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Commentary and Discussion From the Retail Community
Is mobile over-hyped?
Mobile has and will continue to have a huge impact on the retail industry. It’s just that sometimes we get swept up by the shiny new object and neglect the…
Should the Mall of America be cloned?
A 200-acre shopping and entertainment destination is being proposed for southeastern Florida that’s even bigger and offers more spectacle than the Mall of America, the largest shopping mall in the…
OK, but what about in-store drone delivery?
If drone delivery of packages to homes are far from passing the muster of legislators, how about drone delivery to shoppers in stores? A temporary Crocs store in Tokyo this…
Amazon seeks Alibaba’s help to make it in China
Amazon has opened a store on Alibaba’s Tmall online marketplace to help gain traction in China, where it has struggled since launching Amazon.cn in 2011. What do you think of…
Is fresh killing the center store?
American’s healthy eating habits and heightened demand for local products may be working against the center store, as many center aisle brands have been challenged for growth while fresh and…
Retailers dot Fortune’s ‘100 Best Companies’ list
Fortune has released its annual list of the “100 Best Companies To Work For” and Wegmans, The Container Store, QuikTrip and eight other usual suspects have been recognized as employers…
Are retailers’ pricing strategies too complicated?
According to a survey by Software Advice, 52 percent of retailers use more than 10 pricing tactics, although most revolve around a strategy of discounting. Are most retailer pricing strategies…
McD’s future includes antibiotic free chicken
McDonald’s announced yesterday that it would end the sale of chicken treated with human antibiotics at its restaurants in the U.S. within the next two years. How will McDonald’s decision…
Lumber Liquidators deals with its 15 minutes of infamy
This week, a scandal struck flooring retailer Lumber Liquidators when “60 Minutes” featured an expose on the company, which has been accused of selling Chinese-made laminate flooring that contains levels…
Omnichannel success = maximizing the box
At some point, mature retailers in mature markets will not be able to drive enough growth to satisfy investors purely by opening new stores. But omnichannel retailing may hold the…
Target makes $1B bet on digital
On last week’s earnings call with analysts, Target CEO Brian Cornell said the company’s first priority was “to drive industry leading digital sales growth” and “become a leading omnichannel retailer.”…
Teens find buying e-cigs is super easy online
A new study published in JAMA Pediatrics found that it is almost laughably easy for minors to buy electronic cigarettes online. The study concluded that minors were able to place…
Target looks to bag market share through its grocery biz
It’s not a surprise, considering Target CEO Brian Cornell’s history as an executive at PepsiCo, Sam’s Club and Safeway, that he would see grocery as an important element in his…
Eight things retailers need to know about EMV
If you’ve received a new card from your bank in the last six months, it is likely an EMV card with a chip. Banks are issuing EMV cards and retailers…
Will IKEA’s new furniture be a mobile game changer?
Always worried about the battery in your mobile phone or tablet dying out? That may soon be a concern of the past with the announcement that IKEA is launching a…
Will virtual reality transform web shopping?
According to Walker Sands’ “2015 Future of Retail Study,” more than a third of consumers would do more online shopping if they were able to try on a products virtually…
Is RFID our best bad idea for in-store fulfillment?
The role of the store is changing in the new omni-channel order, but the technology needed to fuel it is still underutilized. Case in point, RFID and in-store fulfillment for…
Rivals look to take down Whole Foods and Trader Joe’s
Trader Joe’s has its strong private label showing and talkative cashiers, and Whole Foods has its immersive shopping experience. But the two grocers may have a new wildcard to contend…
Kohl’s was made for Walmart’s grocery customers
While many retailers want their stores to be as far away from a Walmart Supercenter as possible, Kohl’s probably wants to be in the very same shopping center. Why do…
End-of-day chats produce retail results
One of the most important but under utilized tools for running a successful store is the staff chat out. Some people also call it a check out. Whatever the name,…
Green leaders get a special place on Walmart.com
Earlier this week, Walmart announced the debut of its Sustainability Leaders shop, a portal on Walmart.com developed to help shoppers find products that are produced in environmentally and socially responsible…
