RECENT discussions
Discussions
Commentary and Discussion From the Retail Community
Retail Customer Experience: Google+ Launches With Mobile Hangouts
Google+ has been upgraded with a search capability and enhanced “Hangouts” feature that lets smartphone subscribers broadcast their video chat conversations for others to see. Do you see more potential…
Starbucks Asks Customers to Chip In to ‘Create Jobs for USA’
Starbucks has announced a new initiative. On November 1, it will team up with the Opportunity Finance Network (OFN) on an initiative called “Create Jobs for the USA” to collect…
BrainTrust Query: Let Your Banner Wave?
Should retailers align their private brands with their banners or build their brands separately? Based on presentations at the Private Brand Movement conference, it depends on whom you ask.
SCDigest: Amazon.com in Hot Corner After Reports of Sweltering DC’s
Amazon.com recently found itself in a real hot corner after an article in the local newspaper in Allentown, PA found working conditions at an Amazon distribution center approaching — if…
What Do 80+ Consumers Want?
A new survey by A.T. Kearney identified a number of different ways consumers’ needs intensify or shift after the age of 80 such as being much more loyal to established…
BrainTrust Query: The Enigma That is Twitter
Of all the social media communications channels BrainTrust Panelist Bill Hanifin invests time in, Twitter is the most enigmatic. What do you think of Twitter as a business and personal…
Groupon Offers Rewards for Loyalty
Loyalty may not be able to be bought, but Groupon is hoping that throwing more discounts at consumers might be able to help them rent it for awhile. Will Groupon…
Sicknesses, Deaths Rise from Tainted Cantaloupe
The Christian Science Monitor headline nailed the topic of today’s discussion: Listeria outbreak: How safe is America’s food chain? As widely reported, cantaloupes from Jensen Farms in Holly, CO have…
Amazon Introduces Kindle Fire Tablet Device
While most of the coverage seems to be focused on whether the new Kindle Fire from Amazon.com is an iPad killer, it seems at first glance that Barnes & Noble’s…
CPGmatters: Kellogg Optimizes Promotions to Stimulate Brand Sales
Kellogg is moving ahead with a custom TPO (trade promotion optimization) system which combines vendor-supplied technology as well as advanced analytics from an in-house team. What do you think of…
Macy’s Moves to Item-Level Tracking Using RFID
“The right product in the right place at the right time.” This ever-elusive goal at retail is what is behind the decision to roll out item-level tagging RFID technology to…
Retail TouchPoints: Google VP Of Commerce – Moving Beyond the Daily Deal
Stephanie Tilenius, VP of commerce for Google, believes that in order to develop closer connections with consumers, retailers need to develop a strategy focused on personalized offers to cash in…
Sobeys to Supply Target Canada
Last week’s announcement that Target Canada had chosen Sobeys as its wholesale grocery products supplier is being viewed by analysts familiar with the Canadian market as a positive for both…
IKEA Creates In-Store Man Cave
The dirty little secret is out. Many guys don’t like walking around a cavernous IKEA trailing their female partners. To its credit, IKEA in Australia has recognized this and launched…
BrainTrust Query: Brand as They Say, Not as They Do
Among the confident statistics peppered throughout last week’s Private Brand Movement conference in Chicago was that, according to Nielsen, 70 percent of shoppers believe that store brands are as good…
Retailers Find Plenty of Space to Pop Up
It’s that pop-up time of year again. Fall is here and so are the temporary Halloween stores. Others are already in place for Christmas. Do you think retailers, aside from…
The Doctor is (Virtually) in at Rite Aid
It’s not quite the same as having a nurse practitioner available to meet with patients in an in-store clinic environment, but Rite Aid is hoping that its customers in the…
The Declining Need for and Escalating Value of Human Service
Technology has been steadily reducing the number of human service interactions we require, while the list of what we as consumers can do for ourselves is growing rapidly. How do…
Best Buy Lands Virtually on CityVille
Best Buy recently became the first retailer to open its doors to the virtual world of CityVille. From August 31 through September 6, CityVille players were able to build their…
West Hollywood Looks to Ban Fur
The City Council of West Hollywood voted unanimously last week to ban the sale of apparel made of fur. If approved in a final vote in October, the small city…
Fashion Scalpers Hit Jackpot Reselling Missoni for Target on eBay
Now we have a clearer idea why complete racks of goods in the Missoni for Target line disappeared almost as soon as the discount chain’s doors opened on Sept. 13…
