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Commentary and Discussion From the Retail Community
Benefiting From Virtue
Greenwash is a new 21st century word that has rapidly entered the general vocabulary. But it isn’t all about looking good. Many businesses really are doing good. Is the goodwill…
Target and Amazon to Part Ways in 2011
Target believes it has gone as far online as it can with Amazon.com and has announced that prior to the 2011 holiday it will build and manage the brand new…
Compete Blog: Cross-Channel Retail – What are online customers doing today?
Aside from survey results, few hard facts have been published about cross-channel retail. Possibly this is because it’s hard to gather data and measure it to make an apples to…
Plastic Not the Only Payment Choice Online
While making use of services such as PayPal, Bill Me Late and Google Checkout may not have been the first choice, a significant and growing number of shoppers are preferring…
Free Wi-Fi But Coffee Shops Limit Access for Laptop Users
The customer experience touted by Starbucks and others that gave them a competitive point of difference from other establishments selling coffee was that they provided free Wi-Fi access. Are coffee…
Haggling Makes a Comeback
With consumers gaining leverage in a ruthless economy, haggling is on the rise in the U.S. And at the risk of losing sales, some smaller stores are developing strategies to…
Is Time Right for Custom-Made Clothing?
It’s been tried before and didn’t work. Consumers have had the option of buying custom-made clothing in the nineties, but found that buying off-the-rack was good enough, especially when price…
Wal-Mart Accused of Moving In on Girl Scouts’ Turf
Wal-Mart Stores is taking some heat from a mommy blogger who says the chain’s Great Value cookie line includes knockoffs of the Girl Scouts’ popular Thin Mints and Tagalongs. Does…
Retail Customer Experience: Why customer satisfaction surveys don’t work
Recent evidence suggests fully 95 percent of our cognitive processing is subconscious, which means we’re pretty poor at telling others what we like or don’t like, and why we feel…
What Does It Take to Get Some Service Around Here?
Customer service stinks. Not exactly a news flash but despite all the time spent on the topic, improvements are hard to find when looking across the broad retailing business. Is…
RadioShack (AKA ‘The Shack’) Seeks New, Hipper Image
RadioShack has had an image hurdle to get over and the consumer electronics chain is hoping it can do just that with a rebranding campaign promoting itself as “The Shack.”…
Private Label Buyer: Packaging Trends – Vive La Difference!
An old saying insists you can’t judge a book by its cover, but the right packaging certainly can help spur a sale. That’s a huge change from private label’s traditional…
Nash Finch Gets Business Turned Around
Nash Finch found plenty of detractors in years past. But more recently, the grocery wholesaler has changed its approach and that has enabled it to prosper, enough that the company’s…
Hannaford Shoppers Line Up for Faster Checkouts
Some consumers may love shopping but you’d be hard-pressed to find (m)any that get the warm and fuzzies thinking about the checkout. Now, Hannaford Bros. Is trying to help shoppers…
More Measurement Tools Needed to Drive In-Store Marketing
According to a survey by RSR Research, the biggest barrier to improved collaboration between brands and retailers around in-store marketing is a “lack of visibility” into in-store execution. What do…
Indestructible Crocs Facing Destruction
One of the more challenging challenges set by Donald Trump for a group of celebrities last year was a campaign to encourage Croc lovers to ditch their footwear. Where…
Loss-Leader Laptops Go Back-to-School
More so than in recent years, laptops have become the crucial traffic driver this back-to-school season with selections significantly expanded and prices drastically slashed. Are laptops the right loss-leader choice…
JTPP: Raising the Bar for CPG Sales Performance
A survey earlier this year done by AT Kearney found that, in dealing with changing dynamics and market complexities, retailers are looking to CPG manufacturers for “help in transforming consumer…
Consumers Find Reasons Not to Shop Local Stores
Many consumers would really like to support local merchants instead of chains but for a number of reasons, locals prefer chains to local mom & pop establishments. What are the…
Timing Everything in Dollar General IPO
Dollar General, which was bought and taken private by Kohlberg, Kravis & Roberts in 2007, is rumored to be looking at going public once again to take advantage of its…
Next Global Brands Arriving from Emerging Markets
The days of global dominance by Western brands may be numbered. Due to shifts in global economic wealth, many of the next mega brands are likely to emerge from Asia,…
