While grocers have earned credit for upgrading the quality and branding of their private labels, a new study finds store brands receive little marketing support. The study comes as reports indicate shoppers are trading down to store brands amid inflationary pressures.

Target’s fourth quarter was not as strong as Brian Cornell and company would have liked, but the retailer did post its twenty-third straight quarterly same-store sales gains. He pointed to Target’s continuing investments in private brands, store-within-a-store partnerships and customer loyalty as differentiating factors for the chain.

Target had a lot to say about the importance of company culture in a keynote presentation at the 2023 NRF Big Show. Target CEO Brian Cornell led a discussion on the value of the company’s culture in successfully navigating the pandemic and the chain’s ongoing success. Has “culture,” as Target defines it, been as important to the retailer’s success throughout the pandemic as the people on the panel believe?

Walmart is rolling out a “Text to Shop” feature that allows customers to add items to their online shopping basket using text messages. To work, the free feature must be linked to the shopper’s Walmart account so their usually ordered items can be reordered. Will “Text to Shop” hold enough appeal to support wide use from shoppers?

Ames, once the U.S.’s fourth largest discounter that liquidated in 2002, confirmed plans that it will return in 2023 with the opening of seven stores in the New England region. What opportunities and challenges do you see for Ames as the discount chain explores a return to rural and other smaller markets?

Seven weeks of head-to-head competitions have brought us to the finals of the 2022 RetailWire Christmas Commercial Challenge with six clear-cut winners and one tie. Who will be crowned the champ? Which spot was the best?

With customers continuing to seek lower-priced shopping options due to inflation, the major players in value retailing are already far outpacing others in opening new stores in 2022 and appear to be riding mighty tailwinds heading into 2023. How much of the expansion success by dollar stores, budget grocers and other value-first chains depends on enduring inflation?

The year 2022 has been a big one for grocery stores in the RetailWire Christmas Commercial Challenge. This week’s matchup pits SPAR Ireland, the largest convenience store chain in the Republic, against Walmart, the largest in the world. What is your critique of the Christmas spots from SPAR Ireland and Walmart?

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?

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?

Retail’s long-struggling “mushy middle,” consisting of mid-price retailers without a strong value proposition and brand identity, has taken a bigger holiday hit than more strongly differentiated retailers, according to one retail expert. Do you see selling discounted packaway merchandise significantly damaging chains in the “mushy middle” of retailing?

The World Cup has been a missed opportunity for the major players in the retail industry. Only one retailer, Walmart, has created a meaningful, themed campaign to run during the month-long World Cup, which ends Dec. 18. Did Walmart gain a marketing advantage running commercials during World Cup broadcasts?

Big Lots is looking to leave the city life behind as it sees plenty of opportunities to grow in places with wide open spaces.  Will a greater emphasis on operating stores in small towns and rural areas and away from more competitive urban markets prove successful for Big Lots?

Walmart CEO Doug McMillon yesterday told CNBC that his company has a growing theft problem. Mr. McMillon said that theft has reached levels that are “higher than what’s historically been” the case for the retailer. “If that’s not corrected over time, prices will be higher, and/or stores will close,” he said. Do you see Walmart raising prices or closing stores in some areas in response to increasing theft?

2022 is shaping up as a breakout year for Publix’s Greenwise Market format. The Greenwise organic food and essentials specialty concept in Florida experienced higher year-over-year foot traffic growth in September than Publix’s mainstream stores, according to a Placer.ai study. What factors are key to making small format grocery stores work?

Will it be Amazon or Asda that joins Etsy, Kroger and Publix into the finals of the 2022 edition of the RetailWire Christmas Commercial Challenge?  What is your critique of the Christmas spots from Amazon and Asda?

A study finds online prices are on average 13 percent less expensive on Amazon.com than other leading U.S. retailers across 15 categories, narrowing from 14 percent lower in 2021 and 16 percent in 2020. Is price still the primary reason consumers choose to shop on Amazon?

Target’s same-store sales have been trending in the wrong direction. The retailer, which posted a 2.7 percent third quarter gain in its comps, saw its store traffic increase 1.4 percent on top of a gain of nearly 13 percent in 2021. Target’s average ticket also improved 1.3 percent. Are Target’s October and early November sales trends consistent with what’s taking place across retail?

Walmart’s savings message is resonating with Americans across income levels and helping the company dramatically reduce its inventory in the process. How likely is it that the new customers coming to Walmart for groceries will stick with the chain once inflation becomes less of a factor?

Amid a continued tight labor market, holiday help appears to be less in demand this year due to the souring economy. Is it prudent or hasty to significantly pull back on seasonal hires amid inflationary pressures and the uncertain economy?

And now for something completely different. Target today said that it plans to open new larger-format stores with new reimagined open layouts designed to better meet the needs of the chain’s guests (AKA customers).  Is Target on the right track with its new, larger store format and new design?

New research shows that Americans are shifting more of their Christmas shopping to stores this year rather than placing orders online.  Do you expect to see a significant shift back to shopping in stores over the balance of the Christmas shopping season?

Few, if any, of the transactions BrainTrust Panelist Bob Amster has witnessed on a wide array of systems have been frictionless. Each has an interruption of some form. Where does grocery self-checkout currently fall short?

Walmart plans to open Netflix Hub shops selling merchandise from the streaming platform’s films and television series in more than 2,400 U.S. stores as it seeks to build on an online-only deal introduced last October. What will Netflix Hub in-store shops do for Walmart?

Target limited-edition drops are a big part of the chain’s cheap chic appeal. Now, the retailer plans to partner with Marks & Spencer to introduce a curated assortment of the British retailer’s gourmet candy, cookie and tea gifts for the holiday season. Will Target be able to translate its fashion collaboration magic to its food and beverage business?

Target is expanding its partnership with Apple so that more people looking for Apple products at the general merchandise retailer can have an experience closer to what they would get at the Apple store. Do you see the Apple at Target concept going chainwide at some point?

Walmart has grown its Secret Treasures private label into a $1 billion business that has the largest customer base of any brand in the women’s intimates and sleepwear market. But that isn’t stopping the retailer from replacing the brand. Does the decision to end the Secret Treasures line suggest that it lacked brand equity even among the consumers who purchased it?

Target CEO Brian Cornell is nothing but positive on the chain’s prospects for the 2022 holiday season. What do you think is behind Target’s continuing shopper traffic gains and do you expect the trend to continue through the rest of 2022?

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?

Walmart has moved to the metaverse. The retail giant on Monday launched two immersive experiences on the Roblox gaming platform, with Walmart Land and Walmart’s Universe of Play. Is Walmart taking the right approach with its first foray into the metaverse?

Amazon.com has joined the growing ranks of retail stores and sites running major sales promotions before Halloween in an effort to capture a greater share of the dollars that Americans will spend on Christmas gifts this year. Do early sales promotions suggest a nervousness on the part of retailers about the 2022 holiday season?

Christmas creep is dead. Retailers moving their holiday promotions up from Thanksgiving Day week is now just business as usual. It is for Target, which announced it that it’s running its biggest ever “Deal Days” promotion running from October 6 to October 8. Has the beginning of October replaced Thanksgiving Day week as retail’s start to the holiday season?

Walmart says it is leveling up its virtual try-on technology in an effort to put its customers in clothing that fits their bodies right off the rack. Will Walmart’s upgraded try-on technology inspire shoppers to purchase more clothing?

Walmart, Target, Macy’s and Kohl’s are among retailers that have recently said they are canceling some orders to better balance inventory levels, a replay of a strategy used at the start of the pandemic. Should order cancellations be a rare, last-resort option or regularly used as a tool for rebalancing inventories?

Target is hoping for big things from its newly announced multiyear agreement with FAO Schwarz that will give the chain exclusive rights to sell the toy brand’s products within dedicated areas in its stores and on its website.  Do you expect FAO Schwarz’s toys to be a big contributor to Target’s holiday season performance?

Target will apparently need CEO Brian Cornell when he’s 64, and beyond. All it took was for the company to scrap its mandatory retirement age of 65 so the CEO, currently 63, would be able to carry on doing his job. What is your position on mandatory retirement ages in retail?

Meijer is known as a pioneer of the supercenter concept. Now the retailer is thinking a bit smaller with a new store concept focused on grocery. How do you envision Meijer using its new grocery concept in addition to its Thrifty Acres supercenters as it grows its store base?

A recent study predicts that shoppers will be more likely to spread their dollars out earlier in the holiday season as ongoing concerns about inflation change spending habits. Will promotional activity play a bigger role in driving traffic and sales this year than we’ve seen since the pandemic began?

Walmart has agreed to acquire a minority stake in Sustainable Beef LLC, a rancher-owned company dedicated to producing top-quality Angus beef. Do you expect large grocers to make more direct investments in sourcing agricultural commodities?

Walmart, which recently added a Paramount+ Essential subscription at no extra cost to Walmart+, has introduced a new way for members to earn points towards future discounts with every purchase they make from the retailer. Will the perks that Walmart is adding to the Walmart+ program help build its subscriber base?

Walmart may have intentions to launch a platform to help the retailer and third-party sellers promote the sales of products on the walmart.com marketplace. What role does influencer marketing play in promoting the sale of products and services for Walmart and its marketplace sellers?

Target is ready to get back to its more profitable ways. That was the message yesterday from CEO Brian Cornell on the chain’s second-quarter earnings call with analysts. What do you see as Target’s strengths and weaknesses as it moves into the back half of 2022?

Walmart is apparently capable of surprising itself. The retailer reported better than expected sales and earnings for its second quarter just weeks after lowering its forecast. What is your takeaway from Walmart’s better-than-expected results from the second quarter as it relates to the national economy and retail?

Walmart has launched a program selling refurbished appliances and consumer electronics that it says will offer high-quality products at a fraction of the cost of buying them new. Do you expect sales of refurbished electronics to get a significant boost as a result of inflation?

Walmart is laying off workers as part of a reorganization of its corporate staff. The decision comes on the heels of reducing its forecast for the current quarter and the year. What is your take on the layoffs taking place at Walmart?

Walmart got Wall Street’s attention yesterday after it lowered its profit outlook for the second quarter and the full year.  Do you think markdowns by Walmart, Target and other large retailers can blunt the effect of inflation on the U.S. economy over the second half of 2022?

Target wants to speed up its fulfillment of online orders using local stores to get the job done. The retailer yesterday said it is adding three new sortation centers over the next year to the six it currently operates. Where do you think Target is heading operationally with its “stores-as-hubs” strategy?

Walmart will not be launching a special sales promotion next week to match Amazon’s Prime Day. Do you think retailers should run head-to-head events with Prime Day as Target is doing or take a page from Walmart’s plan?

Walmart yesterday introduced two new augmented reality features designed to improve customers’ experience, whether they are shopping from home or in the retailer’s stores.  Is augmented reality technology becoming a must-have for retailers selling furniture and home décor?