A new university study finds being asked to donate at cash registers heightens anxiety for shoppers, despite good intentions. Do you see donation requests at checkout as more of a positive or negative to the in-store shopping experience?
Amazon last week held its second Prime Day event of the year and, as it turned out, the sales promotion may not have been the kickoff to the holidays that the retail and technology giant was hoping for. Do you see the results of Amazon’s Prime Early Access event as a bellwether for the company’s 2022 holiday season performance or that of the larger retail industry?
CVS is slashing prices on its menstrual products and working to eliminate sales tax on such items across states as part of a broader push against the “pink tax,” a term referring to the premium women tend to pay versus men for personal health goods. What do you think of CVS’s moves to reduce prices on menstrual and other personal products?
Kroger and Albertsons have agreed on a deal that will combine the first and second largest supermarket operators in the U.S. The deal valued at $24.6 billion will see Kroger pay $34.10 a share for Albertsons’ stock, which closed at $28.63, CNBC reports. How will the Kroger/Albertsons merger affect the competitiveness of the two companies?
The biggest impediment to creativity is not a lack of direction or failure to be bold enough, it’s a risk-averse culture, cited by 51 percent of marketers, according to new research from the World Federation of Advertisers. What do you see as the greatest barriers to creativity in advertising and marketing campaigns?
The pop-up model has brought some retailers a lot of success in recent years, so much so that some retail experts see pop-ups as a standard component in the future of retail. Do you think pop-ups are poised to become more popular over time?
Amazon finds itself coming off as a corporate bully when its private label teams find small and growing brand products and then produce knockoff versions that it sells at a considerable discount. Does Amazon’s approach to developing private label products differ from most other retailers?
Walmart has been public about supporting American manufacturing wherever it makes business sense and that commitment was reinforced last week at a ribbon cutting ceremony for a new factory in Santa Ana, CA, that will cut and sew apparel exclusively for the retailer. Does “made in the USA” messaging hold more sway with American consumers today than it did 10 years ago?
Victoria’s Secret’s new campaign, “Undefinable,” builds on last year’s rebrand and marks a further step from its controversial 2014 campaign, “The Perfect Body.” What further steps might be necessary for Victoria’s Secret to overcome its heritage and embrace inclusivity and female empowerment?
Fast Retailing, mother company of Uniqlo, is bringing the fast fashion retailer’s faster, cheaper sibling brand to the U.S. with a new store in Manhattan’s Soho neighborhood. Will negative sentiment surrounding fast fashion impact how the GU brand is received in the U.S.?
