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Commentary and Discussion From the Retail Community
Gartner: Mobile Payment Adoption At Least Four Years Away
According to a study from Gartner, worldwide mobile payment users will surpass 141.1 million in 2011, a 38.2 percent increase from 2010. But the research firm said mobile payments are…
Better Research Mobile or Other?
Research into customer demand and opinions is being done, increasingly, in real time. According to a study by Resolve Market Research, Cint and Thumbspeak, results from mobile phones and online…
Green Supply Chain News: Walmart, Amazon, go Different Ways on Carbon Disclosure Project
The deadline for suppliers of large companies to submit answers to the Carbon Disclosure Project (CDP) was July 31. Now that answers have been submitted, it seems appropriate to look…
CVS Taking Heat for Length of Store Receipts
As retail “controversies’ go, longer sales receipts is probably not one of the bigger ones. But CVS has been receiving some negative press and social media commentary over the length…
Companies Try to Get Around Apple’s Fees
Apple gets a 30 percent cut on all sales from outside companies going through its iTunes system. It’s a sweet money-maker for Apple, but not everyone is happy with the…
Retail TouchPoints: Facebook Best Practices Improve Customer Interactions and Brand Reputations
In the webinar titled ‘Facebook Marketing: Strategies for Turning ‘Likes’ Into Loyalty,’ Debra Aho Williamson, principal analyst for eMarketer, and site writer/analyst Kimberly Maul, provided tips for retailers hoping to…
Whole Foods Deals with Ramadan Controversy
Imagine a grocery store running a promotion for Matzoh leading up to the Passover season a sale on chocolate bunnies without mentioning the holidays. What do you make of Whole…
Kmart Produces Telenovela Series on YouTube
Kmart is looking to get closer to Hispanic consumers with the production of an eight-part Spanish-language series running on YouTube called ‘Madres y Comadres.’ Will Kmart’s efforts on YouTube, Facebook,…
StorefrontBacktalk: Macy’s Won’t Make Its RFID Move Until Everyone Else Does
Macy’s is quickly moving ahead with its RFID item-level tagging efforts but is also indicating that significant additional moves will only happen when key competing retailers make their item-level RFID…
Walgreens to Enter Health Insurance Business
It is widely believed that Walgreens will be one of the major beneficiaries of federal health care legislation. Now, according to a CNNMoney.com report, Walgreens is looking to take further…
Dull Daily Deals
Are consumers going numb to the plethora of deals coming their way on a daily basis? “There is definitely a risk of oversaturation with these daily deal programs,” Kit Yarrow,…
BrainTrust Query: Have the Courage to Be Bold
At the recent Customer Relationship Management Conference, Shaun Smith, author and partner, Smith & Co., spent an energizing morning talking about what defines a bold organization and how that manifests…
eBay to Open Online Fashion Outlet
According to a report by Women’s Wear Daily, eBay’s newest venture, eBay Fashion Outlet, may be more in line with what people expect. What do you think of eBay’s plan…
QR Codes Search for a Role
Critics of QR codes say the technology is a cool toy that marketers fall in love with for reasons that often have little to do with delivering value to the…
CPGmatters: Campbell Soup Challenges Belief That 70 percent of Buying Decisions Made at Shelf
The long-held belief that shoppers make 70 percent of their buying decisions at the shelf may not be true after all. New research from the Campbell Soup Company proves instead…
Looking — and Buying — Without Touching
At first glance, a story about John Lewis introducing virtual mirrors devised by Cisco so customers don’t have to strip off to see how a new outfit looks seemed like…
Government Incentives for Food Deserts?
Local consumers appeared thrilled last month with the announcement that Whole Foods plans to open its first store in Detroit. But a few weren’t so happy that part of the…
Succeeding in the Indian Market
India consistently appears on the list of the top-five markets in which to expand. Over the last two decades, some European and North American brands have seen profits while others…
Retail Health Clinics Still Subject of Disagreement
It’s fair to say the American Medical Association (AMA) has never totally approved of retail health clinics. Will AMA intervention have any effect on the growth of retail health clinics?…
Fresh & Easy Going Smaller to Crack U.S. Market
It’s not news that Tesco has struggled with its Fresh & Easy business in the U.S. The latest move appears to be the company importing the Express concept from overseas…
Apple Store Seeks New Leader
A report on The Wall Street Journal site, citing sources familiar with the situation, said Apple has taken the “unusual” step of hiring an international search firm to find a…
