Savvy shoppers know that the deals available at store-closing and liquidation sales are generally terrible, but that didn’t stop everyone else from raiding Sears Canada stores over the weekend, strewing boxes and merchandise across the floors. Shoppers described the scene as “apocalyptic,” which sounds about right. [More]
Retail Services
Walmart Looking Into Incident After Video Shows Brawl Between Walmart Worker, Customer
By 10.24.17
Sometimes shopping can be frustrating, but that’s no reason to let an in-store experience come to blows. That’s why Walmart is promising to look into what led to a physical altercation between a customer and a store employee in Tennessee. [More]
Amazon Wine Marketplace Closing Dec. 31
By 10.24.17
If you buy wine through the Amazon Wine marketplace, you might want to stock up: The e-commerce giant will close its online wine store Dec. 31. [More]
Sears Stops Selling Whirlpool Appliances, Ending 100-Year Relationship
By 10.24.17
Sears, once the place to purchase home appliances, will soon have a smaller inventory to offer the few customers it has left: After a nearly century-long relationship, Sears and Whirlpool have cut ties. [More]
Home Depot Skipping Pumpkin Sales In Some Hurricane-Affected Spots To Focus On Recovery
By 10.24.17
It’s almost Halloween, which means everyone you know is probably posting adorable photos from the pumpkin patch. But folks looking for pumpkins to carve before the trick-or-treaters arrive may not be able to find the orange gourds at Home Depot locations in hurricane-ravaged Texas and Florida this season, as the retailer says it’s cutting back on pumpkin sales to let some stores focus on storm recovery. [More]
Amazon App Will Soon Let You Place Takeout Orders At Some Restaurants
By 10.23.17
In its never-ending quest to stick its fingers into as many pies as possible, Amazon will soon allow customers in some areas to place orders for takeout food with local restaurants from inside the Amazon app. [More]
Someone Donated An Urn Filled With Ashes To A Salvation Army
By 10.23.17
Bargain-hunters and rarity collectors love going to Salvation Army shops because there’s a decent chance that someone has unwittingly donated a valuable dress, pair of boots, books, toys, or record collection. What they don’t expect to find are the cremated remains of another human being. [More]
Amid Internal Struggle, Subway Can’t Figure Out How To Get Customers To Come Back
By 10.23.17
There may still be a Subway sandwich shop on every other corner in every town in America, but they aren’t as busy as they used to be. Is it a case of over-franchising? Is the company still reeling from the 2015 death of founder Fred DeLuca and the ignominious downfall of longtime Subway frontman Jared Fogle? [More]
Target’s Holiday Plan: Fewer Sales, More Focus On Everyday Low Prices
By 10.23.17
From “doorbusters” to “advance deals” to hourly specials all through Black Friday weekend (not to mention Cyber Monday), the holiday shopping season is a continuous barrage of retail promotions varying in quality and value. In an attempt to rein things in, Target says it plans to offer fewer sales this holiday and hope that customers will be won over by everyday lower prices. [More]
Hasbro Foresees Bad Holiday Season With Bankruptcy Of Toys ‘R’ Us
By 10.23.17
The holiday season is so crucial for Toys ‘R’ Us that the toy mega-chain made sure to file for Chapter 11 bankruptcy well before the shopping season kicks off, yet promised not to close any stores before the end of that crucial season. However, in its quarterly earnings report, Hasbro, the country’s second-largest toymaker, says that the retailer’s bankruptcy will affect its own earnings for the rest of this year. [More]
Amazon Customers Surprised To Receive 65 Pounds Of Marijuana They Did Not Order
By 10.23.17
If you’ve recently misplaced a few bricks of marijuana, you may want to talk to Amazon: Customers who ordered a few storage bins were shocked to find their package arrived with a little extra something tucked in — 65 pounds of pot. [More]
Fiery Dishwasher Recall Expanded To Cover 557,000 Total Machines
By 10.23.17
More than two years after 149,000 dishwashers from multiple major brands — including Bosch and Kenmore — were recalled following reports that power cords could overheat and burst into flames, the safety campaign has been expanded to cover another 408,000 dishwashers. [More]
Bagged Salad Recall Expands To Include Vegetables Sold At Walmart, Target, Others
By 10.20.17 — Updated: 10.25.17
This morning, we shared a recall notice from grocery chain Trader Joe’s that its kohlrabi salad mix had been recalled after a supplier let the company know about potential listeria contamination. It turns out that recall was much bigger, involving other retailers including Albertsons, H-E-B, and Walmart, and vegetables that are less fun to say than “kohlrabi.”
Updated 10/25/17 with information about recalls from King Soopers, City Market, Pacific Coast Fruit, and New Seasons.
Updated 10/23/17 with information about additional recalls for more brands: Albertsons, Alaska Carrot, H-E-B, Meijer, Ready. Chef. Go!, Safeway, Whole Foods, and Vons. [More]
California Accuses Retailer Of Using Bait-And-Switch Tactics To Lure In Customers
By 10.20.17
A Los Angeles-area chain of retail stores is accused by the state of repeatedly misleading customers into thinking they were going to get a good price on merchandise only to be told after they get into the store that the only way to get that advertised price is if they spend more money. [More]
For Some Reason, No One Wants Entry-Level Retail Jobs
By 10.20.17
With more commerce shifting online every year and a “retail apocalypse” at hand shuttering stores and malls, you’d think that there would be plenty of folks clamoring for the few retail jobs that remain. But even the stores that are actually looking to hire employees seem to be having trouble finding them, it turns out. [More]
Some Cities Vying For New Amazon HQ Haven’t Learned From Past Mistakes
By 10.20.17
It’s like the Olympics for corporations: Cities all over the country have put themselves into the running to be the home to Amazon’s planned second headquarters, and many of them are offering huge tax breaks and other incentives. But just like the Olympics, cities may regret making such a deal, and several places vying for Amazon’s attention have apparently not learned important lessons from themselves and others that were overly eager to court a new corporate HQ. [More]
Taco Bell Testing Quesadillas Filled With Kit Kats, Twix Bars
By 10.20.17
Taco Bell is basically a deep-fried stick of butter away from being a food booth at your local state fair. The latest result of the Bell’s plan to wrap any recognizable junk food inside a tortilla has resulted in two dessert quesadillas stuffed with either Twix bar pieces or Kit Kats. [More]
Salad Mix From Trader Joe’s Recalled For Potential Listeria
By 10.20.17
Update: This recall has expanded to include many types of vegetables, including store-branded products from Target, Walmart, Albertsons, and other chains. Check your salad mix before you sit down to your next crunchy bowl of shredded kohlrabi, cabbage, and beets: Bags of that blend from Trader Joe’s that were distributed nationwide have been recalled because they may contain Listeria monocytogenes, a foodborne illness that can have potentially deadly complications. [More]
