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Commentary and Discussion From the Retail Community
Gray Thursday, Black Friday – It’s All Green at Retail
The Thanksgiving night openings from Walmart, Target, Toys “R” Us, Sears and others may have taken some sales away from Black Friday results. But traffic was still reported to be…
Cameras Roll for Walmart ‘Worker’ Protests
While the lead retail story on the evening news this past weekend was far and away Black Friday mania, the secondary one in many markets dealt with the union-led protests…
BrainTrust Query: P-O-Inted Observations on Collaborative Promotion Optimization
With the theme of promotion collaboration established at the 4th annual POI Joint Business Planning Summit held in Chicago in early November, conference attendees debated hurdles facing such partnering and…
Target’s Turkey Dinner Cheaper Than Walmart’s
Recent reports suggest that Target might have a slight edge over Walmart heading into the holiday season. And thanks to an analysis by Bloomberg Industries, Target gets a win with…
Wegmans Customers Thankful for Tweets
Wegmans is known for helping its customers expand their holiday season culinary horizons through recipes, food preparation videos, its monthly Menu magazine, online chats and — for the second year…
MarketingCharts: Brands Plan More Spending On Local Marketing
In 2013, 47.3 percent of national brands expect to spend more on local marketing than they did this year, according to a new study from Balihoo, while an additional 44…
Rejuvenation Stations, Other Perks Await Black Friday Shoppers
With many shoppers avoiding Black Friday chaos, many malls are rolling out the welcome mat by adding amenities such as valet parking, free refreshments and relaxation lounges. What steps being…
Merchants Think Big As Consumers ‘Shop Small’
In a RetailWire article last November, a strong argument was made for merchants to work with American Express and get behind the Small Business Saturday initiative, which was a big…
Consumer Reports Releases Annual ‘Naughty & Nice’ List
It turns out that Santa isn’t the only one keeping a list. Heading into the Thanksgiving Day weekend, Consumer Reports (CR) has published a list of 20 companies that have…
BrainTrust Query: Marketers Need to Start Thinking of Their Brands As Media
In the old days there was only one kind of audience — the ones that media created. These audiences are still significant, but now there is a new type of…
Whole Foods Launches Foodie Adventure Tours
Whole Foods Market recently launched Whole Journeys, travel ventures that promise food lovers and culture buffs new ways to discover “what travel should taste like.” What do you think…
IKEA Makes Home Visits
People often consider IKEA a style leader. In actual fact, though, it is their customers’ style preferences that are used to guide their product offerings. What do you think about…
Best Buy CEO Says Chain Open for Showrooming
Best Buy shouldn’t fear showrooming; it should embrace it. So says the chain’s new CEO, Hubert Joly. According to an Associated Press report, Mr. Joly said consumers entering Best Buy…
CSD: Dealing With Difficult Colleagues
Inevitably, difficult coworkers creep into your work life, disturbing you, your employees’ and your leaders’ workflow and negatively affecting the service you all provide your customers. Does extending the notion…
Survey Says: Retailers Give a Little, Get a Lot
Sampling works. That bit of news won’t come as a total surprise to retailers or brands, but new research conducted by Harris Interactive suggests that giving away freebies is an…
‘Tis Better To Give To Thyself Than…
According to the NRF’s holiday consumer spending survey conducted by BIGinsight, nearly six in 10 shoppers plan to spend an average of $139.92 on “self-gifting” this holiday season. What do…
Optimize This: Tablet Owners Seek Site Upgrades
Industry sources have forecast online sales will grow by double-digits this holiday season. So why then does new research find that only seven percent of the top 100 retailers in…
Walmart Delivers Special ‘Goodies’ to Customers’ Homes
Part of the idea behind the @WalmartLabs “idea incubator” is to take Walmart in directions that the retailer’s management may not have thought of on their own. The latest brainstorm…
BrainTrust Query: Beating the Fallacy of ‘Cheap’ Marketing
Your CEO just rejected another proposal that could increase revenue on the grounds that the marketing investment was too great. What are you to do? What are some strategies…
Consumers Find Lowest Prices in Stores
Current wisdom holds that online prices are lower than brick & mortar stores. But a new study by Market Track reveals that the best places for consumers to find low…
BrainTrust Query: The Great Digital Disconnect
Digital content and especially digital coupons have been a disappointment to many retailers in their immediate impact to the business. What barriers do you see hampering the use of digital…
