Amazon.com announced last week that it plans to permanently close eight of its 28 Amazon Go convenience stores. The first Go opened in January 2018 and featured the debut of its “Just Walk Out” technology.

Food shopping options for downtowners can be downright dismal. Patricia Waldron is a center city dweller and feels fortunate to have a great Ralph’s in her neighborhood, but before the store opened, downtown San Diego was pretty much a food desert.  Are grocers generally doing enough to serve urban consumers?

People enjoy working from home so much that going back to the office five days a week is no longer an option. Being home more often, consumers prefer to shop local more and want bigger brands to come to them, according to this study. Do you see a significant opportunity for national retailers to open up smaller stores in local neighborhoods?

An Amazon Fresh is not coming to a neighborhood near you just yet. The company will delay opening new Fresh stores until it figures out how to differentiate the locations from established competitors in the market. How do you evaluate Amazon’s strengths and weaknesses in the grocery vertical?

Bloomingdale’s is going small in Seattle, saying it will open a new Bloomie’s, its small off-mall store concept, this year in University Village in the Ravenna neighborhood, north of the city’s downtown. Do you see the Bloomie’s concept as a smart way for Bloomingdale’s to scale its operations to new markets around the U.S.?

Throughout the U.S., a number of new Amazon Fresh stores have been built out, but are just sitting there, leading some to wonder if Amazon is quietly backing away from the Just Walk Out grocery concept. Do you see Amazon Fresh’s stalled openings as a temporary retrenchment or a sign Amazon may be reassessing the concept’s approach?

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?

The year 2023 is going to be better at retail than expected, especially for those companies that appeal to the higher and lower ends of the market. Those catering to the middle will likely have a tough go of it. How do you think the national economy will affect consumer behavior and retail in 2023?

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?

H&M has opened a smaller boutique concept in the hip Williamsburg section of Brooklyn featuring a rotating mix of “most fashionable styles” and continually evolving activations with an emphasis on “paying homage to the iconic neighborhood.” What should define success for the H&M Williamsburg concept?

Panera Bread has announced plans to roll out two smaller concepts to reach to-go customers in dense urban areas. Urban Core is about 40 percent smaller than Panera’s traditional bakery-cafes, and Panera To-Go doesn’t have any dine-in seating and features all-digital ordering. Are digital-only or digital-first restaurants the future of fast food and fast casual?

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?

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.?

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?

In 2020, Schnucks opened EatWell, A Natural Food Store by Schnucks in Columbia, MO, with a focus on natural, organic, local and specialty products. Last week, the company opened a mini-Schnucks Express next door.  Does Schnucks Express, featuring conventional food favorites, complement Schnucks’ EatWell concept?

Best Buy is today opening a new digital-first, small box store concept that it believes will change the way consumers shop for the products it sells. Do you expect customers to respond favorably to the shopping experience offered in Best Buy’s new small format store in Monroe, NC?

Macy’s is not anchoring itself to malls any longer. The department store retailer said it will open four new small, off-mall stores as part of a multiyear strategy to reinvent its business in suburban “power centers” around the country. How likely is Macy’s to close more of its mall stores and replace them with Market by Macy’s or dual Market and Backstage locations?

Nordstrom has unveiled plans to open its first Nordstrom Local pop-up in Southampton from Memorial Day weekend to Labor Day. Do pop-ups make sense for Nordstrom Local in other locales or is the Hamptons a unique situation?

Best Buy is moving forward with its plan to double the number of outlet stores it operates over the next year. The consumer electronics retailer said it is opening four new outlets this summer and fall in Chicago, Houston, Manassas, VA, and Phoenix. Where do you think Best Buy will see the biggest benefit from its new outlet store strategy?

Macy’s, a longstanding fixture of the shopping mall, is expanding a standalone store strategy in a way that could change how customers think of the retail chain. Do you see moving away from the mall and into smaller, standalone stores as a path to reinvention for Macy’s?

Continuing its fast rollout, Macy’s announced plans to expand Backstage in-store shops to 37 more full-line locations this spring, bringing the off-price concept to nearly 60 percent of the chain and reaching its Herald Square and State Street flagships. Has the Backstage concept proven itself inside Macy’s full-line locations?

Americans may be concerned about rising food and fuel prices, but Petco Health + Wellness Company CEO Ron Coughlin isn’t expecting that worry to have a negative effect on his company’s business. Do you agree that pet products are highly resistant to inflation and an economic downturn?

Kohl’s, at its Investor Day earlier this month, said it plans over the next four years to open 100 small-format stores, at about 35,000 square feet versus the company average of 80,000. Do you see a hyper-localized approach to merchandising as key to Kohl’s success with smaller-format stores?

BJ’s Wholesale Club is piloting a smaller store, BJ’s Market, to serve as an innovation lab and potentially become an expansion vehicle. Does a smaller format store make sense for BJ’s Wholesale Club to support omnichannel selling or for other reasons?

Amazon.com appears committed to operating physical stores, but appears to be optimizing its format strategy. The retail and technology giant is shuttering all of 68 of its Amazon Books, 4-Star and pop-up shops. What do you think of Amazon’s move?

Amazon.com is opening larger versions of its Amazon Go convenience store concept in the suburbs.The retail and technology giant is planning a store for Mill Creek, WA, which is located about 20 miles outside of Seattle where Amazon debuted its first Go store in 2018. Will Amazon Go convenience stores be successful in suburban locations?

Wayfair appears to be getting more serious about brick and mortar retail. The online furniture and home goods retailer says it will go from zero to three stores over the next year. Do you see the utility of Wayfair opening stores under its five core brands instead of under a single namesake banner?

Dollar General is planning to accelerate the expansion of Popshelf, its concept targeting suburban women, with a goal of reaching 1,000 locations by 2025. What do you think of the overall appeal of Popshelf and the timing of the ramped-up launch?

CVS Health will close 900 stores over three years and launch new formats as part of its strategic push to create health destinations in the communities it serves. Will CVS be a stronger drugstore retailer as a result of its plan to close 900 stores, operate three distinct formats and utilize a different executive leadership model?

IKEA will open two mini-Planning Studios in the Los Angeles area with a focus on “providing inspiration and smart home solutions for city living.” Is it more important now to be more accessible and convenient to urban shoppers versus when IKEA first entered those markets?

A year after the first Amazon 4-Star opened in fall 2018, a Financial Times review predicted the concept “could be the future of bricks-and-mortar retail.” Is Amazon 4-Star a proven concept or do you see it being overhauled or phased out in coming years?

Dollar Tree has decided that it can’t hold the line on its dollar pricing any longer. The retailer made known on Tuesday that it plans to raise prices on select items to $1.25 and $1.50. What are the keys to successfully raising prices when selling to a value-driven customer base?

Distribution centers have taken on a more important role in retail as e-commerce ordering has dramatically expanded. Best Buy is now using one of its distribution centers not just to fulfill orders, but to engage with customers virtually. What do you think of the use of “virtual stores” to provide ways to remotely assist shoppers?

Customers have long associated IKEA with the experience with traversing a labyrinth of furniture and home décor. Now IKEA may be ditching the maze in favor of a layout it considers to be even more immersive. Is the “maze” aspect of IKEA an advantage or a disadvantage at this point in the chain’s evolution?

Amazon.com is planning to open several large retail stores in the U.S. that will be its take on the department store model. How would you expect a smaller box Amazon department store to look and operate compared to legacy retailers in the same channel?

Athlete and press access at the Olympic games in Tokyo was limited, but those limitations did not extend to local eye-opening convenience stores. What can the Japanese konbini teach U.S. convenience store retailers as well as those operating other food formats?

Dollar General Corp. announced the launch of DG Market + pOshelf, a “store-within-a-store concept” combining DG Market, its larger format store focusing on groceries, and pOpshelf, its new non-consumables concept targeting a more affluent customer. Does DG Market + pOpshelf sound like a winner or does combining formats only confuse the consumer?

Bloomingdale’s has announced the launch next month of a new concept store that it promises will deliver the best of what the department store has to offer, but in a smaller space. Will the new Bloomie’s small store concept prove successful for Bloomingdale’s?

Target turned in a record performance last year and followed that up with a better-than-expected start in 2021. But the retailer has no plans to rest on its laurels. Will Target’s store remodeling plan put it ahead, in-step with or behind the curve when it comes to offering the retail shopping experience that American consumers want?

Will Amazon take its pharmacy business from a purely online operation into physical store locations? It is, at the very least, mulling the possibility of this next step, according to reports. Do you think Amazon can effectively run brick-and-mortar pharmacies and compete in the markets where it opens them?

Grupo Comercial Chedraui, Mexico’s third-largest retailer and the largest Hispanic grocery store operator in the U.S., has reached an agreement to acquire Smart & Final, which operates “smaller, faster” warehouse stores across California, Arizona and Nevada. What do you think of the competitive positioning and growth potential for the Smart & Final concept?

Dick’s Sporting Goods has announced the grand opening of its House of Sport experiential concept store. The new store will provide a variety of experiences for various sports both inside and outside the store. Is Dick’s on the right track with its experiential store concepts?

Amazon.com was considering opening a clearance concept selling unsold inventory of home goods and electronics at steep discounts prior to the novel coronavirus pandemic, reports Bloomberg.  What do you think was behind Amazon’s exploration of clearance stores and will they still make sense post-pandemic?

H-E-B, after years of purchasing land in the area, announced plans to open its first flagship stores in the Dallas-Fort Worth metroplex. The first two stores in Frisco and Plano will open in fall 2022.  How do you think H-E-B will fare in the Dallas-Fort Worth market?

Though the pandemic caused an uptick in center store and frozen, customers are still interested in fresh options — assuming they can buy them safely. Do you see opportunities for grocers to use concepts like Schnucks Fresh standalone project to create unique points of differentiation that can lead to growth?

Burlington Stores has doubled its long-term goal for potential stores to 2,000 from 1,000 due to increasing confidence in a small store prototype, at 25,000 square feet. What do you think of the potential for Burlington Stores’ smaller store prototype and its ramped-up expansion potential?

Aldi has been growing its store count, supply chain infrastructure and digital capability in recent years and continues to do so, having announced plans to open another 100 stores in 2021. Are you surprised at Aldi’s apparent success at using online ordering and curbside pickup and delivery to grow its business?

Popular regional grocer Publix has been expanding its footprint northward for a number of years. With its new pilot store, management is indicating plans to expand its individual stores vertically, as well. Will experiential grocery store concepts make a strong comeback in the years ahead?

Starbucks plans to open a whopping 22,000 locations to bring its massive store count to 55,000 by 2030. Will its newer formats and features amplify expansion opportunities for Starbucks in the years ahead?

One of the nation’s fastest-growing discount grocers has recently decided to go bigger. Aldi plans to open a 25,000-square-foot store in Philadelphia in November. Do you think Aldi will be successful with a bigger box concept that includes 40 percent more space for fresh food?