For years, Walmart has been offering ways for customers to shop online and pick up in stores. But Walmart’s new idea to attract online shoppers flips things on their ear by using its retail stores as the places where you return unwanted online purchases. [More]
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Carl’s Jr. Is Begging Amazon To Bring It Into The Family – But Is The Chain Serious?
By 10.10.17
Now that Whole Foods has been folded into the grasping embrace of e-commerce giant Amazon, others in the food business appear to be angling for an invitation to become part of the family: Carl’s Jr. has been busy Tweeting up a storm in an effort to convince Amazon to buy it. [More]
Report: Amazon Piloting New Delivery Service To Reduce Reliance On UPS, FedEx
By 10.5.17
It’s no secret that Amazon has long been lusting after the chance to unfetter itself from the delivery ties that bind it to companies like FedEx and UPS — with its own branded freight plane, plans for self-driving delivery vehicles, and of course, drone delivery — and now it sounds like the company is one step closer to its dream of independence, with a new test of its own delivery service. [More]
Amazon Acquires 3D Body Modeling Company That Could Be Useful For Fashion, Gaming
By 10.4.17
Wouldn’t it be useful to have a three-dimensional avatar that’s shaped like you that you could use for online clothes shopping or for video games? We don’t know what Amazon had in mind when it acquired a company that creates 3D models of human bodies for a variety of applications, but it probably involves the mega-retailer’s fashion ambitions. [More]
Whole Foods Poaching New Customers From Trader Joe’s, Costco, Walmart
By 10.3.17
We know that more people visited upscale grocery chain Whole Foods in the weeks after it became part of Amazon’s growing online and offline retail empire, but where did those people come from? Customer data shows that new visitors to Whole Foods stores were likely to be the wealthiest customers from competitors like Walmart, Costco, and Trader Joe’s. [More]
Walmart Ramps Up Amazon Rivalry With Purchase Of Same-Day Delivery Company
By 10.3.17
Amazon is making bricks-and-mortar stores increasingly irrelevant in some markets by offering same-day delivery. So what’s a company like Walmart to do but try to beat Amazon at its own game. [More]
Couple Illegally Used Amazon Replacement Policy To Get $1.2M Worth Of Electronics For Free
By 10.2.17
An Indiana couple pleaded guilty recently to their part in defrauding Amazon of more than $1.2 million in electronic devices by taking advantage of the e-commerce giant’s replacement policy. [More]
Report: Google Developing A Rival For Amazon’s Echo Show
By 9.29.17
Earlier this week, Google pulled YouTube from Amazon’s Echo Show, claiming that the device provides a “broken user experience.” Perhaps it’s no coincidence that there are now rumors swirling that Google is working on its own smart screen device. [More]
Google Also Drops Price On 4K Video To Compete With Amazon & Apple
By 9.28.17
The late-but-welcome entry of Apple into 4K video rentals is finally shaking things up in the market for this ultra-HD content. Just days after Amazon slashed its 4K prices to compete with Apple, Google is following suit. [More]
“Baby Arm Johnson” And Two Others Plead Guilty To Parts In $12M Retail Theft Ring
By 9.27.17
If you’re going to be involved in a massive, nationwide retail theft scheme, you might as well have a good nickname — like “Baby Arm Johnson” or the “Field Marshall” — for when you get caught. [More]
The Echo Show Is The Site Of A Google-Amazon Showdown
By 9.27.17
Earlier this year, Amazon launched the Echo Show, which is exactly what it sounds like: a version of its Echo smart speaker that includes a seven-inch color screen so it can show users photos, videos, and messages. One of the device’s selling points is that users can watch YouTube videos on it… or they could before Google removed their access. [More]
Amazon Slashes Prices Of 4K Content After Launch Of Apple TV 4K
By 9.25.17
Even though many new TVs have ultra-HD 4K screens, American TV viewers haven’t been buying very much 4K content, which often sells at a higher price. But now that Apple is finally diving into 4K video — and selling it for the same price as HD — Amazon is slashing the cost of its 4K content. [More]
Amazon Wants To Deliver That Shake Shack Burger You Don’t Feel Like Getting For Yourself
By 9.22.17
Not content with its recent push into groceries with the purchase of Whole Foods, Amazon is now expanding its efforts in restaurant delivery with a new partnership that could allow customers to order from chains like Shake Shack, Chipotle, and Applebee’s online. [More]
Albertsons Buys Plated, Plans To Bring Meal Kits To Grocery Stores
By 9.21.17
Just when you thought the popularity surrounding meal kits was cooling down, grocery stores have jumped into the ring, creating their own version of the convenient pre-selected, pre-proportioned boxes of ingredients. But Albertsons Co. — operator of supermarkets like Safeway and Jewel-Osco — is taking a different road: It’s simply buying an existing meal kit service, Plated. [More]
Cases Of KIND Bars Recalled For Lack Of Walnut Declaration
By 9.20.17
Tree nuts like walnuts can trigger life-threatening allergies, and they’re one of the food items that must be declared on the outside of the food package. Cases of KIND chocolate and nut bars had that declaration on each bar, but the company is now notifying customers that the exterior cartons lacked the declaration.
Report: Amazon Working On Smart Glasses
By 9.20.17
First there was the oft-maligned Google Glasses, then Snapchat’s Spectacles. Now, it looks like Amazon may be getting into high-tech eyewear.
[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]
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]
