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Commentary and Discussion From the Retail Community
Macy’s Backstage seeks starring role in off-price retail
Will being somewhat late to the off-price game work to Macy’s advantage or against it? That is a question that will begin to be answered next fall when the department…
The Store is Dead! Long Live the Store!
The distinction between online and off-line retail sales grows blurrier by the minute, as shoppers meld their consideration and purchasing behaviors into an “all-line” shopping continuum that spans brick, web…
Will an Apple Watch app make J.C. Penney hip?
The question of what J.C. Penney has to do to make itself relevant again has found the company making numerous moves to try to court a younger customer base. Now…
Investors: McD’s turnaround plan lacks sizzle and steak
When Steve Easterbrook was named McDonald’s CEO in January, just about everyone paying attention agreed the company needed to reinvent itself. But with a focus primarily on reorganization, many…
Lego store detains child left alone
In the latest retail incident to go viral, an 11-year-old boy was detained by a security guard at a Lego store in Calgary for shopping alone. What policies should stores…
Nordstrom kicks its omnichannel strategy to the curb
Remodeling flagship stores in Chicago, Seattle and San Francisco has been the big news around Nordstrom lately. But that’s not the only news. The latest example of Nordstrom’s omnichannel emphasis…
Jet.com looks to disrupt online retailing
Lately, Amazon has been focused more on customer experience than price, offering lots of goodies for Prime customers and really fast shipping. Might that allow a new competitor to enter…
Are Millennials building a self-service nation?
With their technological savvy and comfort with mobile devices, Millennials appear to want significantly more self-serve options at retail than older generations, according to a pair of recent surveys. How…
Do random freebies create loyal customers?
While releasing record earnings last week, Pret A Manger also revealed its simplified loyalty program: Associates are allowed to randomly give out a select amount of free coffee and food…
Costco’s sweet Visa/Citi deal
Costco’s new exclusive credit card deal with Citicorp and Visa will reduce the warehouse retailer’s acceptance costs to almost zero, sources told Bloomberg. Will Costco gain a competitive advantage from…
Will Walmart spark a reshoring movement?
Walmart’s initiative to bring manufacturing jobs back to the U.S. could have a significant economic effect if it inspires other retailers to push reshoring among vendors as well. Could Walmart’s…
Sephora inside Penney makes for beautiful results
J.C. Penney has had its share of ups and downs since 2006, but during that time there has been one positive constant – Sephora. Do you think J.C. Penney…
Will a data scientist shortage hurt Big Data’s promise?
The McKinsey Global Institute predicted that “by 2018 the United States could face a shortage of between 140,000 to 190,000 people with deep analytical skills, as well as a shortage…
Uber plans to deliver everything
Uber isn’t just about picking up people in one place and delivering them to their destination in another. No, according to reports, Uber drivers (and bicycle riders) are, or soon…
Starbucks made lemonade from lemons during POS outage
Starbucks earned a lot of love last Friday evening as stores gave free drinks to customers after an internal glitch caused the chain’s POS terminals to go down in the…
Amazon sets sights on conquering the B2B market
There are a number of retail businesses that owe at least a portion of their success to the sales generated through business customers, including Grainger, Home Depot, Sam’s Club and…
Is Best Buy just the first to leap from a sinking MCX ship?
A RetailWire discussion last October focused on whether retail members of the Merchant Customer Exchange (MCX) consortium were making a mistake by refusing to accept Apple Pay. Many commentators said…
E-commerce and POS not ready to mate
The Demandware’s XChange Conference in Las Vegas showed that, while the convergence of content and commerce is happening fast, the convergence of e-commerce and point of sale is far from…
Cloud becoming a key investment for retailers
A small but notable 20 percent of large scale retailers see the cloud as the “most important technology” relative to other recent innovations, according to a new survey from eBay…
A&F tells models to keep their shirts on
Abercrombie & Fitch, which under former CEO Michael Jeffries built its business with sexually suggestive advertising, has decided that its future messaging will rely on displaying the chain’s fashions and…
Retailers turn to Etsy for new products pipeline
As part of a new program, up to 50 Etsy Wholesale designers will have the opportunity to pitch five retailers. At the Etsy Wholesale Open Call, attendees will participate in…
