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Commentary and Discussion From the Retail Community
Driverless trucks to keep Sam’s Club in-stock around the clock
Thirty-four Sam’s Club locations in the Dallas/Fort Worth area will soon be receiving shipments of Quilted Northern toilet paper and Dixie products via autonomous 26-foot box trucks. Do you think…
Target isn’t wasting any time in cutting the glut from its inventory
Target is serious about getting its inventory in order. The retailer today said it would markdown merchandise and cancel orders in an effort to right size its inventory, even though…
Will automated fulfillment centers deliver big results for Walmart?
Walmart is counting on four high-tech fulfillment centers (FCs) to further drive its same-day and next-day delivery ambitions. Will automated warehouses ultimately be more important to same-day and next-day delivery than…
Why Did Nordstrom Close Trunk Club? 2 Surprising Reasons For Failure
Nordstrom recently disclosed that it has shuttered Trunk Club, but has no plans to deemphasize personalized styling. Is Nordstrom’s closure of Trunk Club more about the challenges of running apparel…
Does Lululemon have to sweat inflation?
Lululemon said it is seeing increased input costs on raw materials, labor and particularly air freight, but is wary about raising prices to mitigate the impact on margins. Are inflationary…
What will Dave Clark’s exit mean for Amazon’s retail business?
Friday’s announcement that Dave Clark, Amazon.com’s CEO of Worldwide Consumer, would be resigning, effective July 1, set off speculation that the retail group’s recent trips-ups were to blame. Is Dave Clark’s…
Allbirds is no longer flying solo after deals with Dick’s and Nordstrom
Allbirds, the environmentally-friendly footwear upstart, has opened third-party distribution for the first time. Do you see more benefits than risks in Allbirds’ move to open up wholesale distribution?
Are off-pricers holding a glass that is half-full or half-empty?
TJX, Ross Stores and Burlington Stores all reported sales shortfalls in the first quarter, but they remain confident they will eventually benefit from consumers trading down in a potentially tougher…
Circle K’s new self-checkouts are kicking barcode scanners to the curb
Alimentation Couche-Tard yesterday said it will deploy more than 10,000 self-checkout machines in 7,000-plus Circle K and Couche-Tard convenience stores over the next three years. What impact do you think…
Will customer reviews boost online sales for Albertsons, Safeway and Vons?
Customers visiting the websites of Albertsons and some of its banner grocers will soon get to see what other customers thought about the products they are browsing. Do you think…
Are consumers stumped by percent-off promos?
A recent study found that, when advertisers use percentages to promote products, customers tend to be way off in their assessment of what the numbers mean. What are the most…
Convenience stores need to automate or get left behind
A convenience store’s main competition was simply another c-store until relatively recently. Now quick commerce businesses have made aggressive moves into the convenience space, promising delivery of small baskets within…
Should Instacart discard shopper ratings from chronically grumpy customers?
Instacart has overhauled its customer ratings system to dilute the impact of hard-to-please customers and deliver a more “fair experience” to shoppers (independently-contracted delivery drivers). Do think the adjustments to…
New members re-up at Costco in record numbers
First-time Costco members renewed their memberships in record numbers for the third quarter ending May 8. What is behind Costco’s record membership renewal rates?
Will antitrust legislation single out Amazon and let retail rivals slide?
Amazon is slamming federal legislation that would bar the company from giving preference to its products over items sold by other sellers on its site. Does Amazon unfairly give preference to…
Is Best Buy’s home pickup recycling service worth the price?
Best Buy recently became the first national retailer to offer a service that picks up old tech from customers’ homes to be recycled. The price of the service, at $199,…
Why are retailers struggling so hard to balance inventory?
Many retailers in the first quarter found themselves with inventory levels that exceeded sales gains. This after dealing with two years of shortages tied to supply chain disruptions. Are the…
Will $22 starting pay squelch unionization efforts at Apple?
Apple said last week that it will increase starting wages for its U.S. retail to $22 per hour, up from $20 and representing a 45 percent hike from 2018 levels…
Victoria’s Secret creates an online marketplace for women-led brands
Victoria’s Secret has launched a curated digital platform dedicated to third-party brands with a focus on women-led up-and-comers. Does selling third-party brands risk confusing consumers and diluting the appeal of…
Is Macy’s for real?
Macy’s CEO Jeff Gennette has been saying that the department store company he leads is a different and better retailer than it has been in the past. The chain’s most…
When the going gets tough, consumers shop dollar stores
Dollar General and Dollar Tree issued first quarter results this week illustrating that, when consumer prices rise and the economic going gets tough, people go shopping at their local dollar…
