Here’s a good way to lose customers. Tell them that their order is in stock and ready to be picked up, even though it is not. Hey, at least they came in, right? Maybe they’ll buy some gum on their way out of the store… forever.
retail
Retail Sales Down: You People Stopped Buying Crap In April
By 5.11.07
Sales are down by record numbers compared to last year, when Easter was in April, according to the San Francisco Chronicle.
Sales at stores open at least a year, known as same-store sales, fell by a record 2.4 percent in April, the worst since the International Council of Shopping Centers started tallying the monthly numbers in 1970.
Ouch. Some stores were hit harder than others. Perpetually money hemorrhaging discount clothier Old Navy lost an eye-opening 20%. Walmart was down 4.6% and Target 6.1%.
Starbucks Moving Into The French Quarter?
By 5.10.07
After Hurricane Katrina, La Madeleine, a cafe and bakery that had occupied space in the French Quarter for 23 years, moved out, claiming that it didn’t get enough of a break on its rent following the storm. Now the site sits vacant, waiting for its next tenant. Will it be Starbucks?
Harder To Sell Used CDs Than It Is To Get A Driver's License?
By 5.8.07
…you’ll certainly feel like a criminal once the local record shop makes copies of all of your identifying information and even collects your fingerprints. Such is the state of affairs in Florida, which now has the dubious distinction of being so anal about the sale of used music CDs that record shops there are starting to get out of the business of dealing with used content because they don’t want to pay a $10,000 bond for the “right” to treat their customers like criminals. …
Kmart To Resurrect "Blue Light Special"…Again
By 5.8.07
Sears is aiming to be a one-stop shop for the home, while Kmart is turning its discount stores into a “marketplace of discoveries,” Lampert’s chief marketing officer, Maureen McGuire, said as Lampert looked on.
Target Tightens Return Policy: No Returns Over $20 Without A Receipt
By 5.7.07
Target is tightening up their return policy according to the Minneapolis Star-Tribune. Currently Target doesn’t allow any cash/check returns without a receipt for items over $40, but in August that limit will drop to $20. Customers who bought their items with credit or debit cards will still be able to return items without a receipt.
Retailers Get Sued For Printing Too Many Credit Card Digits On Receipts
By 5.3.07
As of Dec 4th, 2006, it’s illegal for a retailer to print more than five digits of your credit card on your receipt. Retailers who persisted are getting hit in a recent whirlwind of class-action lawsuits.
Bankers Join The Class Action Fun Against TJX
By 4.28.07
TJX, the parent company of TJ Maxx and Marshall’s, is facing a class action lawsuit from the 45 million customers whose credit card data they lost; now, bankers associations representing 300 banks in Maine, Connecticut and Massachusetts have decided to file a class action suit of their own. From InfoWorld:
Banks — especially in states like Massachusetts — were also hard hit. Why? Because under current federal law, its banks, not merchants, who have to pay to make customers whole again: forgiving fraudulent purchases on credit and debit cards and, of course, cancelling compromised cards and bank accounts, then issuing new ones to their customers. Needless to say, that’s an expensive process, especially when you’ve got to repeat it 45 million times, as banks across the country will have to do in the wake of TJX. Not surprise, then, that banks aren’t taking this sitting down.
Banks are in the process of notifying consumers, some who did not think they were affected, that they will soon receive new debit and credit cards in the mail. — CAREY GREENBERG-BERGER
The Freakonomics Of The Wii?
By 4.19.07
We don’t feel so bad that we don’t yet have a Wii, because Dubner over at Freakonomics doesn’t have one and he’s certainly wealthier and more popular than we are. He’s posted a letter from one Paul Kimmelman summarizing the baffling shortage of Wiis. It raises some interesting questions.
Welcome To The Future Home Of The Hazmat Whole Foods
By 4.19.07
Over at the Gowanus Lounge there is new discussion of the Brooklyn Whole Foods that is to be built on site of a toxic chemical spill that is absolutely, 100%, positively, in no way, seriously you guys, we’re not kidding around here NOT the fault of Verizon. Whole Foods has finally branded the site despite the huge hazmat warning, as shown in this way-cool photo.
Duane Reade Sucks As A Pharmacy, Target Is Pretty Good
By 4.19.07
According to JD Power and associates survey of pharmacies, that blight on New York City, Duane Reade, placed last in the rankings of chain pharmacies. From the WSJ Health Blog:The results are based on an online survey of 6,543 U.S. consumers conducted last fall.
Big Box Watch Tracks New Retail Stores On Google Mashup
By 4.19.07
Big Box Watch is a Google Maps mashup showing where new retail stores are being built.
How To: Stop Impulse Shopping
By 4.18.07
I knew my spending was out of control, but I didn’t know how to stop it. If only I had been aware of the following strategies:
New York City Comptroller Requests Investigation Into Walmart Spying Operation
By 4.11.07
In letters to both agencies, Comptroller William C. Thompson Jr., citing a recent article in The Wall Street Journal, said he was “particularly troubled by reports that Wal-Mart engaged in chilling and truly outrageous surveillance activities.”
INSIDER SECRETS: 5 Ways Best Buy Ruined Geek Squad
By 4.2.07
Five ways Best Buy drives the costs out of the system, sullying Geek Squad CEO Robert Stephen’s vision of superlative computer repair, as told by a former Geek Squad Senior Agent.
Above And Beyond: Verizon?
By 4.1.07
Verizon actually helped someone. His name is Matt, and he lives in Texas. Of course, he might be a fiendish undercover Verizon mole hiding behind a normal-sounding name. “Matt” claims to have purchased a Treo 700p on eBay, which was quickly felled by a faulty memory chip. Matt brought the paperweight to one of the notoriously unhelpful Verizon stores, where he got… help?
He said they didn’t have any 700p’s in stock, but he could offer me a 700w, the Windows version. I said no thanks, I want the same phone. He apologized profusely, told me they could ship me one, and that I’d have to talk to someone on the phone. He dialed a number, handed me the phone, and a customer service guy took all my information. He told me they’d ship me a new phone and a prepaid address label — all I had to do was send the broken phone back. “How long will it take?” I asked, expecting to hear “7-10 business days.”
Update: Tweeter's Liquidation Sales Are Unimpressive
By 3.31.07
Liquidation sales have not transformed consumer electronics chain Tweeter into a Shangri-La of discount electronics, much to our disappointment. No $50 HDTVs. No ‘buy one get one’ deals on iPods. Just 49 closing stores offering 10%-30% discounts. All sales final.
Geek Squad CEO Promises To Resolve Any Consumerist Reader Complaint He Receives, And Then Does So
By 3.28.07
We want to give Robert Stephens, founder of Geek Squad, a giant hug. Squeeeeeeezeeee!
