AI is getting the final say in retail’s inventory management role. How will AI impact the evolution of the retail landscape?

A university study finds telling online shoppers that grocery supplies are low can help retain them over the long term. How would you rate the pros and cons of letting online grocery shoppers know when inventories are low?

A lack of planogram compliance and ineffective localization continues to complicate the merchandising process. Further exacerbating these challenges is the proliferation of channels, digitally adept shoppers and rapidly changing preferences, according to a recent study. What are the newer and classic barriers to merchandise execution?

Ron Margulis with Randy Edeker, executive chairman, and CEO Jeremy Gosch of Hy-Vee, at the recent FMI Midwinter conference in Orlando. Rather than ask about operations, competition or financials, he focused on tech and the customer experience. What are the biggest challenges and opportunities facing Hy-Vee and other regional supermarket chains?

Nordstrom last week became the latest retailer in the apparel space to lower its outlook as it found that deeper discounts were required to clear slow-moving holiday merchandise. Is Nordstrom’s shortfall likely more reflective of the broader challenges facing the apparel category or its own management strategies and processes?

The U.S. may or may not experience a recession in the coming year, but in either case retailers should be strategizing and hiring with the era that follows the economic dip in mind, according to Dr. Ira Kalish, chief global economist at Deloitte. Do you agree with Dr. Kalish’s advice that retailers should prepare for a post-downturn recovery in their hiring, spending and strategizing?

At the NRF Big Show, Jeff Gennette, Macy’s CEO, discussed how process changes and improved data science helped the retailer overhaul inventory disciplines over the pandemic. Are more retailers using data science to tailor markdowns by “door and channel” as Macy’s is doing?

Bed Bath & Beyond (BBBY) will file for Chapter 11 bankruptcy protection within a matter of weeks, according to reports from numerous news outlets. Will the current plan in place under Sue Gove enable Bed Bath & Beyond to avoid falling into bankruptcy?

In the first major assessment of holiday selling, Mastercard estimated U.S. retail sales grew 7.6 percent year-over-year from November 1 through December 24. The performance topped Mastercard’s prediction that called for a 7.1 percent increase but fell short of last year’s 8.5 percent gain. What’s your feeling on how the 2022 holiday selling season went for U.S. retail?

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?

If you watched the most recent James Bond movie, you know how it ended and therefore understand some changes are on the horizon for upcoming features. Retail barcodes are on a similar glide path, with big changes ahead for 2027 that, interestingly, are focused on a familiar “Q” as well. What implications exist for retailers and vendors as they prepare for Q codes?

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?

This holiday season has ushered in a period of peak price-sensitivity. Consumers continue to wonder whether or not we’re in a recession, and while spending is continuing on, there’s certainly an understanding that times are tougher. Do you think consumers trust that retailers are giving them good deals when they see fluctuating prices?

Major off-pricers have raised their full-year outlooks, confident in their ability to reposition their mix for an increasingly promotional environment. Apparel resale marketplace thredUP, however, reduced its outlook due to the competition from traditional retailers. Do you see the heightened promotional environment being risky for off-pricers and those in the resale market?

With inventories elevated in many categories and the economy slowing amid inflationary pressures, larger retailers are using reclaimed leverage to cancel orders, fight price increases and seek out concessions from suppliers. Do you see indications that retailers regained leverage against their supplier base amid excess inventories and inflationary pressures?

Described as a “nightmare before Christmas” by The Wall Street Journal, Macy’s and Kohl’s saw an unexpected sales slowdown in October and early November, leaving questions about whether holiday gifting is being delayed or cut back in a hyper-inflationary period. How worrisome should the late holiday purchasing trend be for department stores?

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?

With its high-quality products, value proposition and knowledgeable and friendly staff, Trader Joe’s often finds itself at or near the top of various industry “best of” lists. However, the quirky chain may still face some challenges as it expands. What do you think Trader Joe’s needs to work on?

This holiday season, customers might be more likely to head to an airport than a shopping mall. Thanks to an increased customer interest in traveling, some worry that retailers might find themselves with less foot traffic than they had hoped for. Do you expect retailers to take a hit this holiday season because of money being rerouted to travel?

Facing a heightened promotional environment amid elevated inventories in the marketplace, VF Corp. has rejiggered its near-term plans to drive higher revenue and profit in the second half of its fiscal year ending March 2023. What do you think is key to preserving profitability in an environment marked by elevated promotions and inventories?

Freight demand is dropping, as reported by some of the biggest long haul freight companies in the U.S. The trucking firms say they have seen demand for their services wane somewhat at a time when they normally are at their busiest. What do declines in cargo imports and freight demand say about the sales outlook for retail over the next six months to a year?

Bed Bath & Beyond’s search for a CEO is over. The retailer yesterday said that it has named Sue Gove as president and chief executive officer of the company. Ms. Gove has been the retailer’s interim CEO since June when she replaced Mark Tritton. Does Sue Gove have the right plan in place to turn Bed Bath & Beyond Inc. around?

Nothing beats having an item in stock. New research shows that brick and mortar retailers that need to backorder items to meet customer demand are losing out in the longer run. How can retailers avoid and/or mitigate the negative effects associated with backorders?

A new university study exploring BOPIS finds consumers are more likely to be satisfied with substitutions for out-of-stocks when the item is a staple, like ketchup or paper towels, rather than a “pleasure-loving” item like coffee or perfume. How can retailers improve substitution selections in the BOPIS process?

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?

With last year’s in-store Christmas shopping stifled, and supply chain disruptions preventing orders from hitting the shelves on time, retailers ended up sitting on a lot of seasonal inventory. They packed it away for a year and, now as a new Christmas season approaches, they are selling it again. Will shoppers buy 2021’s leftover Christmas inventory or react negatively to last year’s merchandise?

New research forecasts that imports to American ports will fall to the lowest level in nearly two years by the end of 2022. How do you explain the forecasted drop in imports at the nation’s ports?

Macy’s competitors have been forced to pack-and-hold large amounts of excess inventory, but the department store giant claims that it was able to avoid that scenario in many cases by paying close attention to its co-branded credit card data. Are some retail forecasting systems missing data important to projecting future consumer activity?

Nike said sales climbed 10 percent on a currency-neutral basis in the first quarter ended August 30 on strong demand but warned that aggressive markdowns required to clear apparel inventories would drive down gross margins for its fiscal year. Did Nike make the right move in ramping up promotions to realign inventories instead of seeking to soften the margin hit?

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 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?

Bed Bath & Beyond yesterday went public with the struggling retailer’s new plan to get its business on solid footing. What are the key challenges that Bed Bath & Beyond faces at this moment in time?

Gap, Express and Kohl’s are among the retailers getting ready to employ packaway sales to reduce the markdown blow of last holiday’s late deliveries. Has packaway become a more standard and less risky practice for full-price retailers looking to maximize inventory clearance?

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?

With supply chain bottlenecks easing, a scarcity of warehouse space is promising to replace shipping container shortages as the biggest headache in the global supply chain. Is procuring adequate warehouse space a short-term, long-term or not much of a problem for retail?

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?

In mid-June, The Home Depot handed out more than 125,000 “hdPhones,” or newfangled mobile devices, to store associates to help assist and speed customers’ journeys. Are mobile devices assigned to store associates elevating the customer experience or falling short of promises?

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?

While congestion has lessened at West Coast ports, global supply chain disruption may linger for years due to economic conditions, rising inflation and global tensions, according to a survey. When do you see global supply chains becoming at least more predictable?

Online grocery shopping is a weekly habit of a segment of the population, according to a new study. What do the weekly use statistics for delivery and pickup mean for grocery operations?

Supermarket retailers are faced with a huge labor challenge. The explosion of ecommerce is amplifying this by creating the need for more order pickers to manually fulfill e-grocery orders from stores. What are the best strategies and tactics for grocery retailers when bringing in automation to replace manual online order fulfillment at the store level?

Retailers looking to reduce costs and clear out warehouses and stores of excess inventory are telling customers to just keep those unwanted purchases. Do you expect to see a significant uptick in the number of items that retailers tell customers to keep rather than return?

Mall operator Simon Property Group is testing a search tool that lets shoppers see what’s in stock in stores inside the mall. How much appeal will an inventory check tool such as Simon Search offer to mall shoppers?

Target is bringing back Deal Days, its answer to Amazon.com’s Prime Day, with big discounts and gift card rewards on product categories across its stores and target.com. How do you expect Target’s Deal Days, Amazon Prime Day and other July sales events by large retailers to stack up against their 2021 results?

Recent studies indicate artificial intelligence has not yet delivered the promised time and labor savings benefits to the space and assortment optimization process. Are merchants still relying too much on intuition rather than analytics to guide assortment and space planning?

According to PwC’s 2022 Digital Trends in Supply Chain Survey, 80 percent of operations and information technology leaders surveyed say technology investments have failed to fully deliver expected results.  Which logistics technologies promise to help global supply chains run more efficiently and what’s causing the apparent shortcomings?

Thirty-four Sam’s Club locations in the Dallas/Fort  Worth area will soon be receiving shipments of Quilted Northern toilet paper and Dixie products via autonomous 26-foot box trucks. Do you think autonomous box trucks will be largely able to replace traditional tractor middle-mile deliveries to retailers in the future?

Target is serious about getting its inventory in order. The retailer today said it would markdown merchandise and cancel orders in an effort to right size its inventory, even though it will take a big hit to profit margins. Do you agree with Target’s approach to dealing with its inventory and cost challenges at this point in time?

A convenience store’s main competition was simply another c-store until relatively recently. Now quick commerce businesses have made aggressive moves into the convenience space, promising delivery of small baskets within as little as 10 minutes.  How can c-store retailers stay competitive with the new series of fast commerce operators as well as traditional rivals?