If you’re not an outdoorsy type, it’s understandable that you might think Cabela’s and Bass Pro Shops are the same store. They’re both big-box stores that are almost more of a tourist destination than a place to shop. Maybe you won’t have to stop and figure out what the difference is: the privately held Bass Pro Shops is considering taking over its publicly traded rival. [More]
Retail Services
Wells Fargo To Pay $81.6M To Homeowners In Bankruptcy For Failure To Provide Payment Notices
By 11.5.15
Wells Fargo has agreed to pay $81.6 million in relief to homeowners after the bank repeatedly failed to provide them with proper legal notices during bankruptcy proceedings.
[More]
Target May Hire Outside Company To Help Actually Keep Grocery Items In Stock
By 11.4.15
Target has gradually added more food to their store inventory over the last decade or so, and that’s an area where they want to grow. The problem is that as their food selections have grown, they’ve created a patchwork supply chain to get food items into stores. That’s inefficient, and has left some Target stores with empty shelves. The company’s solution may be to hire someone else to help. [More]
Here Are The 13 Target Stores Closing In January
By 11.4.15
For the second time this year, Target is closing underperforming stores. But unlike that first round of closures, which was focused on the retailer’s flagging Canadian operations, this time the shuttered stores are all stateside.
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Xerox’s Federal Student Loan Servicing Under Investigation Over Inaccuracies, Overcharges
By 11.3.15
When you think of Xerox, photos of large, office printers is likely the first thing to come to mind. But it turns out the company also dabbles in the education business. And it’s that venture that federal investigators are probing after discovering nearly a decade of errors. [More]
Amazon Opens Actual Real-Life Bookstore Today In Seattle
By 11.3.15
In the last year, there have been rumors that Amazon planned to open a gadget store and package pickup center in Manhattan near the Empire State Building, and that they planned to buy the leases of some RadioShack stores when that retailer declared bankruptcy. Neither of these happened. This morning, Amazon is opening an entirely different sort of real-life store. They’re selling books. [More]
Former Family Dollar Stores Will Become Dollar Express Stores
By 11.2.15
You may remember the sordid dollar-store love triangle that played out before our eyes earlier this year, as Dollar Tree and Dollar General battled for the affections and assets of Family Dollar. The eventual winner was Dollar Tree, and now the two companies have become one. However, they still needed to satisfy the Federal Trade Commission’s requirements by selling off more than 300 stores. [More]
JPMorgan To Pay $100M To Settle Unlawful Debt-Collection Allegations In California
By 11.2.15
Four months after JPMorgan Chase agreed to pay at least $136 million to close the books on state and federal investigations into its credit card collections practices, the company reached a $100 million settlement putting an end to a similar investigation in California. [More]
Amazon Starts Black Friday Today, Really Wants You To Subscribe To Prime
By 11.2.15
This year, Black Friday, the universal holiday honoring unbridled commerce, will happen on Nov. 27. That doesn’t mean that Black Friday is limited to only that day, though: today, megastore Amazon.com kicked off their “Countdown to Black Friday,” which is apparently sort of like an Advent calendar full of external hard drives and sneakers. [More]
Best Buy Adds Same-Day Delivery Test In San Francisco
By 11.2.15
Last-minute holiday shopping just got a bit easier for some Californians who simply forget to grab a gift for your electronics-loving family and friends: Best Buy is testing same-day delivery. [More]
Attention, Kmart Shoppers: The Bluelight Special Is Back
By 11.2.15
Sirens are sounding and the blue light is flashing once again at Kmart, as the struggling retailer tries to lure shoppers through its doors and revive its sales: after retiring “Bluelight Specials” in the early ’90s, the chain will once again blast sirens and turn on the blue light to alert shoppers to surprise, 15-minute long deals in its 942 stores. [More]
Amazon Shutters Local Deals Service, Credit Card Processing Unit
By 11.2.15
While it might seem like Amazon opens a new store or launches a different service every week, the e-commerce giant announced over the weekend that it would actually close two units: one offering local deals and a small business credit card processing service. [More]
For The First Time, Santa Is Coming To Walmart
By 11.2.15
You can buy just about anything on Amazon, but do you know what you can’t find on the mega-retailer’s site? Santa. That’s one of the reasons why Walmart is trying something new and bringing Santaland to Wally World. Stores also plan to have more decorations than in the past––no, not just on the shelves for you to buy, but on the walls, decorating the place. [More]
At Target, Tide Free Is Free Of Dyes, Perfumes, And Logic
By 10.30.15
Reader Rob is a longtime reader and very familiar with our “Target Math” series of posts, so he knows to check the actual price per ounce on items he plans to buy. Especially, he notes, at Target. This recent promotion for laundry detergent demonstrates why. [More]
Walmart Now Has An Internal “Swat Team” To Prevent Embarrassing Costumes From Hitting Shelves
By 10.30.15
Walmart and its website have a spotted history when it comes to questionable Halloween costumes, like the “Naughty Leopard” outfit for toddlers, or the entire section of Walmart.com dedicated to “Fat Girl Costumes.” In an effort to pre-empt this sort of embarrassment, the retailer now has an internal team tasked with heading off offensive costumes at the pass. [More]
Walmart Doesn’t Need Free Shipping: They Want Everyone To Use In-Store Pickup
By 10.30.15
Competing big-box stores like Target and Best Buy are trying to attract shoppers this holiday season by offering free shipping on all online purchases, no matter how small. This strategy doesn’t interest Walmart, because their plans this year for holiday domination don’t include free online shipping: they include using in-store pickup to get shoppers into their stores. [More]
Target Confirms Free Shipping For All Online Orders During The Holiday Season
By 10.30.15
As predicted, Target has gone ahead and confirmed an that it retailer would offer free shipping for all online orders during the holiday season, announcing on Thursday that it’d drop all shipping fees for the second year in a row. [More]
Virginia Artist Accuses Target Of Ripping Off Designs For Cellphone Covers
By 10.29.15
They say imitation is the sincerest form of flattery, but that’s not how one Virginia artist sees it. At least not in the case of cellphone covers she says Target and one of its suppliers copied from her designs. [More]
