Monday Tipsheet: Wmart: Ends BOGO Match in FL; Beats Amazon by 10% | Wayfair’s 52% Awareness

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“Amazon feels the pricing heat from Walmart.com and Target.com” by Thad Reuter at Internet Retailer. “The report focuses on four main product categories: clothing and shoes; electronics; housewares; and health and cosmetics. The report finds that Amazon “largely remains the retail price leader for like-to-like items, but Wal-Mart and Target have lower online prices than Amazon” in those four categories…the report notes that Wal-Mart, described as the “standout surprise,” has online prices approximately 10% lower than does Amazon as of August 2014.” Read more

 

“Walmart stops matching Florida competitors’ buy-one-get-one offers” by Susan Thurston at Tampa Bay Times. “Instead, Walmart wants shoppers to use its price matching program called Savings Catcher, which rolled out nationwide in August. “Matching BOGO offers at Walmart’s everyday low price has been a test that has only been executed in Florida stores,” said Walmart spokeswoman Molly Blakeman. “With the introduction of Savings Catcher we have decided to end this test and align the policy in Florida with Walmart’s company policy.” Read more

 

“Nearly Half of Wayfair’s Target Customers Don’t Know it Exists” by Taryn Luna at Boston Globe. “A survey in August found that only 52 percent of middle-class women between the ages of 35 and 65, Wayfair’s best shopper, were familiar with the company.” Read more

 

“Brad Stone Tells Retailers That Amazon Can Kill Them or Teach Them” by Mike Cassidy at HuffPo. “And in a memo leaked to Stone, Bezos laid out the attributes that could inoculate Amazon from creating that sort of reaction. “One of the ones that he settles on, as maybe being able to influence a good reputation, is being seen as an innovator, being seen as pioneers,” Stone says. “So as long as you’re not completely viewed as just extracting value, but you’re inventing new things and adding value, then perhaps this is a way that Amazon can continue to be loved.” Read more

 

“Wal-Mart plans 1-stop health coverage shopping” by Anne D’Innocenzio at AP. “(Walmart) plans to work with DirectHealth.com, an online health insurance comparison site and agency, to allow shoppers to compare coverage options and enroll in Medicare plans or the public exchange plans created under the Affordable Care Act…Customers can enroll online, by phone or at 2,700 of Wal-Mart’s more than 4,000 stores, starting Oct. 10. The stores will be staffed with independent insurance agents from DirectHealth.com.” Read more

 

“FreshDirect Not Worried About Getting Crushed by Amazon, Says FreshDirect” by Jason Del Rey at Recode. “Sources have also told Re/code that FreshDirect has considered opening physical stores that would potentially serve as pick-up locations or places where customers could purchase prepared meals or both. The company said it has nothing to announce “yet.” Read more

 

“Hate checkout lines? Macy’s can help” by Alexander Coolidge at Cincinnati.com. “The touchscreen point of purchase or “POP” machines confirm if an item is in the store – or at any store nearby or across the country. Also being expanded are local “look book” terminals – touchscreen catalogs that replace some mannequins and show the shopper how some clothes look paired with other garments or accessories.” Read more / See the pics

 

“Happening Tomorrow: Target Exec Bill Ramsey to Speak at Mobile Payments Conference in Chicago” at Chicago Tribune. “Bill Ramsey, director of financial and retail services product design at Target Corp., will deliver a keynote presentation Tuesday at the Mobile Payments Conference in Skokie, joining executives from Best Buy, Crate & Barrel, Pandora, Sears and others to discuss retail’s move to mobile payments.” Read more

 

“Sears: Why the troubled chain’s vendors are worried” at CNBC. “Large underwriters of credit insurance—vendors’ conventional first line of defense against nonpayment—essentially have stopped offering coverage on Sears for new clients, insurance brokers said. Euler Hermes Group, one of the top underwriters, told clients this week that it was canceling coverage for new shipments, said a person informed of the new policy.” Read more

 

“Tesco Strengthens Board in Wake of Accounting Error” by Peter Evans at WSJ. “The grocer said it has appointed Richard Cousins, chief executive of catering giant Compass Group and former IKEA Group CEO Mikael Ohlsson as nonexecutive directors. Both will start Nov. 1.” Read more (Subscription required)

 

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Eye-on-Retail is a daily tipsheet read by thousands of Retail Merchants & Executives every weekday morning. Eye-on-Retail is unique because it’s timely, smart and fun. It’s created early AM every weekday and delivered between 7-8 am CST. We love data, earnings reports, executive presentations and stories off the beaten path that get at what’s really happening in the world of retail.

 

Friday Tipsheet: Wmart’s E-com Chief Pokes Amazon | Target Appeases Blogger | Wayfair +30%

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CNN: Could this ‘chemist’ be the next boss of Walmart? by Poppy Harlow & Sheena McKenzie. “Could the 64th most powerful woman in the world (Rosalind Brewer), according to Forbes, one day have the top job at Walmart? “Oh boy, that is a good question,” she says, laughing a little nervously. “If ever I was afforded the opportunity, surely I would step up to the challenge.” Read more / See the video

 

“Walmart’s global e-commerce chief pokes at Amazon in rival’s backyard” by Blair Hanley Frank at GeekWire. “Is anybody selling the Fire phone?” he (Neil Ashe) said in response to a question on stage at today’s GeekWire Summit in Seattle, drawing a handful of laughs and a healthy crop of boos. “I guess, the more important question would be is anybody buying the Fire phone?” Read more

 

“Target’s Response To My Calling Out Their Girls’ Clothing Problem” by Stephanie Giese at HuffPo. “It seems that my last blog post, A Target Intervention on Behalf of My Daughters, has struck a nerve. To my surprise, it got a lot of national attention…I have been in touch with the Target Corporate Headquarters and I am so excited to report that they have read all of the comments that moms are leaving in response to that post! I am beyond thrilled to announce that I am going to start working with Target towards change, starting in my own house.” Read more

 

“Wal-Mart & other retailers tune in weather forecasts to spur sales” by Kim Souza at The City Wire. “Wal-Mart spokewoman Molly Blakeman said one use this summer by the retailer involved featured ads online, mobile devices and social media sites for patio furniture and grills. She said the retailer continues to use the collected weather data paired with its sales data and merchandise across the company’s entire big box format.” Read more

 

“Wayfair shares soar on first day of public trading” by Taryn Luna at The Boston Globe. “Investors embraced shares of Wayfair Inc. in their first day of public trading, driving the stock of the Boston online furniture and home goods retailer up more than 30 percent Thursday…“It’s a super-exciting milestone for the company,” said Niraj Shah, chief executive of Wayfair, who was joined by 90 company employees to ring the bell and open the markets in New York. “Online sales are doing really well, and people are realizing that the home goods market, furniture and décor, can be a really good category.” Read more

 

“As Wayfair Goes Public, Big Marketing Spending Raises Big Questions” by Jason Del Rey at Recode. “CEO Niraj Shah said he doesn’t believe the company will need to continue increasing marketing spending as revenue grows, meaning that the percent of revenue being spent on those costs should decrease over time…“What we’ve been saying is we’re trying to build a really big business, and to do that with a big base of loyal customers that come back more and more often,” he said.” Read more

 

“UPS, FedEx Want Retailers to Get Real on Holiday Shipping” by Laura Stevens, Suzanne Kapner & Shelly Banjo at WSJ. “Their challenge is convincing retailers to change their ways. UPS is trying to persuade e-commerce companies to hold their big sales in mid-December instead of in the countdown to Dec. 25. It also wants them to stagger special offers geographically—so a GoPro camera might be on sale one day in Texas and a different day in Florida.” Read more (Subscription required)

 

“Target opens its first liquor store in Minnesota since 1970s” by John Ewoldt at Star-Tribune. “Target Corp. announced in June it would soon open its first liquor shop in Minnesota in more than 40 years. And it opened the store quietly on Wednesday. For much of the afternoon, more employees than customers gathered around the cash terminals.” Read more

 

…See the Pics (10% off 6 or more bottles of wine) at Minn./St. Paul Bus. Journal.   See the 11 pics

 

“Rite-Aid: September Front-End Comp Sales +2.3%” “Same store sales for the 30-week period ended Sept. 27, 2014 increased 3.8 percent over the prior-year period. Front-end same store sales increased 0.8 percent while pharmacy same store sales increased 5.2 percent.” Read the release

 

“Yes, a lower calorie Pepsi you can only buy on Amazon” by David A. Arnott at Albany Bus. Review. “At the moment, launching new drinks through Amazon may seem like a mere novelty that gives them attention they wouldn’t get otherwise…But if companies keep their expectations low, launching with online sales-only could be an excellent way of gauging initial interest and drumming up demand for a product before shipping to physical stores.” Read more

 

“Billionaire Buffett Says Tesco Investment Was ‘A Huge Mistake’” by Paul Jarvis at Bloomberg. ““I made a mistake on that one,” Buffett, 84, said in an interview with CNBC today. “That was a huge mistake by me.” Read more

 

“Amazon Ad Sales VP Lisa Utzschneider: Still ‘Day One’ for Video Ads” at Ad Age. See the video

 

“Northern Colorado Costco opens to public” by Pat Ferrier at The Coloradoan. “Bryson joined 247 other shoppers who stood in the cold morning air waiting for the 155,000-square-foot store to open its doors at 8 a.m. Many were California transplants…Debbie Brown dragged her husband, Mike, to the opening “kicking and screaming,” he said. Both were among the 6,000 attending the VIP reception Wednesday.” Read more/Pics/Video

 

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Eye-on-Retail is a daily tipsheet read by thousands of Retail Merchants & Executives every weekday morning. Eye-on-Retail is unique because it’s timely, smart and fun. It’s created early AM every weekday and delivered between 7-8 am CST. We love data, earnings reports, executive presentations and stories off the beaten path that get at what’s really happening in the world of retail.

Thursday Tipsheet: Costco’s Reciprocity | Amazon’s Tom & Jerry Warning | Wayfair Eyes $319M IPO

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“The Psychology Behind Costco’s Free Samples” by Joe Pinsker at The Atlantic. “When we compare it to other in-store mediums … in-store product demonstration has the highest [sales] lift,” says Giovanni DeMeo of the product-demonstration company Interactions, a department of which handles Costco’s samples…Interactions’ beer samples at many national retailers on average boosted sales by 71 percent, and its samples of frozen pizza increased sales by 600 percent.” Read more

 

“Which States Make You Pay an Amazon Sales Tax” by Greg Bensinger at WSJ. “Amazon.com today begins collecting sales tax from purchasers in Minnesota and Maryland, marking the 22nd and 23rd states where the online retailer assesses the levy. With the new states, about 69% of Americans—nearly 219 million people—will be subject to tax on their Amazon purchases.” See the U.S. map

 

On-Site Video of Walmart’s Pickup Grocery Service in Bentonville at KFSM 5 News.  See the video

 

“Wayfair IPO expected to raise $319M” by David Harris at Boston Bus. Journal. “Boston-based e-commerce home furnishings retailer Wayfair said Wednesday it would price its initial public offering at $29 per share, above its previously proposed maximum offering price of $28 a share. The company is expected to offer 11 million of its shares to the public on Thursday.” Read more

 

Happening Today:  Walmart’s Neil Ashe Presents at GeekWire Summit Read more

 

“Tom and Jerry cartoons now carry a ‘racial prejudice’ warning on Amazon” by Chris Green at The Independent. “Cathal Gaffney, the CEO of award-winning animation studio Brown Bag Films, added that Amazon’s decision was “political correctness gone mad”. But Dr Birgitta Hosea…defended the company and said it was important to “frame” the cartoons in their historical context. “It’s long been recognised that the character of Mammy Two Shoes is an offensive stereotype,” she said. “She’s shown as a maid, a bit slow-witted, only existing to take care of the housework.” Read more

 

“Amazon to Shutter Kansas Warehouse” by Jay Greene Seattle Times. “The thing that made Coffeyville so appealing 15 years ago — its location in a state with a small population, resulting in fewer sales that could be taxed — is the key reason Amazon is closing it down now.” Read more

 

“Why Wal-Mart Shouldn’t Pay Employees As Much As Costco Does” by Ashley Lutz at Business Insider. “If everyone in the industry raised wages, Costco’s quality of customer service would probably decline. And it’s unlikely that Wal-Mart’s would improve.  “If all the employers of minimum-wage labor followed Costco’s lead and paid higher wages and benefits, Costco would be less profitable, because the quality of its labor force would revert to the mean,” she writes.” Read more

 

“Amazon CEO Jeff Bezos: High Expectations from India” at Times of India. “What is stunning about India is the speed at which it is growing and that is one of the tailwinds for the growth of e-commerce,” Bezos said, adding that “India is unbelievably energizing; the people are focused on learning and extremely inventive.” Read more

 

“1-Year-Old Girl Suffers Neck Injuries after Running into Fishing Line Strung in Walmart Toy Aisle” by Lee Moran at NY Daily News. “The fishing line had been stretched across the aisle, perhaps to trip people up,according to FOX23. However, as Allison is a small child, it actually cut her neck. Keeth said the store’s manager assured her that surveillance camera footage would be analyzed in a bid to track the culprit down.” Read more

 

“Dollar General extends tender offer to Oct. 31” by Jennifer Thomas at Charlotte Bus. Journal. “The offer was previously set to expire on Oct. 8.” Read more

 

“RadioShack hoping for a Christmas miracle” by Krystina Gustafson at CNBC. “Although it showed some promising toys—including Roominate, a do-it-yourself wiring kit targeted to girls that will also be sold at stores such as Wal-Mart and Nordstrom—noticeably absent from the vendors promoting their products on-site were hot tech brands such as Apple and Beats by Dre.” Read more

 

“Canada: Costco customers offered no-limit reward card from Capital One” by Garry Marr at Financial Post. “Capital One is touting the fact there is no limit to the amount of cashback cardholders can earn, and is offering a bonus to cardholders which will allow them to earn double for the first three months.” Read more

 

“Staples closes 15 stores in Canada” by Marina Strauss at Globe & Mail. “Staples Canada has closed 15 of its 331 stores in this country as the office supplies retailer feels the brunt of more business shifting online.” Read more

 

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Eye-on-Retail is a daily tipsheet read by thousands of Retail Merchants & Executives every weekday morning. Eye-on-Retail is unique because it’s timely, smart and fun. It’s created early AM every weekday and delivered between 7-8 am CST. We love data, earnings reports, executive presentations and stories off the beaten path that get at what’s really happening in the world of retail.

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

Wednesday Tipsheet: Target’s Pajama ‘Outcry’ | REI Revamps Web | CA Bans Plastic Bags

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Canada: “Target’s ‘sexist’ baby pajamas spark social media outcry” by Colin Perkel at The Canadian Press via Globe & Mail. “Hundreds of people have denounced Target for selling “sexist” baby pyjamas after a university professor posted a photograph of the clothing on social media. The boy clothing features a Superman logo and the line, “Future Man of Steel,” while the girl item has the same logo but the line: “I Only Date Heroes.” Read more

 

“Amazon.com, Disney Back at Peace” by Ben Fritz & Greg Bensinger at WSJ. “Amazon.com appears to be close to settling a nearly two-month dispute with Walt Disney Co. during which the e-commerce giant stopped offering Disney DVDs for preorder. Among the subjects at issue were pricing, promotion on the Amazon website and questions over who makes up the difference when Amazon loses money to match the prices of competitors.” Read more

 

“Target’s Lack of CISO Was ‘Root Cause’ of Systems Breach” by Clint Boulton at WSJ. “The absence of a chief information security officer was a “root cause” of the major computer systems breach at Target last year, said a former manager at the retailer, during a panel discussion here at the Work-Bench Enterprise Security Summit Tuesday. Without a CISO, no one was able to articulate cyber risks to senior executives, said Karl Mattson, who worked at Target from 2008 until 2013, most recently as manager of cyber and global intelligence. “[Target] didn’t have an advocate at the C-level, as an executive, advocating for IT security investment.” Read more

 

“REI revamping online store” by Angel Gonzalez at Seattle Times. “Online commerce, which accounts for nearly a quarter of its sales, has been its fastest-growing segment, CEO Jerry Stritzke told an audience of retail executives Tuesday at the Shop.org summit in Seattle. REI executives are working on giving their online store the same luster as its physical flagships. The launch of the first iteration is expected in the first half of 2015, said Brad Brown, who is in charge of digital efforts.” Read more

 

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“Walgreen suffers 4Q loss on acquisition charge” by Ellen Jean Hirst at Chicago Tribune. “Revenue for the quarter rose 6.2 percent, to $19.1 billion. Sales at stores open at least a year, a key gauge of retailer health, increased 5.4 percent.” Read more

 

“Walgreen Q4 Front-End Comp Sales +1.3%” Read the release

 

“Diapers.com Founder Wants to Raise $600 Million for New Startup Jet.com” by Jason Del Ray at Recode. “Many details about Jet.com are still under wraps, but sources have previously told Re/code that it will be a shopping site that sells many of the same types of everyday goods that can be found on Amazon.com. Part of Jet.com’s model, sources say, involves pricing products based, in part, on how close to the customer they are being stored.” Read more

 

Tracy Morgan: “Walmart Blaming Me for an Accident They Caused” by Hilary Lewis at The Hollywood Reporter.  “My friends and I were doing nothing wrong. I want to thank my fans for sticking with me during this difficult time. I love you all. I’m fighting hard every day to get back.” Read more

 

“Dem Senators urge Kroger to ban guns” by Alexander Coolidge at Cincinnati.com. “Democratic U.S. Senators Dianne Feinstein, of California and Chris Murphy and Richard Blumenthal, of Connecticut, urged Kroger CEO Rodney McMullen to explicitly prohibit the open carry of guns in grocery stores.” Read more

 

“Paul Ryan squawks and Amazon.com listens” by Ben Miller at Puget Sound Bus. Journal. “According to the New York Times, Ryan went on CNBC’s “Squawk Box” on Aug. 20 and complained, saying he was “frustrated” with the company’s actions with his book and “clearly Amazon is making kind of a power play here.”Suddenly, “The Way Forward” became way more visible on Amazon’s site.” Read more

 

“CA Governor signs plastic bag ban” by Allen Young at Sacramento Bus. Journal. “Gov. Jerry Brown approved the nation’s first statewide ban on single-use plastic bags Tuesday morning. The ban applies to grocery stores and pharmacies beginning on July 2015, and to convenience stores and liquor stores the following year.” Read more

 

“D.C. mystery: Jeff Bezos’ plan for the Washington Post” by Dylan Byers at Politico. “The disappointment at the Post, several sources there agreed, is best described as the feeling of being promised a flying car and receiving only a glow-in-the-dark keychain.” Read more

 

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Eye-on-Retail is a daily tipsheet read by thousands of Retail Merchants & Executives every weekday morning. Eye-on-Retail is unique because it’s timely, smart and fun. It’s created early AM every weekday and delivered between 7-8 am CST. We love data, earnings reports, executive presentations and stories off the beaten path that get at what’s really happening in the world of retail.

 

 

Tuesday Tipsheet: Wmart Grocery Pickup Day 1 | Cabo Costco Closed Until Nov? | Ebay/PayPal Split

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“Day 1 of Walmart’s New Pickup Grocery Format in Bentonville” by Kim Souza at The City Wire. “The City Wire registered online to try the new grocery buying experience. The registration was easy, requiring only an email address and password, home address and phone number – very similar to the registration for the Savings Catcher program or a typical online purchase…The City Wire purposely ordered fresh produce to see the quality the pickers would deliver. Two Gala Apples were in the order, the color was nice, but one of them had a small blemish that would not have met the buyer’s approval had they seen the product.” Read more

 

“Costco Looted in Cabo Could be Closed Until November” by Angel Gonzalez at Seattle Times. “Costco has been able to reach 80 percent of the 235 people working at that store and “fortunately we haven’t recorded any human loss,” according to the statement. The warehouse will be operating again “in a few months,” a statement from the company’s Mexico unit said.” Read more

 

USA Today: “Walmart blames Tracy Morgan for not wearing seatbelt” by Maria Puente. “In court papers on Monday the company asserted, among other defenses, that Morgan’s injuries “were caused, in whole or in part, by plaintiffs’ failure to properly wear an appropriate available seatbelt restraint device,” according to The Hollywood Reporter and TMZ. Therefore, the company says, the plaintiffs aren’t entitled to damages because they “failed to mitigate their losses.” Read more

 

“Another card system hack at Supervalu, Albertsons” at San Jose Mercury News. “Card data of Supervalu and Albertsons shoppers may be at risk in another hack, the two supermarket companies said Monday.” Read more

 

“EBay and PayPal to split into two separately traded companies” by David Faber at CNBC. “CEO John Donahoe will step down as CEO of eBay once the split takes effect in 2015.” Read more

 

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“Instagram CEO Kevin Systrom Joins Walmart’s Board of Directors” “Systrom became the 15th member of the Board and will also serve as a member of the company’s Technology and eCommerce Committee and its Compensation, Nominating and Governance Committee.” Read the release

 

“Family Dollar kicks off price-matching initiative Tuesday” by Jennifer Thomas at Charlotte Bus. Journal. “With this new program, our customers will no longer have to search all over town for the best deal. Simply bring in any local competitor’s printed advertisement, and we’ll match it item for item; plain and simple,” says Jason Reiser, chief merchandising officer.” Read more

 

“Hibbett Announces Promotion of Jared Briskin to Senior Vice President and Chief Merchant” Read the release

 

“Interview with Costco’s Annette Alvarez-Peters (Assistant General Manager Alcohol)” at Shanken News Daily. “Large-format beers and ciders are doing well. Vodka and whiskies also continue to do well. Our top spirits sellers are (Costco private label) Kirkland Signature American vodka ($13.99 a 1.75-liter), and Jack Daniel’s Tennessee whiskey ($29.99-$43.99 a 1.75-liter). High-end spirits, notably Johnnie Walker, are also doing well.” Read more

 

“Saks Fifth Avenue to Open New Store in Puerto Rico” Read the release

 

“October 10th: Field & Stream to Open Stores in NY/OH/PA/NY” Altoona, PA  Horseheads, NY  Miamisburg, OH  Rochester, NY

 

“Sears store dealers denounce changes that leave them ‘doomed to financial ruin’ “ by Hollie Shaw at Financial Post. “David Halsey didn’t envision spending his retirement years working as a sales associate at Canadian Tire. But it’s where the former Sears Hometown store dealer has ended up after walking away from his unprofitable Lindsay, Ont. store a year and a half ago. “At 67 I’m working for $11 an hour,” Mr. Halsey chuckles.” Read more

 

“State patrol: Woman caught driving with Costco bear ‘passenger’ in HOV lane” by Jamie Skorheim at My Northwest. “As she rolls that window down, she sees it is a bear sitting in the front passenger seat,” says Francis. The 19-year-old driver from Everett told authorities the bear wasn’t in the front seat to appear as a passenger…”She had a grand total of an $818 citation for speeding, no insurance and the HOV violation,” says Francis.” Read more

 

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Eye-on-Retail is a daily tipsheet read by thousands of Retail Merchants & Executives every weekday morning. Eye-on-Retail is unique because it’s timely, smart and fun. It’s created early AM every weekday and delivered between 7-8 am CST. We love data, earnings reports, executive presentations and stories off the beaten path that get at what’s really happening in the world of retail.

Monday Tipsheet: Bezos Worth $29.9 Bil | Amazon Groc. Delivery to NYC | Ads Can Push Too Hard

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Forbes Richest 400 Americans (Walton’s take 6, 7, 8, 9 – Bezos #15) at Forbes.  See the full list

 

“Amazon’s Grocery Delivery Business Coming to New York City” by Jason Del Ray at Recode. “Amazon is preparing to start its Fresh grocery delivery business in New York City as early as next month, according to two people who have been briefed on the plans…In New York City, Amazon will be competing against FreshDirect, a 15-year-old business that is said to do around $400 million to $500 million in annual sales, according to multiple grocery industry executives.” Read more

 

“New Walmart in east Tampa to help turn food desert into oasis” by Susan Thurston at Tampa Bay Times. “This has been a food desert for a long time,” (Mayor) Buckhorn said. “The folks in east Tampa have had to rely on convenience stores and get charged exorbitant prices for food that’s not particularly healthy. … Now there will be healthy alternatives available.” Read more

 

“Why Stores Still Rule Retail” by Laura Heller at Forbes. “E-commerce sales are just were just 6.4 percent of total retail sales for the second quarter of this year, according to the U.S. Department of Commerce, up from just 5.8 percent the same period 2013.” Read more

 

ND Walmart: $17.40/hour for starters at Yahoo.  “The Walmart in Williston, ND is one of the highest paying stores in the company.” See the video

 

“Canada warehouse retailer XS Cargo to close its 50 stores” by Hollie Shaw at Financial Post. “In its filing, the retailer’s trustee PWC made a pointed reference to Target’s entry into Canada, which appears to have pushed XS Cargo to a breaking point as it lowered prices to compete head-on with Walmart Canada.” Read more

 

“Does Walmart’s “Savings Catcher” Actually Work?” by Chris Morran at Consumerist. “When it was all said and done, the service found $4.83 in savings, but left $1.02 unaccounted for. And this was just for a relatively small transaction of $36…Based on just this one test, it seems like Savings Catcher might be something worth trying.” Read more

 

“How Ads Can Push Too Hard” by Matt Richtell at NY Times. “The worst performer was the ad that called the soap the “only choice” for green consumers. That result ran counter to the expectations of a panel of 59 marketing executives and managers who had been asked beforehand to predict which slogan would work best. Nearly half projected that the “only choice” slogan would be most effective. The study subjects reported that the off-putting slogan — with language that was not quite bullying but certainly imperative — threatened their sense of “freedom in expressing their identity,” Mr. Bhattacharjee said.” Read more

 

“Wal-Mart tests Pickup-Grocery prototype store” by Cyd King at NWA (Subscription). “If Wal-Mart Stores Inc. President and CEO Doug McMillon wants to treat his wife, Shelley, to a home-cooked steak dinner and bottle of wine, he can place an order online for his groceries, drive to a new Wal-Mart store prototype and pick them up without ever having to get out of his car.” Read more

 

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Eye-on-Retail is a daily tipsheet read by thousands of Retail Merchants & Executives every weekday morning. Eye-on-Retail is unique because it’s timely, smart and fun. It’s created early AM every weekday and delivered between 7-8 am CST. We love data, earnings reports, executive presentations and stories off the beaten path that get at what’s really happening in the world of retail.

Friday Tipsheet: Target #1 in Shipping Speed | Wmart Last in Pharmacy | Amazon Workers Smoke in ‘Cage’

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Target Surprise: Ranked #1 in Shipping Speed by Kavita Kumar at Star-Tribune. “I had to dig a little deeper to make sure that was really accurate,” said Kevon Hills, StellaService’s vice president of research. But it was. The study by the New York-based research firm found that Target shaved three days off its delivery time. Target’s packages reached StellaService analysts in 1.8 days last month, at least a day quicker than many other retailers who made the top 25.” Read more

 

“Postal Service aims for grocery delivery beyond Amazon” by Jay Greene at Seattle Times. “For the past several weeks, the agency has been testing delivering prepackaged grocery items purchased from the Web giant to customers in San Francisco. According to a filing, the Postal Service is now seeking approval from the Postal Regulatory Commission to add new cities to the test.” Read more

 

Walmart SVP of Change Management, Celia Swanson, Speaks at Luncheon by Kim Souza at The City Wire. “Swanson shared that one of the first things the new Wal-Mart CEO Doug McMillon did after his promotion was to create a video on the importance of corporate culture. He also made the traditional Saturday morning meeting optional for the first time in the company’s history…“To his credit he made the meeting optional, but then put the pressure on himself to make the meetings so great that everyone would want to attend,” she added.” Read more

 

“Amazon’s Grand Plan to Avoid Holiday Delivery Snafus Again” by Brad Stone at Businessweek. “Amazon has built 38 new fulfillment centers in North America over the last year and a half and an additional 15 “sortation centers,” a new category of smaller warehouse where packages from the fulfillment centers are sorted by ZIP codes. The sortation centers allow Amazon to ship packages directly to customers…Overall Amazon now has 158 fulfillment centers around the world, ChannelAdvisor estimates, and more than 100 million square feet of fulfillment capacity.” Read more / See the location maps

 

“Tractor Supply plans new pet concept stores” by Eric Snyder at Nashville Bus. Journal. “Nashville Post reports that the concept is known as HomeTown Pet, and will be run independently from Tractor Supply. Concept stores are to open in Franklin and Fairview by mid-November.” Read more

 

J.D. Power: Pharmacy Customer Satisfaction Rankings (Mass: Sam’s – best, Walmart – worst)  “Among brick and mortar pharmacies, Good Neighbor Pharmacy (884) ranks highest in the chain drug store segment; Sam’s Club (865) ranks highest in the mass merchandiser segment; and Publix (886) ranks highest in the supermarket segment.” See the rankings

 

HuffPo: “These Amazon Warehouse Workers Smoke In Cages” by Dave Jamieson. “Amazon’s new fulfillment center in Baltimore includes 30-foot-long outdoor cages that allow workers to step outside while still being confined. Black fencing runs from the floor to ceiling, “making it impossible for anyone inside it to pass objects to anyone standing in the parking lot.” Read more / See the pics

 

“Sears Canada CEO Douglas Campbell resigns after one year in the job” by Hollie Shaw at Financial Post. “Mr. Campbell is the second chief executive to leave the embattled department store chain in just over a year, and by all accounts, he was an equally competent one.” Read more

 

“Target Announces Exclusive Collection with Faribault” at A Bullseye View. “The assortment of limited-edition bags, throws, scarves for men and women and tech accessories will be available on Target.com starting Nov. 2 and come in an array of exclusive stripes and plaids.” Read more

 

“DHL beats Amazon, Google to first scheduled drone delivery” by Mark Scott at NY Times via Seattle Times. “The flight — expected to take as long as 30 minutes, depending on weather conditions — would be the first time a drone without the aid of even a land-based pilot has been authorized for regular use in Europe, the company said…Like Amazon, which is running tests in Canada, and Google, which is conducting tests in Australia, DHL is hoping its monthlong trial will prove that the technology — dubbed parcelcopter — can replace some of the traditional ways of delivering parcels to remote locations.” Read more

 

“Jeff Bezos’s actions are true to his beliefs, says Amazon India VP Amit Agarwal” by Rashmi Menon at Economic Times. “We recently launched the pet supplies category. The first day, we had people from remote places in India buying guinea pig food. I would never have guessed that. I would have guessed a dog collar or dog food but guinea pig food! There were purchases for bird food and even food for lizards.” Read more

 

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Eye-on-Retail is a daily tipsheet read by thousands of Retail Merchants & Executives every weekday morning. Eye-on-Retail is unique because it’s timely, smart and fun. It’s created early AM every weekday and delivered between 7-8 am CST. We love data, earnings reports, executive presentations and stories off the beaten path that get at what’s really happening in the world of retail.

Thursday Tipsheet: Ron Johnson’s New Venture | Amazon’s Secret Lab Gets $55 Mil | EEOC Sues D.Gen

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“Amazon Will Pump $55 Million into Secretive Silicon Valley Lab” by Deepa Seetharaman & Noel Randewich at Reuters. “Amazon is testing a simple wi-fi device that could be placed in the kitchen or a closet, allowing customers to order products like detergent by pressing a button, one of the people said. Lab126 is also interested in wearable devices, the other person said. Both sources stressed that such devices may never come to market.” Read more

 

Report: Ron Johnson to Start a High-End, On-Demand Delivery Service for Gadgets by Susan Berfield at Bloomberg. “A report claims Johnson is starting a retail business that bypasses stores altogether: “[A] high-end, on-demand delivery service for gadgets.” Apparently he has recruited some former Apple executives to help him with the plan. Johnson has yet to confirm the rumors officially, and I couldn’t reach him. Anonymous sources familiar with the project told Jessica Lessin, the editor-in-chief of the Information, that Johnson could introduce the service as early as next year.” Read more

 

CNBC: Ex-JCP CEO Ron Johnson’s new bet “The Information Editor-in-Chief Jessica Lessin discusses former JC Penney CEO Ron Johnson’s efforts to create a delivery startup.” See the video

 

“Bezos-Backed Pro.com Raises Another $14 Million to Help Renovate Your Home” by Brad Stone at Bloomberg. “Customers want to understand price before they even pick up the phone,” says Matt Williams, Pro’s CEO. Williams worked at Amazon for 10 years, starting as one of Bezos’s famous personal assistant “shadows,” who follow Amazon’s founder into every meeting, taking notes and following up on action items. He also worked on the team that started Amazon Marketplace, in which merchants pay fees to hawk their wares on the site.” Read more

 

***A message from Lock-it Block-it: 79% don’t feel safe at home & 5,000 kids fall from windows each year. Lock-it Block-it is an adjustable window security bar that keeps open windows & doors secured to let the fresh air in! This patented security bar replaces clumsy wooden sticks and creates a new category for window security. And the average home has 16 windows! Easy to install – easy to use – grow your safety category with this unique product. See the sell sheet / See the video / lockitblockit.com / info@shiftmarketinggroup.net

 

WSJ: “Home Depot Was Hacked by Previously Unseen ‘Mozart’ Malware” by Shelly Banjo & Danny Yadron. “Home Depot confirmed the report and said there were specific attributes of the malware that indicated it was customized to the retailer. For instance, it used file names that blended in with legitimate filenames and are unique to Home Depot’s technology, the company said.” Read more

 

“Dollar General Sued by EEOC for Disability Discrimination” “According to the EEOC’s suit, the employee, who has insulin-dependent diabetes, was working the cash register at Dollar General when she started to experience symptoms of a hypoglycemic episode. Customers were in line, so the former employee grabbed an orange juice from Dollar General’s cooler and consumed it to stabilize her blood sugar. She paid for the orange juice after the customers left…Dollar General fired the employee for violating its grazing policy, which prohibits employees from consuming merchandise before payment.” Read the EEOC release

 

“Smart & Final grocery chain goes public” by Chan Li at LA Times “Smart & Final Stores Inc., the warehouse-style grocery chain with a deep history in Los Angeles, raised about $161 million Wednesday through the public sale of nearly 13.5 million shares…Smart & Final controls about 250 grocery and food stores in six states including California, Arizona and Oregon. The shops operate under the names Smart & Final, Smart & Final Extra! and Cash & Carry Smart Foodserve.” Read more

 

“Amazon expands Twitter deal, with a wish list” by Ben Miller at Puget Sound Bus. Journal. “According to Amazon, its customers using Twitter can type #AmazonWishList to have something automatically added to their Amazon Wish List, and then they continue tweeting.” Read more

 

“Reactions to Walmart’s New Green Dot Banking Service” by Kim Souza at The City Wire.  “Jackson worries that if a user has a problem with their card that the average checker at Wal-Mart won’t be able to handle that complaint without holding up the line. “We talked to convenience stores in the past about why some of them don’t sell pre-paid phones and we were told that when they did and the consumer had a problem that they brought it back into the store upset and store workers had no way to fix the problem. The last thing retailers want is to have upset consumers in their stores when there is no way they can solve the issue,” Jackson said.” Read more

 

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Eye-on-Retail is a daily tipsheet read by thousands of Retail Merchants & Executives every weekday morning. Eye-on-Retail is unique because it’s timely, smart and fun. It’s created early AM every weekday and delivered between 7-8 am CST. We love data, earnings reports, executive presentations and stories off the beaten path that get at what’s really happening in the world of retail.