Amazon’s earnings miss of $4.23 a share in the third quarter, down from $5.75 last year, is being tied to the company’s switch from free two-day shipping for Prime members to next-day delivery. Do you think the math for free next-day delivery adds up to a win for Amazon in the short- or long-term?

Walmart announced yesterday the launch of special early deals for Christmas on walmart.com to get a head start on the selling season, which is six days shorter this year because of when Thanksgiving falls. Will Walmart be rewarded for its decision to start its Christmas sales before Halloween?

Best Buy announced the launch of free next-day delivery on thousands of items that it sells online, with no minimum purchase or membership required. How important is speed of delivery to online sales performance?

CNN reports that it has interviewed 23 current and former employees of Target in recent months who said they actually are bringing home less than they did before the retailer began raising its hourly pay. Do hourly associates have a legitimate grievance in connecting fewer shift hours with recent pay increases or are there other factors at work?

Walmart has announced that it is launching its InHome Delivery program which gives Walmart delivery people access to customers’ garages or homes where they will put refrigerated and frozen products away in refrigerators. What do you expect Walmart to learn in the three initial markets for InHome Delivery?

Walmart announced yesterday that Greg Foran, president and CEO of its U.S. business, is leaving the company and will be replaced by John Furner, who has been the top executive at Sam’s Club since 2017. What do you expect to stay the same and change at Walmart U.S. under the leadership of John Furner?

Walmart has sold its ModCloth business, is looking to spin off its Jetblack personal shopping service and has laid off workers at Bonobos. What is your take on the current state of Walmart’s digital operations?

Walmart announced yesterday plans to launch several healthcare pilots around the U.S. beginning on Jan. 1. The programs being tested are designed to help the retailer cut healthcare costs for it and its employees while delivering better care in the process. Do you think Walmart is on the right track with its healthcare pilot programs?

Who’s the low-price leader? Zulily is — at least that’s what the flash sales site’s management team seems to believe. The online seller announced the launch of a new price comparison tool pitting its prices on like items with Amazon.com and Walmart. Will Zulily succeed in capturing customers from Amazon and/or Walmart during the upcoming holiday season?

In August, Business Roundtable, the lobbying group composed of the nation’s leading CEOs, controversially updated its corporate governance principles to pledge to work for more than shareholders, and named Walmart’s CEO, Doug McMillon, to guide the effort. What do you think of Business Roundtable’s revised purpose statement and is Doug McMillon the right person to drive the change?

We see many examples of retail industry leaders taking definitive action to protect and serve public interests when other systems don’t or can’t. These are complex issues that challenge retailers to balance business risks with loyalty, sales and profits. They also present growth opportunities. Is it the responsibility of retailers to address gaps in society’s well being?

Walmart is all about saving consumers money, and the retailer’s new private label credit card program with Capital One is designed to reinforce its low-price image. How will Walmart’s two new cash-back cards affect how holders interact with the chain?

Walmart announced today that it is expanding its grocery delivery subscription program, Delivery Unlimited, to 1,400 stores across the country. What will Delivery Unlimited mean for Walmart’s grocery business?

Marc Lore, who leads Walmart’s e-commerce operations in the U.S., says the retailer is turning away from looking for acquisitions and turning its attention to developing its own digitally native brands. Do you agree that Walmart is better off creating its own consumer direct brands than acquiring them?

Walmart is opening a health clinic called Walmart Health in Georgia that will provide comprehensive and low-cost primary care. Services also include dental, hearing tests, counseling sessions, vision and hearing tests, and x-rays.  How far should/will Walmart venture into healthcare services?

Reporters from The Wall Street Journal and the Los Angeles Times recently simulated firing a virtual employee to explore how well virtual reality (VR) works as a training tool for employees.  Is virtual reality more effective than real-life role-playing or other training methods for stores?

Walmart will, as a precaution, discontinue sales of short-barrel rifle ammunition, once the company has fulfilled its current obligations with suppliers. Do you think retailers are compelled to take steps to mitigate gun violence because of the failure of political leaders to do so?

Walmart has partnered with BuzzFeed’s Tasty video site for “shoppable” recipes. Users browsing Tasty’s 4,000 online recipes can add the necessary ingredients to their cart and check out with Walmart for in-store pickup or home delivery.  Do you see shoppable recipes becoming a major driver of online grocery selling?

Grocery is among the key categories on which Target has focused since Brian Cornell became CEO in 2014. Now the chain is taking another run at grocery success with the introduction of a new private label line. How much progress do you think Target has made at improving its grocery business in recent years?

It’s not always easy to find grocery workers who want to stick with a company — especially an independent — and move up, a fact The National Grocers Association Foundation hopes to address with its new NGA Foundation Career Center website. Will a national job board and resource site like NGA’s lead to the recruitment of better talent for independent grocers?

When a van delivery from regional grocer H-E-B arrives at a customer’s house, there might not be anyone in the driver’s seat — if things work out with a planned pilot. What will be the determining factor(s) if/when autonomous delivery tech is rolled out on a widespread basis?

Walmart was at the center of two active shooter events last week in the U.S. and says it could have been worse, had it not been for active shooter training that the retailer requires all associates to go through. How prepared are most retailers for active shooter events in stores?

Giant Foods president Nick Bertram revealed at the NRF Big Show in January that his company and sister business Stop & Shop, were in the process of rolling out Marty,  a 6’3” robotic assistant, to all the stores operated by the two chains. Are robots currently being deployed in stores ready for their primetime performances?

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?

When it comes to fulfillment centers to handle online orders, Walmart with 20 warehouses is well behind Amazon’s 100. Walmart, however, has thousands of stores. Is grocery the key to Walmart’s online fortunes?

A mom-and-pop grocer in New Hampshire is making it a better deal for customers on government assistance to buy organic. Should other local, or even national, grocers consider incentivizing healthier choices among people on government aid through this method?

Despite wide external praise for accelerating online growth, Walmart is frustrated internally by the steep losses it has incurred by online operations and its struggles trying to catch up to Amazon.com. Should Walmart scale back its ambitions for its e-commerce business?

This fall, Target will open three additional smaller format stores to bring its total count across college campuses to 23. Have college campuses emerged into a more viable growth opportunity for larger chains?

Walmart is evolving and reinventing itself and there’s a good reason behind the shifts toward competing in new markets and online.  Is the D2C strategy Walmart is developing on the path to success?

It’s pretty common to hear retailers talking about the need to own the last mile, but Walmart is testing autonomous vans to transfer goods from one warehouse to another or to a store or other pickup point.How significant a challenge is the “middle mile” in retail logistics?

The former chief strategy officer at Snapchat and his wife, formerly at Quidsi, have launched Verishop, a new online platform designed to bring “the joy back to shopping.” Will Verishop’s approach to brand curation and customer service set it apart from other online competitors?

Tire shoppers at Sam’s Club could find faster, more accurate recommendations from store staff thanks to a new app they’ll have on their tablets. How important is it for retailers to use associate-facing technology to help speed the sales process along?

Walmart is folding Jet.com’s teams — analytics, marketing, product, retail, technology, et al — into its corporate web organization. What do you see as Jet.com’s role within Walmart?

Target wants to give its customers more financial flexibility when it comes to receiving same-day delivery of items purchased online. How do you assess Target’s overall digital sales progress compared with competitors such as Amazon.com and Walmart?

Walmart’s new service, InHome Delivery, delivers fresh groceries directly into refrigerators within shoppers’ homes and garages. What do you think of the potential of Walmart’s InHome Delivery service?

Walmart is looking to upgrade its look. The retailer is replacing the blue vests worn by employees since 2014 with new ones that have a more modern feel. What do you see as the most significant challenges facing Walmart from a workforce perspective?

Walmart has had a tough time getting customers to adopt scan-and-go technology. Now Walmart Canada is piloting a layout that could change how customers think about it. Will Walmart’s new checkout approach overcome the retailer’s previous difficulties with getting customers to adopt scan-and-go?

Walmart is looking to take the lead in the competition for talent with a new employment pitch to high school students that includes flexible work schedules and the opportunity to earn a college degree debt-free. What do you see as the biggest barriers to teenagers working in retail industry jobs?

Amazon may soon seem a less hospitable place for small third-party sellers as it cozies up to larger retailers and shifts its percentage of products sourced from small suppliers to larger entities. Will Amazon’s apparent decision to reduce the wholesale business it is doing with small vendors have an impact on its performance?

Move over Amazon.com and Walmart — Target wants a bigger piece of the retail advertising pie. Will owning advertising businesses become a major competitive advantage for large retailers such as Amazon, Target and Walmart?

Facial recognition technology has many practical applications. But while these use cases seem reasonable to most people, not everyone is enamored with facial recognition technology or how it’s being used. Are the benefits of facial recognition technology more trouble than they are worth for retailers?

Some big retailers are working with a startup that’s putting a 21st century twist on a classic method of making packaging reusable — a pick-up service akin to the one used by the mid-20th century milkman. What factors will determine if customers make the decision to sign up for a service like Loop?

Bernie Sanders is not a fan of Walmart’s business practices and plans to attend Walmart’s annual shareholder meeting to introduce new shareholder proposals. Do you think retailers would benefit from having store associates represented on company boards?

Kohl’s announced that it has signed an exclusive long-term deal to sell Fanatics’ licensed sports merchandise on Kohls.com. Will the online deal with Fanatics help make Kohls.com a destination for sports fans?

Despite Amazon.com’s publicity push to promote price cuts at Whole Foods, the chain remains the highest price grocer in the land, according to a new study. How long before Whole Foods customers call a figurative BS on its repeated price cut claims?

No one expected that Walmart would stand pat after Amazon.com announced last month that it was cutting its standard two-day delivery time for Prime members to a single day. Do you find Marc Lore makes a compelling business case for Walmart’s move into next day delivery of online orders?

U.K. grocer Sainsbury’s has observed Amazon.com’s success with a third-party marketplace and plans to launch one of its own aimed at grocery shoppers. Will grocers including Sainsbury’s and Albertsons be helped or hurt over time as a result of operating online marketplaces?

Walmart has announced the launch of WalmartPetRX.com, an online pharmacy for dogs, cats and other animals. How long do you think it will take for Walmart to become a major retail supplier of pet prescription medicines with its new online pharmacy and expanded selection in stores?

Walmart is helping a specific segment of the tech labor market get its skills up to speed. What advantages might Walmart gain by cultivating talent that wants to return to the tech workforce after an absence?

Walmart is experimenting with several versions of a new store management structure under its “Great Workplace” initiative. Do you think Walmart’s “Great Workplace” staffing structure will produce stores that are more responsive to the needs of customers?