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Commentary and Discussion From the Retail Community
Marketers Seek Klout From Social Media Stars
A host of companies have popped up that monitor a person’s effectiveness and influence on sites like Twitter, Facebook, LinkedIn and FourSquare by providing a social media influence score based…
Conservative Group Calls for End of Tax Holidays
So-called sales tax holidays may be popular with politicians, retailers and the media that write stories about the events, but they do not create any meaningful economic benefit and simply…
Mall Operators Adjust to the Times
Two separate articles, one by Bloomberg News and the other by The Wall Street Journal, make it clear that a) mall operators are facing significant challenges in the current environment…
Belk: Modern. Southern. Style… IT
IT is where “the real action is happening” at Belk, according to a piece on the Apparel Magazine website. According to the report, Belk made a $150 million investment to…
CSD: What’s On Your Customer’s C-Store Shopping List?
For the c-store, where additional factors such as fuel brand can be a key differentiator for prospective customers, relevant assortment can serve as a key element of cultivating a loyal…
StorefrontBacktalk: Despite — and Actually Because of — the Numbers, Hispanic Retail Sites are a Bad Idea
With the growing U.S. Hispanic population, it would seem to be a no-brainer that major retailers should have Spanish-language versions of their sites. The reality is that there are far…
Researchers Sniff Out Fake Reviews Online
Online reviews are under scrutiny again by the folks at Cornell. New research shows that opinion spam is hard to detect by humans looking to edit them out. Software used…
New Technology Promises Stink Free Clothes
Are deodorant brands going to go the way of the buggy whip? Odegon Technologies, a company out of the U.K., has developed iron-on fabric tags designed to fight body odor…
BrainTrust Query: What is Missing from Moments of Truth Marketing
First, Procter started talking about the first moment of truth (FMOT). Since 2010, Google has started a campaign around ZMOT, the zero moment of truth. Joel Rubinson now introduces “minus…
Tesco Testing Free Wi-Fi
Tesco is testing free Wi-Fi access in its stores to help shoppers compare prices and read reviews of products they are thinking of buying. Tesco also plans to tailor special…
NYC Recruits Supermarket Snitchers
New York City has launched a new outreach initiative to educate shoppers about their rights at the supermarket and deputize them to act as “secret shoppers” to report if they…
FD Buyer: WinCo Foods – Below the Radar
WinCo Foods doesn’t have a loyalty card or gas savings program. Outside of some direct mail to support openings, the stores don’t advertise. But there’s one thing WinCo does, and…
Alice.com Expands to Europe
Alice.com recently announced it had agreed to a merger with a Spanish company, Koto.com, to give it a foothold in Europe. The merger will enable Alice.com to broaden the reach…
Dollar Meal Deals Come to the Supermarket Meat Case
In the tradition of restaurant chain dollar meals, Supervalu has launched $1 individual-size beef, chicken and pork items under its Shoppers Value private label. What do you think of food…
BrainTrust Query: Dramatically Improve Your Interviewing Process
Interviewing and candidate selection is just too important to not do extremely well. A great hire can have an almost immediate positive impact on the store, and a bad hire…
What’s Wrong With This Facebook Picture?
Rather than having members opt-in, Facebook requires them to opt-out of the technology that matches photos on the site to facial recognition profiles. Do you find anything troubling about Facebook’s…
Unilever and Jewel-Osco Go Grouponing Together
Groupon and Incentive Targeting announced today that they are working with Unilever and Jewel-Osco on a promotion that allows consumers to purchase $15 worth of Ben & Jerry’s, Breyers, Good…
Consensus Advisors: Eat Dog Eat
Private equity firms, which had been very deliberate in their pursuit of buyout opportunities in the years following the financial crisis, are beginning to reassert themselves. What conditions for buyers…
Walmart Uses Vudu
It’s probably safe to say the video sales and rental business is in a state of flux. Now Walmart has announced the integration of its Vudu movie streaming service on…
Pet Perks Make for Happier Employees
Okay, it’s not a huge annual bonus similar to the one offered by Sports Direct and discussed on RetailWire earlier this week. But pet insurance is a benefit that a…
RSR Research: Early Results from our New Mobility Survey
For companies aiming to bring solutions to market that enable retailers to get ahead of consumers using mobile devices, look to cases where retailers have had mobile “happen to them,”…
