After years of not doing much as online competitors like Amazon and Walmart.com made it easier to buy things like paper towels, detergent, and condiments without leaving your house, Target is finally testing a program that will give some of its customers the ability to get one-day shipping on household items. [More]
Retail Services
Still Playing Catch-Up Online, Target Tests Next-Day Deliveries For Pantry, Household Items
By 5.8.17
Coach Goes Shopping, Picks Up Stylish Rival Kate Spade For $2.4B
By 5.8.17 — Updated: 5.9.17
Just months after Coach began to see promising results from pursuing wealthier customers and selling more high-end bags, the accessories company is ready to reward itself with a little something: rival handbag and accessory brand Kate Spade. [More]
The Most Precious Treasures Of The Raiders Of The Lost Walmart
By 5.8.17 — Updated: 5.9.17
The Raiders of the Lost Walmart is a recurring series here at Consumerist, where the brave explorers who read this site excavate their local discount stores, finding ancient treasures along the way. What we mean is that readers send us pictures of overpriced electronics that are obsolete or even unusable, and that will probably never leave the clearance shelves. [More]
Nearly 6,000 Pounds Of Meat Recalled Over Potential E.Coli Contamination
By 5.5.17 — Updated: 5.9.17
If your weekend plans involved eating a bit of veal, beef, or pork products, you might want to check to make sure the meat in your fridge isn’t included in a recent E.coli recall. [More]
Report: Gymboree Could Close 350 Stores, Bankruptcy May Come Next Week
By 5.5.17
Kids’ clothing chain Gymboree isn’t failing, exactly, but it’s doing business under a massive debt load. Now “people familiar with the matter” say that the chain is planning to close up to 350 of its 1,300 stores, and that its bankruptcy filing could come as soon as next week. [More]
Jury Awards Woman $110.5M In Johnson & Johnson Talcum Powder Lawsuit
By 5.5.17
More than a year after a Missouri jury ordered Johnson & Johnson to pay $72 million to the family of a woman who died from ovarian cancer linked to the company’s talcum-based products, another jury in the state awarded a Virginia woman a record-setting $110.5 million in a similar lawsuit. [More]
Walmart Files Patent For Amazon Dash-Like Device
By 5.5.17
In yet another example of Walmart’s effort to increase its online presence and best rival Amazon, the big box retailer has filed a patent for an automatic home ordering subscription system similar to Amazon’s “Dash” buttons. [More]
Gildan Knows Some American Apparel Customers Don’t Care About ‘Made In USA’
By 5.4.17
When American Apparel, a brand known for making all of its clothing at factories in Los Angeles, was sold to Canadian clothing giant Gildan, it was obvious that some clothing sold under the brand would be Asian or South American Apparel instead. The company told investors this week that American Apparel will sell both U.S.-made and foreign-made merchandise. [More]
Rite Aid: Walgreens Merger Is On Track, Fred’s Buying At Least 1,200 Stores
By 5.4.17 — Updated: 5.9.17
How are things going with Walgreens and Rite Aid, who are still working on their planned merger to become the largest drugstore chain in the United States? In its annual report, Rite Aid reports that the merger is on track, and consumers can expect to have fewer drugstore choices soon, as around 3,300 Rite Aid stores change to Walgreens or close. [More]
Report: Owner Of Joe’s Crab Shack Prepping For Bankruptcy
By 5.4.17 — Updated: 5.5.17
Sure, the first part of the year has been littered with a number of retail bankruptcies, but it wasn’t long ago that several restaurant chains were dealing with similar financial issues. Now, it appears we’re revisiting that trend: A year after its failed no-tipping policy experiment at Joe’s Crab Shack, Ignite Restaurant Group is reportedly prepping for bankruptcy. [More]
Starbucks Giving Out Rewards Stars For Bottled Beverages And K-Cups
By 5.4.17 — Updated: 5.9.17
One handy feature of the My Starbucks Rewards program is that you don’t have to actually go to a Starbucks. Customers can earn program “stars” for purchases of Starbucks branded bagged coffee that they brew at home. Now the program has expanded to more products. [More]
6 Things We Learned About Walmart’s Love-Hate Relationship With Online Sales
By 5.4.17
Despite decades of being the biggest name in bricks-and-mortar retail, Walmart has yet to repeat that success online. The company recently went on an e-commerce buying spree — snapping up Jet.com, ModCloth, MooseJaw, ShoeBuy, and possibly Bonobos — but will that be enough to compete with Amazon? [More]
Pizza Hut Is Betting $130M It Can Bring Customers Back
By 5.3.17 — Updated: 5.10.17
While rival Domino’s has managed to pull off a major comeback, Pizza Hut has been struggling for years to turn around slumping sales. In an effort to keep up with the competition, it seems the company figures it might as well throw a bunch of money at the problem. [More]
400,000 Handheld Massagers Recalled After 15 Users Report Being Burned
By 5.2.17 — Updated: 5.9.17
A bit of heat usually feels nice when getting a massage; burns and shocks from exposed electrical wires, not so much. Just ask the 15 people (so far) who have complained about being burned by HoMedics hand massagers. [More]
Amazon Won’t Say Why Next-Day Shipping Option Sometimes Vanishes
By 5.2.17
When you’re looking at an item page on Amazon, you may see a note that says, “Want it by tomorrow? Order it within 45 minutes,” and realize that yes, you do need that printer cartridge the next day. What’s confusing for some shoppers, though, is that sometimes same-day or next-day delivery is available on the item page, then disappears when they go to check out. [More]
Taco Bell Creates ‘Chicken Chips’ — Just A More Triangular Version Of Chicken Nuggets
By 5.2.17 — Updated: 5.3.17
Taco Bell is taking a break from its usual practice of just wrapping one food item around another and calling it a “taco.” Instead, the fast food chain is taking a food item — in this case a chicken nugget — and forming into the shape of another, resulting in a “Chicken Chip.” [More]
FDA Delays Rule Requiring Calorie Count On Menus Yet Again
By 5.2.17
Three years after the Food and Drug Administration finalized a new rule requiring calorie counts on the menus of many restaurants, the agency has decided to delay the implementation of that rule for the third time — giving chain eateries, vending machine owners, and others extra time to comply. [More]
After Deadly Fire, Government Warns Against Using LayZ Board Hoverboards
By 5.2.17 — Updated: 5.9.17
Two months after a charging “hoverboard” scooter sparked a tragic fire in Pennsylvania that claimed the lives of two young girls, federal safety regulators are warning consumers to stop using LayZ Board hoverboards. [More]
