“Game on: Why Walmart is ranking suppliers on sustainability” by Mark Gunther at Green Biz.  “So Walmart is asking lots of questions of its suppliers. Among them: How can wheat be grown with less water and fertilizer? How can chemicals of concern be removed from toys? What mining practices were used to extract copper, gold and silver for computers or jewelry? What percentage of your televisions sold last year were Energy Star certified? Do the grapes in a bottle of wine come from a farm with a biodiversity management plan? How much water was needed to produce those polyester pants?  If this sounds like a massive and fiendishly complicated undertaking, well, it is. It has been in the works since 2009, when Walmart unveiled The Sustainability Consortium, a nonprofit coalition led by the University of Arkansas and Arizona State University.  Read more:  https://www.greenbiz.com/blog/2013/04/15/game-why-walmart-ranking-suppliers-sustainability

 

“If Lowe’s Wants to Get Serious About Home Depot, It’ll Have to Man Up” by Pam Goodfellow at Forbes.  “So what’s wrong with Lowe’s?  At first glance, the big box seems to be holding its own, having climbed in customer preference share over the past few years, as Home Depot has remained relatively stagnant. Upon closer inspection, though, it’s apparent that Lowe’s most loyal customers are consistently dominated by females, while Home Depot maintains a more even mix of shoppers. This is significant because men, on average, tend to spend upwards of 35% more per month on home improvement supplies than females. In other words, two male shoppers are worth about three female shoppers”  Read more:  https://www.forbes.com/sites/prospernow/2013/04/15/if-lowes-wants-to-get-serious-about-home-depot-itll-have-to-man-up/

 

“Walmart Announces New Commitments To Dramatically Increase Energy Efficiency And Renewables”  “Walmart’s six-fold increase in renewable energy projects is expected to be equal to eliminating the need for roughly two U.S. fossil fuel power plants. Based on external estimates of projected energy costs and other factors, the two new commitments are anticipated to generate more than $1 billion annually in energy savings once fully implemented.”  Read more:  https://media.prnewswire.com/en/jsp/latest.jsp?resourceid=6659016&access=EH

 

“Amazon Launches New Health Store” at Fox Business.  “Amazon billed its “50+ Active and Healthy Living Store”–featuring nutrition, wellness, exercise and fitness, medical, personal care, beauty and entertainment items–as a place where customers above the age of 50 can “easily discover hundreds of thousands of items that promote active and healthy living.”  The new site can be found at www.amazon.com/50activeliving. Items for sale include vitamins and supplements, nutritional drinks and bars, activity monitors, videos on active living, exercise equipment, athletic apparel, diabetes management items, and blood pressure monitors.”  Read more: https://www.foxbusiness.com/news/2013/04/15/amazon-launches-new-health-store/#ixzz2Qcf9y7PH

 

Online retail sales rise 16% y-o-y to March (in UK) by Ava Szajna at My Retail Media.  “Growth in sales from mobile devices including smartphones and tablets managed to pull back up to the impressive rate of growth seen in 2012, with sales up 243 per cent year-on-year.” Read more:  https://www.myretailmedia.com/blog/8647/online_retail_sales_rise_16_y-o-y_to_march.php

 

“Google boss: Entire world will be online by 2020” by Doug Gross at CNN.  “Everybody in the world will be on the Internet within seven years. That’s what Google Executive Chairman Eric Schmidt said this weekend in public comments that inspired everything from excitement to incredulity.  “For every person online, there are two who are not,” Schmidt wrote Saturday on his Google+ account. “By the end of the decade, everyone on Earth will be connected.”  He followed up with a related thought on Sunday.  “Think about how great the internet is with 2B users. Now think about how amazing it will be when 5B come online in a decade.”  Read more:  https://www.cnn.com/2013/04/15/tech/web/eric-schmidt-internet/

 

“Teens Abandoning Social Networks, Study Says” by John Hermann at Buzz Feed.  “Facebook is the “most important” social media site for about 10% fewer teenagers than it was a year ago, according to a new PiperJaffray survey of over 5,000 teenagers. The teens surveyed are less interested in Twitter, YouTube, Google+, Flickr, and Tumblr too. Of the major sites included in the survey, only Pinterest has grown.  Read more:  https://www.buzzfeed.com/jwherrman/are-teens-abandoning-social-networks

 

“Facebook Seeks 7-Figure Price Tag for Summer Debut of Video Ads” by Cotton Delo at Ad Age.  “Facebook is hoping that its hotly anticipated video-ad units can be a more-than-$4-million daily business out of the gate — if its asking price is met.  The social network still hasn’t finalized the format of the video ads, but it’s been shopping the product around to agencies, looking to lock down commitments for the first available slots in June or July, according to three executives briefed on the product.”  Read more:  https://adage.com/article/digital/facebook-seeks-1-million-price-tag-video-ads/240901/

 

“Majority of Americans See Organic Label as an Excuse to Charge More” from The Harris Poll.  “Concern for the current state, and future, of the environment is on the rise in 2013 (38 percent vs. 31 percent in 2012), just as economic indicators point to all time stock market highs and a solid housing market recovery. However, as Americans start to feel better about reaching into their pockets, they still may not be ready to dish out the extra green on organic items. Turns out that more than half (59%) agree that labeling food or other products as organic is just an excuse to charge more.”  Read more:  https://media.prnewswire.com/en/jsp/latest.jsp?resourceid=6655836&access=EH

 

“Start Your Mowers: Lowe’s Lawn Evangelism” by Sarah Mahoney at Marketing Daily.  “Despite a chilly start to the season that has pressured retailers, Lowe’s, the Home Depot and Ace Hardware are all upping the spring-sprucer-upper ante.  Lowe’s is spreading its promotions across the digital landscape, reminding consumers that nothing boosts curb appeal like green grass and bright flowers.”  Read more: https://www.mediapost.com/publications/article/197958/start-your-mowers-lowes-lawn-evangelism.html#ixzz2QclFMJDi

 

Thanks for reading…

 

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