Happening Now:  The National Retail Federation (NRF) kicks off its 102nd annual Convention and Expo in NYC @ Jacob Javits Convention Center, January 13-16.  We'll be reporting on highlights all week.  Read more:  https://events.nrf.com/annual2013/public/MainHall.aspx?ID=13380&sortMenu=101000    "Retailers gather for industry’s ‘mini Davos’ " by Andria Cheng at Market Watch.  "The retail industry’s biggest brainstorming session has begun.  A record 27,000-plus attendees are congregating for a four-day convention where they’re shopping for technology, exchanging ideas and listening in on 100 educational sessions and keynote speeches. The conference, hosted by the National Retail Federation, features speakers including Walmart U.S. CEO Bill Simon [...]

  "How Whole Foods Is Helping Put A Stake Through The Heart Of Bureaucracy' by Kim Bhasin at Business Insider.  ""We’ve been kicking bureaucracy in the shins, but we haven’t delivered a knockout blow yet,” he said. 'We have to put a stake through the heart of bureaucracy...The retailer gives each of its stores $150,000 each year, explained Hamel.  And they can do whatever they want with that money.  For instance, a store used the cash to add a bar, which ended up being a huge hit with female shoppers. These bars serve craft beer and local wine.  They're usually [...]

    "Walmart Teams With UPS to Fight Amazon" at The Slant.  "...So rather than beat Amazon, Walmart is trying to join it with a big digital push and this UPS partnership. Dubbed Walmart To Go, the move will feature same-day delivery for $10 in northern Virginia, Philadelphia and Minneapolis, with the San Francisco area coming online within a year. Deliveries will be made by UPS using its extensive distribution network rather than building out a warehousing and shipping network that could rival Amazon."  Read more:  https://slant.investorplace.com/2013/01/walmart-teams-with-ups-to-fight-amazon/   "Target Taps Former Wieden Exec as New Head of Creative" by Natalie [...]

  "3-D printers could bring manufacturing to your home office" by Cecilia Kang at The Washington Post.  "This is definitely the year that 3-D printing is making a splash at the International Consumer Electronics Show, the annual bazaar of geek commerce. Last year, only one 3-D printing company showed up at the CES, which aims to showcase gadgets you might buy at Best Buy or Amazon, not at industrial supply stores. This week, four such companies will be there.  One of them — MakerBot, which also supplies devices to Ford — will unveil Tuesday a new 3-D printer designed to [...]

  "Lowe’s changes lack direction: analyst" by Andria Ching at MarketWatch.  "The series of merchandising, management, store and other changes made by the nation’s second-largest home-improvement retailer appear to “lack direction,” an analyst said on Monday...Her biggest concern: a new management structure announced in May to focus on customer experience and operations has led to both its head merchant and head of supply chain positions still remaining vacant after previous leaders were reassigned to other jobs, she said.  “We are starting to see the impact of having those vacancies,” Champine said in an interview, adding it’s been years since she [...]

  "The leaders in social commerce are not the usual suspects" by Stefany Moore at Internet Retailer.  "On average, retailers in the Social Media 300 get 4.25% of their total site traffic directly from Facebook, Twitter and Pinterest. Those numbers vary widely from top to bottom—ranging anywhere from 0.33% for sporting goods merchant The Sportsman’s Guide (No. 300) all the way to 30% of site traffic for PetFlow.com.  And while it may be surprising as to which merchants are landing in the top of the rankings, it’s also important to note which ones are missing. The largest online merchant, Amazon.com [...]

  "Rivals Object to Wal-Mart Ads" by Ann Zimmerman and Shelly Banjo at WSJ.  "An aggressive Wal-Mart Stores Inc.   advertising campaign that claims better prices than specific, named competitors has rankled rivals, which have complained to attorneys general in more than half a dozen states...The Bentonville, Ark., giant said last year that the initial ads spurred a 1.2% boost in sales at stores open at least a year and a 1.1% rise in store visits in areas where the ads aired, compared with similar regions where they didn't run. Likening the ads' techniques to reality shows, Wal-Mart U.S. President [...]

  "Facebook, Google dip their toes in sale of physical goods" by Brandon Bailey in San Jose Mercury News.  "Google in particular may have reason to be concerned. While it still dominates the business of selling advertising keyed to Internet search queries, online shoppers today are more likely to start their quests on Amazon than Google, according to some studies. If that trend continues, analysts warn, it could make Google's site less attractive to retail advertisers.  Facebook also has good reasons to offer shopping on its site, as the social network seeks to broaden its business beyond selling advertising and [...]