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Commentary and Discussion From the Retail Community
Amazon gets accepted to a Big Ten school
Amazon is dipping its toes in the brick and mortar and ivy world. On Tuesday, the e-tail giant announced the grand opening of Amazon@Purdue, its first staffed customer order, pickup…
Three key words for loyalty marketing
At the beginning of each year, Hanifin Loyalty traditionally selects three words to define the course of loyalty marketing over the next 12 months. Here’s a summary look at Hanifin…
The who, what, why, where and when of television watching
Who is watching television and why and how are they watching it? According to a Washington Post report, big screen TVs are used for gatherings of family and friends while…
Staples to acquire Office Depot
And then there was one … office supply chain. Staples and Office Depot announced today that the companies have entered into an agreement for Staples to acquire its smaller rival…
Macy’s to acquire luxury beauty products retailer
Macy’s has reached an agreement to acquire Bluemercury, a luxury beauty products and spa services retailer, for $210 million in cash. What is your assessment of Macy’s deal to acquire…
Nordstrom reassigns Innovation Lab workers
Nordstrom’s Innovation Lab ain’t what it used to be. According to a GeekWire report, Nordstrom has moved employees out of its tech startup to positions inside the company, including its…
Is Target set for a growth spurt?
Having bailed on Canada, Target is set to focus on growing its business in the U.S. Yesterday, the chain announced plans to open 15 stores this year including eight TargetExpress…
What will driverless cars mean for shoppers?
With driverless cars perhaps coming sooner rather than later, it’s apparently time to start thinking about what drivers will do once their hands are free. What will driverless cars mean…
Overstock.com to introduce streaming videos
Joining Amazon and many others, Overstock.com is planning a subscription-based streaming-video service, to offer about 30,000 titles and eventually create its own content. Does Overstock.com need and can it execute…
Good game, bad commercials mark Super Bowl XLIX
Last year’s Super Bowl combined a game in which one team ran away from the other with commercials weaker than any in recent memory. This year’s big game was a…
Zappos rolls out Uber-like wage model
Zappos has introduced a scheduling method for its call center employees similar to Uber’s surge-pricing model. Basically, hourly shifts with greater call volume pay out higher wages than less busy…
A town launches a loyalty program
Orland Park, in the south suburbs of Chicago, has launched a loyalty program designed to encourage civic engagement, and in late January began offering members an initial set of opportunities…
Alibaba vice chair defends e-commerce giant’s integrity
Joe Tsai, executive vice chairman of Alibaba, had harsh words yesterday for a report by the State Administration for Industry and Commerce in China that alleged the e-commerce giant has…
Uniqlo announces its first move into Canada
Target’s recent tactical retreat from Canada struck many as a cautionary tale. Against the backdrop of that lesson comes the first big-name retailer to give the Canadian market a shot…
Are hugs okay at retail?
While knowing a customer’s name is often praised as top-notch customer service for a sales associate, hugging can apparently go too far. A cashier in Michigan was fired last year…
Is the second screen e-commerce’s secret weapon?
While “second screens” — smartphones and tablets — being used by coach potatoes are often feared by marketers as a way for consumers to avoid television advertising, a university study…
Customer service the long, wrong way
A recent experience with a high-end retailer, a store known for its exemplary customer service and where an embarrassingly large amount of money was spent highlights ongoing difficulties with integrating…
McD’s makes a change at the top
McDonald’s has been on a search for answers. The company has posted months of declining same-store sales in the U.S. and abroad. In a familiar response to such challenges, the…
The rise of the customization nation
In a session presented by Anthony Flynn, CEO of YouBar and author of Custom Nation, the premise was that grocery retailing is an industry grounded in the delivery of mass…
Retailers to get pumped up with Super Bowl sales
There doesn’t appear to be anything that will deflate the good moods of retailers in the lead-up to the Super Bowl this Sunday. According to a new survey, average viewer…
Hershey looks out of the box for impulse sales
Whether ordering groceries online for delivery or pickup from curbside at the store, each results in lost impulse sales that otherwise might have occurred inside the “box.” Do you see…
