A Texas woman who took her car to her local Walmart’s service center for a routine oil change says a technician totaled the vehicle and now the company isn’t offering her a fair settlement, leaving her stranded and her business suffering. [More]
Retail Services
Class Action Suit Alleges Nestle Benefits From Fishing Vessel Slavery To Make Fancy Feast
By 8.28.15
Last week, we shared the news that a Costco customer had filed a class action lawsuit against the warehouse retailer, claiming that they sell shrimp benefiting from slave labor. Now cat owners have filed a similar lawsuit against Nestle, parent company of Fancy Feast cat food, claiming that the company uses mistreated and enslaved workers to catch fish destined for cat food cans. [More]
Chicago Target Could Be Company’s First To Serve Alcohol To Shoppers
By 8.28.15
Who needs to tote around a cup of coffee or soft drink while browsing the aisles of their local big box retailer when they could have a glass of wine in hand instead? While shopping and drinking can certainly be a dangerous combination for some people (not myself, of course), that could be the next step for Target. [More]
Amazon Lays Off Engineers Behind Fire Phone, Reorganizes Hardware Division
By 8.27.15
You’ve probably never heard of Lab126, but you’ve definitely heard of their parent company and their products. They’re a division of Amazon, started in Silicon Valley eleven years ago to create the e-reader that we now know as the Kindle. They also created some projects that haven’t caught on quite as well, like the Fire Phone, and engineers who worked on that projects have reportedly been sent on their way. [More]
Walmart Opens Holiday Layaway Program Two Weeks Early, Reduces Minimum Cost For Eligible Items
By 8.27.15
Thinking about getting a jump on your holiday shopping? So is Walmart, apparently. The company announced today that it will open its seasonal layaway program early and lower the price for eligible items. [More]
Amazon Launches App Store That Claims To Show Other Actually Free Apps
By 8.26.15
In a relatively novel idea, Amazon has launched a new store called Amazon Underground that claims to provide Android users with a list of top apps that are actually free – no hidden in-app purchases here. [More]
Alabama Restaurant Owners Claim Wells Fargo Won’t Fix Issue That Cost Workers $30K In Tips
By 8.26.15
An Alabama restaurant has plastered signs around a Mobile neighborhood accusing Wells Fargo of being run by liars, after the bank reportedly cost employees of the establishment tens of thousands of dollars in tips and refused to remedy the situation. [More]
Target Won’t Face SEC Charges Over Breach
By 8.26.15
Nearly two years after a massive data breach at Target left millions of consumers’ personal information at risk, the company announced it won’t face enforcement action from at least one government agency. [More]
Raiders Of The Lost Walmart Find Ancient And Mysterious My Little Ponies
By 8.25.15
Within the elite squad of retail archaeologists known as the Raiders of the Lost Walmart, some Raiders have subspecialties. Their deep subject knowledge gives us a better understanding of the antiquities that they find buried in the nation’s big-box stores. One of these specialists is Professor Jeffrey, subject expert on My Little Pony. [More]
CEOs Of Chipotle, CVS, Discovery, Walmart Make The Most Compared To Employees’ Wages
By 8.25.15
Earlier this month, the Securities and Exchange Commission finalized a long-delayed rule that will require many businesses to publicly disclose the ratio of their top executive’s pay to the earnings of the typical employee. If the data in a newly released report is accurate, then the CEOs of Chipotle, CVS, Walmart, and Discovery Communications are each making more than 1,000 times the average salary of the people they employ. [More]
Credit Bureaus, Bank Of America, Wells Fargo Top List Of Most Complained-About Financial Companies
By 8.25.15
The Consumer Financial Protection Bureau has released its latest report on the various complaints the agency has received about banks, lenders, debt collectors, and other financial services. Amid a sudden increase in the number of complaints involving credit report errors, the country’s largest credit bureaus now dominate the top of the CFPB’s list of most complained-about companies. [More]
Amazon Quietly Launches Same-Day Beer, Wine Delivery In Seattle
By 8.25.15
When you’re hosting a party and notice that the alcoholic beverages are running a little low, you might momentarily panic: who in their right mind wants to leave such a great shindig to go on a beer run? No one, that’s who. And now, with the long-awaited addition of alcohol delivery to Amazon’s one- or two-hour Prime Now service, no one has to… unless you live outside of Seattle, in which case you still have to go to the store. [More]
People Trust Optometrists More Than Costco Or 1800CONTACTS, At Least According To Optometrist Group
By 8.25.15
As we’ve previously reported, there’s a legal war going on — with optometrists and manufacturers on one side, and discount and online retailers on the other — over how much you should have to pay for your contact lenses. Both sides of this battle have recently released surveys they hope will help win over public opinion. [More]
Best Buy Figures Out Key To Retail Success: Competitive Prices, Good Service, Apple Watches
By 8.25.15
We don’t cheer on the demise of companies here at Consumerist: when a company appears on this site repeatedly, it’s because we want them to be better. Best Buy used to be a frequent subject of posts here, but now they aren’t. Americans haven’t all abandoned the retailer: it’s actually doing well, with its mini-store concept paying off. What’s coming up soon for the company? More Apple mini-stores. [More]
Sears Hires Experienced Consumer Appliance Executive To Run Hardlines, Maybe Sell Stuff
By 8.25.15
In a department or discount store, “hardlines” refers to tools, appliances, and furniture: the items that your parents still shop at Sears for, but that you don’t. Sears has hired a new executive in charge of their hardlines departments, which include the company’s three most important house brands: Kenmore appliances, Diehard automobile batteries, and Craftsman tools. [More]
Target Must Pay $2.8M To Settle Claims Of Unfair Hiring Practices
By 8.24.15
Target Corp. must pay $2.8 million to settle allegations that thousands of people lost out on a chance to be employed by the company because of certain discriminatory pre-employment assessments. [More]
Bargain-Hunting Youngsters Extend The Back-To-School Season Well Into September
By 8.24.15
Back in July, early research showed that families planned to spend slightly more on back-to-school shopping than last year. A different survey by the National Retail Federation shows that families plan to spend less on back-to-school shopping this year. In addition to starting the back-to-school season earlier, it seems that retailers are extending it for longer, realizing that youngsters have learned to bargain-hunt as well as their parents. [More]
There Should Not Be Two Examples Of Target Math In The Same Aisle
By 8.24.15
Pricing errors happen. That’s a fact of retail. What we’ve never been able to understand, though, is why they happen so often at Target, and why that store tends to make the same errors over and over: specifically, pricing items so you pay more when you buy in bulk, and posting “sale” signs with higher prices than the original price. [More]
