Amazon.com’s growth story — unprecedented, immense, rocket-like (choose your superlative) — does not come with a happy ending for most retailers. In summary, Amazon has won. The bigger problem is, it’s just getting started. Does Amazon have any competitive weaknesses?
A new technological development aims to make delivery drones less likely to plummet and therefore more palatable to the general public. Will parachutes on drones created and managed by delivery startups make this technology more acceptable to the public?
Starbucks is planning a launch of a cloud-based platform providing end-to-end solutions focused on improving the customer experience in restaurants. Will cloud-based platform elevate Starbucks beyond being just a coffee company?
In a survey of 158 business professionals by Arm Treasure Data, 71 percent say they believe the time between first customer engagement and purchase is a month or longer. Have typical shopper journeys become longer or just harder to determine?
Originally announced in May, Google Shopping includes a personalized home page for Google members that provides access to millions of products via tabs distinguished by category. What do you see as the biggest value for retailers and consumer direct brands that are part of the Google Shopping platform?
“Nobody wants to go bra shopping,” Heidi Zak, co-founder and co-CEO of online lingerie seller ThirdLove told Business Insider in September 2018. “I started the company so a woman wouldn’t have to go to the store.” What is most challenging for customers about the bra-fitting experience?
In a move to better integrate its physical stores with its online enterprise, Walmart is combining both its supply chain and finance teams that work with its e-commerce site and stores. Is full integration of online and physical store functions the best solution for most large retail chains?
Amazon is offering a program to help upstart brands gain more support and visibility on its platform. The cost: Amazon gets the right to purchase the brand at any time for a fixed price, often $10,000. How open should start-up brands be to the Amazon Accelerator program, given the right-to-purchase tradeoff?
With unemployment rates at or near historic lows, retailers sometimes look in different places to find good workers. According to a recent piece from Bloomberg, some restaurant operators are hiring ex-criminals in order to fill the worker gap. Should retailers hire ex-cons?
Yesterday, TRU Kids Brands, the parent company of Toys “R” Us, announced plans to open two new stores in time for the 2019 Christmas shopping season. What do you think of the business model whereby manufacturers pay for space and services and keep 100 percent of sales made in stores?
