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Commentary and Discussion From the Retail Community
One Day Does Not a Sales Season Make
The official holiday selling season has just begun and, Black Friday and Cyber Monday reports aside, it’s too early to predict how it will all turn out, say retail industry…
Poll: Wal-Mart’s Still Popular But Less So
A new poll conducted by Zogby for the anti-Wal-Mart group, Wake Up Wal-Mart, shows a majority of Americans still have a favorable view of the retail giant but that the…
Retailers Try to Crack Female Shoppers’ Code
Women are different than men. That simple understanding has prompted some retailers in the consumer electronics business to adjust their marketing practices and in-store environments to be more inviting for…
Turnover in the Warehouse
Attracting and keeping good employees is a major challenge for retailers. This is as true in distribution center operations as it is in store-level, reports Grocery Headquarters. Many retailers,…
Does a Services-Oriented Internet Make Sense?
We have all had the experience, whether with the plumber who just can’t seem to fix the leak, the roofer who creates new leaks or the appliance guy whose only…
Marsh Puts Out ‘For Sale’ Sign
Marsh Supermarkets announced yesterday it has hired Merrill Lynch to pursue strategic alternatives, including a possible sale, for the company. Why has Marsh’s performance been off? What will a buyer…
eq-life Concept Sells Life Solutions
Best Buy’s new concept store, eq-life, is in the business of selling solutions to the needs of women. The store is a place where technology and health merge, with consumers…
‘Limited Quantities’ Make Customers Angry
It’s common legal wording. A retailer runs an ad on a promotion item and includes provisos such as “while supplies last,” “limited quantities,” or “no rainchecks,” to let consumers know…
Pick Any Day, Holiday Sales Are Strong Online
People may just have to reconsider the notion that Cyber Monday is the unofficial kickoff of the holiday selling season for online retailers. While most of the media attention was…
Hand-held Registers Take a Swipe at Long Lines
Portable technology that allows for acceptance of credit cards on the sales floor, rental car lot or, as portrayed in a NY Times article, on the golf range, is not…
Lower Cost, But Higher Loyalty
Instead of communicating with its Preferred Plus members four to seven weeks after a stay, Starwood Hotel & Resorts is using print-on-demand capabilities to deliver a more personalized communication more…
Wal-Mart Redeems Itself in This Year’s Post-Thanksgiving Derby
“Lukewarm” was an oft-used adjective in news pieces early this weekend describing the official start of the holiday season. Mostly, those reviews were based on a report from ShopperTrak RCT…
The Apple of Music Lovers’ Eyes
It was always more a question of when than if Apple’s iTunes Music Store would become one of the top retailers of music in the U.S. Now that it has…
Good Times Ahead for Major Drugstore Chains
A large population in need of medications to address the numerous health issues that come along with advanced age is just one reason the two largest U.S. drugstore chains have…
Meijer Says No, Tesco is Mum
The rumor mill has come full circle. Various reports over the past year have said Tesco had sent a team of executives over to the U.S. to scout for possible…
ROI, Not Price, the Selling Proposition of RFID
Dennis Gaughan of AMR Research thinks vendors in the Radio Frequency Identification (RFID) technology space have a marketing and sales communication problem. They keep getting caught up in conversations about…
Dreaming of a Green Christmas
The National Retail Federation has a present for all its members. The group has changed its forecast for the holiday season and now expects spending to be six percent higher…
Analyst: Target and Best Buy Prices Beat Wal-Mart
Wal-Mart may have gotten an earlier start on advertising what’s in store for the holidays but its competitors will be ready to go when they open for business on Black…
Consumers Go Back to the Future to Cut Costs
High energy costs have led many consumers to reconsider how they get around town and how they light and heat their homes. Most reports have focused on high tech responses…
What Price Loyalty?
A recent Jupiter Research study concludes that, with so many in the industry caught up in the arms race of who can give out more rewards, no one has stopped…
Merry Markdowns
Retailers are having visions other than dancing sugar plum fairies in their heads going into this holiday season. Higher household heating bills are on the way to consumers and discounting…
