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Commentary and Discussion From the Retail Community
Good Times Ahead for Major Drugstore Chains
A large population in need of medications to address the numerous health issues that come along with advanced age is just one reason the two largest U.S. drugstore chains have…
Meijer Says No, Tesco is Mum
The rumor mill has come full circle. Various reports over the past year have said Tesco had sent a team of executives over to the U.S. to scout for possible…
ROI, Not Price, the Selling Proposition of RFID
Dennis Gaughan of AMR Research thinks vendors in the Radio Frequency Identification (RFID) technology space have a marketing and sales communication problem. They keep getting caught up in conversations about…
Dreaming of a Green Christmas
The National Retail Federation has a present for all its members. The group has changed its forecast for the holiday season and now expects spending to be six percent higher…
Analyst: Target and Best Buy Prices Beat Wal-Mart
Wal-Mart may have gotten an earlier start on advertising what’s in store for the holidays but its competitors will be ready to go when they open for business on Black…
Consumers Go Back to the Future to Cut Costs
High energy costs have led many consumers to reconsider how they get around town and how they light and heat their homes. Most reports have focused on high tech responses…
What Price Loyalty?
A recent Jupiter Research study concludes that, with so many in the industry caught up in the arms race of who can give out more rewards, no one has stopped…
Merry Markdowns
Retailers are having visions other than dancing sugar plum fairies in their heads going into this holiday season. Higher household heating bills are on the way to consumers and discounting…
Target Hits a Bull’s Eye Online
Consumer visits to Target.com grew 83% in September to 11.4 million, and that’s great news for a retailer who is averaging $151 per online transaction. Wal-Mart.com had more total shoppers…
Wal-Mart’s New Format
Wal-Mart is opening a new, temporary concept store to help residents of the Gulf Coast struggling to put their lives back together following Hurricane Katrina. The new 57,000-square-foot Wal-Mart…
Card Programs: Loyalty Not Included
As retailers know, there is a big difference between a customer having a store’s loyalty card and that customer being loyal to the store. According to a report in the…
Chick-fil-A Nation
Chik-fil-A’s got religion, great tasting chicken and a growing legion of “raving fans.” The company that rests on Sundays (Chik-fil-A is open six days a week) is a success…
Experts: Kmart Not Long for This World
For many retail watchers, the scene played out in Monty Python and The Holy Grail where a cart is pushed through a village and the cart-master calls out, “Bring out…
There is No Such Thing as a Weak Private Label Program
The answer to the question of what separates a strong private label program from a weak one may be that there really are no weak private label programs, only misdirected…
Consumers Worried About Card Fraud and Identity Theft
Whether shopping online or in stores, consumers are concerned about their personal information finding its way into the hands of criminals. Among other findings, a new IBM survey of 1,000…
McD’s Says Thanks But No to Shareholder Proposal
William Ackman thinks McDonald’s Corp. is “a very shareholder-friendly company,” and while he thinks its management is doing a good job, he has a few suggestions on how it could…
The World After Peter Drucker
Last week, the best-selling author, management guru and self-described “social ecologist” Peter Drucker passed away at the age of 95. During his lifetime, Mr. Drucker authored over 30 books, served…
Consumers Grade Retailers on Customer Service
A new study conducted by BIGresearch for the National Retail Federation and American Express, found that 85 percent of consumers shop more often and spend more at retailers that offer…
The New Land of Opportunity
Wal-Mart, Home Depot, Circuit City, McDonald’s, KFC and Starbucks are there. So are Metro and Carrefour. All these large retail and foodservice companies are doing business far from their American…
Study: U.S. Perfects Convenient Way to Make Kids Fat
A new study says that American kids are getting way too much starch, sodium, sugar and fat because they are being fed foods that score high on the convenience meter…
Layaway’s Goneaway
You may remember your parents doing it when you were a kid – choosing a gift for the holidays and then having the store hold onto it until they were…
