RECENT discussions
Discussions
Commentary and Discussion From the Retail Community
Are marketers shortchanging product placement’s reach?
Product placement is expected to see robust growth in coming years as audiences, particularly younger ones, ignore traditional advertising. Is product placement positioned to become a more frequent opportunity for…
Walmart enters the metaverse on Roblox
Walmart has moved to the metaverse. The retail giant on Monday launched two immersive experiences on the Roblox gaming platform, with Walmart Land and Walmart’s Universe of Play. Is Walmart…
Will Gently become the Kayak of secondhand apparel?
As secondhand retail draws more of a mainstream audience, the number of places online where a shopper can find gently used apparel is proliferating. Now a new startup aims to…
Is Ralph Lauren positioned to accelerate its growth?
At Ralph Lauren Corporation’s Investor Day, CEO Patrice Louvet claimed that a four-year transformation has elevated the brand’s status, product and go-to-market strategy to serve as a foundation for accelerated…
Is the customer really the most important thing in retail?
BrainTrust panelist Ron Margulis says, “Pardon my cynicism, but if I had a dollar every time I heard some variant of the phrase ‘the customer must be at the center…
Amazon is not letting Walmart and Target get a head start on Christmas
Amazon.com has joined the growing ranks of retail stores and sites running major sales promotions before Halloween in an effort to capture a greater share of the dollars that Americans…
What are the most important roles for IT to play in day-to-day marketing?
A new survey of more than 200 information technology and marketing decision-makers from the U.S. and Canada finds agreement that the IT team will become more intimately involved in day-to-day…
Can Instacart marry in-store and online grocery shopping experiences?
Instacart has unveiled Connected Stores, a bundle of six Instagram-linked technologies aiming to combine the convenience, speed and personalization of online grocery shopping with the inspiration and discovery that happens…
Is ‘productivity paranoia’ from remote working solvable?
In its report, Microsoft revealed that 85 percent of managers “have a hard time knowing for sure that their people are being productive” away from the office. The effect this “productivity…
Rivals take notice as ads account for five percent of Amazon’s retail revenues
A GroupM study estimates advertising accounts for five percent of Amazon.com’s revenues from commerce-related activity and rated that as a “reasonable target” for other retailers working to catch up. Is…
Did Target just move Black Friday up to October 7?
Christmas creep is dead. Retailers moving their holiday promotions up from Thanksgiving Day week is now just business as usual. It is for Target, which announced it that it’s running…
FTC commissioner says it’s time to enforce the Robinson-Patman Act
Independent grocers and pharmacies may have found the ally they are looking for. Alvaro Bedoya, commissioner of the Federal Trade Commission said that the current imbalance that favors large businesses…
Is an influencer a legit career?
Many young adults are aspiring to become social media influencers as a career, although the income potential remains questionable. Has social media influencer marketing proved itself as a career worth…
Did Walmart just guarantee it will be the easiest place to shop for Christmas?
Walmart is known for its low prices and the retailer seems determined to also be synonymous with convenient holiday shopping with new programs that promise to take much of the…
Should CPG brands cast their DTC businesses in a supporting role to stores?
It appears there’s been a significant tide turn for consumer packaged goods brands in the direct to consumer selling versus retailer distribution debate as marked by a consensus among presenters…
The Starbucks experience aims to be the same no matter where you get your coffee
Visitors to Starbucks locations inside some retailers will soon be able to order ahead via mobile, not to mention earn rewards points, just as they do when they visit standalone…
Gap is cutting 500 corporate jobs as it searches for a CEO and answers
Gap Inc. is cutting 500 corporate jobs as it continues to search for a permanent CEO and it seeks to come up with answers to buoy its top and bottom…
Will electronic carts help Kroger fulfill curbside pickup orders more quickly?
Kroger is introducing a temperature-controlled electronic cart to speed up its curbside fulfillment. What do you see as the biggest challenges that retailers face with curbside pickup and how can…
Do grocers need a new approach for selling plant-based protein alternatives?
The growth in plant-based foods is not being driven by vegans or vegetarians, but consumers who want to eat less meat and dairy for health or planetary reasons. New to…
Is livestream commerce about to break through?
In an article for Harvard Business Review, a Wharton marketing professor argues that livestream commerce is fast becoming the medium of choice for online shopping, but technology and marketing’s learning curve…
Are biases still holding back marketing analytics?
Gartner predicts that by 2023, 60 percent of CMOs will slash the size of their marketing analytics department in half because of “failed promised improvements.” The “root” cause of the…
