Amazon got its start selling things that were easy to store and cheap to ship: books, CDs, DVDs, and while the online giant quickly expanded to offer just about anything, the website is still an afterthought in many shoppers’ minds for expensive, hard-to-ship items like appliances and furniture. That could soon change, as Amazon invests in infrastructure to ease the pain of storing and delivering these bulky products. [More]
Retail Services
Why Won’t Grubhub Delete My Account After It Was Hacked?
By 5.12.17
Having one of your online accounts hacked is like having a reality show on Bravo — it’ll happen to all of us at some point. Given how commonplace hacks are, you might assume that multibillion-dollar online operations would have a process in place for dealing with compromised accounts. You’d be mistaken. [More]
The Best Macy’s Can Say About Its Future: “We’re Not Dead”
By 5.11.17
No matter how bad things get for a retailer, its execs are supposed to put on a good face and spin the bad news into something positive. So it may say a lot about Macy’s that the best line its Chief Financial Officer could muster was “We’re not dead.” [More]
Mom Says GameStop Sold Her A Used Copy Of Grand Theft Auto With Meth Inside
By 5.11.17
Grand Theft Auto is supposed to give players a taste of the underworld, but one mother says that the used copy that she bought for her son at GameStop went a little too far, with a small bag of methamphetamine inside the case. Now she’s warning other parents to check used video games for things that don’t belong in the cases. [More]
Is Sephora Killing The Department Store Beauty Counter?
By 5.11.17
While mall staples and department stores continue to close their doors this year, one subset within the retail industry is enjoying higher sales and decent foot traffic: beauty products. But it’s not the traditional makeup counter inside your local department store that’s become a hot spot for customers, it’s the tech-heavy, try-before-you-buy beauty-specific stores like Sephora and Ulta. [More]
How Aldi Plans To Beat Walmart’s Prices On Groceries
By 5.11.17
For many of us, the most important thing about shopping for groceries isn’t the technology at the checkout line, or the number of artisanal ketchups available; it’s about getting a decent product for the best possible price. Aldi is hoping these pragmatic shoppers will help it win a price war with America’s largest supermarket chains, including Walmart. [More]
Whole Foods Tries To Avoid Selling Itself By Replacing Most Of Its Board
By 5.10.17 — Updated: 5.25.17
A month after shareholders told Whole Foods to shape up and see if someone was interested in buying the chain — Amazon and Kroger, apparently, for a while — the health foods store hasn’t put up the “for sale” sign yet. Instead, the company says it will completely revamp its board. [More]
Sears CEO Eddie Lampert Wishes Everyone Would Stop Using The B-Word
By 5.10.17 — Updated: 6.13.17
Look, shoppers and members of the media. Eddie Lampert, the chairman, chief executive officer, and biggest shareholder in Sears Holdings Corporation, owner of Sears and Kmart, wants us to stop using the “B” word when talking about the company, because it spooks suppliers and shoppers. That word, of course, is “bankruptcy.” [More]
Report: Amazon Blocked Walmart’s Shopping Bots From Getting Pricing Data
By 5.10.17
In the crowded arena of online shopping, speed is of the essence if you want to keep up with your competitors’ prices: If you aren’t quick enough, your rival could undercut you. A new report claims that Walmart is trying its hardest to automatically track Amazon’s prices, but it’s not having much luck. [More]
Abercrombie Puts ‘For Sale’ Sign On Its Bared, Chiseled Chest
By 5.10.17
After years of struggling to bring in customers and turnaround falling sales, Abercrombie & Fitch shuttered 60 U.S. stores and laid off 150 employees at its headquarters in the first few months of 2017. Now the teen-focused retailer has reportedly put a “for sale” sign on itself. [More]
Target Quietly Raised Minimum Free Shipping Threshold From $25 to $35
By 5.9.17
While Amazon just recently dropped its free shipping minimum from $35 to $25, Target has made the baffling decision to go in the opposite direction, raising its minimum required purchase for free shipping to $35. [More]
Customer Accuses Burger King Of Bogus BOGO Deals
By 5.9.17
Typically, when presented with a “buy-one-get-one” coupon, customers expect to pay the original price for one item and then get the second one free. But one Burger King customer claims the fast food chain actually increases the price on the first sandwich so you’re not truly getting two for the price of one. [More]
Sheriff Gets 4 Years In Prison For Running E-Cigarette Business Behind Bars
By 5.9.17
If there’s one thing we’ve learned from movies and TV shows about prison, it’s that cigarettes are a popular currency behind bars, and apparently the same holds true for e-cigarettes. But if you’re a sheriff caught running a lucrative e-cig business for prisoners, you could end up one yourself.
[More]
Amazon Launches ‘Echo Show,’ A $230 Alexa Speaker With A 7″ Screen
By 5.9.17
If simply talking to Alexa on your Amazon Echo Speaker just wasn’t doing it for you, soon you could talk to — and see — your friends or family through the e-commerce company’s upcoming screen-equipped Echo Show. [More]
Amazon Drops Free Shipping Minimum To $25
By 5.9.17
Online shoppers are benefitting from the e-commerce battle between Amazon and Walmart. Amazon has once again lowered its minimum for free shipping for non-Prime orders, from $35 to $25, undercutting Walmart’s minimum by $10. [More]
Ignore The Trend Pieces: Cash Isn’t Going Away
By 5.8.17
If you listen to trend pieces in the news and online commenters, cash is on its way out. There are coffee shops and restaurants that don’t accept it, and most people don’t carry very much cash at any given time. Yet it turns out that retailers still generally prefer cash, since it’s the cheapest way to accept payments. [More]
Gander Mountain Advertises That All Stores Are Closing, But They Aren’t
By 5.8.17 — Updated: 5.15.17
Customers of bankrupt outdoor goods retailer Gander Mountain are understandably confused. The the company’s website says all locations are closing, but the CEO who just bought the retailer says that’s not quite true. So are they closing or not? [More]
Strip Club Claimed Dancers Were Therapists To Skirt $3.1M In State Taxes
By 5.8.17
It’s not uncommon for companies to try to finesse their way out of a hefty tax bill, but one Manhattan strip club tried a unique excuse when attempting to skirt $3.1 million in state taxes: Its dancers were providing therapy to customers, and not just entertainment. [More]
