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Commentary and Discussion From the Retail Community
The New Generation Gap
The U.S. Census Bureau made headlines last week with the announcement that Hispanics accounted for half of the U.S. population growth from 2003 to 2004. Since then, there has been…
McD’s Takes a Boys-and-Their-Toys Approach
Here’s the basic premise that McDonald’s is putting to the test with its new flagship restaurant: Boys that love toys grow up to become guys that love gadgets. It’s these…
Impressions: Retail Tech Developments
When a non-tech writer visits a technology show, it can be a bit daunting trying to sort out what everyone’s doing, and what’s really “new and different.” Under the assumption…
Getting to 2010: Innovation Required
A newly released report from the group, Retail Innovation: Ten Opportunities for 2010, sponsored by American Express identifies areas of consumer need that offer retailers the best prospects for achieving…
Consumption Tax Makes Strange Bedfellows
It’s probably not too far afield to suggest that most retail executives would fall to right of center on the political spectrum. But executives running retail businesses in the U.S…
Court Rules Borders.com Must Collect Sales Tax
A ruling by California’s 1st District Court of Appeals says Borders Group must collect sales tax for sales made in that state through the company Web site. The court ruled…
Deciding What’s Broken and Fixing It
David Orgel, editor-in-chief of Supermarket News, writes that grocers and manufacturers agree that there is something broken in the Center Store. What they do not agree on, however, is what…
GHQ Cover Story 06/05: Shopping Around
Consumer packaged goods manufacturers are following the money and the consumers who have it to spend by broadening their distribution to channels outside of traditional supermarket businesses. Manufacturers are also…
Employers to Employees: Your Life is Not Your Own
As a report in USA Today makes clear, what employees do on their own time is very much their bosses’ business. Lewis Maltby of The National Workrights Institute said, “The…
HP, eBay and Wachovia Take Loyalty to the Boardroom
Writing for Inside 1 to 1, Elizabeth Clampet covers three companies who have elevated loyalty to the boardroom. HP, eBay and Wachovia Bank all have initiatives that focus executive level…
Act Would Bring Common Sense Tort Reform
In introducing the Commonsense Consumption Act of 2005, S. 908, Sen. Mitch McConnell (R – KY) observed, “Most Americans believe in the old adage, ‘you are what you eat.’ …
Taking the Mystery Out of Mystery Shopping
As with most market research, the information received from mystery shopper trips doesn’t do any good if a retailer doesn’t know what to do with it. The value of mystery…
Made in the U.S.A. Gets a Big ‘So What’
Check carefully. Those red, white and blue flags you were waving at the Memorial Day parade probably weren’t even made in the U.S.A., and if you’re like many consumers here,…
Were Grocery Stores a Terrorist Target?
Investigators now say they have no evidence that men arrested for allegedly lying to the FBI about their involvement with al-Qaeda had specific plans to carry out an attack in…
Customers Hold All the Cards
Just about every retailer today (at least it seems) has some type of loyalty/discount card program. Drugstores, department stores, grocery stores, book and music stores, etc. all offer them and…
Macy’s Discovers Killer Sales App
Kent Anderson, president of Macys.com, told attendees at the Internet Retailer conference that his company had found the “killer app” for getting people to buy online. “Keep it simple, straightforward…
Broadband Opens Way to Greater Sales Online
Dan Hess, senior vice president of comScore Networks, told attendees at the Internet Retailer 2005 conference that the growth of broadband connections in homes is helping to drive an increase…
Truck Drivers Wanted
A study conducted for the American Trucking Associations (ATA) by the research firm Global Insight said there was a national shortage of truck drivers, particularly long-haul heavy-duty drivers, that “has…
Resort Spa Uncovers Cultural Anthropology to Cultivate Male Clients
The Fairmont Princess Resort in Scottsdale, Ariz. wanted to target men in addition to its female clientele and hired a cultural anthropologist who uncovered intrinsic differences in the way men…
Out-of-Sight Pretty Much Means Out-of-Stock on Grocer’s Cold Meds
According to research by Information Resources, Inc. (IRI) performed in Oklahoma and Illinois, laws in those states that require retailers keep products containing pseudoephedrine (PSE) behind the counter has affected…
Eating and Cleaning with One Hand Tied Behind the Back
More consumers than ever are eating while they drive, walk and engage in various other forms of transport. As a report in The Wall Street Journal puts so succinctly: “A…
