A new survey has found that a slight majority of consumers prefer shopping at Walmart (online, in-store or both) versus shopping on Amazon.com. Do you think Amazon has a Prime membership recruitment and retention problem?

A new survey of 2,500 consumers in the U.S. finds that those shopping online for gifts heading into the holiday season don’t simply want free delivery, they also want their orders delivered quickly. Do you agree that many consumers measure the delivery performance of other retailers based on their experiences with Amazon?

Amazon.com just added more perks for Prime. The e-tail giant has dropped the $14.99 monthly charge for grocery deliveries from Amazon Fresh and Whole Foods and added free, two-hour grocery deliveries. Will the addition of free grocery deliveries prompt large numbers of Prime members to use the service?

Almost half of 5,000 consumers in Europe and North America say they use voice assistants in a recent survey. Yet with increased use, concerns are growing. Is there a way for voice commerce to overcome privacy concerns raised by consumers?

Amazon’s earnings miss of $4.23 a share in the third quarter, down from $5.75 last year, is being tied to the company’s switch from free two-day shipping for Prime members to next-day delivery. Do you think the math for free next-day delivery adds up to a win for Amazon in the short- or long-term?

Best Buy announced the launch of free next-day delivery on thousands of items that it sells online, with no minimum purchase or membership required. How important is speed of delivery to online sales performance?

Amazon.com charged as much as $2 million for brands to be featured in its just-released Holiday Toy List guide. Is paying big money for a toy circular sponsorship in line with how co-op dollars have traditionally been used or is it a reflection of retail’s new advertising might?

Walmart has announced that it is launching its InHome Delivery program which gives Walmart delivery people access to customers’ garages or homes where they will put refrigerated and frozen products away in refrigerators. What do you expect Walmart to learn in the three initial markets for InHome Delivery?

Retail titan Amazon.com has recently released and publicized a list of its stances on political and social issues. Do you think it’s a good idea for companies to enumerate and explain political and social positions in the way Amazon has?

A redesigned Google Shopping platform went live in the U.S. last week with upgrades to some existing features as well as the introduction of new ones, such as price tracking and style inspiration. Which of the features on the upgraded Google Shopping platform do you think will be most appealing to consumers?

A new grocer may be debuting on the national grocery stage after years as a successful local player in Southern California — with some help from a private equity firm. Does playing ball with private equity put the company at risk in the long term?

Amazon.com is “in talks” to bring the Just Walk Out technology it uses to support its Amazon Go stores to OTG’s CIBO Express stores at airports and Cineworld’s Regal cinemas, and also exploring deals with concession stands at stadiums and baseball parks. What do you see as the biggest motivation behind Amazon’s reported exploration of leasing its Go technology?

At its hardware event in Seattle last week, Amazon.com introduced a whopping 15 new products linked to its Alexa platform with the apparent goal of being a voice-command away from consumers at any time. What do you think Amazon’s goal is with the Alexa platform?

Who’s the low-price leader? Zulily is — at least that’s what the flash sales site’s management team seems to believe. The online seller announced the launch of a new price comparison tool pitting its prices on like items with Amazon.com and Walmart. Will Zulily succeed in capturing customers from Amazon and/or Walmart during the upcoming holiday season?

McDonald’s last week began enabling job seekers to start an application by using voice commands with Amazon’s Alexa or Google’s Assistant. Do you see voice assistants emerging as a major hiring and recruiting tool?

In unveiling its new hardware devices in Seattle on Wednesday, Amazon.com CEO Jeff Bezos made a surprise appearance and told reporters the company is working on facial recognition legislation that it plans to propose to lawmakers. Is it a smart move for Amazon to attempt to drive regulation of facial recognition technology?

Amazon.com has introduced Amazon Care, a new medical service for employees in the area around its Seattle headquarters that are enrolled in one of the company’s health insurance plans. Where do you see Amazon realizing the biggest benefits from the Amazon Care program?

Stores exist in a three-dimensional space, but they are one-dimensional in function. Now, consider Amazon: It not only sells whatever it wants, it does whatever it wants. Amazon is more than The Everything Store — it’s an “anything engine”. Should becoming an “anything engine” be a goal of all or a select group of stores?

A new startup is aiming to fix some of the pain points of Just Walk Out checkout technology by thinking smaller. Does technology like Veeve address enough of the concerns of Just Walk Out technology to make it a more viable alternative to Amazon Go and others?

While the U.S. government is planning to pull out of the Paris climate agreement late next year, Amazon committed last week to meet the agreed upon goals 10 years early and become carbon neutral by 2040. As the U.S. leader in e-commerce and web services, should Amazon do more to fight climate change?

Walmart is all about saving consumers money, and the retailer’s new private label credit card program with Capital One is designed to reinforce its low-price image. How will Walmart’s two new cash-back cards affect how holders interact with the chain?

Whole Foods has decided that employees working under 30 hours a week will no longer be eligible to participate in its medical benefits program. Will the decision by Whole Foods to cut medical benefits for employees working fewer than 30 hours per week hurt the chain’s reputation as an employer?

Amazon had planned to open 56 Go locations by the end of 2019 and 156 by the end of 2020, according to a report discussed on The Verge. Amazon has in fact opened only 15 Go stores, all located in major metropolitan areas. To what factor or factors do you attribute the slower-than-expected expansion of Amazon Go?

Walmart announced today that it is expanding its grocery delivery subscription program, Delivery Unlimited, to 1,400 stores across the country. What will Delivery Unlimited mean for Walmart’s grocery business?

Amazon.com and Home Depot are looking to up their delivery games, and a new three-story warehouse in Seattle may hold the key to their future plans.  Do you expect multistory warehouses in suburban and urban locations to become commonplace over the next decade?

Glossier, the billion-dollar Instagram-driven beauty brand, has appointed 19-year Amazon.com veteran Melissa Eamer as its COO. She will be responsible for overseeing the growth-driving parts of Glossier’s business. How might an Amazon veteran take Glossier to its next level of growth?

If Amazon implements its latest high-tech checkout innovation at Whole Foods, customers won’t need to pull out a credit card — a wave of the hand will do the trick. The solution uses hand-based identification to facilitate payment. What advantages/disadvantages might hand recognition have over other methods of enhanced checkout?

Amazon has launched Sold by Amazon (SBA), currently in beta, a program that lets Amazon control the prices on enrolled FBA (Fulfillment by Amazon) products in exchange for a guaranteed minimum payout to sellers. Do you see more benefits than drawbacks of Sold by Amazon for third-party sellers on the platform?

Kids have always had ways of coaxing their parents into buying them stuff. Now, young students also have the force of social media influencers behind them, and the added peer pressure seems to be working. What role should retailers and brands take in harnessing the power of social media influencers on back-to-school sales?

Whether we’re calling it omnichannel, phygital, experiential or something else, the influx of technology into the in-store shopping experience has been one of retail’s most significant trends this decade. Is it accurate to say that stores are trying to make the in-store experience more like shopping online? Should they be?

Counterfeit books are a problem for Amazon.com, according to recent articles in The New York Times. Allegedly many of these fakes are printed and sold on Amazon by third-party sellers, but some are printed by Amazon’s self-publishing subsidiary. Whose responsibility is it to prevent counterfeit books from being available on Amazon?

Amazon has taken steps to answer its critics and improve its brand image at the same time. Yesterday, the company announced the creation of Fulfillment by Amazon Donations. Do you think Amazon, generally speaking, is winning or losing the public relations battle with critics of its business practices?

A classic “buy nine, get one free” loyalty program is often an effective way to squeeze a little more value out of a low- or mid-tier customer. Are these types of programs the right way for retailers to appeal to their very best customers, as well? Do you see a real need for retailers to upgrade loyalty programs/rewards for their highest value customers?

When Amazon.com announced a c-store that would let people shop and walk out without physically conducting a transaction at a checkout, it seemed like a feat only they could pull off. Now, even regional grocers are attempting the same. What does the use of checkout-free technology by regional grocers mean for Amazon and its retail rivals?

After ending domestic express deliveries for Amazon.com in June, FedEx indicated last week it would be ending domestic ground deliveries, as well. What do you think drove FedEx’s decision to end its U.S. business with Amazon, and was it a smart move?

Taking on Stitch Fix, Amazon.com has added a styling service to its Prime Wardrobe subscription service. Will offering style recommendation through Personal Shopper help jumpstart Prime Wardrobe’s growth?

Whole Foods shoppers preparing to party will soon be able to pick up not just food, but everything else they need at the Amazon-owned grocer. How likely is Whole Foods’ affiliation with Packed Party be a success for both parties?

Back in 2015, RetailWire asked the question if Amazon.com’s Dash button product reordering system was “the future of shopping?” Our answer then and now is the same — “No.” Amazon, apparently agrees, since it is decommissioning all its Dash buttons at the end of the month. What do you think Amazon has learned from its Dash experience?

Consumers are demanding less packaging. A new study indicates, however, that this trend won’t translate into less spending on packaging in the coming year. What trends in CPG do you think are most responsible for driving the projected higher packaging costs?

Once bustling retail hubs are now harboring thousands of square feet in unused space up for the taking. Who is vying for this real estate? Companies prioritizing (and expanding) e-commerce. Do you see a significantly greater role for stores to be used as fulfillment centers?

EBay in 2020 will launch an end-to-end fulfillment service for third-party sellers to offer speedier delivery, lower shipping costs and the feasibility of free delivery. What do you think of the potential for eBay’s Managed Delivery service to improve the sales performance of its sellers?

Amazon, according to Steven Mnuchin, the U.S. treasury secretary, has “destroyed the retail industry across the United States, so there’s no question they’ve limited competition.” Do you think Amazon is deserving of antitrust scrutiny, whether or not you agree with Mr. Mnuchin’s assertion?

Amazon.com’s growth story — unprecedented, immense, rocket-like (choose your superlative) — does not come with a happy ending for most retailers. In summary, Amazon has won. The bigger problem is, it’s just getting started. Does Amazon have any competitive weaknesses?

A new technological development aims to make delivery drones less likely to plummet and therefore more palatable to the general public. Will parachutes on drones created and managed by delivery startups make this technology more acceptable to the public?

Originally announced in May, Google Shopping includes a personalized home page for Google members that provides access to millions of products via tabs distinguished by category. What do you see as the biggest value for retailers and consumer direct brands that are part of the Google Shopping platform?

Amazon is offering a program to help upstart brands gain more support and visibility on its platform. The cost: Amazon gets the right to purchase the brand at any time for a fixed price, often $10,000. How open should start-up brands be to the Amazon Accelerator program, given the right-to-purchase tradeoff?

While Amazon’s 48-hour Prime Day event didn’t go off entirely without service interruptions or complaints, the e-tail giant claims more items were purchased over the two-day event than Black Friday and Cyber Monday combined. Are Prime Day and rival sales promotions now part of the American shopping psyche?

Many consumers go looking for back-to-school deals on Amazon.com for Prime Day. Many others click to rival sites for the same purpose. Has Prime Day become America’s cue to shop for back-to-school?

When it comes to fulfillment centers to handle online orders, Walmart with 20 warehouses is well behind Amazon’s 100. Walmart, however, has thousands of stores. Is grocery the key to Walmart’s online fortunes?

It will be “lights, camera, action” when Lamps Plus debuts its first Amazon Live video next week during the 48-hour Prime Day event. What do you think of Lamps Plus’ strategy when it comes to the use of video communications and online marketplaces?