There are two different types of Target math, our name for the unusual ways that stores calculate bulk and sale prices. One type is when a “sale” price is higher than a product’s regular price, which is not the normal definition of the word “sale.” The other is when a bulk package of an item costs more per item than just buying it individually. Now we’ve discovered a new form: random numbers pulled in from nowhere. [More]
Retail Services
Adidas Group Pays $240 Million To Download Runtastic Forever
By 8.5.15
Earlier this year, fitness gear maker Under Armour bought fitness-tracking apps MyFitnessPal and Endomodo for a total of $560 million. Now Adidas has decided to keep up with its competitor by downloading its own set of fitness apps, buying the eighteen apps in the Runtastic family for about $240 million. [More]
Target Testing System That Sends Customers Notifications On Deals While They Shop
By 8.5.15
Target wants to track your every move while shopping at its stores. Or at least that seems to be the gist behind the retailers’ new test of transmitters – known as beacons – that link to shoppers’ smartphones through the company’s app, sending coupons, deals, product recommendations and recipes based on their location inside the big box store. [More]
Amazon Isn’t Cracking Down On Shared Prime Accounts, Reminds Everyone Of Actual Rules
By 8.4.15
Amazon is finally sort of cracking down on Prime members who share their membership within a “household” that actually consists of their old roommate, their dad who lives four states away, and a co-worker. We all learned this when the e-commerce company quietly changed who is considered a “household” for the purpose of sharing your Prime benefits. Now Amazon has responded, and their main point is valid: most people weren’t using the feature in a licit manner in the first place. [More]
No More “TargetExpress” Or “CityTarget,” Just Small Target Stores
By 8.4.15
Between TargetExpress and CityTarget, the country’s No. 2 big box retailer appears to have the mini urban store market down. But when you operate three similarly named stores, there’s bound to be a bit of confusion, right? Apparently that’s the case for Target, which now plans to rebrand its smaller-format stores to, you guessed it: Target. [More]
Epson’s New Printer Line Doesn’t Require Ink Cartridges Every 5 Minutes
By 8.4.15
The manufacturers of home inkjet printers have to make a profit somehow, and most companies choose the classic model of selling printers for a low price that gobble ink cartridges, which happen to also be sold by the manufacturer. Now Epson is introducing a new line of printers in the United States that costs more, but comes with refillable cartridges and enough ink to last for three years. Will American consumers be interested? [More]
Amazon Echo Is Coming To Staples, But Not One Near You – Only Online
By 8.3.15
So who will be the first retailer to offer Amazon’s high-tech, sort-of assistant speaker? None other than the e-tailer’s office supply rival Staples. [More]
Citigroup Facing Federal Investigation Into Student Loan-Servicing Practices
By 8.3.15
Just last month federal regulators announced that an ongoing probe into potentially unscrupulous student loan-servicing practices resulted in nearly $18.5 million in refunds and fines from Discover Bank. Now, regulators appear to have Citigroup in their crosshairs, as the financial company announced it was party to an investigation. [More]
Amazon Puts A New Limit On How & Who You Can Share Prime Benefits With
By 8.3.15
Amazon appears to be reining in the number of people who share some of their Prime member benefits with others. In a rather stealth move over the weekend, the e-commerce giant reduced the number of people that could share a Prime member’s perks from four to just one other member of their household. [More]
Sears Holdings Comparable-Store Sales Down More Than 10% In Last 3 Months
By 8.3.15
In all of our reporting on the recent woes of Sears Holdings, the real message is that we want Sears to stage a comeback and return to the retail greatness of decades past. Yet things don’t look very promising over at Sears HQ, and today the department store chain announced that its sales across comparable stores have fallen more than 10% in the last quarter. [More]
Walmart, Sears, Amazon & Other Retailers Agree Not To Sell Realistic-Looking Toy Guns In NY
By 8.3.15
Almost eight months after New York Attorney General Eric Schneiderman sent cease-and-desist letters to several retailers including Amazon, Walmart, Sears and Kmart, those companies have agreed not to sell realistic-looking guns in the state. [More]
YotaPhone 2 Cancels U.S. Version, Offers Refunds Instead
By 7.31.15
It’s easy to understand why gadget fans were interested in the Yotaphone 2: it’s an Android smartphone with a regular touchscreen on the front and an e-ink display that can display widgets or function as a power-saving regular screen on the back. When the company behind the phone announced in May that a U.S. version compatible with our LTE networks here in the US would become available, lots of people stepped up to place orders, including reader Steve. [More]
Investors Sue American Express After Loss Of Costco Agreement
By 7.31.15
Five months after American Express and Costco announced they would go their separate ways and end their exclusive relationship – essentially allowing members of the warehouse club to use other cards – shareholders for the credit card company have filed a lawsuit claiming it blindsided investors with the loss of the contract. [More]
Walmart Customer With Tourette’s Claims She Was Kicked Out Of Store, Told Not To Return
By 7.31.15
A Florida woman with Tourette’s syndrome is suing Walmart, claiming she was banned from the store, in violation of the American with Disabilities Act. She and her husband are seeking more than $2.2 million in damages for emotional distress. [More]
5 Things You’ll Find On Sale During August
By 7.30.15
Our deal-hunting colleagues down the hall at Consumer Reports don’t just keep track of which products perform the best in their tests, but they also track prices on items to figure out what’s the best time to buy. What do they say are the best things to buy during the month of August? It’s a great time to pick up an air conditioner, a backpack, a dehumidifier, or a snow blower. Wait, a snow blower? [More]
Walmart Advises Manufacturers Against Misleading Packaging
By 7.29.15
In apparent response to increased scrutiny on retail overcharging and manufacturers who are trying to hide the fact that customers are getting less than they used to, Walmart has asked its suppliers to make sure that their packaging isn’t misleading to customers. [More]
Judge Backtracks On Walmart Shoplifter’s Lifetime Ban From All U.S. Stores
By 7.29.15
Earlier this week a Walmart shoplifter said she likely wouldn’t follow a court order barring her from stepping inside any of the retailer’s thousands of locations. Turns out, that might not have been such a brazen statement after all, as the judge who handed down the lifetime ban clarified that he didn’t really mean to prevent the woman from entering all stores. [More]
Bill Would Allow Consumers To Sue When Bankrupt Debt Isn’t Removed From Credit Reports
By 7.28.15
Under federal law, when someone erases a debt in bankruptcy, their bank is required to update their credit reports to indicate the debt is no longer owed. To ensure this happens, legislators have introduced a new bill that would give credit card borrowers with inaccurate credit reports the power to sue their bank or a third-party debt buyer for damages if they continue to send so-called zombie debt to credit reporting agencies. [More]
