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Commentary and Discussion From the Retail Community
Walmart Goes Back to School
Walmart is looking to learn from a new concept store it plans to open later this year on the campus of Georgia Tech in Atlanta. The store will be the…
Costco Has Rx for Business Owners’ High Drug Costs
Costco is moving in on the territory of Express Scripts and CVS Caremark with the launch of Costco Health Solutions, a pharmacy benefits manager offer designed for small and midsize…
Volunteers Rescue Independent Grocer
After finding friendly service and unique merchandise assortments didn’t serve as a good enough defense against the arrival of larger supermarket chains, one small independent found another way to survive:…
NRF: OfficeMax Seeks New Channels
Retailers usually walk the aisles searching out new and better solutions at the NRF BIG Show. But this year, one major retailer tried out the view from the other side,…
NRF: Twitter for Mom & Pops
At a packed session at the NRF convention on Tuesday, Richard Alfonsi, Twitter’s global VP for small business sales, suggested smaller retailers take three steps to get started on the…
Holy Cow! McD’s Becomes Macca’s Down Under
Imagine if for one month, the golden arches at McDonald’s no longer used the company’s name, but instead shortened it to the popular Mickey D’s. That’s what the chain has…
NRF: Walmart Goes Big On Red, White and Blue
Walmart is wrapping itself firmly in the American flag with plans to take logistics savings directly to the bank at this year’s NRF BIG Show in New Yorkm announcing a…
NRF: Good Vibrations at the BIG Show
The mood on the floor of the NRF Show was decidedly upbeat this year as exhibitors and attendees pointed to continuing, albeit moderate, economic improvement in the U.S. How much…
BrainTrust Query: Marketing Simplification
Marketing organizations should embrace simplification as a pervasive strategy for competitive advantage. Consider the success of firms that are in the simplification business, pure and simple. How can marketing approaches…
RSR Research: 2013 – The Year of Measured Retail
While the amount of customer and product information available to retail has been growing steadily over the last decade, 2013 may be the year when the remaining gaps in customer…
BrainTrust Query: Retail CMO Coming of Age or Fading Away?
Perhaps no other executive role within retail and brand marketing has seen more upheaval in recent years than that of the chief marketing officer. While some companies are establishing new…
Off-Price Chains Target Department Store Shoppers
Department stores, recognizing the attraction off-price chains have with consumers, have responded, in part, with own-name outlets and other strategies to move excess merchandise while trying to keep shoppers from…
IBM: Showroomers Should Be Targeted
Although the notorious ‘showroomer’ makes up only 6 percent of all public buying traffic, they’re young, active and influential and should be considered retail’s target customers, contends a new study…
NRF Study: Respondents Split on Mobile’s Impact on E-Commerce
According to the 2013 Shop.org/Forrester Research’s State Of Retailing Online survey, respondents are split regarding mobile’s impact on conversion rates. What should retailers take from the “opportunities, distractions, and implications”…
Best Buy Gains Where Amazon Collects Tax
A Best Buy financial report shows that while its physical stores didn’t get a huge boost in states where Amazon has started to add sales tax charges to purchases, its…
Supervalu Shakeup – Investment Group to Buy Chains
Supervalu announced yesterday that it has agreed to sell its Albertsons, Acme, Jewel-Osco, Shaw’s and Star Market grocery chains along with its Osco and Sav-on in-store pharmacies to AB Acquisition…
BrainTrust Query: Can You Say ‘Returns Harassment?’
The NRF reports that 62 percent of retailers require customers to provide ID, such as a driver’s license (to be recorded), in order to make returns without a receipt, even…
Whole Foods’ SWI (Shopping-While-Imbibing) Concept
Over the past few years, Whole Foods Market has rolled out bars serving beer, wine, and simple fare in its stores. Now comes a report that a Whole Foods in…
Retail TouchPoints: Shopper Sentiment Research Finds Retailers ‘Behind the Mobile Curve’
According to a study from OpinionLab, a VoC solution provider, shoppers are demanding more streamlined shopping experiences, especially as they relate to mobile transactions. Do you agree that most retailers…
What’s the Best Supermarket in America?
For as much as people complain about grocery shopping, there are many who show the love for food stores that get it right. What company runs the best grocery…
Mickey Drexler Talks Creativity, Retailing Success
When Mickey Drexler speaks, people listen. The man who successfully led the Gap and then turned J. Crew around has picked up a few things since he started his career…
