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Couponers Gone Wild
A new reality television series on TLC, Extreme Couponing, follows individuals that go to extreme lengths to avoid spending money in grocery stores. The question for retailers and brands is…
Big Boxes Tinker with Auto Sales and Rentals
Over the years, non-auto retailers have flirted with car and truck sales. This week, Tesco announced it was launching TescoCars.com in the U.K., and Home Depot and Penske Truck Rental…
RSR Research: Why Not Mobile POS?
RSR recently conducted interviews with retail executives to understand the impact of consumers’ cultural differences on retailers’ payment offerings. Is retail and the consumer ready for mobile POS?
Walmart Throws Out Tests to See What Sticks
It’s been well documented that Walmart has not had an easy time of it over the past couple of years. That said, the world’s largest retailer has announced a whole…
McD’s Looks to Fill 50,000 McJobs
The term McJobs brings up visions of poorly paid hourly employees toiling in an unpleasant working environment with little chance at advancement. McDonald’s is intent on debunking that view. Is…
BrainTrust Query: How to Deal With Survivor Guilt in Your Salesperson
During a recent training session, a barrier was revealed — guilt — of all things! One employee admitted sometimes feeling guilty selling high-end items when it appeared that the…
Harry & David’s Bankruptcy: Downturn or Wall Street?
Harry & David landed in bankruptcy court last week. Although many articles naturally blamed the economy, more than a few are placing the blame squarely at the feet of Wasserstein…
Aldi Quietly Enters New York City
While Wal-Mart and Target boast of plans to open smaller stores to squeeze their way into U.S. cities, one of their likely competitors is already there: Aldi. What do you…
BrainTrust Query: Do Staff-Wide Training Investments Yield More Sales?
In early March, Church’s Chicken closed all of its Nashville locations for 18 hours for employees to attend “an intense customer service training boot camp.” In 2008, Starbucks famously closed…
Consumer Group Calls Food Dyes Unsafe
The Center for Science in the Public Interest (CSPI) is calling on the federal government to ban food dyes in light of recent studies showing that coloring may trigger hyperactivity…
Consumers Take Phones on Shopping Trips
Today, roughly 90 percent of Americans between 18 and 64 have a mobile phone. Roughly half of those are using their phones to shop, according to research conducted by Arc…
FD Buyer: Playing Off Shopper Buzz
The Net Promoter Score (NPS) has nothing to do with promotion in the sense of endcaps or price cuts. Rather, it has everything to do with shopper buzz. Here’s how…
Big Y Offers Rewards Card with a Fee
Big Y has launched a new savings program for its customers on top of its current loyalty card. What makes this program different is that to get the additional savings…
Call Made for Carbon Labels
Solutions for addressing greenhouse gases and climate change abound and a group of researchers writing in the journal Nature Climate Change have a suggestion, as well. Institute carbon labeling on…
BrainTrust Query: Here Comes eBay!
Although RetailWire BrainTrust panelist David Dorf did not expect eBay to acquire GSI Commerce, it wasn’t a complete surprise. In 2010 eBay made some interesting acquisitions leading up to this…
Cross Promotions Work for Giant Eagle and Citizens Bank
If you ever want to see what’s possible when a retailer and a bank really work together to cross promote and build their respective businesses, look no further than the…
Judge Rules Against Wal-Mart in Black Friday Case
Last week, a $7,000 fine handed down against Wal-Mart Stores in connection with a tragic Black Friday accident in 2008 was upheld. Should Wal-Mart and other retailers have been aware…
Hyatt Offers Random Lesson in Loyalty Building
A very pleasant, apparently random surprise awaited Al McClain when he checked into the Hyatt Regency Grand Cypress, Orlando recently. Should retailers and brands incorporate “random acts of kindness” into…
Washington D.C. Lands as Top Retail Market
Washington D.C. topped ChainLinks Retail Advisors’ list as the top retail market in 2010. The retail-focused commercial real estate organization said retail demand has “skyrocketed” in the district over the…
A&F: Bad Press Over Bikinis for Grade Schoolers
Abercrombie & Fitch is no stranger to controversy. The latest issue may prove to be even more serious after the chain came under fire for marketing push-up bikini tops to…
BrainTrust Query: Social Media Can’t Save You!
Brands big and small are rushing into social media. In many cases, several months down the road they find themselves disappointed with the results and disenchanted with social media in…
