Just last month, Macy’s announced that it would be shutting down 68 stores across the country. Today, the retailer clarified its previously disclosed plans to eventually close a total of around 100 locations by confirming that 34 Macy’s stores will be tossed on the garbage pile “over the next few years.” [More]
Retail Services
Chipotle Revamping Online Ordering With “Smarter Pickup Times”
By 2.21.17
Last fall, Chipotle said it would begin making improvements to its online ordering system as a way to entice customers to return to the fast casual restaurant following its public bout with food borne illnesses. Now, four months later, the company is finally implementing some of those changes and reducing online order wait times. [More]
Sargento, MDS Foods Expand Listeria-Contaminated Cheese Recalls
By 2.21.17 — Updated: 2.23.17
The possible listeria contamination affecting a number of cheese brands continues to grow, as Sargento and MDS Foods announced over the weekend the recall of more than a dozen additional products that may have come into contact with the listeria-tainted cheeses from supplier Deutsch Kase Haus. [More]
Amazon Reduces Minimum On Free Shipping For Non-Prime Customers
By 2.21.17
Almost exactly one year after Amazon increased the free-shipping minimum on non-Prime customers from $35 to $49, the e-commerce giant has decided to revert back to the old $35 minimum. [More]
Man Accused Of Planning To Put Bombs In Target Stores To Drive Down Company’s Stock
By 2.17.17
It’s not uncommon to hold a grudge against a company for one reason or another, but a Florida man allegedly took his beef a step further with a plot to set off homemade explosives in several Target stores on the East Coast. Why? Authorities say the man wanted to send Target’s stock into a tailspin. [More]
State Supreme Court Rules Flower Shop Owner Discriminated Against Same-Sex Couple
By 2.16.17
Back in 2013, Washington state Attorney General Bob Ferguson filed a consumer protection lawsuit on behalf of a same-sex couple who claimed their longtime friend and florist refused to provide the flowers for their wedding because of their sexual orientation. Today, that case is being put to rest as the Washington state Supreme Court upheld a lower court’s decision that the florist’s actions violated state laws. [More]
Big Retail Chains Keep Playing Chicken With Their Tax Bills
By 2.16.17
If a strategy used by a national chain retailer works in one city or state, they’re certain to try it on others. The dark store strategy that has helped retailers in some areas slash their property tax bills by sort-of-but-not-really threatening to close is spreading, and has now reached Wisconsin. [More]
Airbnb Adds High-End Rentals To Roster With Purchase Of Luxury Lodging Company
By 2.16.17
Forget about renting someone’s extra bedroom through Airbnb on your next trip, now you can book a luxury villa, thanks in part to Airbnb’s recent acquisition of high-end lodging company Luxury Retreats. [More]
Midwestern Sporting Goods Chain MC Sports Files For Bankrutpcy, Starts Liquidation Sales
By 2.16.17
In March of last year, sporting goods mega-retailer Sports Authority filed for bankruptcy, apparently kicking off a fad in the industry as smaller chains like Golfsmith and Vestis Retail (twice) filed for bankruptcy protection, and outdoors superstore Gander Mountain is rumored to be considering it. Now a venerable regional chain is joining them: The Midwest’s MC Sports filed for bankruptcy, but is still looking for a buyer. [More]
For Pepsi, “Guilt-Free” Means Diet Soda And Baked Chips
By 2.16.17 — Updated: 3.1.17
Like many other food companies these days, PepsiCo is trying to figure out how to appeal to consumers who have shifted toward healthier products. But while Pepsi is touting higher global sales, with 45% of the company’s revenue coming from “guilt-free” products — what exactly does that term mean? [More]
Amazon Files Patent For Parachuting Packages From Drones
By 2.15.17 — Updated: 2.21.17
Now that Amazon’s Prime Air delivery drones have made their first dropoff, it seems the e-commerce giant wants to make the process even more efficient: Instead of unmanned aerial vehicles landing to set a package on the ground, Amazon has cooked up an idea for fly-by deliveries. [More]
Lidl Is The New German Discount Grocer In Town
By 2.15.17
Consumerist’s readers are mostly huge fans of German discount grocer Aldi, but are you ready to welcome another discount grocer from that country into your heart and your shopping list? European supermarket chain Lidl hopes that’s the case. [More]
Walmart Continues E-Commerce Shopping Spree, Buys Outdoor Retailer Moosejaw
By 2.15.17
Just a month after Walmart continued its bid to boost online sales with the $70 million purchase of shoe-tailer ShoeBuy, the company has once again added to its e-commerce shopping spree with the $51 million acquisition of online outdoor retailer Moosejaw. [More]
Can You Actually Haggle On Price Of New TV Or Laptop? It’s Worth A Shot
By 2.15.17 — Updated: 2.16.17
If you’re planning to buy an ultrathin laptop or a 4K TV in the next few months, you may want to brush up on your negotiation skills. According to Consumer Reports’ annual electronics retailer survey, a little haggling often pays off in a big way. [More]
Starbucks Testing Ice Cream In Coffee At 100 California Stores
By 2.14.17
If you’re the kind of person who likes your desserts caffeinated, or your caffeine in dessert form, you’ll have another way to get your buzz on: Starbucks will soon be serving ice cream at more than 100 U.S. locations. [More]
Hooters Opens Fast Casual Restaurant “Hoots”
By 2.14.17
Fast casual restaurants are all the rage. Even eateries that have been around for years are jumping into the world of counter-service and quick eats, including Hooters, which recently opened its first location of a new, smaller version of its restaurants: Hoots, A Hooters Joint. [More]
Nokia Reportedly Relaunching 3310 Phone 17 Years After Debut
By 2.14.17
What’s old is new again: Finnish manufacturer HMD Global is reportedly set to re-launch the iconic Nokia 3310 later this month, bringing back memories of heavier, non-smart phones. [More]
Lawsuit Claims Walmart’s Private Label Craft Beer Is “Wholesale Fiction”
By 2.13.17
It can be hard to tell if that craft beer on the grocery shelf comes from the vats of a small, independent brewer, or if it is the product of a commercial vat. That’s the crux of a new class-action seeking lawsuit that claims Walmart is deceiving consumers with its private label “craft” beer brands in an effort to inflate prices. [More]
