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Commentary and Discussion From the Retail Community
Walmart/Kroger in Hunt for Twinkies Exclusive?
Two surprise names — Walmart and Kroger — have reportedly turned up among the bidders for Hostess Brands Inc., the bankrupt maker of Wonder Bread and Twinkies. Does it make…
The eTail Blog: Dwell + AhaLife Launch Shoppable Magazine
Nowadays publishing may be influencing commerce more than vice versa. Hence the advent of content as commerce, like Dwell Media’s partnership with AhaLife and Layar and its first ever, augmented…
A Nation Divided – In Food Aisles
A report from SAI Marketing finds that eaters are increasingly breaking down into two groups: Food Elites and Food Realists. Do you see a distinct bifurcation among food consumers in…
BrainTrust Query: HR is More Than ‘Sick Visits’
For many employees and even executives, the HR function has been viewed as a hurdle or an impediment to be overcome by the “real” business leaders who were focused on…
Amazon Not Slowed By Sales Taxes
It’s long been argued by retailers that Amazon.com has an unfair advantage, but a funny thing has happened as more states work out deals for Amazon to collect sales taxes…
Payments Going the Way of the Smartphone
While a small percentage of consumers are currently paying for goods by tapping terminals with their phones, two-thirds of Americans, according to a Harris Interactive poll, think it’s just a…
BrainTrust Query: The New Big Data Mandate – Consider the Source
A recent article for Bloomberg Businessweek entitled “The Case against Digital Sprawl,” argues that companies need to get ahead of the extreme data density being driven by what the author…
Dollar General Ready to Drop Prices On the Competition
You know competition has to be tough when the nation’s largest dollar store chain announces it is looking at dropping prices to compete for market share during the Christmas holiday…
Affluent Consumers: Have Confidence, Will Shop
According to Unity Marketing’s latest Luxury Tracking Survey, affluent consumers’ confidence is on the rise, growing at its fastest pace ever. How are luxury consumers different today than in the…
Restaurants Looking At Record Year Ahead
A new report by the National Restaurant Association (NRA) is projecting an increase in sales for the fourth straight year, reaching an all-time high of $660 billion. With that growth…
The Forgetful Holiday Shopper
Apparently, Christmas shoppers aren’t checking their lists twice. Nearly 56 million adult online Americans are likely to forget to buy a gift for someone, according to the Last-Minute Shopping survey…
Legal Pot Raises Workplace Questions
Employment lawyers, according to an Associated Press report, are urging companies to clearly define what their policies on legal marijuana are. How should retailers deal with employees’ use of marijuana…
Macy’s Extends 24-Hour Holiday Shopping
Raising the bar for other retailers, Macy’s last week announced that most of its stores will be open continuously in the 48 hours leading up to Christmas Eve. Do extended…
RSR Research: Empathy and Design Thinking
Hearing the word “empathy” in the context of application development and delivery at SAP’s Tech Ed event in Madrid may be confusing, but becomes clearer when you couple the notion…
Study: Grocers Overly-Promoting Junk
While healthy and fresh messages are appearing all over grocery floors these days, a study from the U.K. still finds supermarkets’ promotions biased in favor of foods high in fat,…
BrainTrust Query: Three Universal Truths to Creating Strong Business Relationships
There are three recurring drivers of creating successful relationships with colleagues who are either co-workers or clients that universally apply to both external and internal relationships. What do you think…
Dollar Stores Consuming Greater Share of Food Market
Even as the economy has begun to recover, dollar stores continue to pick up share from supermarkets and mass merchandisers. Do you expect the competitive threat posed by dollar stores…
Starbucks: Steel This Gift Card
Just last week we discussed Starbucks’ use of scarcity to build the perceived value of select estate coffees. Now the chain is offering a limited edition gift card that is…
Google Shopping Executive Shares Holiday Best Practices
Google transitioned beginning May 2012 from a free search model to Google Shopping, which relies solely on paid Product Listing Ads. What do you see as the benefits as well…
Reimagine That: J.C. Penney Has Morale Problem
While many point to changes in pricing and promotion as the why behind plummeting sales at J.C. Penney, another reason may have been spelled out in Penney’s recent SEC filing:…
Topshop Deal Should Worry Clothing Chains
It’s no longer a rumor. The private equity firm Leonard Green & Partners has invested $250 million for a 25 percent stake in Topshop and that appears to be just…
