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Macy’s Testing Self-Serve Beauty Concept
Macy’s is debuting a new self-serve beauty department in select stores around the country. The concept, which coexists with beauty counters, showcases aisle displays of smaller brands, many of which…
Store Shelves Beat TV in New Brand Intros
If you’re rolling out a new product and you want consumers exposed to it, television commercials are good but nothing beats getting it on store shelves. Where do you see…
Online Customer Reviews Becoming Bigger Purchase Driver
According to a new survey from e-tailing group and PowerReviews, online shoppers are taking more time to read customer reviews before making purchase decisions. They are also reading more reviews…
When the Wrong Saks Comes to Town
Some retailers at the Bridgeport Village fashion lifestyle center in Portland, Oregon were happy to hear about a Saks coming to their complex but were caught off guard when they…
Women Will Swap Personal Information for Personal Attention
Some of the 1,800 women participating in a survey by Q Interactive may have taken to heart the catch-phrase from a commercial that’s frequently heard on British television – “Because…
Fast Feeders Face Toy Ban in Santa Clara
Millions of kids in America have grown up expecting to get toys with their burgers and fries, but that may prove to be a thing of the past in California’s…
Survey: Location-Based Mobile Ads Outperform Other Formats
According to a survey by the Mobile Marketing Association, one in four U.S. adults use mobile location-based services. And nearly half of those users responded to location-based ads. What do…
Wal-Mart May Talk with Unions
Wal-Mart has gotten to the point, according to a Chicago Sun-Times report, that the company may be ready to do the almost unthinkable and sit down and talk with unions…
Annie Hall Lives
Women wearing men’s clothing or at least designs inspired by what guys have on is, as a Forbes.com article points out, “an enduring trend in fashion.” Why do you think…
PL Buyer: Repetition Syndrome
Too much repetition can turn a person off from even a good thing, whether that good thing be a song, an exercise routine or even a store. Yes, a store…
Stater Bros. Putting People Before Profits
CEOs of retail chains talk about how valuable their people are but most make the decision to shed employees if it will provide a small boost to the bottom line…
BrainTrust Query: What’s the Bottom Line Impact of Your Employee Volunteerism?
As employee volunteerism continues to spread across corporate America, companies have increasingly wanted to measure the impact of their efforts. As reported recently on CSRWire, HandsOn Network’s ROI and Impact Measurement…
Gottschalk(s) is Back
It seems like just last year that the Gottschalks department store chain was being liquidated as part of bankruptcy proceedings. Today, all that is in the past as former executives…
Wal-Mart Looks For Aldi-Buster Format
It seems some of Wal-Mart’s shoppers are going to smaller, limited-assortment grocery stores such as Aldi and Save-A-Lot to reduce their food bills. Does Wal-Mart need a small box format…
SNL: Why Aren’t Girl Scout Cookies Sold in Stores?
Last week’s episode of Saturday Night Live questioned the whole selling model of Girl Scout Cookies. With the highly covered product only being available for sale for a few months…
CPGmatters: Simplifying Product Assortment Leads to More Efficiency, Sales for ConAgra Foods
A category management program that aims to make it easier for shoppers to find what products they want and when they want them is paying off for ConAgra Foods. How…
Video Game Ban Case Goes to Supreme Court
Video game makers believe California and six other states have run afoul of the U.S. Constitution by banning the sale of violent video games to minors. The Ninth Circuit Court…
Tesco’s Green Advice Draws Red Flag from Meat Industry
On Tesco’s Greener Living website, one suggestion for “What makes a recipe greener?” is “Eat vegetarian.” Tesco commented, “Vegetables use less energy to produce than meat. So eat vegetarian or…
Sears Launches Real Estate Website
Sears Holdings Corp. launched a real estate website, SHCRealty.com, to not only lease or buy closed stores but also to lease in-store space and out-of-store property. What do you think…
BrainTrust Query: Loss Of Emotion Leads To Indecision
Without emotion you can’t decide. Yet most people think they are rational beings that make decisions in a calculated, rational manner. Jonah Lehrer’s best-selling book, How We Decide, turns all…
Lane Bryant: Networks Apply Double Standard
Television networks, it seems, have no problem airing sexually-suggestive commercials with scantily-clad models unless those models happen to be on the plus-size. That’s the position of Lane Bryant, the clothing…
