While the Second Industrial Revolution — by which I mean an actual revolt against humankind by sentient machines — is inevitable, it may be delayed a while after the Federal Aviation Administration is attempting to clarify its authority to regulate the commercial use of small, remote-controlled aircraft and has specifically called out package-delivery drones, like those planned by Amazon and others, as something it currently deems illegal. [More]
Retail Services
German Publishing Association Files Complaint Accusing Amazon Of Antitrust Violation
By 6.24.14
Tensions between Amazon and German book publishers reached new heights this week as a German literary association formally accused the e-tailer of violating competition laws for delaying shipping and stopping orders of certain books in order to muscle its way into better a deal for splitting the revenue brought in through book sales. [More]
California Court Rules That Large Retailers Don’t Have To Provide In-Store Defibrillators
By 6.24.14
Sometimes having an automated external defibrillator (AED) on hand can make the difference between life and death, in the case of a cardiac emergency. But while one family sued Target for not having such a device around when a woman suffered a heart attack and died in a California store, the state’s highest court says large retailers are not required to carry defibrillators in case of a medical emergency. [More]
Target Now Offering Free Shipping On Orders Of $50 Or More
By 6.24.14
In an effort to cut out a bigger piece of the online retail pie, Target has announced that almost all Target.com orders that total at least $50 will qualify for free shipping. [More]
Justice Dept. Letting Bank Of America Squirm While CEO Asks For Mortgage-Related Settlement
By 6.20.14
Bank of America has reportedly been working out a settlement deal with the Department of Justice over its mortgage-related misdeeds. Last week, the arrangement was for a rumored $12 billion at least. But the negotiations stalled out, and the two parties haven’t talked in a week or more. Apparently, the bank is blinking first, and trying to get the Attorney General back to the table. [More]
Raiders Of The Lost Walmart Handle Your Bookkeeping In 2007
By 6.20.14
The Raiders of the Lost Walmart are a brave crew of retail archaeologists. They comb the nation’s stores and carefully excavate clearance racks in order to find the most ancient pieces of technology being sold for unjustified prices. Today, one of the Raiders shared with us a precious piece of software from seven years ago. [More]
There Must Be Something In The Water: Yet Another Tulsa Shopper Accused Of Masturbating In Walmart
By 6.19.14
What’s going on in Tulsa, OK? Is there some kind of aphrodisiac in the water, or are the Walmart stores there just inexplicably attractive to the public self-pleasuring set? In the second time in a matter of months, a Tulsa shopper has been accused of getting down to business in the middle of a Walmart. [More]
Walmart Weather Radio Pricing Less Awful Than It Appears
By 6.19.14
Reader N. was shopping in the weather station section at Walmart when he noticed something odd. Hanging on the same rack were two different variations on the same weather radio. You could buy the radio for $29.88, or buy the radio with a little carabiner flashlight included for $49.94. Wait, what? [More]
Walmart Employee Saves Kidnapping Victim After She Slips Her A Note
By 6.19.14
Imagine you’re just working at a Walmart in the retailer’s Arkansas hometown when a customer hands you a note that she’s been kidnapped by two National Guard members. Your day suddenly got a lot more interesting. [More]
Walmart Bananas Now Come With Pinching Scorpions
By 6.19.14
When you examine the bananas in the produce aisle of your local Walmart, one is usually looking at the ripeness of the fruit. But one man found out the hard way, you should probably look for scorpions (and deadly Brazilian spiders), too. [More]
Urban Outfitters Features Hairroin Salons With Free “Hypodermic Needle” Pens During Actual Heroin Epidemic
By 6.18.14
It seems Urban Outfitters hasn’t learned its lesson when it comes to mixing drug abuse and retail: After previously pulling prescription medication bottle items from its shelves, the store that brings in flocks of teenagers is now featuring a hair salon in a new New York City store called “Hairroin” (get it?), where shoppers can apparently get promotional hypodermic needle pens and other items emblazoned, “I Love Hairroin.” This, in a state with an actual heroin epidemic: The number of drug-related deaths more than doubled from 940 in 2004 to 2,044 in 2012, according to the New York Health Department. [More]
Amazon Finally Unveils Details Of 3-D Fire Phone
By 6.18.14
After weeks, months, millennia of speculation that Amazon would get into the phone business, the e-tail giant has finally unveiled the smartphone it had been promising (via “leaked” stories and quotes from “people close to the situation”) since the dawn of man. So what is it and is it worth spending your hard-earned (or even your stolen) money on? [More]
Good News: Best Buy Doesn’t Really Charge $70 To Deliver Dryer Power Cord
By 6.17.14
Good news from Best Buy! Remember reader Christopher? He was shopping for a dryer on the Best Buy web site when he saw that while the delivery on his dryer is free, but delivery on his $30 power cord cost $70. There’s good news: Best Buy contacted him through us, and he learned that this was all a terrible mistake. [More]
Boss Gives Out Bonus To Employees All In $2 Bills To Spend Locally
By 6.17.14
Every year in mid-June, Hornady Manufacturing, a Nebraska company that makes ammunition and reloading tools, gives its employees an impressive bonus. Three years ago, after local leaders accused the company of not supporting the local economy, it began earmarking a part of that bonus to be spent only at local businesses. How did they do that? By giving out envelopes of a very particular form of currency: $2 bills. [More]
Raiders Of The Lost Walmart Need A Laptop GPS In 2008
By 6.17.14
The Raiders of the Lost Walmart are a band of fearless retail archaeologists who comb the world’s retail stores for the most ancient and obsolete gadgets and software. Today’s discoveries do still work, as in you could add them to your compatible computer or PlayStation 2 and use them. The question is, would you want to? [More]
Walmart, CVS, Walgreens, Costco Agree To Finally Put Unit Pricing Online
By 6.17.14
When shopping online, it can be difficult to compare prices between similar products because they come in slightly different size containers — or to see if you’re really getting a good deal by buying in bulk — because many e-tail websites don’t include unit pricing to tell you many dollars per ounce/gram/liter or other standard unit of measure. But today, some of the biggest names in retail agreed to start listing unit prices, while the biggest name in online shopping won’t commit. [More]
New Amazon Phone Will Reportedly Be An AT&T Exclusive
By 6.17.14
Seven years ago, AT&T scored millions of new customers by being the only U.S. wireless provider to offer the Apple iPhone. That exclusive has long since faded into memory and the iPhone is no longer the market dominator it once was. But it looks like AT&T might be hoping that lightning strikes twice, as a new report claims that the Death Star will be the sole carrier for Amazon’s rumored smartphone and/or sex toy. [More]
Michaels Knows That The Rainbow Loom Gravy Train Has To Stop Eventually
By 6.16.14
Michaels, a store that sells craft supplies and random decorative crap, managed to become the only big-box craft store that sells kids’ current favorite craft/toy, the Rainbow Loom. Here’s the problem with having one hot product, though: it might boost a company’s sales and profits now, but how long will the trend last? [More]
