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?

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?

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?

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?

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?

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?

Kroger has opened a grocery pickup location for students at the University of Kentucky. The initiative melds retail’s experiments with grocery pickup points and serving colleges, both of which have faced challenges. Is establishing pickup points the best path to bringing e-grocery to college campuses?

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?

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?

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?

Mimicking on-demand working, Schnucks has introduced a “Schnucks Flexforce” option at select St. Louis-area stores that lets associates select both their shifts and preferred store locations. What do you think of Schnucks Flexforce and the potential to bring more of an on-demand working option to retail selling floors?

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, 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?

Many retailers saw dollar sales slow and profit margins drop over the first six months of the year and some have responded to this situation by cutting back on capital expenditures. Should retailers currently struggling with sales and profits seek to increase or decrease their capital expenditures at this time?

Gap and American Eagle Outfitters have joined Amazon, Walmart and Target in peddling logistics services to third-party retailers. But there are concerns over their ability to recruit prospective customers due to data privacy qualms and competitive reasons. What do you think of the opportunities for Gap and American Eagle Outfitters as 3PL providers?

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?

Shoppers at some Target locations can now get a 10-minute manicure from a robot. The service has been getting a boost in popularity, thanks to videos posted on TikTok. Do you see robotic manicures as being helpful in drawing customers to retail stores?

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?

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?

Amazon.com is officially calling this week’s Prime Day sales event a success. The retail and technology giant said that shoppers purchased more items in what it has labeled as the “biggest Prime Day event” in its history. Did anything around Amazon’s sales performance this week or that of its rivals surprise you in any way?

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?

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?

Sam’s Club will start charging most members a $4 curbside-pickup fee after June 28. Free curbside pickup was traditionally reserved for Plus members, but the fee was waived “for a limited time” for Standard members in June 2020 in light of the pandemic. Should retailers offer free curbside pickup, at least with minimum orders?

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?

Amazon is slamming federal legislation that would bar the company from giving preference to its products over items sold by other sellers on its site. Does Amazon unfairly give preference to products it sells versus those sold by third parties on its marketplace?

Walmart and Target posted their first quarter results this week and the rivals had similar stories to tell of sales going up and profit margins falling down. What do you make of the first quarter results posted by Walmart and Target?

Target is testing out a new solar panel setup at one California location to see if it can successfully use the technology to power the entire store and move toward becoming a fully solar-powered chain. Do you see solar as being a sustainable way to power grocery stores the size of Target?

Lululemon athletica says a test of its “Like New” trade-in and resale program in California and Texas was a success, and now the yoga-inspired chain is rolling it out nationwide. Do you expect that lululemon’s business will benefit more from its resale program than other retailers?

Target’s is selling used apparel through a new relationship with ThredUP. The retailer, as of late March, has its own page on ThredUP featuring a selection of used apparel curated by its team from the resale platform’s assortment. Do you see Target succeeding with resale through its ThredUp relationship?

Walmart has decided to ditch selling cigarettes in some of its U.S. stores and reconfigure its front end space in those locations to make room for more self-checkouts and products including candy and grab-and-go foods. Do you expect Walmart to phase out most, if not all, of its cigarette sales over the next five years?

Target plans to expand the availability of its selection of Levi’s premium Red Tab jeans from 500 stores to 800 this spring in a bid to amplify its “status as your favorite denim destination.” Would capturing a reputation as a go-to place for denim be a huge competitive win for Target?

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?

Mimicking nutritional rating labels aimed at encouraging healthier eating, Target has introduced a new Target Zero icon to make it easier for consumers to identify products designed to reduce waste. What do you think of the potential appeal of Target Zero and similar labels to guide sustainable purchases?

Target CEO Brian Cornell is understandably confident and believes Target’s continuing investments in its people, stores, supply chain operations and technology will continue to deliver significant growth over the next five years. Does Target understand and connect with its customers on a deeper level than other large retail chains?

Target cut its employee turnover rate between 2019 and 2021 to a five-year low, but clearly the chain’s leaders think it can do better. Is Target succeeding in being perceived by current and prospective retail workers as an employer of choice?

Target has been clear that it wants to be known as the easiest place to shop in retail. Its Drive Up service has been a big part of that, and it may get even bigger. Do you expect service enhancements like Starbucks ordering and item returns to draw new customers to Target’s Drive Up service?

A lot of Americans are going on Target runs. The retailer saw shopper traffic improve 6.2 percent during the just completed holiday season, even as other major retailers like Best Buy and Walmart experienced footfall declines. What do you think is convincing consumers to make more Target runs?

Americans need some sorting out. It would be difficult to get any other message this week with announcements from both Walmart and Target about new product line launches that their respective customers can use to organize their personal and professional lives. Do you see the home organizing products category heating up in 2022?

Promising a double-bonus of cost and time savings, Apple on Wednesday began offering free two-hour delivery in major metro areas from Dec. 22 through Dec. 24. What marketing messages do last-minute shoppers need to hear that are different than those offered earlier in the holiday season?

Over the last couple of years, major retailers have increasingly offered discounts to teachers during the back-to-school season. Now some retailers and brands are extending their promotions even further. Should other retailers that offer teacher discounts consider extending them beyond the back-to-school season as Meijer has done?

Target plans to more than double the number of Apple at Target shop-in-shop “experiences” from 17 stores to 36 in time for holiday selling. Is the Apple at Target partnership a bigger deal for Apple or Target?

Target announced that it will pay store associates $2 an hour extra for working on Saturdays and Sundays starting on November 20 and running through December 19. How does Target’s approach to human resources compare in your mind to other big retail industry employers?

Walmart is serious about raising its fashion cred. The retailer has engaged in a number of exclusive brand relationships and has sought to up its game with its private label lines. Do you think Free Assembly and other moves being made by Walmart suggest it is ready to elevate its fashion game?

Why wait? Amazon.com announced today that “Black Friday-worthy deals” are available right now on its site. How do you expect the dueling sales promotions to play out between Amazon and the largest retail chains this holiday season?

Target announced yesterday that it will kick off its Christmas promotions on Sunday, October 10. The retailer is looking to cash in on the opportunity created by earlier shopping trends this year as supply chain disruptions and product shortages have become daily news. What do you see as Target’s strengths heading into the holiday season?

Target plans to reduce seasonal hires and give more hours to existing employees as it navigates a tight labor market. Do you see more benefits than risks in Target’s move to hire less seasonal help and give those hours to current associates?