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Commentary and Discussion From the Retail Community
Study finds rude associates sell more in luxury stores
At least at luxury stores, the ruder the sales staff, the better for sales, according to new research from the University of British Columbia’s Sauder School of Business. Do you…
Getting SKU rationalization right
SKU rationalization can make or break your department but there are ways to do it while limiting the disappointment of scratched items to many of your customers. What are the…
Reports: Amazon holds shipments in publisher dispute
Involved in a publishing dispute, Amazon.com is discouraging its customers from purchasing popular titles from Hachette Book Group. That’s at least according to Hachette, one of the largest New York…
Is Whole Foods up to its competition?
Wall Street is very down on Whole Foods at the moment. The natural and organics grocer saw its share price drop 18.8 percent earlier this week as investors questioned whether…
Moving beyond the customer service call
A new survey finds that some 53 percent of consumers ages 18-34 prefer to use electronic media – e-mail, web chat, text or social – instead of the phone for…
Kroger rolls out green fleet
Goodbye diesel. Hello natural gas. Earlier this week Kroger announced that the company is getting ready to be the first to deploy a fleet of heavy-duty trucks running on Liquid…
Big advice from a small retailer
At the recent eTail West conference, Dave Ratner gave a terrific presentation on how small retailers can win against big chains — real world examples from somebody who worked his…
An evolutionary tale from Nordstrom
With the launch of a dedicated e-commerce site for Nordstrom’s fast-growing Rack banner, Nordstrom furthers the evolution of its business model from an upscale department store to a multi-format, multi-channel…
Amazon opens warehouses for tours
Amazon, known for being highly secretive, is opening up six of its 37 fulfillment centers to tours. Why do you think Amazon is opening up its fulfillment centers to tours?…
Technology brings personalization back to brick & mortar stores
Personalized service was one of the casualties when the retail industry moved from independent stores to chains. Personalization at scale has always been difficult, but technology advances in the last…
Is Sears Holdings making real progress in transforming itself?
Once again Sears’ CEO Edward Lampert has spoken and the message is pretty much the same. But where others see an ongoing deconstruction of once proud retailers, Mr. Lampert sees…
Should stores have signature smells?
While stores have been increasingly using ambient scenting to create a “pleasant” smelling shopper experience, a few stores are looking to signature scents as a differential. Should or can signature…
Where will U.S. retailers find middle class growth?
“The American Middle Class is No Longer the World’s Richest.” This recent New York Times front-page headline played to both sides of the political spectrum as each blames the policy…
Lowe’s helps match customers with home improvement pros
Watch out, Angie, you and your list have some competition. Last week, Lowe’s announced it was expanding its partnership with Porch.com, a site that recommends local painters, plumbers and a…
Amazon and Twitter team up for some social shopping
At first, one might think that #AmazonCart, a new feature that syncs tweets on Twitter with shopping carts on Amazon.com, provides a solution for a problem that doesn’t exist. But…
Steinhafel out as CEO at Target
It appears as though Target’s data breach has claimed another victim. This morning, the retailer’s board announced that Gregg Steinhafel had resigned, effectively immediately, as the company’s chairman, chief executive…
Starbucks considers licensing its mobile app
Tech companies and national retailers have approached Starbucks about whether the coffee giant would consider licensing or white-labeling its successful mobile application, CEO Howard Schultz revealed during the company’s first-quarter…
J. Crew reportedly exploring budget concept
J. Crew Group is quietly developing a new format aimed at more budget-conscious shoppers after successfully turning around its core chain with more upscale designs and loftier prices. What are…
Groupon wants Costco’s customers
Groupon has launched a new online bulk-buying service, Groupon Basics, that promises to provide customers with big savings on more than 100 everyday HBC and household items. Will consumers be…
Pop-up combines cats and coffee
This past weekend, Purina One opened The Cat Café, a four-day-only pop-up in lower Manhattan that represented the first ever cat café in the U.S. What is your reaction to…
New drive-thru grocery concept gets rave reviews
A new drive-through grocery store, Zoomin Market in Olathe, KS, is getting a lot of love from locals. The new concept, which bills itself as “the next big idea in…
