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Commentary and Discussion From the Retail Community
Survey: Social Sharing Driving Purchases
A new survey of online shoppers finds a strong correlation between consumer purchases and “social sharing,” or when friends share shopping finds online. For instance, the survey found that 62…
Are Google’s Glasses a Vision of Future Computing?
Google has developed a pair of wraparound glasses that work just like a smartphone, but are worn on your head, which can stream information to the lenses and work through…
Dechert-Hampe: Vendors Need Shopper-Centric Focus
Dechert-Hampe Consulting’s Sales Force of the Future survey concludes yet again that manufacturers’ account managers should be doing a better job getting to know their retail customers’ business — yet…
Banana Republic, Google Join Starbucks in ‘Creating Jobs for the USA’
Starbucks CEO Howard Schultz announced an initiative last October with the Opportunity Finance Network (OFN) called “Create Jobs for the USA,” to both cheers and jeers. Now, Banana Republic and…
Call Made to Change Food Stamp Program
An opinion piece on the Bloomberg News site written by Peter Orzag, the current vice chairman of global banking at Citigroup and former director of the Office of Management and…
PL Buyer: Avoid the Middle
Retailers need to choose whether they want to target high end or low end consumers if they’re going to survive because the middle ground of consumers is going away. Is…
BK’s New ‘Me Too’ Differentiation Strategy
Burger King is shaking things up. The company has announced major changes to its menu and has planned restaurant remodels. And to draw attention, the company has launched a star-studded…
Why People Hate to Grocery Shop
The usual suspects made the list of companies that 24,000 consumers rated as best and worst among grocery store operators in the U.S. as part of Consumer Reports annual survey…
Safeway: No Loyalty Card, No Discounts
It’s not uncommon for cashiers at supermarkets and other retailers to swipe a generic loyalty card for customers who forget their cards or don’t have one. But some retailers, including…
Digital Coupon Users Are Big Spenders
According to research conducted for Coupons.com, a growing number of consumers are seeking out and using digital coupons, and these consumers are highly educated, affluent and big shoppers. In light…
Employers Tie Premium Costs to Employee’s Health
In a 2009 RetailWire poll, the majority of respondents were against employers being able to mandate medical tests or changes in behavior as a requirement for being on their company…
BrainTrust Query: Is Charging Customers For Browsing So Ludicrous?
A sales associate waits on a customer and at a certain point when everything fits, the dressing room goes silent as the customer scans with her smartphone to see if…
Best Buy to Test ‘Connected’ Stores
Best Buy last week gave details of its “Connected Store,” a slightly smaller format which CEO Brian Dunn described as “remodeled big box stores that focus on connections, services and…
Mobs Splash Out the Cash
Social media is being used, yet again, to attract likeminded people to form a mob and get together for both a bit of fun and a more serious underlying purpose…
Google Plans Tablet Store to Take On Amazon and Apple
Coming off an unsuccessful attempt to sell an Android smartphone back in 2010, Google is planning to launch an online store similar to Amazon and Apple to sell co-branded tablet…
Retail TouchPoints: In-Store Insights Help Turn Browsers Into Buyers
A missed opportunity is walking out of stores every day: the browsers who could be buyers, and about whom most retailers have little or no information. Where do you see…
Report: Buyer Wanted for Lands’ End
Edward Lampert has been trying to get Sears Holdings’ fiscal house in order with store closings, business spinoffs and other cost-cutting steps. Another move being explored, according to the New…
BrainTrust Query: Does Big Data Help Retailers Really Know Their Customers?
For years, retailers have worked to collect “Big Data” about their customers. But does all this data really help retailers know their customers in a meaningful way? In a recent…
Walmart Cites Gains, Cuts Prices, Faces Amazon
In three different news accounts, Walmart is seen as making strides in its U.S. business, continuing its cost-cutting ways to outlast its many competitors, and looking for technological answers to…
Food Lion Continues Branding Makeover
Delhaize America has made quite a few changes in recent months, including closing 113 Food Lion stores, retiring its Bloom banner and converting Bloom and Bottom Dollar Food store locations…
Piggly Wiggly: ‘Local Since Forever’
Piggy Wiggly Carolina Co. is launching a new campaign with the theme, “Local Since Forever.” The ads will focus on the use of local suppliers and its support for local…
