If you’ve been biding your time to get your hands on an Apple Watch — as in, actually see it, touch it and then walk out of the store with it in your hands, the wait is almost over: Apple says after months of online-only sales, it’ll be expanding the device’s availability into seven more countries and kicking off in-store sales around the same time. [More]
retail
Walmart’s Key To Happy Employees: Relaxing The Dress Code, Making Sure Stores Aren’t Freezing
By 6.3.15
In an effort to show employees – and the rest of the world – that it cares, Walmart says it plans to address worker concerns by relaxing its dress code and making stores warmer. [More]
Walmart Raising Hourly Wages For 100,000 Specialty Department Employees
By 6.2.15
Four months after Walmart began raising wages for around 40% of its workers, the nation’s largest retailer is announcing another round of pay increases affecting around 100,000 additional employees. [More]
Amazon Trying To Lure Etsy Sellers To New “Handmade” Marketplace
By 5.26.15
Amazon is apparently not content with just allowing third-party vendors to sell mass-produced items through the website. The online retail giant is reportedly prepping a new marketplace for customized, unique products, setting up a potential showdown with Etsy. [More]
Could Amazon & Penguin Random House Be Headed For A Hachette-Level Feud?
By 5.26.15
Almost exactly a year after Amazon and book publisher Hachette entered a very public feud over an e-book pricing dispute, the mega online retailer is reportedly on the cusp of engaging in a new battle with the world’s largest book publisher, Penguin Random House. [More]
Soon You’ll Be Able To Easily Buy The Stuff Showcased In Ads Played Before YouTube Videos
By 5.22.15
Have you ever sat through an advertisement before being able to watch that super cool, totally in-the-moment viral video on YouTube, and thought “Man, I really need that [insert random item you probably don’t need]?” No? Okay, but in case that ever is you, Google wants to ensure it’s as easy as possible for you to make a purchase right then and there. [More]
EBay Rolling Out Its Own Prime-Like Service… In Germany
By 5.21.15
Just weeks after rumors surfaced that Walmart was working on its own Amazon Prime-esque service, eBay is jumping into the game — except its subscription service is only available across that big Atlantic pond – for now. [More]
Lawsuit Over JCPenney’s Alleged Imaginary Discounts Receives Class Action Status
By 5.19.15
A class-action lawsuit that accuses JCPenney’s of violating consumer protection laws by using deceptive discount practices received the go-ahead from a federal judge on Tuesday. [More]
Google Reportedly Adding Buy Button To Sponsored Mobile Search Results
By 5.18.15
Searching for and buying a product with your smartphone is about to get a bit easier. Google is reportedly just weeks away from adding a “buy” button to mobile search results, a move that will increase the company’s rivalry with other online marketplaces such as eBay and Amazon. [More]
Parent Companies Of Lane Bryant, Ann Taylor To Merge Their Closets In $2.2B Deal
By 5.18.15
How many women’s suits and dresses could you buy for $2.2 billion? For Ascena Retail Group, Inc. the answer is all of the suits and dresses sold in all of the Ann Taylor and LOFT stores. [More]
Amazon Echo Now Lets Prime Members Reorder Stuff With Voice Command
By 5.15.15
Forget about the Amazon Dash. The company’s web-connected speaker – you know, the one that talks? – now has the ability to do your shopping for you; as long as the item is a reorder from a pervious purchase and happens to be Prime eligible. [More]
Nearly 14% Of Zappos Staff Left After Company Implemented New Management System With No Bosses
By 5.8.15
Earlier this year, online shoe retailer Zappos unveiled a new management system that banished managers and job titles. While some employees might embrace a culture without a boss, more than 200 Zappos staffers decided to take a severance deal rather than continue working under the new boss-free model. [More]
Walmart Taking Over Target’s Canadian Properties
By 5.8.15
The big box locations that once served as Target stores in Canada now have a new tenant: Walmart. [More]
Fire Department Called To Untangle Girl’s Fingers From Target Shopping Basket
By 5.4.15
A trip to Target turned into quite the ordeal for a young Michigan girl over the weekend when the local fire department had to be called to unsnarl her fingers from a shopping basket. [More]
Amazon Launches New Marketplace To Sell Specialized Supplies To Businesses
By 4.28.15
Amazon is gunning for businesses – connecting them with sellers of everything from lab equipment to food service supplies. The online retail giant launched its latest marketplace Tuesday, aiming to provide businesses with the same shopping service the company offers everyday customers. [More]
Failure To Be Undeniably Hot No Longer An Impediment To Getting A Job At Abercrombie & Fitch
By 4.24.15
In a further attempt to shed its image as a place where rippling six-packs and bronzed bodies go to commune with the hot powers that be, Abercrombie & Fitch is doing away with its policy on having only super hot sales associates in its stores, opening up its doors to anyone with a dream of selling khaki cargo shorts and pre-ripped jeans. [More]
NY AG Probing Gap, Target & 11 Other Retailers For Possibly Illegal On-Call Scheduling Practices
By 4.13.15
Over the past several years, companies that employ hourly workers in New York have come under scrutiny for a variety of practices, including not providing reimbursement for uniforms to requiring some work be performed off the clock. Today, the state attorney general’s office began scrutinizing another practice by major retailers: the use of on-call scheduling. [More]
Sears Teams Up With Simon Property Group To Generate $114M In Revenue
By 4.13.15
As Sears continues to shake out all its piggy banks and check under every single couch cushion it has for spare change, the retailer chain is also looking to outside sources to help it raise some revenue. The company has teamed up with mall king Simon Property Group to create a new company that will bring in $114 million extra for Sears, money it sorely needs. [More]
