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Commentary and Discussion From the Retail Community
Shoppers going uber-digital
The fourth annual research study of digital shopping behavior by Cisco Consulting Services, released at NRF’s Big Show, focused on digital mass market shoppers who represent 80 percent of the…
Is measuring ROI for labor the answer?
Many retailers still see training and employee retention as a luxury they cannot afford. But if retailers measure training and labor in a ROI model, instead of purely looking at…
Brands to sell directly to consumers on eBay’s Plaza
A new online marketplace planned by eBay would give consumer brands a channel to sell goods directly to consumers, according to a new report by Macquairie Capital analyst Ben Schachter…
E-commerce will go as far as the supply chain can take it
Hamish Brewer, CEO of JDA Software, began a keynote presentation at the recent NRF Big Show with the word “disruption” in reference to the retailing industry today, saying the industry…
Millennials depend on word-of-mouth more than Boomers
A recently released study from Radius Global Marketing Research shows that Millennials appear to be more influenced by word-of-mouth than Baby Boomers, while the latter are more reliant on advertising…
American Eagle lingerie line features natural beauties
In the fashion and beauty industries, it’s almost impossible to think of creating ads without models whose images have been retouched, the reasoning being consumers are not interested in buying…
Amazon gets mind reading/shipping patent
Amazon has attained a patent for “anticipatory shopping,” a system designed to cut delivery times by predicting what buyers are going to buy before they buy it. Do you think…
Loblaw does personalization right
In most cases, when marketers and retailers try to ascribe loyalty to their card-carrying customers, they’re delusional. When they demonstrate their commitment to those customers through good acts, they embark…
Did J.C. Penney make a mistake eliminating sales commissions?
Along with the bigger news of plans to close 33 stores leading to the layoff of 2,000 workers, J.C. Penney also revealed last week that it was reinstating commission pay…
Target to test really small store
Target is getting set to build and test its smallest store to date, a 20,000 square foot TargetExpress in Minneapolis, to be located on the ground floor of an apartment…
Will tech wearables go mainstream?
With Intel, Qualcomm, Sony and Samsung joining a host of upstarts crowding the Consumer Electronics Show with new launches, the hype around tech wearables has quickly led to some backlash…
Walmart pledges to support farm worker wages
Walmart is about to make the lives of 30,000 farm workers picking tomatoes in Florida just a little bit better. Yesterday, the world’s largest retailer signed on to the Fair…
NRF attendees look for a good year ahead
Exhibitors and attendees at this year’s NRF Big Show were in a positive mood, RetailWire was on hand and, in our own anecdotal and unscientific sort of way, surveyed individuals…
Staples and Office Depot take to airwaves in time of change
Change is in the air among the major office supply chains. Staples recently replaced its more than a decade-old tagline, and Office Depot is just a couple of months into…
Creating a post-demographics media strategy in the age of data-driven marketing
In a digital age, marketers have amazing options. We are moving into a post-demographics, data-driven era in which behavior-based media strategies offer recency, relevance, and reinforcement targeting. How does a…
How can stores compete with Amazon?
Tuesday at the NRF Big Show convention, Lee Peterson, EVP of created services, WD Partners, presented the findings of his firm’s study which explored how the store can compete against…
Grocer bans candy at checkouts
Depending on the spin, Lidl is either the first or among the first grocery chains operating in the U.K. to remove candy from all its checkout lanes. Would a full…
Consumers trust newspaper ads most
Maybe consumer marketers shouldn’t be in such a rush to move their advertising budget to online after all as new research found that, when it comes to which ads…
What consumer trends will shape food retailing in 2014?
Millennials, health-conscious shoppers and a shift in consumer palates set the stage for what’s to come in the food world this year, according to 2014 predictions from Phil Lempert, the…
Buy local campaigns finding new tools
While many “buy local” campaigns seem to rely on a sticker in a window or a rare event-driven day, loyalty cards, gift cards and community websites are emerging to throw…
Does X-commerce have big potential beyond pizza?
According to a recent report on Polygon, Pizza Hut sold $1 million through the Xbox app in its first four months. Interestingly, 11 percent who placed an order used the…
