In a desert, there’s not very much water to go around. In a food desert, the problem is groceries: reliable, affordable supermarkets with fresh, healthy, decent-quality offerings get farther apart and harder to find as you head into some regions. One Texas city has been trying to solve the problem for thousands of its residents by ooffering large amounts of cash to supermarket retailers, but even the lure of free millions has resulted in no takers. [More]
Retail Services
Retailers Beef Up Ship-From-Store Operations To Fill Online Orders
By 12.1.16
For retailers that sell the same merchandise in person and online, shipping online orders from stores makes sense. Running out of hot items can mean ending promotions early or disappointing customers by canceling their orders, neither of which is a good idea during the stressful and crucial holiday season. Yet expanding ship-from-store is not as simple as it sounds at first. [More]
Big Tobacco Opening Stores To Teach People How To Vape
By 12.1.16
While millions of people remain hooked on traditional cigarettes, the tobacco industry knows that its future is increasingly becoming smokeless. Just yesterday, the CEO of Philip Morris admitted that his company could someday cease making cigarettes altogether. So it makes sense that some tobacco giants are now opening stores to promote and teach people how to use these new products. [More]
Nike Makes End-Run Around Retailers By Selling $720 Self-Tying Sneakers Itself
By 12.1.16
If you’re looking for Nike sneakers with self-tying laces, don’t go to FootLocker or Dick’s Sporting Goods: In an attempt to move away from relying on sports retailers to peddle its wares, Nike is cutting out the middleman and selling its new, pricey HyperAdapt shoes directly to consumers. [More]
You Could End Up Paying More For Your Christmas Tree This Year
By 11.30.16
It’s beginning to look a lot like Christmas in many homes across America, but could tree shortages caused by droughts and other problems in some states dampen holiday spirits? [More]
No More Free Parking At 8 Las Vegas Casinos
By 11.30.16
Like the drinks you get while gambling, casino parking in Las Vegas is often a “freebie.” But if you’re planning a trip to Vegas soon, be prepared to possibly pay for parking or driving around to find a free garage to dock your ride. [More]
Chinese Factory Accused Of Labor Violations Loses Disney Contract
By 11.30.16
“Dongguan Qing Xi Juantiway Plastic Factory” isn’t a household name, but you’d probably recognize the products it made for the world’s largest entertainment company: the factory was one of thousands making official products featuring Disney characters. [More]
Gree Re-Announces 2013 Dehumidifier Recall Linked To $19M In Property Damage
By 11.30.16
Federal safety regulators are hoping the fourth time is the charm for millions of recalled dehumidifiers that have now been linked to 450 fires and more than $19 million in property damage: Gree Electric Appliances — the manufacturer fined a record $15.45 million over the fiery dehumidifiers earlier this year — has re-announced the recall. [More]
Report: Albertsons In Talks To Acquire Price Chopper, Expand To More States
By 11.30.16 — Updated: 12.1.16
According to those ever-mysterious “people familiar with the matter,” the northeastern grocery chain Price Chopper is in “advanced talks” with national chain Albertsons in an acquisition deal. The acquisition could still fall through, but it would mean that the closely held grocer could have a new owner after more than 80 years as a mostly family-run company. [More]
Would You Pay To Wash Your Clothes At Someone Else’s House?
By 11.29.16
Not that long ago, you might have bristled at the notion of paying a stranger to chauffeur you around town in the back of their car, or that you could easily rent out the extra room in your house like a hotel. Is turning your laundry room into a laundromat the next step? [More]
New York Bars Scalpers From Using Bots To Snap Up Tickets Before Everyone Else
By 11.29.16
Perhaps you’ve been here before: you’re waiting patiently, albeit a bit anxiously, for the moment when you can buy tickets to a concert or sporting event online. But despite your best efforts and quick action, you find that someone has swooped in and snapped up all the tickets, leaving you to the mercies of online resellers that may jack up the cost of tickets. [More]
Former JCPenney CEO: Sales Have Become A Cancer
By 11.29.16
Just days after JCPenney handed out a very limited number of $500 coupons to lure shoppers to stores on Thanksgiving, the retailer’s former CEO made it clear that he believes that similar promotions and sales could ultimately harm department stores. [More]
Patagonia Says It Raised $10 Million For Charity From Black Friday Sale
By 11.29.16
Outdoor outfitter Patagonia attracted positive attention when it announced that it would be open on Black Friday, but donate all of its sales (not its profits: all sales) from retail stores and its website to environmental charities. Now the sales have been tallied, and the retailer took in a total of $10 million. [More]
McDonald’s Expanding Test Of Fresh Beef Patties
By 11.29.16
In yet another attempt to better align its menu with customer tastes, McDonald’s is expanding its year-old test of fresh ground beef — to Oklahoma. [More]
Reminder: Friday Is The Last Day To Redeem Your RadioShack Gift Cards
By 11.29.16
The bankruptcy of RadioShack at the beginning of 2015 probably seems like a distant event to you now, but the business entity that used to be the massive electronics chain is still wrapping up its affairs. One of those last pieces of business is the end of gift card redemptions. The Shack’s estate will stop accepting requests on Friday, Dec. 2, 2016. [More]
Report: Amazon Working On An Alexa-Controlled Speaker With A Touchscreen
By 11.29.16
Are we heading toward a future where you control everything in your home by speaking to a disembodied voice? Amazon certainly seems to be going in that direction, with a new report that it’s working on a premium speaker powered by Alexa, a sort of souped-up Echo, featuring a large screen. [More]
L.L. Bean’s Duck Boots Still All The Rage, Continue To Be Backordered
By 11.28.16
Last year, L.L. Bean hired 100 additional workers to ramp up production of their iconic, unglamorous USA-made duck boots. Nonetheless, the popular footwear was quickly put on backorder. Now, the long-time retailer is once again putting some styles on backorder, despite increasing production, hiring additional employees, and making plans for a larger facility. [More]
Reminder: If A Retailer Sends You Something You Didn’t Order, You Can Keep It
By 11.28.16 — Updated: 5.15.17
In the madness of the holiday shipping season, mistakes are not uncommon. Sometimes, lucky shoppers find themselves on the winning end of those mistakes, like when you get 99 extra knives or when a retailer sends four iPods instead of one. So what’s an honest consumer to do? [More]
