to increase the amount the company pays hourly workers is yielding dividends in increased job applicants and a reduction in turnover soon…
How should grocers respond to Amazon?
Speaking at FMI Connect, Anastasia Voronkova, business analyst at Grid Dynamics, said she believes traditional grocers can offset the threat of Amazon across food categories by delivering omnichannel experiences. But…
Publix sees pharmacy as a growth engine
Following Target’s announced plans to sell its pharmacy operations to CVS, Publix is reportedly looking to expand its pharmacy operations in Central Florida, clearly seeing pharmacy as integral to its…
