At least three Change.org petitions are seeking to ban a holiday hit. One implored the FCC to prohibit the song from playing in retail corridors and on the radio called it “the bane of shoppers, retail workers and pedestrians.” Is there anything retailers or store managers can do to alleviate irritation associates may experience with continuous holiday music?
If only the legendary merchant John Wanamaker was alive today and using digital media. He’d have less cause to say, “Half the money I spend on advertising is wasted; the trouble is I don’t know which half.” Where do you see retailers spending their ad budgets in 2023?
Since November 23, Tom Ryan has been receiving weekly email warnings about package theft at his apartment building in New York City. The notes read, “The holidays are approaching and package thieves will be out in even fuller force than usual.” Should retailers hold consumers more accountable for stolen packages from doorsteps or apartment lobbies?
Marking its first-ever wearable-tech product, Kroger has developed a smart Holiday Apron that taps all five human senses to reduce the stress of holiday cooking. The apron supports an influencer-led marketing campaign. What do you think of Kroger’s Holiday Apron and the campaign’s influencer focus and holiday-cooking-stress theme?
TikTok is facing restrictions in some U.S. states, with some government figures pushing for more comprehensive, and even federal, bans, with big implications for brands and retailers promoting content on the single most popular app in the world. Should retailers keep the potential state or federal banning of TikTok in mind when building out marketing strategies?
Inflation has become enough of an issue to rattle Walmart’s everyday low price positioning and the chain is considering taking a drastic move that may keep its customers happy, but likely have the opposite effect on some of its suppliers. How effective will Walmart’s threat of delisting products be in getting center store grocery suppliers to moderate prices?
Too many retailers had the bad habit of over-buying long before the pandemic created the supply chain chaos we are still living through. “Just in time” systems failed to prevent the overbuying problem. How will retailers digest this season’s sales, margin and inventory outcomes to arrive at better demand forecasts for Fall/Holiday 2023?
Express is one of many apparel brands struggling to find new relevance without the draw they once enjoyed during the heyday of the shopping mall. Now the brand is entering into a partnership with a company known for its work recently reviving another iconic retailer. What will it take to reinvigorate Express?
Tomorrow is going to be a big day for retail, perhaps the biggest. A record number of consumers are expected to go shopping tomorrow (AKA Super Saturday), according to a forecast by the National Retail Federation and Prosper Insights & Analytics. How important will Super Saturday be to retail’s final results for the 2022 holiday selling season?
Best Buy customers watching its livestream shopping events will now have the option of placing orders for in-store pickup. It marks the first time that pickup is being offered on a live shopping platform that is embeddable anywhere online. Will having the option of ordering an item from a livestream shopping event for in-store pickup make these shows more attractive to a larger number of consumers?
