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Commentary and Discussion From the Retail Community
Researchers Watch Five E-Commerce Trends
E-tailers make consumers happier than offline retailers during fourth quarter. Are consumers getting to the point where they expect traditional retailers to be bricks and clicks operations?
IRS Recognizes Obesity as a Disease
Recognizing obesity as a disease, the IRS says it will begin allowing taxpayers to claim weight loss expenses as a medical deduction. Will the IRS allowing the deduction of…
Customization May Be an Asset Before Its Time
Customization of goods and services for consumers online, one of the chief advantages of e-commerce, is not yet close to being realized. Do consumers really want customization or are they…
Organic Lifestyle Makes a Pesticide-Free Child
A study found that the only preschool child whose urine contained no measurable pesticide metabolites lives in a family who buys exclusively organic produce and does not use any…
Wow! Chips Fail to Fatten up Bottom Line
Frito-Lay pulled Wow! chips from some grocers’ shelves in part of Massachusetts late last summer in what it calls a “reverse market test” to see whether shoppers would miss them…
Target Tries on Cereal Wear
Target stores and General Mills unveiled a new line of General Mills loungewear featuring four well-known breakfast cereals. What do you think of Target’s exclusive apparel deal with General Mills?
Category Managers Serve up e-Profitability
For many pure e-tailers, and even for some retailers with substantial off-line expertise, category management may allay the cost of trying to provide depth of inventory, and rich product information…
ACNielsen Acquires Spirits Research Services
ACNielsen has acquired LiquorScan, the multi-channel alcohol beverage information services that were previously owned by a joint venture with Adams Business Research. What are the keys to being successful…
Coca-Cola May Offer Vanilla Variation
Coca-Cola may introduce a vanilla-flavored version of Coca-Cola Classic, the world’s best-selling soft drink. Will a vanilla-flavored Coca-Cola be successful?
Most CRMs Fail to Meet Expectations
A study found that more than half of customer-relationship-management system installations in 2001 failed to meet expectations. Why do CRM programs not live up to expectations?
Supermarket Delis Sales Continue to Rise
Supermarket deli sales have been on the rise for the last decade. What are the keys to a successful deli business?
Wal-Mart Bids to Call Magazine Shots
Wal-Mart’s plan for reconfiguring the magazine distribution channel in its stores adds a new twist to the struggle to reinvent the newsstand system. Does Wal-Mart’s clout with suppliers concern you?
Penney Keeps Eckerd for Now
Chief Executive Allen Questrom says J.C. Penney will decide in about two years whether to sell its Eckerd drugstore chain, which faces lawsuits over drug pricing. What is the real…
Technology Helps Unlock Customer Behavior
A new generation of analytical technology from software companies such as Siebel and Blue Martini promises to help e-tailers and retailers make sense of the mountains of sales data collected…
Burger King’s Veggie Burger Goes Untried
The SupermarketGuru.com Consumer Panel quick poll on Burger King’s new “Veggie Burger” found that not many people have tried the new menu item yet. However, indications are that the product…
Home Stores Find Growth with Ladies’ Nights
Home Depot Inc. and Lowe’s Cos. estimate that about half of all purchases made in their stores are made or influenced by women. Both companies have expanded their clinic offerings…
Seven Key Steps Aid Loss Prevention
One of the biggest challenges facing convenience store managers is finding ways to reduce losses and shrink in their stores, because losses so clearly affect the bottom line. What are…
Retailers Make Fortune’s Best to Work For Grade
In this dark time of cuts and layoffs, one thing that makes a company fit for fortune’s list of the 100 Best Companies to Work For is its willingness to…
The Handgun Conundrum Continues
An article in the Boston Globe and on Reason.com questions whether the link between handgun ownership and high rates of murder has been established as reports in the media would…
Wal-Mart Tops Fortune 500
Wal-Mart propelled itself from rural Arkansas, where it was founded in 1962, to the top of the Fortune 500 this year. What are the biggest challenges/opportunities ahead for Wal-Mart as…
Loyalty Cards May Cost More Than They Save
Consumers give up a degree of privacy for supermarket loyalty card programs, which don’t offer much in terms of dollars-and-cents savings when prices are compared with those of their major…
