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Commentary and Discussion From the Retail Community
Should Mobile POS Be About Low Transactions Fees?
With Groupon’s introduction last week of a free iPad-based payment system, a pricing war appears to be breaking out among developers of mobile-based POS solutions. What should be the primary…
Do Malls Need a Gen-Y Makeover?
The good news for enclosed malls is that online buying isn’t drastically taking away their business with the Gen-Y crowd. The bad news: big box discounters and warehouse clubs could…
Can Drive-Thrus Work for Department Stores?
Starting in January 2014, Selfridges will apparently become the first department store to offer drive-thru pickup. Is drive-thru pickup becoming a more critical complement to online buying? What do you…
Is Walmart Right to Shrug Off Its Tougher Than Expected Quarter?
Walmart did not the post the numbers company execs were hoping for in the first fiscal quarter of the year. As to what went wrong in Q1, Walmart U.S. president…
Does Walgreens Have An Out-of-Stock Problem?
A new report from Change to Win, a union-backed adversary of Walgreens, claims out-of-stocks are out of control at the chain’s stores. Do you think Walgreens has out-of-stock issues? What…
Does the eBay/Kate Spade Pop-Up Represent Something New in Retailing?
EBay and Kate Spade Saturday are launching a pop-up shop featuring a digital touch-screen storefront window in New York this summer. Does the pop-up shop with lifesize touch-screen represent…
BrainTrust Query: Will Same-Day Delivery Become a Retail Necessity?
According to the founder and CEO of the U.K. delivery service, Shutl, American retailers are “freaked out” over the prospect of Amazon achieving nationwide same-day delivery because it removes one…
Will Food Lion’s Rebranding Effort Pay Off?
In a series of announcements early last year, Food Lion announced it was closing some locations and beginning a brand repositioning focused on improving the customer experience. Are you more…
Where Does In-Store Data Help Retailers Most?
While in-store data is continually hyped for its potential to improve marketing approaches, many stores are viewing such data as vital to enhancing store operations. Which retail discipline or department…
Do Morons Run Whole Foods?
Forget about conscious capitalists. How about clueless ones instead? That’s the assessment of Henry Miller, a Robert Wesson fellow in scientific philosophy and public policy at the Hoover Institution. Is…
Will the Marketplace Fairness Act Hurt Online Sales?
It’s long been argued that online sellers have taken business from brick & mortar stores. This pricing advantage led retailers of all sizes to push for legislation to level the…
RSR Research: Who Says the Store is Dead?
A recent visit to the new Whole Foods Market in North Miami assures that the store is alive and well. You just have to make it … interesting. What should…
Will Amazon Coins Outperform Real Money?
Yesterday, Amazon announced it would put 500 Amazon Coins, the equivalent of $5, into the account of every Kindle Fire to be spent on apps, games and in-app items. What…
Does Marketplace Give Kroger an Answer to Walmart?
With so much emphasis in chain retailing today focused on shrinking the big box, some companies are opening big and sometimes even bigger boxes to compete with the world’s largest…
StorefrontBacktalk: Should Retailers Favor Customers With High Social Influence?
American Airlines last week announced that it was going to offer people who have a high social influence free access to its airport lounges. Should retailers offer incentives to shoppers…
When Will Merchants Realize the Disruptive Potential of RFID?
At the recent RFID Journal LIVE! 2013 conference, the case was made that RFID is a much more significant technology than was thought 10 years ago, calling RFID a disruptive…
Are Retail Associates Geared Up for Omnichannel?
Lower level staff often don’t see opportunities to excel. But staffing experts see the new omnichannel retail world as a means for employees to maximize their opportunities. On the whole,…
Should A&F Court Girls Its CEO Finds Unattractive?
Abercrombie & Fitch has a business philosophy that refutes the notion that beauty is more than skin deep, as is shown in a new book, The New Rules of Retail,…
What Are Facebook Fans Worth to Retailers?
How much is a Facebook fan worth? It’s pretty high if you’re Walmart with 28.6 million Facebook fans valued at $834.76 each. Not so much for Coca-Cola where each fan…
Will Sears Strike Gold With Lease-to-Own Program?
Sears found success with its layaway plan. Now it’s come up with another option to help cash constrained consumers buy big ticket items — a lease-to-own program. Will Sears be…
Will Facebook Help Target Drive Store Traffic?
Target has rolled out Cartwheel, a program that enables Facebook users to get special offers that can be redeemed using their smartphones in the retailer’s stores, but not its website…
