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Commentary and Discussion From the Retail Community
Should Stores Associates Police Rude Customers?
A new study by the University of British Columbia’s Sauder School of Business says retailers should consider admonishing checkout line jumpers and other disruptive store browsers to ease aggression between…
What Do You Make of Best Buy’s ‘Termination Tuesdays’?
According to sources within Best Buy, the retailer has been laying off employees in small numbers over the past couple of months instead of doing it in one large downsizing…
What Does It Take to Move ‘Up!’ in Retail?
The retail career path has been unfairly maligned over the years as a dead end. Bob Ravener believes the historical and conventional rhetoric about retail has it all wrong. What…
Has the Apple Store Lost Its Uniqueness?
While Apple’s stores have long been heralded as retail shrines for their sharp design and top-notch service, a recent article in The Wall Street Journal states that they may now…
Will ‘One Dress A Day’ Redefine Fast Fashion?
An article on PSFK says a new fashion website, One Dress A Day, may give new meaning to the term fast fashion, providing a new way to look at the…
Compete Blog: How Can Retailers Win the Social Media Race?
Based on a recent survey by Compete, 40 percent of online shoppers believed retailers’ Facebook pages have been extremely/very influential on their purchasing decisions. Which of the findings from Compete’s…
Could Amazon Rule the Art World?
It’s fair to say that Amazon.com has changed the way Americans shop. The new question is whether the company will have the same type of effect in fine art as…
Will Target Become a Driving Force in the Online Beauty Market?
Target has been acquiring e-commerce sites to help differentiate and grow in line with its trendy branding position. Yesterday, the company announced an agreement to acquire the DermStore Beauty Group…
Is WinCo ‘Walmart’s Worst Nightmare’?
Burt Flickinger III, the well-known retail industry analyst, thinks WinCo Foods may be “the best retailer in the Western U.S.” He also thinks the supermarket operator may be “unstoppable” and…
BrainTrust Query: What Can Retailers Do to Keep It Fresh?
In a conversation about taking the actions that make a specialty retailer successful, a friend and client of BrainTrust panelist Doug Fleener said, “Don’t underestimate what we in the stores…
Will a New Marketing SVP Help Bring Penney Back?
When Myron “Mike” Ullman was brought back to lead J.C. Penney he found himself having to refill key positions. Yesterday, Penney named Debra Berman, the former VP, marketing strategy and…
BrainTrust Query: Will a Crowdsourced Grocery Shopping Service Succeed?
An alternative approach for home delivery is to forgo the warehouses and trucks and leverage what’s already available in every town. Instacart takes a crowdsourcing approach to grocery home delivery…
Will Pinterest-like Lists Work for Amazon?
Amazon has quietly unveiled Collections, a Pinterest-like section where customers can save, share and discover new products on the site. What are the pros and cons for retailers of creating…
What Type of Digital Coupons Do Grocery Shoppers Want?
Walmart is expanding its “Scan & Go” feature to include access to digital coupons. Do you think shoppers will prefer their digital coupons coming pre-selected, personalized based on purchasing history,…
RSR Research: Why I Might Take My Tablet Shopping
About two months ago, Nikki Baird spotted her first tablet shopper in the wild. Annoyed as she passed his lane-hogging cart, she thought at the time she could never see…
What Would Happen if Retailers Paid Higher Starting Wages?
The topic of retail employee wages has gotten more attention lately. Those supportive of the chains can point to several reasons why paying workers higher wages is a bad idea…
BrainTrust Query: What Does It Take to Become a Loyalty Marketing One-Percenter?
Loyalty in retail has been built on rewarding accumulated points. The benchmark for this deferred discount has been one percent, but that’s changing based on the demands of Millennials. Is…
Will H&M Be an Instant Success Online?
H&M may be in the fast-fashion business, but the company has been painfully slow in launching an e-commerce site here in the U.S. What will H&M need to do…
Does Back-to-School Represent a Turnaround for Penney?
Perhaps more than any of its chief competitors, J.C. Penney needs to have a strong back-to-school season. Now, research shows the chain’s website as second only to Walmart’s for back-to-school…
Will Target’s New Approach Connect With Young Families?
Target has been tinkering with using service in key areas within its stores to differentiate its offerings and drive sales. Now the discount chain is testing a baby section with…
Will a New Head Geek Help Best Buy ‘Renew Blue’?
While much of the press attention on Best Buy has been focused on the company’s store-within-a-store and brick and click businesses, very little has been paid to the Geek Squad…
