Back in 2009, electronics shoppers turning to Amazon was one of the factors blamed for the demise of the retailer Circuit City. Now Circuit City, under its second post-bankruptcy owner, is beginning a retail comeback by opening a retail storefront on Amazon. They’re starting out by going where the customers already are. [More]
Retail Services
FAA Announces Two New Potential Hazardous Materials Fines For Amazon
By 6.23.16
A few weeks ago, the Federal Aviation Administration proposed a $350,000 fine against online Everything Store Amazon.com for shipping corrosive drain cleaner without properly packaging or labeling it. Now the agency is proposing additional fines for the company over other incidents shipping hazardous materials. [More]
Costco’s AmEx To Visa Transition Isn’t Going Great For Some Customers
By 6.22.16
Costco’s decision to switch from only accepting American Express credit cards to only accepting Visa cards is a big deal for their customers (and for American Express) and has been in the works for a long time. That should have given Costco and Citi plenty of time to make sure the transition was smooth and everyone would have their cards working and on time, right? No, of course not. [More]
Sears Expands Another House Brand, Sells Kenmore TVs
By 6.22.16
A few weeks ago, Sears announced with its quarterly earnings that it was looking into doing some unspecified money-making thing with its signature house brands: Kenmore, Craftsman, and DieHard. Most observers assumed that this meant selling the brands, since Sears Holdings needs some cash flow. Instead, the company is expanding the brands to include new and related like DieHard car tires and now Kenmore-brand televisions. [More]
Raiders Of The Lost Walmart Actually Mark Something Down, Take It Too Far
By 6.21.16
Regular readers are probably familiar with the Raiders of the Lost Walmart, where we feature obsolete yet comically overpriced items available on store shelves. Our readers scour the nation’s clearance sections to find these items, which turn out to mostly be at Walmart because of the retailer’s size, vast inventory, and meager budget for discounts. [More]
Amazon Prime’s “No-Rush Shipping Credits” May Not Be Worth The Extra Wait
By 6.21.16
At $99/year — or the recently announced $10.99/month — a subscription to Amazon Prime isn’t cheap, but for people who place regular orders with the e-tail giant, the free expedited shipping may be worth the cost. Now Amazon is offering “No-Rush Shipping Credits” to Prime members willing to temporarily waive their right to what had once been the main selling point of Prime. However, a closer look at the offer raises concerns that many customers may not benefit by being more patient with their purchases. [More]
Costco Officially Switches From AmEx To Visa Today
By 6.20.16
It’s officially out with the old and in with the new at Costco today, as the company closes the book on its 16-year relationship with American Express in exchange for its new deal with Citi Visa. [More]
Prosperous Young Adults Don’t Need To Shop At Dollar Stores, Do Anyway
By 6.16.16
Dollar stores and dollar-ish stores are growing in popularity, with shoppers choosing them over grocery and discount stores for household staples like food, and for fun stuff like party decorations. Young adults grew up with dollar stores, and also had our spending habits shaped by last decade’s recession. That’s why millennials are sticking with dollar stores…even when their income reaches hundreds of thousands of dollars. [More]
Here’s Some Fuzzy Pricing Math That Isn’t At Target
By 6.16.16
We began calling certain types of fuzzy pricing schemes “Target math” some years ago, since they turned up most often at Target stores. When this happens, unit pricing goes awry, and it costs more per unit to buy a larger quantity of the same thing. For example, when a two-pack of lotion costs almost a dollar more than two individual bottles. [More]
Sears Holdings Cares More About Wall Street Than About Customers, And That’s Why It’s Doomed
By 6.16.16
Eddie Lampert, the manifesto-writing hedge fund manager who runs Sears Holdings, the company that owns Sears and Kmart, doesn’t understand retail. That’s isn’t always a bad thing in a manager: sometimes leaders with fresh perspective bring in fresh ideas. For Sears and Kmart, it’s meant over a decade of no investment in the company and the slowest liquidation and dismantling in retail history. [More]
Home Depot Accuses Visa, MasterCard Of Colluding On “Defective” Credit Cards
By 6.15.16
While banks and credit card issuers are slowly rolling out new debit and credit cards containing microchips intended to make them less susceptible to fraud, Home Depot says in a recently filed lawsuit that the two largest card networks have colluded with the banks to produce cards that are not as secure as they should be. [More]
Sears Expanding DieHard Brand With Foray Into The Car Tire Business
By 6.14.16
After hinting that it would be exploring unnamed options for getting more out of some of its signature house brands, Sears has announced that it will be expanding DieHard’s reach in the automotive market by selling passenger-car tires under the brand. [More]
American Express Trying To Retain Costco Card Members Before Switch
By 6.14.16
With less than a week left before Costco’s store-branded credit card officially makes the switch from American Express to a Visa card issued by Citi, the ousted credit card company is working overtime to retain and draw in new customers through an aggressive advertising campaign focused on its erstwhile account holders at the warehouse store. [More]
FAA Wants To Fine Amazon For Allegedly Shipping Hazardous Materials As Air Cargo
By 6.13.16
Because you can’t just throw anything in a plane and ship it somewhere, the Federal Aviation Administration wants to stick Amazon with a $350,000 civil penalty for allegedly shipping hazardous materials as air cargo. [More]
53-Year Kmart Employee Was There When Store Opened, Will Help Close It Down
By 6.13.16
In 1963, a young man working at a Walgreens in Illinois heard that a new discount chain called Kmart was opening a new store and looking for employees. He earned $1 per hour, and the shiny new store would pay $1.25, so he applied for a job. He began work in the maintenance department on May 15, 1963, was there when the store opened, and plans to stick around until the store’s last day of business on July 24. [More]
Walmart Urging Customers To “Cut The Cable” With Promo
By 6.13.16
While cutting the cable cord might seem like a way to stick it to multibillion-dollar companies like Comcast and DirecTV, cord-cutting is also a potential goldmine for retailers eager to sell you the tools you’ll need to snip that traditional pay-TV umbilical. That’s why Walmart is pushing this new generation of products with a “Cut the Cable” promotion.
Report: The FTC Is Probably Cool With The Walgreens-Rite Aid Merger
By 6.10.16
A few months ago, the shareholders of #3 U.S. drugstore chain Rite Aid approved the company’s proposed acquisition by the parent company of the #1 chain, Walgreens Boots Alliance. Now reports indicate that the Federal Trade Commission may give the merger its blessing, as long as certain conditions are met. [More]
Report: Amazon’s Strides In Apparel Could Be Serious Threat To Brick-And-Mortar Stores
By 6.10.16
As if retail chains aren’t already having a rough time of it lately, a new report says Amazon’s clothing business could prove to make things even worse in the future. [More]
