First there was the oft-maligned Google Glasses, then Snapchat’s Spectacles. Now, it looks like Amazon may be getting into high-tech eyewear.
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Retail Services
Report: Amazon Working On Smart Glasses
By 9.20.17
Taco Bell Ditching The Drive-Thru At More Than 300 New Restaurants
By 9.20.17
Taco Bell plans to open more than 300 new locations around the country by 2022, but those restaurants will be missing something we’re all accustomed to: the drive-thru. [More]
Toymakers Won’t Let Toys ‘R’ Us Die Because That Would Be Bad For Their Business
By 9.20.17
Although the news of the Toys ‘R’ Us bankruptcy may have thrown some shoppers into a pre-holidays panic at first, the company will be keeping its stores open and its shelves stocked with toys. Not only because it wants to cash in during its biggest season, but because its suppliers need it to stick around. [More]
Apparent Email Glitch Sent Amazon Baby Registry Notifications To Non-Parents-To-Be
By 9.19.17
Getting an unsuspected gift is usually a nice surprise. But some Amazon customers — including yours truly — received a notification that someone had purchased a gift from their baby registry. The only problem? These customers don’t have a baby registry. [More]
Crocs Have Made A Comeback By Returning To Hideous Roots
By 9.19.17
Crocs, a brand of footwear known for being comfortable, non-slip, unattractive, and incompatible with escalators, has made a comeback. The secret has been going back to the thing that made it a success in the first place: Hideous clogs that you can easily hose off. [More]
FTC Approves Walgreens’ Acquisition Of Half Of Rite Aid’s Stores
By 9.19.17
If there’s a Rite Aid store in your neighborhood, the odds are about even that there won’t be for long. The Federal Trade Commission has finally approved a deal between the No. 2 and No. 3 drugstore chains in the country, Walgreens and Rite Aid. Instead of acquiring the smaller chain, Walgreens Boots Alliance will buy around half of its stores. [More]
Some Kohl’s Stores Will Start Accepting Amazon Returns Next Month
By 9.19.17
Here’s the thing about online purchases and in-store returns: If you drive to the store to return your online purchase you might get your refund more quickly, but there’s a good chance you’ll stick around and buy something else. Kohl’s already offers this option, but the chain is upping its game, allowing customers to return their Amazon purchases to some of its bricks-and-mortar stores. [More]
Toys ‘R’ Us Files For Bankruptcy But Plans To Keep Stores Open For Holiday Shopping
By 9.19.17
Well, that was quick: Soon after the rumor mill lit up with the news that Toys ‘R’ Us could be preparing to file for bankruptcy, the debt-strapped toy chain has gone ahead and done exactly that. [More]
Chipotle Ditching Chorizo To Focus On Queso
By 9.18.17
Less than a year after Chipotle added chorizo sausage to its menu, the fast-causal Mexican chain is ditching the protein option and turning its focus toward its new — not entirely loved — queso. [More]
Payless Won’t Accept A Gift Card I Bought Online. Is It Because Of Their Bankruptcy?
By 9.18.17
Is Payless ShoeSource trying to recover from bankruptcy by discouraging customers from ever redeeming their gift cards? A Consumerist reader bought a discounted gift card from a card exchange site, then was annoyed when his local Payless store wouldn’t accept it. The retailer says that it accepts virtual gift cards in its stores, but only from certain vendors, and only after taking very specific anti-fraud measures. [More]
Here’s Where To Get Your National Cheeseburger Day Deals
By 9.18.17
Grilling season might be winding down in some parts of the country, but that doesn’t mean our cravings of cheesy burgers is waning. If you’ve been hankering for a cheeseburger, today might just be the day to satisfy that craving, as it’s National Cheeseburger Day, which means there is a plethora of deals up for grabs. [More]
Walgreens Still Hoping To Get Feds’ Approval For Rite Aid Merger
By 9.18.17
For almost two years now, Walgreens and Rite Aid have been trying to make some kind of committed relationship work, but they remain star-crossed corporations. Walgreens wanted to buy the smaller drugstore chain, then switched to acquiring a few thousand of Rite Aid’s stores when it appeared that Federal Trade Commission approval wasn’t going to happen. Now “people with knowledge of the matter” say that a new version of the deal may finally meet FTC approval. [More]
Aerosoles Files For Bankruptcy Protection, Plans To Close Most Of Its Stores
By 9.15.17 — Updated: 9.19.17
Aerosoles, maker of comfy women’s shoes, has the same troubles as other mall retailers: more physical stores than it needs, and not enough customers spending money in those stores. And so the company is joining 2017’s most unfortunate corporate club, and filing for bankruptcy. [More]
Why You Should Care About South Dakota’s Controversial Online Sales Tax Law
By 9.14.17
There aren’t even a million people living in South Dakota, but the state’s efforts to collect sales tax from online retailers could eventually have an impact on the hundreds of millions of Americans in other states who shop online. [More]
175K Dressers Sold At Target Recalled For Tip-Over Hazard
By 9.14.17
Just a week after more than 1.6 million topple-prone dressers sold at Walmart were recalled, Target has issued a safety campaign of its own, recalling 175,000 potentially dangerous dressers. [More]
This Startup Wants To Put Giant Minibars In Apartment Lobbies
By 9.13.17
You might call them bodegas, corner stores or convenience stores, but you’re probably familiar with that one locally owned store that has exactly what you need at the odd hour when you needed it. They’re more common in cities than elsewhere, but there’s a startup out to replace them entirely — with giant minibars. [More]
Tourists Claim Marriott Rescue Ship Denied Them Boarding After Hurricane Irma
By 9.13.17
Earlier this week, several cruise lines sent ships to rescue people stranded on Caribbean islands after Hurricane Irma ravaged the area. Hotel mega-chain Marriott attempted to undertake a similar rescue mission to St. Thomas, but that effort has come under fire, after some stranded tourists claim they were denied boarding simply because they weren’t guests of the hotel. [More]
