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Commentary and Discussion From the Retail Community
Groupon’s Daily Discount Drivers
The twist with Groupon.com versus other coupon websites is that a certain number of people need to sign up for the steep discount or nobody gets it, encouraging consumers to…
CPGmatters: Sampling Gives Vita Coco Vital Competitive Edge
Michael Kirban runs one of the highest-cost product sampling operations in beverage retailing. But the CEO and founder of Vita Coco isn’t about to apologize. His sampling strategy has helped…
Retailers Making It Tougher to Opt Out
A review of the 100 top online retailers find that a growing number are making it tougher for customers to unsubscribe from email lists and are less gracious when someone…
Groceries a Bigger Part of Wal-Mart’s Business
Back in the 1980s when Wal-Mart opened its first Sam’s Club (1983) and Supercenter (1988), it was fashionable to debate whether the company had the chops to make it in…
Macy’s Looks to Make Shopping Eventful
Like others, Macy’s has scoured for cost-savings during the recession. But one area apparently spared has been its event marketing, such as its annual Flower Show that started this past…
No Netflix Saturdays
Netflix, is the biggest customer of USPS, expecting to spend $600 million on postage this year. But, with possible cutbacks to Saturday delivery service and potential rate hikes in the…
Consumers Drawn to Do-Gooder Brands
Maybe there is something to all this conscious capitalism stuff. A new study finds that 77 percent of consumers believe corporate social responsibility (CSR) is important — and that retailers…
BrainTrust Query: Defining Social Media Terms
While the industry has adopted terms such as Social Marketing, Social Merchandising and Social Selling, are we clear on the meanings? David Dorf, Director of Technology Strategy for Oracle Retail,…
Reboot Your Suit
Steve Jobs and company have hired a senior prototype scientist, Richard DeVaul, who describes his area of expertise as “product development for mobile & wearable technology.” Do you see a…
America’s Drive-Through Future
Americans are used to going the drive-through route to get their fast food meals, prescription meds and do their banking. In the future, it’s possible they will be also hitting…
SCDigest: The Great Inventory Deleveraging
Just as we are in an economy where businesses and consumers are “deleveraging,” most businesses are deleveraging inventory levels as well. But despite many stories of individual companies greatly reducing…
Roundy’s CEO Lets Chicago Know He’s Back
Robert Mariano, CEO of Roundy’s, is a confident man; so much so that his name will be on the banner of Mariano’s Fresh Market, opening for business in Chicago, focusing…
Rolling Back the Truth on Loyalty
The key to achieving a really loyal customer base is to save them tons of money, according to the findings of the 2010 Colloquy Retail Loyalty Index, where Walmart came…
BrainTrust Query: Bombshell – Major Brand Shutting Blinds to Online Sales
In a statement this week, Hunter Douglas said that effective June 1, the brand’s window coverings will no longer be sold through the internet sales channel, believing “the American consumer…
The Incredible Shrinking Store
While mall-based apparel retailers in 2009 might have looked to outright close weaker stores, the current year is seeing many reducing the size of stores in a bid to improve…
Best Buy Reportedly Exploring RadioShack Merger
According to a report in the New York Post, Best Buy is reviewing a potential merger with RadioShack, which is said to be looking for a buyer. A purchase of…
RSR Research: A Twitter Manifesto
“I heard once that Twitter is about discovery and Facebook about connections. I think, sort of. Twitter is conversations too.” “Twitter combines the power of curated content by people you…
Zappos Marketing Chief Offers Five Rules of Marketing
In an interview published on the Fast Company website, Aaron Magness, director for brand marketing and business development at Zappos, offered five principles that he believes are key to his…
Howard the Merchant Helps Revive Starbucks
Howard Schultz to the rescue. That’s the current picture of Starbucks’ CEO, who stepped back in to run the company in January 2008 after watching the chain struggling with same-store…
Retail Customer Experience: GlobalShop – Walmart on the Return of Retail Architecture
The history of retail architecture is a giant circle that is now closing in on itself. In the Friday morning keynote session at the recent GlobalShop event, two high-level members…
Healthcare Reform Good for Some Chains
Count Safeway and Walgreens among the retailers that expect to do well as a result of the passage of healthcare legislation by Congress this week. Where are the greatest opportunities…
