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]
retail
Starbucks Shut Down Its Online Store In Effort To “Simplify” Things
By 10.3.17
Unless you’ve been surfing Starbucks.com recently, you may not have noticed that something is missing — its online store. The Seattle-based coffee chain shut down its virtual shop on Sunday, citing a desire to focus on the customer experience in physical stores. [More]
Toys ‘R’ Us Hopes Playrooms & Augmented Reality Stations Will Bring Customers Back
By 10.2.17
If Toys ‘R’ Us is going to survive its recent bankruptcy filing and prevent a domino effect of debt throughout the toy industry, the retailer will need to get shoppers into stores and buying things. The company is hoping that making its stores more interactive for customers — including try-before-you-buy playrooms — will help put it back on the path to solvency. [More]
Toymakers Owed Millions Brace For Hit After Toys ‘R’ Us Bankruptcy
By 9.29.17
Many toymakers say they won’t let Toys ‘R’ Us die after filing for bankruptcy, noting that doing so would be bad for their own businesses. After all, the chain is typically their biggest client. However, it appears there’s more at stake, namely, the millions of dollars the manufacturers are owed. [More]
Dunkin’ Donuts CEO Says There Are Too Many Restaurants, Even As His Company Expands
By 9.28.17
While a number of chain restaurants like Joe’s Crab Shack, Bob Evans, and Logan’s Roadhouse have closed locations in recent years, there’s still a wealth of options for people looking to dine out or grab a quick cup of java. But that’s not necessarily a good thing. [More]
Birchbox Will Share Your Mailing Address With Anyone Who Sends You A Gift Subscription
By 9.28.17 — Updated: 10.2.17
UPDATE: Birchbox has discontinued its practice of sharing gift recipients’ addresses with gift givers. The company tells Consumerist that sharing the information was an “oversight.”
We live in a world where it’s becoming increasingly common for people to send gifts to others without ever knowing their mailing address. Many online retailers now let you at least purchase gift cards or gift subscriptions with only the recipient’s email address. But for some reason, Birchbox will also tell you the recipient’s full shipping address. [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]
Target Ends Freshii Concept, Closing 18 Salad & Wrap Cafes
By 9.27.17
After only two years, Target is giving up on a test of offering customers salads, pressed juices, and other supposedly healthy foods. The retailer is closing the handful of Freshii cafes it’s operated in stores since 2015. [More]
While Traditional Retailers Falter, Why Are Off-Price Stores Still Doing Okay?
By 9.25.17
Store closings and retail bankruptcies aren’t bad news for the entire retail industry. While the current turmoil in the business of department stores, toy stores, and clothing stores is bad for those is bad for those chains, it’s great for off-price retailers like TJX, Ross Stores, and Burlington. [More]
Small Vendors Cut Ties With Toys ‘R’ Us, Concerned They Won’t Be Paid
By 9.25.17
While some suppliers of bankrupt toy mega-chain Toys ‘R’ Us are desperate to make sure that the chain stays in business, others are taking the opportunity to stop dealing with the mega-chain. That’s because they’ve already shipped thousands or millions of dollars’ worth of merchandise to the deeply indebted retailer that they may never be paid for. [More]
Target Raising Minimum Wage To $11/Hour With Promise To Hit $15/Hour By 2020
By 9.25.17
In an attempt to beat Walmart on worker pay (but not go as far as Costco), Target is raising its lowest hourly wage from $10 to $11 starting next month, with plans to increase that base rate up to $15 per hour by 2020. [More]
Tesla Thinks About Building Convenience Stores Around Superchargers
By 9.22.17
If convenience stores and rest stops evolved around travelers’ need to fuel up, why shouldn’t the same be true for electric vehicles? So it makes sense that Tesla is envisioning a possible future where their supercharger docks are surrounded by other amenities for drivers. [More]
L.L. Bean Runs Full-Page Ad You Can Only Read In Sunlight
By 9.22.17
In a move that simultaneously evokes awww-neat childhood memories of “invisible ink” while also marketing an outdoor lifestyle brand, L.L. Bean has taken out a full-page newspaper ad that can only be read in the sunlight. [More]
Target Debuts Maps Of Stores So You Don’t Have To Talk To Employees
By 9.20.17
Big box stores are, well, big. So big, in fact, you might get lost looking for the toilet paper. But instead of sheepishly approaching an employee, you can now just follow the map on your phone — at Target, anyway. [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]
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]
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]
