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DIY Chain Tests Variable Pricing
B&Q, the U.K.’s largest home improvement and garden center retailer, is testing variable pricing with a goal of better tailoring deals to its loyalty card members. Can dynamic pricing similar…
Are PCs Still the Most Important Digital Screen?
We all see the articles that seem to support Steve Jobs’ contention that we are in the post-PC era. We read about computer sales being overtaken by sales of mobile…
Study: Nutritional Ratings Support Healthier Purchases
An independent study found that Guiding Stars, a nutrition guidance program developed by Hannaford grocery stores, delivered notably increased demand for products that are rated more nutritious, at the expense…
The RetailWire Christmas Commercial Challenge: TRU Vs. Target
Holiday commercials, created with the same goal in mind. In the RetailWire Christmas Commercial Challenge we will randomly offer up two commercials for you to critique throughout the season. Up…
Boo! It’s the Halloween Rush
While much is made about the Christmas rush, Halloween can also be a chaotic time for stores. The reason is partly because much of the spending is in a compressed…
Target Takes Own Path to Ship-to-Store
There’s nothing particularly different in Target rolling out ordering online and picking up in stores. What’s interesting is that it has done it so close to the Christmas selling season…
eBay Expands Same-Day Delivery Service
Some people still refer to eBay as an online auction site, but it’s clear the company has grown way past its original model over the years. The company’s most recent…
Starbucks Gets Tea’d Up
Starbucks wants to do the same thing for tea that it did for coffee. That’s the intention behind the grand opening of Teavana Fine Teas + Tea Bar today on…
Advice For Second Tier Grocery Brands
Conventional wisdom holds that second-tier manufacturers won’t survive the ongoing tsunami of industry consolidation. Yet many of the firms perennially found on capitalism’s endangered species list have managed to defy…
Amazon Ups Threshold For Free Shipping
Amazon has announced that to qualify for free shipping consumers will now have to spend $35 on the site instead of the $25 threshold that has been in place since…
Does Two-Tier Pricing Have One Tier Too Many?
The other night, BrainTrust Panelist Peter Charness stopped by his neighborhood multi-billion dollar retail store to pick up a health care item for his wife. His checkout generated a…
Will Gas Stations Fuel Dollar General’s Growth?
Dollar General certainly isn’t the first retailer to attempt to drive more traffic to its stores using fuel pumps. But the fact that the nation’s largest dollar store chain is…
Is Impulse Shopping Bigger Offline or Online?
The web is flooded with articles warning about the dangers of impulse buys online. But a few recent studies have found that physical stores still do a better job inspiring…
Get the Best Price: Read Some Brain Waves Today
A German scientist claims to have figured out a better way for companies to determine how much to price the products they sell: reading brain waves. Do you see a…
Why Don’t Mobile Ads Work?
A new study by researchers at the Tuck School of Business at Dartmouth College showing the differences between how people interact with smartphones and tablets vs. personal computers points out…
Will Pop-Ups Work in Subways?
Uniqlo, the Japanese apparel chain, has opened a pop-up store at the Union Square subway station in lower Manhattan. New York’s Metropolitan Transit Authority said the opening is part of…
Most Brand Conversations Happen Offline, But Social W-O-M is Rising
Among consumers who sometimes or always recommend brands to others, sharing information face-to-face remains by far the most popular method of doing so, far ahead of e-mail and social networks,…
Neiman Marcus’ $250 Mystery Box Sells Out
Neiman Marcus has apparently become the first fashion retailer to offer a limited-edition subscription box deal, also known as a “mystery box” because consumers don’t exactly know what’s inside. Even…
Is Jeff Bezos a Horrible Boss and Is That Good?
One of the common themes since Steve Jobs passed away is that for companies to become ridiculously successful today, they need to have a tyrannical genius at the top. A…
Are Retailers Neglecting Stores For Digital Channels?
A screenmediamag.com story claims retailers are neglecting stores for their e-commerce websites when allocating marketing dollars. Referring to research from the Platt Institute, the article emphasizes what it calls a…
Who Cares That Guys Influence Grocery Purchases?
Everyone within every household in America has some influence on what gets bought. And if this is true, what is the purpose of research pointing out the influence of one…
