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Commentary and Discussion From the Retail Community
Wellness has become fashionable at Saks
Saks.com has launched an online shop focused on wellness as health consciousness rises amid the pandemic. Has the wellness opportunity for luxury department stores been amplified by the pandemic or…
Will 15-minute cities truly bring back local retail?
A suburb of Salt Lake City recently revealed plans to build Utah’s first “15-minute city,” a residential planning model in which all daily necessities are accessible by foot or by…
Will 2022 be the year of text-to-shop?
Solutions that let customers shop via text message could soon be a hot trend in the U.S., and there are some big names in retail trying to make it happen…
Supply chain woes just cost Bed Bath & Beyond $100M in sales
Bed Bath & Beyond just got hit right in the supply chain. The retailer’s CEO said the company lost around $100 million in sales during its fiscal third quarter as…
Is retail ready for the phygital future?
Brands have focused on reaching their digital destiny, yet traditional two-dimensional experiences haven’t evolved to meet the opportunity. The landscape is set to change with a wave of innovation that…
Will Americans turn to Walmart and Target to organize their lives?
Americans need some sorting out. It would be difficult to get any other message this week with announcements from both Walmart and Target about new product line launches that their…
The Container Store’s new acquisition is upscale and ‘Made in the USA’
The Container Store has acquired Closet Works, a closet organization company, for $21.5 million. Do you expect other retailers and consumer direct brands to bring manufacturing sources closer to the…
Walmart says it’s ready to deliver groceries inside 30 million American homes
Walmart is serious about gaining entry into your home. The retailer announced plans to expand its InHome Delivery service five-fold before 2022 is over. Does the expansion of Walmart’s InHome…
Will Alexa get customers cooking with Blue Apron?
When users of Amazon’s Echo Show smart display device want to order a meal kit from Blue Apron, the task is simple enough. And now, if they need instruction preparing…
Will customers subscribe to Sweetgreen’s plan to make pricey salads less pricey?
There’s nothing cheap on Sweetgreen’s menu, which may explain a new program from the chain that offers customers daily discounts of up to 30 percent on purchases. Do you see…
Omicron threatens to mess retail up
The Omicron variant of COVID-19 is now, according to several accounts, the fastest spreading virus in history with over one million cases reported yesterday in the U.S. How well do…
Will U.S. livestreaming soon take off like it did in China?
Two-thirds of Chinese consumers bought products via livestream in the past year, according to an AlixPartners survey from October 2020. Will Americans ever catch up? Will livestream shopping in the…
Are Albertsons and Tesco too late for the retail media party?
Albertsons, the third-largest grocer in the U.S., and Tesco, the UK’s largest retailer, recently launched their own retail media networks to join the race against Amazon.com and other retail rivals. Can…
Hy-Vee creates its own armed security squad to deter crime
Hy-Vee last week announced the introduction of an in-house armed security team to manage theft and in-store disturbances. Are more armed security guards the solution to the rise in shoplifting…
Are Nike’s Member Days loyalty’s future?
Nike in November set member engagement records with the launch of its first globally coordinated Member Days event. The event, started in 2019, offers loyalty members special access, offers and…
Is Aldi about more than just low prices?
“The Aldi of today is not the Aldi you once knew,” observes Kathy Hayden, SVP/general manager of customer success at Inmar Intelligence. Do you agree that Aldi in the U.S…
Are in-person trade shows safe (enough)?
With vaccination rates escalating, in-person trade shows were supposed to make a roaring comeback in 2022, but the fast-spreading variant is threatening to ruin the party. Are you or your…
How to escape your comfort zone
A primary way to accelerate decision-making, rethink strategies and drive transformation is to move out of your comfort zones. What tips would you have for moving beyond your comfort zone…
Can a factory-to-consumer experience be a quality one?
The CEO of curated the cross-border, online marketplace Browze sees factory-to-consumer shipping as a way to circumvent pandemic-era supply chain problems, and has a sourcing model in place. Will we…
What new worker challenges does the Omicron variant present?
While employers have made strides in offering worker protections against COVID, it appears that the rapid spread of the Omicron strain is shaping up to be the same kind of…
Would grocers benefit from ghost kitchens?
Can you imagine a grocer with a large cluster of stores in a major metro like Los Angeles, Dallas or Chicago building their own ghost kitchen to service their own…
