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Commentary and Discussion From the Retail Community
What’s next for data privacy?
At a CES 2021 session featuring privacy experts from Amazon.com, Google and Twitter, panelists agreed that, while data transparency is critical, a “patchwork” of privacy rules across areas may increasingly…
Is My Pillow being ‘cancelled’ or is its CEO trashing the business all on his own?
Mike Lindell, CEO of My Pillow, who gained fame hawking his company’s products on television, is becoming notorious for promoting election conspiracy theories. Now, Bed Bath & Beyond, Kohl’s, H-E-B,…
NRF 2021: Are retailers stronger having made it this far into the pandemic?
There’s no doubt that the novel coronavirus pandemic spelled the end for many retailers, resulting in a record number of store closings in 2020. In what ways have you seen…
Girl Scout cookie selling goes omnichannel
Girl Scouts of the USA has kicked off its 2021 cookie drive with a partnership with Grubhub. It marks its first collaboration with a national delivery service as the national…
Should store associates deliver online orders?
Zumiez, the teen chain geared toward skateboarders and snowboarders, has launched a program that puts store associates to use delivering online orders directly to customers’ doors. Do you see more…
NRF 2021: Social responsibility critical for keeping retail customers engaged
Even with COVID having a near existential impact on many retailers, the focus will remain squarely on corporate social responsibility (CSR) like never before in 2021. Are companies being held…
NRF 2021: How are Lowe’s and Wayfair defining operational excellence?
In separate virtual sessions last week at the 2021 NRF Big Show, Marvin Ellison, CEO of Lowe’s and Wayfair co-founder and CEO Niraj Shah shared perspectives on how each of…
Walmart’s CEO details his journey to racial awareness
“Change actually starts from within each one of us,” Walmart’s CEO Doug McMillon said last week at a keynote address at CES 2021. “Our biases, conscious and unconscious, need to…
Does a Staples/Office Depot merger now make more sense?
Staples for the third time is seeking to acquire rival Office Depot as the accelerated shift to online shopping and work-from-home culture recasts the opportunity in office supply retail. Does…
What is Marc Lore’s legacy at Walmart?
Marc Lore, who has often been credited with jumpstarting Walmart’s digital evolution, is leaving the discount giant after five years. How much headway has Walmart made competing with Amazon over…
Will paying associates to get COVID-19 vaccines work for Dollar General and Trader Joe’s?
Dollar General and Trader Joe’s understand that associates can’t stock shelves and serve customers in stores if they are out of work because they’ve contracted COVID-19. That’s why they’re offering…
NRF 2021: Retailers make an appointment with the future
Challenges created by the novel coronavirus pandemic are compelling retailers to make changes that promise to fundamentally reshape how they conduct business in the future. Examples of that reality were…
Would a Not-Amazon.ca-like effort help indy retailers compete with the online giant?
A website with a provocative domain has seemingly overnight become a go-to directory to reach more than 4,000 independent stores across four Canadian cities. The success is more surprising considering…
Is Amazon on its way to becoming America’s favorite grocer?
A new survey finds that Amazon.com has become the preferred source of groceries for the largest number of Americans. What grocers do you think have been the biggest winners since…
7-Elevens could be destined to undergo a konbinification
In Japan, 7-Eleven has long offered a higher-end customer experience — one that might be coming to the U.S., thanks in part to the novel coronavirus pandemic. Do you think…
Which emerging tech will transform marketing this year?
Real-time marketing, analytics and artificial intelligence (AI) are just some of the technologies that marketers think will have an impact on marketing strategy in 2021, according to a recent survey…
Walmart to deliver groceries to temp-controlled smart boxes at customers’ homes
Walmart has announced a planned pilot of temperature-controlled smart boxes that will be placed outside the homes of customers. Do you think the smart box technology that Walmart plans to…
What leadership lessons have retailers learned during the pandemic?
In a keynote session at CES’s first virtual trade show, Corie Barry, Best Buy’s CEO, said she believes her role as leader is to create conditions for others to succeed…
Will contactless Hudson Nonstop concept stores take off in airports?
Hudson, which operates in airports, travel hubs and tourist destinations across North America, has announced the planned opening of a new store concept that allows customers to check out without…
Convenience retailers aren’t letting the pandemic get them down
If the pandemic served up lemons for convenience store retailers in 2020, the vast majority were able to turn them into lemonade based on the results of a new survey…
Will becoming a fintech powerhouse make Walmart an even more formidable retailer?
Walmart announced that it is creating a new fintech startup with venture capital firm Ribbit Capital, to develop and automate “tech-driven financial experiences tailored to” the needs of its customers…
