Amazon recently announced that it will open a new fulfillment center in Dallas, which will employ 1,000 more people. To give the public an idea of what these jobs will be like, the Dallas Morning News sent a reporter, a photographer, and a videographer over to an existing center in the area to watch humans and robots work together in perfect harmony to get a pack of socks to you in 2 days. [More]
Retail Services
Mail Carrier Wedges Package in Box, Doesn’t Have To Leave Vehicle
By 8.13.15
The weather in Alabama, where reader Alison lives, has been extremely warm lately. If she lived in an old cartoon, mercury would be bursting out of the top of the thermometers. With temperatures of about one hundred degrees every day, she doesn’t really blame her mail carrier for not wanting to get up. However, what takes more work: walking to the porch, or shoving a package in the mailbox so firmly that the customer can’t get it out? [More]
Target Wants To Get Into The Grocery Delivery Business
By 8.12.15
Earlier this year, we shared the news that Target was looking to expand and class up its food offerings. It might be that Target wants to get into another facet of the food business, too: much like competing Everything Stores Amazon and Walmart, the discount retailer is looking to get into the grocery delivery business. [More]
Sephora Will Get Back To Angry Rewards Customers In Two Weeks (Update: Or A Month)
By 8.12.15
The Epic Rewards event was supposed to be an opportunity for customers who had accumulated a large number of points in the Sephora’s loyalty program to cash them in for valuable items. The question is: was it a rewards redemption or a sweepstakes that only people who have spent thousands at Sephora could enter? The company has promised to make things right with their customers, but are asking customers to give them 10 business days to figure out how. [More]
Amazon Ending Pay-Per-Click Ad Program That Took Shoppers To Other Retail Sites, Creates Text-Only Ads
By 8.12.15
Smaller retailers who pay to have ads appear on the bottom of Amazon search results will soon see less of their products and more text, as the e-commerce giant prepares to shutter a pay-per-click ad program that took shoppers away from its site. [More]
Loyal Sephora Customers Unhappy With Company’s Non-Apology For Unrewarding Rewards Promo
By 8.11.15
Yesterday was a special event for loyal customers of makeup retailer Sephora who have accumulated points in the retailer’s loyalty program, where unusually fabulous rewards came out. The company hyped the event for days in e-mails and on its social media pages, then was apparently surprised when a large number of customers were ready to pounce on the rewards, and most of them left disappointed. Update: Sephora has promised to do something for these customers, but can’t say what and will get back to them in two weeks. Or in September. [More]
Costco CEO: We Aren’t Ready To Set A Date For All Cage-Free Eggs Yet
By 8.11.15
Amid a campaign by the Humane Society and certain famous faces to push Costco to only sell cage-free eggs, CEO Craig Jelinek says the company is being unfairly targeted. Although the company pledged to go fully cage-free in 2007, he says Costco isn’t prepared to announce when that change will happen. [More]
Sears Is Hiring For Its Call Centers, Holds Job Fair In Alabama
By 8.11.15
It may surprise you to learn that Sears Holdings, a company that has been shedding jobs as it slims down its retail presence, is giving hope to people who are unemployed, but it’s true. The company is hiring for 100 new positions at its call center in Alabama, explaining that the closure of physical stores means that some of those sales shift online. [More]
Sephora Promises Epic Rewards, Customers Get Epic Letdown
By 8.10.15
Today was a special event if you’re a fan of cosmetics who has been spending a lot of money at Sephora: the company released just a few very valuable rewards, like valuable and rare makeup assortments, or even a trip to Paris. The rewards would be coming, Sephora told their customers, at some point during business hours today, Pacific time. Fans refreshed the page constantly looking for the prizes. Then the rewards were all gone. Update: Customers still aren’t pleased with Sephora’s reaction to their complaints. Another update: Sephora has promised to do something for these customers, but can’t say what and will get back to them in two weeks. Or in September. [More]
Gift-Givers Love Gift Card Kiosks, And Retailers Love Them Even More
By 8.10.15
Depending on who you ask, gift cards are thoughtless gifts prone to losing their value, or a way to ensure that someone will get a gift that they actually like without the soullessness of cash. They’re also extremely convenient. Gift cards are available everywhere from convenience stores to upscale retailers, but how much money does the store where you bought the card get? [More]
Dollar Tree Shrink Rays One Scoop Out Of Nacho Cheese Dip
By 8.10.15
Dollar stores have a unique challenge: their price point is right there in their name. Chains like Family Dollar and Dollar General have instead turned into what could most accurately be called dollar-ish discount stores, but Dollar Tree still holds itself to the $1 price point, and that apparently means shrink raying its private-label food items to keep prices consistent. [More]
Target Promises To Stop Sorting Kids’ Merchandise By Gender
By 8.7.15
While every kid has preferences, there’s no reason why little boys can’t play with dollhouses or why little girls can’t play with plastic dinosaurs. Some parents, kids, and other activists have started to ask retailers why store sections for anything marketed to kids is always separated into strict “girls” and “boys” sections with signage to match. One retailer announced today that they’ll be changing that. [More]
Sephora Launching A Beauty Sample Subscription Box Service
By 8.7.15
If you’re a makeup fan whose favorite part of ordering online from Sephora is the product samples, here’s some good news: the retailer is finally joining the beauty subscription box trend popularized by Birchbox and followed by many other companies. The cosmetics-loving public’s thirst for sample boxes is apparently unquenchable. [More]
12 States Holding Sales Tax Holidays This Weekend
By 8.7.15
Were you thinking about doing some shopping this weekend, for back-to-school season or just in general? Find out whether your state is holding a tax holiday, where state sales taxes are waived on certain categories of items: usually clothes, but sometimes also personal electronics, appliances, and hunting supplies, including firearms. Tax holidays and their limits vary regionally and your county or municipality may not be participating; check the rules before you shop. However, make sure that you don’t confuse it for a shopping spree. [Consumer Reports] [More]
Raiders Of The Lost Walmart Discover That PS2 Memory Cards Are Finally On Clearance
By 8.7.15
Back in 2012, one of the brave explorers for the Raiders of the Lost Walmart discovered a rack of memory cards for the PlayStation 2, still on the shelf and still priced at $20-$30. That was three years ago, though: Sony is up to the PS4 now. Surely Walmart has noticed that PS2 accessories aren’t really flying off their shelves. Well, one Raider’s local Walmart has moved them to the clearance aisle… still marked at $30. [More]
Walmart, Target, And CVS Do Not Want Your Credit Card Number To Ship You Free Stuff
By 8.6.15
There’s a new but not all that innovative scam hitting mailboxes in this country and in the United Kingdom. Experienced scam-spotters will see the problem right away, but not everyone is an experienced scam-spotter. Here’s how it works: a postcard arrives in the mail that says there’s a package waiting for you form a popular chain retailer. You just need to call in with your credit card number to claim it. [More]
Most Small Business Owners Aren’t Ready For Chip-And-PIN Credit Cards
By 8.6.15
Following a string of high-profile data breaches last year, Visa and MasterCard handed down a requirement that all merchants transition to the more secure chip-enabled credit card payment system by October of this year. While several major retailers have already made or are in the process of making the switch, a new report finds that many small business owners don’t even know about the deadline – or the potentially costly consequence of not meeting it. [More]
Some Walmart Workers Not Thrilled About Pay Hikes (Because They Didn’t Get One)
By 8.6.15
Earlier this year, Walmart pledged to increase its starting wages, affecting about 40% of its workforce, but some employees who’ve been with the company for years and may not be affected by the pay hikes aren’t thrilled. [More]
