If you were hoping to exchange your lightly used clothing for Target gift cards though the retailer’s partnership with online consignment store ThredUP, then you’re out of luck: turns out, the test ended weeks ago. [More]
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Target Partners With ThredUP To Let You Trade In Old Clothes For Gift Cards
By 10.19.15
Target knows you’ve probably got a bunch of old clothes you don’t wear but which are otherwise fine. It also wants you to spend money at Target buying new clothes (and groceries, and anything else). So now it’s willing to trade you some gift cards for your dust-gathering outfits. [More]
Target To Be First Major Credit Card Issuer To Require PINs For Chip-Enabled Cards
By 10.14.15
While many banks and other financial institutions issuing credit cards have shifted from magnetic-strip cards to the more secure EMV smart cards, most of those companies have opted to let their customers continue signing for purchases rather than memorizing a PIN. That apparently isn’t the case for Target, which is poised to become the first major credit card issuer to convert to cards that require a PIN. [More]
Deal$ Stores Will Be Rebranded As Dollar Tree
By 10.13.15
Dollar Tree pumped up its namesake portfolio earlier this year when it completed the $9.2 billion takeover of rival retailer Family Dollar, converting many of those stores into Dollar Trees. Now the discount chain will be bestowing its name on more than 200 smaller Deals (or Deal$) branded stores. [More]
Amazon Launches Marketplace Dedicated To Handcrafted, “Factory-Free” Products
By 10.8.15
Back in May, we reported that Amazon was dipping its toes into yet another marketplace venture, this one centered on handcrafted goods. At the time, the e-commerce behemoth was prepping for a showdown with the top site in the craft world, Etsy, by attempting to lure away its vendors. Fast-forward four months, and the launch of “Handmade at Amazon” is upon us. [More]
Bankrupt American Apparel Turns To Same Hedge Fund That Helped RadioShack
By 10.7.15
At first glance, American Apparel and RadioShack don’t seem to have much in common: one uses provocative advertisements to sell leggings, T-shirts and other clothing items, while the other focuses more on the sale of wireless and electronic products. Unfortunately, the things the two companies do have in common aren’t so great: both have suffered through years of slumping sales that eventually led them to, separately, file for bankruptcy protection. And that means they could soon share a common hero in hedge fund Standard General. [More]
American Apparel Files For Bankruptcy Protection
By 10.5.15
Two months after American Apparel admitted it didn’t have enough financing to continue operations for another year, the retailer says things haven’t gotten better and it’s filed for Chapter 11 bankruptcy. [More]
Kohl’s Testing Cafe Concept At Two Wisconsin Locations
By 9.30.15
Kohl’s is joining the ranks of retailers like Target, Sam’s Club, IKEA, Costco, and countless others in bringing weary shoppers what they really want: something to snack on while traipsing down the aisles checking off items from their list. [More]
Walmart Officially Launching Online Grocery Pickup With Expansion To More Cities
By 9.29.15
After testing the concept for months, Walmart plans to offer more shoppers the opportunity to order their groceries online and pick them up at the store later. [More]
Kohl’s Hops On The Same-Day Delivery Testing Train
By 9.23.15
The seemingly never-ending list of retailers wading into the same-day delivery game grew by one this week: Kohl’s will test a quick-delivery service in two markets in an attempt to revamp its digital presence and attract customers who want their purchases to arrive as quickly as possible. [More]
Target’s Health Kick: Replacing Candy Bars With Granola Bars At The Register, Giving Employees Fitbits
By 9.16.15
With more than a dozen Target stores gearing up to test a healthier cafe concept – switching out hotdogs and nachos for salads and green juices – the retailer appears to be trying to keep the wellness momentum going by making several other changes: giving employees fitness trackers and swapping the candy bars lining the register with more wholesome snacks. [More]
Macy’s Customers Will Now Be Able To Use PayPal At The Register
By 9.16.15
At one time, PayPal was the method of payment preferred by people sending money to their friends or making a quick purchase online. Now, the payment company has upped its game – and its presence in physical stores – by inking a deal that will allow Macy’s customers to use Paypal at the register. [More]
Target To Face Class-Action Lawsuit From Banks Over Data Breach
By 9.16.15
A month after Target agreed to pay financial institutions that issue Visa-branded credit cards $67 million related to its massive 2013 data breach, a federal judge gave the go-ahead for other banks to pursue a class-action lawsuit against the retailer. [More]
Verizon, AT&T To Open 250 “Experience Stores” Inside Best Buy Locations
By 9.15.15
Could Best Buy be the new one-stop shop for all your mobile service needs? That seems to be goal of the electronics retailer as it continues the expansion of its store-within-a-store concept by adding dedicated Verizon and AT&T showcases in its U.S. stores.
[More]
Target Partners With Instacart To Test Grocery Delivery Service In Minneapolis
By 9.15.15
Just a month after Target made it clear grocery delivery was in its not-too-distant future, the retailer has kicked off a test of the service in its hometown of Minneapolis via online grocery delivery company Instacart. [More]
After Twenty Years, Target To Drop Cherokee Brand Clothes
By 9.11.15
The racks of clothing available at Target will look a bit different in two years, as the retailer announced this week that it won’t renew a decades-long contract with apparel retailer Cherokee. [More]
Macy’s To Close Dozens Of Stores In Early 2016
By 9.9.15
Just hours after Macy’s announced it would begin selling consumer electronics through Best Buy outlets in some of its stores starting this fall, the company announced it would also shutter dozens of underperforming locations beginning next year. [More]
Bath & Body Works Will Cleanse Worker Schedules Of On-Call Shifts
By 9.9.15
This summer, a number of popular mall store chains have decided to end the practice of on-call scheduling, a money-saving trick where employees are scheduled to work but told not to report, or are sent home early. Now the dense scent cloud known as Bath and Body Works will join its corporate cousin Victoria’s Secret in stopping the practice next month. [More]
