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Commentary and Discussion From the Retail Community
Winning with Loss Leaders
An article in SmartMoney explains how retailers make money on 50-percent-off deals and offers some tips for consumers looking to capitalize on the best of them. When are loss leaders…
RSR Research: The Disruption of Buy Anywhere, Get Anywhere
In a refrain heard from many other retailers, the participants at Manhattan Associate’s recent customer event expressed frustration over how to compensate store employees for cross-channel sales. How should store…
Is Candy So Scary?
A New York Times article explores whether candy isn’t as bad for humans as generally assumed. Like many other foods, the problem is over-indulgence, the article states, as the ingredients…
Apple May Shake Up Mobile Phone Market Again
According to a report by GigaOM, Apple is working with Gemalto, a European chip manufacturer, to develop a SIM card for the iPhone that will enable it to work with…
Target Has a Coupon Problem
Target has had a coupon problem going back months. Consumers checking out have only been receiving a portion of the value of coupons and sometimes no discount is rung up…
Cadbury’s Answer to Starbucks
Three entrepreneurs from the U.K. with experience at Starbucks, Harrods and At Home catering are thinking big with a new beverage-based foodservice concept. Do you see the Cadbury Cocoa House…
CSD: Tedeschi’s Showcases Pride and Tradition
While other chains may have more stores, few companies can match the rich tradition and deep roots Tedeschi Food Shops has planted in the convenience store industry. What are the…
Nordstrom Launching ‘Do Good’ Concept
Nordstrom is planning a new “unique, philanthropic” concept store that plans to donate all its earnings to non-profit groups. What do you think of Nordstrom opening a store with the…
Retailers Told to Broaden Their Horizons
Retail executives and economists at the World Retail Congress in Berlin, Germany are predicting slow growth for the foreseeable future and think it’s time to look to developing markets to…
Microsoft Looks to Overpower Apple
Whether it’s a good or bad idea will soon be put to the test at the Mall of America as Microsoft opens a store directly across from Apple. One big…
BrainTrust Query: Are You Measuring Customer Retention Correctly?
Retention is usually defined as the percent of this year’s customers who also purchased in the prior year. But how do you identify what contributed to a customer’s extended relationship?…
Macy’s Local Approach Works
Heading into the holiday season, there are signs that Macy’s is finally getting to the place envisioned when Federated was acquired and a good portion of the credit goes to…
Surfing Supercedes Reading When Preparing to Cook
Perhaps it isn’t all about celebrities. According to market researchers Mintel, “over half (52 percent) of Brits now say that they get recipe ideas from online websites compared to the…
Retail TouchPoints: Social Media Search Key Trend for Holiday Shopping
Online shoppers have indicated that they’re increasingly tapping social networks for gift-giving ideas, with even more online shoppers expected to tap social networks like Facebook this year. How should retailers…
Building Buzz
While traditional advertising has focused on reaching individual consumers, a new study examining what creates “buzz” underscores the effectiveness of getting consumers to spread the message themselves. How good a…
Neiman Tests Upper-Moderate Concept
Neiman Marcus is testing an upper-moderate concept aimed at more value-seeking shoppers in suburban areas and even strip malls, which won’t carry any clearance merchandise or product sold at the…
BrainTrust Query: Crafting an Extraordinary Customer Experience
Even though competition and technology have radically changed retail, the essence of what makes a great customer experience in a specialty store remains the same. Of the points brought up…
Starbucks’ Digital Network Goes Live
Starbucks wants its customers to stick around awhile. The chain has launched a new digital network in partnership with Yahoo that offers free e-books, movies, local news, access to paid…
Can Good Actions Be Bad?
For the last several weeks, scores of fashion and footwear blogs have criticized Skechers for blatantly copying another shoe company’s business model. The twist: the company is TOMS Shoes. Could…
Impulse Purchases to Keep Macy’s Registers Ringing
Macy’s is taking a page from other apparel retailers with a new program that rotates designers in-and-out of the chain’s store and website on an ongoing basis. Will Macy’s “Impulse”…
Merchants Trade Retail for E-Tail
A growing number of retailers, many of them small independents, are trading in their bricks for clicks, finding that they can operate less expensively while having access to a much…
