Amazon.com is opening a new brick and mortar store concept today in New York’s SoHo neighborhood that sells items rated four stars or above by the company’s online reviewers, along with top sellers and new and trending items from the site. What do you think the 4-star concept will mean for Amazon and its rivals?

Before the age of Amazon, “big box” stores were the category killers that created the destination locations to draw the masses. Today, the big retailers are focusing on shrinking stores. The downsizing trend begs the question: How small is too small?

Amazon.com last week introduced Amazon Storefronts, a microsite promoting “nearly 20,000” small-to-medium sized businesses selling on the platform. Do you see Amazon Storefronts doing more to support third-party sellers or to promote Amazon’s benefit to small businesses and job growth?

It’s long been alleged that Amazon.com uses data from third-party sellers on its marketplace to its own advantage. Now, the European Union is investigating the allegations and the repercussions could extend across the Atlantic for the e-tailing giant. Should Amazon be worried about the EU investigation into its use of marketplace seller data?

Nike surprised some last year when it agreed to sell directly to Amazon.com and did it again last week when revealing a partnership with Walmart’s Jet.com. Do you see any issues with Nike selling directly on Jet.com’s revamped website with the platform’s connection to Walmart?

Amazon.com has taken a slow and steady approach to rolling out its AmazonGo cashier-less stores since opening the first location in Seattle back in January. That may soon change, however, if Amazon opens 3,000 Go locations by 2021. What do you see as the biggest challenges facing Amazon and its competitors if reports prove true?

Online sales continue to grow at double-digit rates, and there are some new factors in play driving it — not all of which are named Amazon.com. What new e-commerce shoppers look like and how retail should react was discussed in a RetailWire webinar yesterday. How focused should retailers and brands be on trying to court the “new” e-commerce shopper?

Few individuals have earned the wrath of both Bernie Sanders and Donald Trump. Amazon.com CEO and founder Jeff Bezos is one of them. What advice would you have for Amazon when it comes to managing political heat?

With Walmart, Target and Whole Foods all offering free grocery pick-up, should Kroger and other traditional supermarkets stop charging as well? How likely are market forces to demand that grocers offer free in-store pickup over the next couple of years?

Amazon.com and Whole Foods Market have certainly gone to great lengths from a marketing and public relations standpoint to give the impression that the grocery chain has shed its “Whole Paycheck” label. The reality, however, is quite a bit different. How effective has Whole Foods been in dispelling its image for high prices under Amazon’s ownership?

When Jet.com was acquired, the plan was to bring younger, more urban consumers into the Walmart fold. Recently, however, the site’s traffic has fallen off. Now, Jet has announced a relaunch and other changes that it hopes will make it a go-to shopping site in cities across the U.S. Will the Jet.com relaunch help the site become a success standing on its own?

J.Crew is the latest retailer to test the proposition that it makes more business sense to work with Amazon.com while competing against it. Is J.Crew making the right moves by lowering entry prices on its core brand and selling a curated selection of its Mercantile brand on Amazon’s marketplace?

Some Walmart.com shoppers are finding items listed online are “out of stock” — even when they’re in stock. The messages are arriving after the discounter determines those customers’ homes are too far away to profitability ship the item. What do you think of Walmart’s move to declare an item “out of stock” if delivery costs are too high?

Trader Joe’s and Whole Foods have successfully expanded in lock step over the last few decades, but a new report asserts the arrival of Amazon Prime discounts is helping Whole Foods pull ahead. Is Amazon building Whole Foods into a significantly larger threat to Trader Joe’s?

Apparently a company PR strategy meant, presumably, to improve Amazon’s image with socially-conscious e-commerce customers is creating some bad PR of its own. Is it fair game for Amazon to encourage or incentivize positive comments on social media from staff about working conditions at fulfillment centers?

Amazon, famous for its continual price changes and (maybe) dynamic pricing, might well be killing the goose that laid the golden egg. A recent experience really caused my head to snap back. Do continual online price changes undermine consumer trust?

A survey from financial services firm Synchrony indicates that, after years of lukewarm reception from customers, retailer apps may finally be having their day. To what do you attribute the apparent increase in customers downloading and using retailer apps?

With only one Amazon Go store live, San Francisco-based Zippin hopes to be the checkout-free grocer that just walks in and wins at “just walk out.” What path do you now see “just walk out”/cashier-less grocery technology taking in the U.S.?

The term “brand voice” has come to represent a company’s look, feel and attitude, but with voice-based commerce, CPG brands find they may need a literal voice.  How seriously should CPGs take the idea of creating distinct voice presences to help them stand out on Alexa and other voice assistants?

Google is reportedly planning to open its first permanent store, a 14,000-square-foot, two-level flagship, in Chicago’s trendy Fulton Market district. What kind of brick-and-mortar strategy, if any, makes the most sense for Google to support its hardware lineup?

Big name grocers have been putting huge resources into getting online grocery shopping right, but a recent Gallup poll indicates that customers just aren’t feeling it. Are the Gallup poll findings in line with your view of the online grocery market?

What consumers want from a store experience will always be recognizable. They want well-trained and informed people to talk to and welcome them into a retail space and, yes, they still want this even when what constitutes a store becomes unrecognizable. Do you agree that the physical store experience is now being judged through the lens of e-commerce experiences?

When is too much choice a bad thing? Brain scientists and psychologists have discovered that too many choices overwhelm our brain. Too many choices become intimidating, frustrating and can result in fewer sales. Is “less is more” a viable approach to differentiating from Amazon and other mass assortment rivals?

Party City is the latest retailer to decide that co-opetition beats competition when it comes to Amazon.com. The nation’s largest party supplies chain announced yesterday that it will run a pilot program with the e-tail giant. Does it make strategic sense for Party City to sell on Amazon’s marketplace?

Shopping via voice assistant has become one of the most discussed trends in the world of retail technology. But recently-released numbers indicate that, at least for now, predictions of the ascendency of Alexa voice commerce could be all talk. What would have to change to get people to shop via Alexa and other voice assistants?

Amazon Prime members across the country may soon have a new way to get their groceries. The company announced it is rolling out grocery curbside pickup at Whole Foods in Virginia Beach, VA and Sacramento, CA. What do you see as the keys for Amazon to attract Prime members to Whole Foods?

Walmart, like many other retailers, is still trying to work out how to meet the home delivery needs of its customers without losing money in the process. How can retailers such as Walmart make grocery home delivery profitable?

The entrepreneurial concept of gigging obscures the fact that a growing number of people and companies are cobbling together multiple opportunities just to pay the bills. Are retailers confusing gigging with cobbling in their pursuit of partnerships with digital platforms?

Sometime this year, Amazon.com is predicted to become the biggest apparel retailer in the U.S. But, when it comes to fashion, it’s just not a very good one. What is unique about the competitive challenges Amazon places on its rivals in the apparel category?

In the golden age of brick-and-mortar retail, resellers and brands partnered closely to drive sales. Today, retailers and brands are pitted against one another in fierce competition. Do you expect to see more retailers and brands competing directly with one another in the years ahead?

Rising tides do lift all boats, or it appears at least some of them when the metaphor is extended to retail. While Amazon.com announced that it had set a new 36-hour sales record, many rival retailers were also feeling pretty good about Prime Day as well. What do you expect Amazon to learn from this year’s version of Prime Day?

According to a new report, the Walmart is considering another shot at the video rental business with a subscription service that will allow members to view movies and television shows at a price below $8 a month. Do you think Walmart can be a force in the streaming video market?

Walmart and Microsoft announced a strategic partnership intended to speed the retailer’s ongoing digital transformation. What will the new five-year cloud computing and AI deal between Microsoft and Walmart mean for the retailer and the companies that compete with it?

Google is making it easier for retailers and brands to get their ads out on some of the media giant’s most popular platforms, and it’s using Shopify to do it. Do the new Shopify-based tools for advertising through Google make a compelling enough case for shifting ad spend from Amazon back to Google?

With indications that Prime’s U.S. membership may have peaked, Amazon.com may need to add even more perks to drive sign-ups. Some are wondering if more discounts at third-party retailers may work as an incentive. Would offering discounts at third-party retailers as a perk for Prime be more beneficial to Amazon or the third-parties?

Home Depot plans to install pickup lockers near the front of all of its stores in an effort to improve its buy online, pick up in-store (BOPIS) operations and become bottleneck free. What do you see as the pros and cons of Home Depot’s chainwide BOPIS lockers strategy?

A comparison of private label over-the-counter remedies sold by CVS and Walgreens with those from Amazon.com finds that the brick and mortar pharmacy giants are charging substantially more than the e-tailer on like items. Do you think offering lower prices on over-the-counter medicines will set Amazon up for its push into the prescription drug market?

The delivery process has become a battlefield where ecommerce retailers hash it out for consumer dollars. In this realm of retail one-upmanship, brands compete by refining their shipping methods and striving to deliver products faster than their competition. Do retailers need to offer real-time order tracking in order to compete with Amazon?

Toys “R” Us is gone and there’s a market void to be filled. Bring on the Amazon.com toy catalog. Do you think Amazon is making the right move with the publication of a printed toy catalog ahead of the Christmas selling season?

Amazon.com has announced details on this year’s version of Prime Day, including the fact that the event will be extended from 30 to 36 hours. The promotion will kick off on July 16 at 3:00 p.m. ET and will feature more than a million deals from around the planet for Prime members. What are your predictions for performance of Amazon’s Prime Day 2018?

Amazon.com has introduced a program to help entrepreneurs with little to no logistics experience start their own businesses delivering packages sold on the e-tail giant’s site. Do you see Delivery Service Partner as a major or minor component in Amazon’s delivery growth strategy?

Can Amazon.com replicate the success it has had with countless other categories with prescription drugs? That’s the question that should eventually be answered with a definitive yes or no now that the e-tail giant has signed an agreement to acquire PillPack. What will Amazon’s acquisition of PillPack mean to the online retail prescription drug market?

With yesterday’s announcement that Prime members will receive added discounts on sale items and other selected products at every Whole Foods in the U.S., the potential for the organic grocery chain to increase its customer count is significant. What impediments do you see to Whole Foods’ growth plans?

The U.S. Supreme Court has ruled that online sellers must collect sales taxes in states where they exist. Groups representing retailers have hailed the ruling in the case as the means to level the playing field between e-tailers and local retailers. Do you approve or disapprove of the Supreme Court’s ruling in the case of South Dakota v. Wayfair?

Prime Wardrobe, Amazon.com’s answer to Stitch Fix and Trunk Club, has moved beyond its by-invitation only beta status and is now available to Prime members across the U.S. What impact will Prime Wardrobe have on the way Americans buy clothing?

CVS Pharmacy announced yesterday that it is now offering same- and next-day deliveries of prescription drugs nationwide. What will CVS same- and next-day delivery mean for competitive balance within the retail pharmacy business?

Microsoft is working on autonomous-checkout technologies that could help retailers compete with Amazon’s cashierless stores. Is Microsoft investing in automated checkout technology good news for retailers and the evolvement of the technology?

While some argue that lax government policy toward giant corporations has allowed Amazon to take over the book business and made it impossible for Barnes & Noble to compete, experts from Wharton and elsewhere say there are other trends at play. Would you attribute the majority of Barnes & Noble’s struggles to the arrival of Amazon.com?

In one of his best-known works, “Marketing Myopia” in Harvard Business Review (HBR) from 1960, Theodore Levitt focused on a single strategic question: “What business are you in?” Is it a common flaw for retailers to define themselves based on what they sell rather than the solutions they offer?

One of the most closely-watched players in the grocery world, Amazon-owned Whole Foods, has opened a boutique in one of its locations that takes the retailer into new, non-food territory. Do you see adding Plant & Plate boutiques as the right move for Whole Foods on a larger scale?