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Commentary and Discussion From the Retail Community
How Important Are Physical Stores to Barnes & Noble?
Where has Barnes & Noble’s market share gone? To Amazon.com, of course, again raising the question of what B&N can do to reverse its decline. What role will physical stores…
Tragedy Strikes Again as Workers Die in Garment Factory Fire
A recent fire in a garment factory in Bangladesh again raises questions around whether the demands placed on suppliers are forcing them to cut corners and put workers in…
BrainTrust Query: How Can Retailers Harness Digital’s Fragmented Future?
In a recent article for The Guardian, journalist and science fiction author Cory Doctorow expounded on dynamics that have far-reaching and potentially contentious implications for digital age dealings in content…
Why Don’t More Retailers Have Innovation Labs?
One of the trends in 2012 was retailers creating standalone innovation labs. In most cases these labs stem from acquiring a start-up and, not wanting to crush the start-up spirit,…
Pigskin? More Like Pig Out on Super Sunday
With record viewership expected, total consumer spending around the Super Bowl is expected to reach nearly $12.3 billion this year, according to the National Retail Federation (NRF). What fresh approaches…
What Will It Take to Make Grocery Mobile Apps Matter?
According to a holiday shopping survey, only 5.6 percent of respondents used their mobile phone to actually buy groceries during the past 12 months. Yet supermarkets continue to launch and…
Will Walmart Head Off Target in Canada?
Walmart Canada announced it would spend $450 million (C) to finish conversions or remodels on 37 supercenters as well as opening nine more stores by the end of January 2014…
Mickey Gets Personal Through RFID
Moving deeper into personal data collection, Walt Disney Parks and Resorts is introducing a MagicBand tool, rubber bracelets that enable Disney to track guest behavior in minute detail. Will shoppers…
Has Walgreens Found a Way Around Pharmacists’ Religious Objections?
With cases in which pharmacists have cited religion as the reason for refusing to dispense prescriptions, Walgreens has announced that it will not allow the personal religious beliefs of individual…
Are Retailers Making It All About Their Customers?
Loyalty is one of those words that is tossed about in retail. It is also a rare achievement in the business, so when it appears as though a merchant has…
Internet Cuts Salespeoples’ Commissions
With showrooming, having an all-star list of salespeople on commission isn’t enough. Customers will coming in to pick the sales associates’ brains then leave to buy at the cheapest price…
Can Stores Schedule Their Way to Success?
While competitive wages always help, flexibility around scheduling also plays a critical role in employee retention, according to a panel of retail labor managers at the National Retail Federation’s (NRF)…
Will Tablets Reinvent How We Shop Everywhere?
According to a new study from Adobe Systems, 55 percent of tablet owners reported they are using the device for buying products versus only 28 percent of smartphone users. How…
Clubs Eating Grocers’ Breakfast, Lunch and Dinner
In the early to mid 1990s there was great concern in supermarket circles about so-called “alternative channels.” As everyone knows, warehouse clubs have been very successful, although not to the…
Has Retail Lost Its Creative Edge?
In “The Cultivation of Creativity” a breakout session at the 2013 NRF Big Show last week, initiatives were discussed that can nurture and support a culture of creativity within organizations…
Who Are the ‘Digital Divas’ and Why Are They Critical to Retail?
We all have friends who are more digitally engaged than we are and we know others who are more fashion forward than ourselves. Now, it seems, there is a group…
Marketers, Put on Your Steampunk Goggles
Cultural trend spotting through social media may soon be a common tool for retail practitioners. IBM is already demonstrating its skills, identifying “steampunk” as a style that will have a…
Why is Target Launching Brands Online Instead of In Stores?
Target is known for launching exclusive brands that get the chain plenty of press for drawing crowds to its stores. But last week the company announced it was launching six…
BrainTrust Query: What Will It Take to Succeed in 2013?
NRF is behind us, arguably the center of what’s happening in retail. Many retailers will want to address the big trends using technology. But success must come from being more…
Will Facebook Revolutionize Search Engine Marketing?
Presenting a potential challenge to Google and review websites like Yelp, Facebook last week launched a limited test of Graph Search, a new search engine that incorporates its mountain of…
Why Don’t Loyalty Programs Connect With Consumers?
A recent survey finds that retailer loyalty programs are still failing to emotionally engage customers. The report also found retailers expect the revenue contribution from customers enrolled in loyalty programs…
