Kroger, the second-largest grocer in the U.S., has opened its first food hall inside a new store in downtown Cincinnati near its headquarters. Are food halls a natural complement to grocers’ urban locations?
Rent the Runway on Friday announced it would not accept new subscriptions or new special-occasion clothing rentals that need to be delivered before Oct. 15 as it works through supply chain challenges. Are Rent the Runway’s delivery issues a short-term hurdle related to rapid growth or a longer-term issue tied to supply-chain complexities?
McDonald’s last week began enabling job seekers to start an application by using voice commands with Amazon’s Alexa or Google’s Assistant. Do you see voice assistants emerging as a major hiring and recruiting tool?
In unveiling its new hardware devices in Seattle on Wednesday, Amazon.com CEO Jeff Bezos made a surprise appearance and told reporters the company is working on facial recognition legislation that it plans to propose to lawmakers. Is it a smart move for Amazon to attempt to drive regulation of facial recognition technology?
Earlier this week it was reported that Target’s checkouts, website and mobile app went down as a result of a technical glitch. It was the third such outage for the retail chain in as many months. What do you see as the most common reasons for IT outages and brownouts within retail and consumer-direct brand organizations?
The National Retail Federation’s annual Halloween Shopping Trends survey shows that Americans are ready to get creative for this year’s holiday, and many will turn to social media for inspiration. Does the growing role of social media in Halloween-related consumer purchases provide lessons beyond the holiday?
Social isolation is a public health problem that has grown to epidemic levels in the U.S. and globally. A recent in-store initiative by a grocery store in The Netherlands seeks to address loneliness among its shoppers. Could grocery stores impact social isolation with such initiatives as “Coffee Corners” and “Chatter Checkouts”?
Marshalls has done quite well in recent years without selling a single piece of merchandise online. That strategy, however, has changed with the launch this week of the off-price retailer’s very first e-commerce site. Will selling merchandise online be a benefit or a drawback for Marshalls?
Amazon.com has introduced Amazon Care, a new medical service for employees in the area around its Seattle headquarters that are enrolled in one of the company’s health insurance plans. Where do you see Amazon realizing the biggest benefits from the Amazon Care program?
According to a global survey from Narvar, the three top complaints around online returns are having to pay for shipping, lack of communication regarding return status and not knowing when they will get their refund. What’s your own biggest beef with the online returns process?
