RECENT discussions
Discussions
Commentary and Discussion From the Retail Community
Will Timberland’s stories lure customers into the metaverse?
Timberland announced its first venture into the metaverse virtual world as it released a gamified digital experience called TimbsTrails which celebrates the culture around the Original Yellow Boot. What do…
How far should retailers go with the use of computer vision?
Retailers have found plenty of use cases for computer vision. The process of capturing, storing and analyzing shoppers’ images can generate great insights and outputs and, impose relevant ethical challenges…
Retailers just blew through headwinds to post January sales gains
Neither the Omicron variant, bad weather nor inflation proved to be enough to slow consumer spending in January as retail sales increased 3.8 percent from the month prior, according to…
What isn’t wrong with the supply chain?
Port congestion, shortages of containers and truckers, and fleets that need updating — the constraints placed on the nation’s supply chain are easily identified, but slow to remedy. When do…
Has a new, hybrid shopper emerged out of the pandemic?
A new study shows hybrid shopping — mixing physical and digital channels in shopping journeys — is on the rise as shopping habits adopted out of necessity during the pandemic…
Are c-stores mostly becoming ‘restaurants that sell gas’?
A representative of a convenience store chain recently said that foodservice is now the most important part of the convenience store experience. Do you think it is true that convenience…
Kohl’s details its Sephora makeover for 2022
Sephora at Kohl’s shops have been a success, and remodels are underway to add 400 of the beauty concepts inside the retailer’s stores this year. Will the new customers being…
Why has Kirkland Signature been so successful?
The Kirkland Signature brand exceeded $59 billion in sales in Costco’s 2021 fiscal year, up 13.4 percent year-over-year and accounting for 31 percent of the wholesale club’s total revenue. How…
Are granfluencers a thing?
Senior influencers — nicknamed “granfluencers” — continue to earn heaps of media coverage, possibly offering brands opportunities to reach older and younger social media users. Do elder social media influencers…
Save A Lot decides it wants to grow up to be wholesale grocer
Save A Lot was one of the largest discount grocery chains in the U.S. and now it’s not after having sold off its remaining corporate stores to focus on its…
Will retailers find it harder to pass along price increases in the months ahead?
The Labor Department last week said U.S. inflation reached another four-decade high in January, accelerating to a 7.5 percent annual rate. Consumers haven’t fully felt the sticker shock so far,…
The commercial that won the Super Bowl was…
While the Los Angeles Rams fought back to win yesterday’s Super Bowl, the game also offered an opportunity for brands to compete for the attention of consumers on the nation’s…
Is it time for retail associates to drop their masks?
Walmart in an internal memo Friday said it has ended mask mandates and its COVID-19 sick leave policy for employees, while phasing out daily health screenings. Is it the appropriate…
What is it about Amazon’s retail profitability that we just don’t get?
There remains a wide-spread belief that Amazon makes little or no money in “retail,” and that its Amazon Web Services division subsidizes the company’s e-commerce growth. That certainly isn’t the…
Smarter barcodes are coming to a store near you
Automatic identification and data capture technology is about to experience a dramatic expansion, and retailers will want to know how best to take advantage of the change. What impact will the…
Can retail make its trucker numbers add up?
The trucking industry has a numbers problem when it comes to drivers. The reality is that there is no quick fix in sight, and the evidence is clear in stores…
Walmart inventory bots flopped. Will Sam’s succeed?
Inventory tracking robots did not work out for Walmart, but now the company is trying them out at Sam’s Club. Why factors make you think that inventory robots may have…
Should Facebook’s eroding user base worry Meta much?
Facebook lost daily users in a quarter for the first time in its 18-year history. Mark Zuckerberg, the platform’s founder and CEO of Meta, blamed heightened competition from the short-video…
Amazon Care reaches across the country
Amazon.com has launched its Amazon Care telehealth service nationwide and is opening physical clinics to more than 20 cities this year. What will the expansion of Amazon Care mean for…
Will massive pay raises help Amazon attract and retain the best and brightest?
Amazon is looking to erase a competitive disadvantage it has vs. tech companies when it comes to recruiting and retaining corporate and tech employees by more than doubling its maximum…
Aldi moves closer to becoming America’s third largest grocery retailer
Aldi’s inexorable push across the U.S. continues with news that the grocery chain is opening its first store in Louisiana this week. The retailer expects to become the third largest…
