Eye-on-Retail Tipsheet 2/13/13: Harris Poll’s RQ/Reputation Report: Amazon #1, Walmart #40

“Amazon squeaks past Apple as most reputable U.S. company” by Lance Whitney at CNET. “Amazon is the most reputable company in the U.S, at least according to the results of a new Harris poll. Released today, the 2013 Harris Poll Reputation Quotient measured the reputations of the most prominent companies in the United States based on the opinions of more than 14,000 people. The poll analyzed companies based on six criteria: social responsibility; emotional appeal; financial performance; products and services; vision and leadership; and workplace environment.” Read more: https://news.cnet.com/8301-1023_3-57568960-93/amazon-squeaks-past-apple-as-most-reputable-u.s-company/

“Harris Poll Releases 2013 RQ / Reputation Report” Multiple retailers ranked in the report. Highlights:

#1 Amazon

#10 Costco

#16 Home Depot

#17 Lowes

#22 Target

#40 Walmart

See full report more (PowerPoint): https://www.harrisinteractive.com/vault/2013%20RQ%20Summary%20Report%20FINAL.pdf

“Online Shopping Study Shows Boomers’ Purchasing Behavior Still Growing, Millennials Steady” “Although the ongoing study by The Integer Group® has shown an increase in online shopping over the last three years, the latest study is showing online shopping overall has leveled out. Even though online shopping is steady, Boomers are continuing to increase their online purchases (up 4.5 percent since 2011) and Millennials who said they are purchasing more online is down 7 percent from 2011. This was revealed in the latest issue of The Checkout , an ongoing shopper behavior study conducted by Integer ® and M/A/R/C Research. “Millennials may be feeling the pinch of a still-slow economy and making the decision to watch spending more closely. It could also be that we are starting to reach a plateau in online-shopping adoption,” said Craig Elston, senior vice president, Insight & Strategy at The Integer Group.” Read more: https://media.prnewswire.com/en/jsp/latest.jsp?resourceid=6284455&access=EH

“Man Who Slipped On Gatorade Sign At Walmart Wins $1.3 Million In Damages” by Silvia Hsieh at Business Insider. “A Walmart customer who slipped on a fallen Gatorade sign won a $1.3 million verdict for his injuries. Tom Papakalodoukas, a 41-year-old Florida resident, was carrying a water bottle while shopping at a Walmart in Port St. Lucie, Fla., when he stepped on a Gatorade sign that had fallen off a display. He took a violent spill, tearing a tendon in his right bicep…He sued the retail giant for negligence for not screwing the sign on correctly. Walmart pointed the finger at Gatorade for providing cheap plastic screws. But at trial, Papakalodoukas’ lawyer, Gloria Seidule, had Gatorade testify that if Walmart employees had put together the sign properly, it wouldn’t have fallen. Gatorade also said that if the screws came loose or broke, it was Walmart’s responsibility to take care of it.” Read more: https://www.businessinsider.com/man-who-slipped-on-gatorade-sign-at-walmart-wins-13-million-2013-2#ixzz2KmR8ahSH

“What Costco And The Church Have In Common” by Douglas Van Praet at Psychology Today. “When you think of hypnosis you might imagine a strange man dangling a watch or someone clucking like a chicken on stage to the delight of bemused spectators. But environmental hypnosis is a very real everyday phenomenon. It happens a lot more than you think, like when you’re captivated by a great movie, or even when you’re shopping for groceries or attending Sunday Mass. Costco and historically the Catholic Church have both been massively successful at building loyal followings, in part because the have created environments conducive to hypnotic suggestions. According to George John Kappas, the director of HMI College of Hypnotherapy, “A hypnotic modality is anything that attempts to control or modify behavior by affecting our belief system.” Therefore, effective efforts at religion, teaching, and even marketing and advertising are by definition hypnotic modalities. Read more: https://www.psychologytoday.com/blog/unconscious-branding/201302/what-costco-and-the-church-have-in-common

“How Target Rebounded From Holiday Disappointment” by Katie Little at CNBC. “”After the Neiman Marcus partnership was widely regarded as too pricey for most Target shoppers with a range of $7.99 for wrapping paper to $499.99 for a bicycle, the Prabal Gurung price point was well-received, in our view,” said JPMorgan analysts in a recently released note…”It was probably the wrong time of year,” said Jeff Jones, Target’s chief marketing officer, about the Neiman collection. “When we really think about the holiday season, we think about the value that guests are looking for then and so some things like that we learned that made it just not as successful that we would like it to be.” Read more: https://www.cnbc.com/id/100453753

“Wal-Mart Clinics Trail CVS Reaping 39% Growth: Retail” by Renee Dudley at Bloomberg. “In 2007, Lee Scott, then Wal-Mart Stores Inc.’s chief executive officer, trumpeted plans to open as many as 2,000 in-house medical clinics by mid-2012. He called the strategy “a great opportunity for our business.” Today Wal-Mart has fewer than 130 clinics and is closing locations faster than it’s opening them. Meanwhile, CVS Caremark Corp., which already has about 630 MinuteClinics, is opening about three a week, and aims to have 1,500 within four years. It’s promoting the clinics heavily on TV and the Web. While industry figures are hard to come by, CVS says its clinic business has grown at a compound annual rate of 39 percent in the last six years.” Read more: https://www.bloomberg.com/news/2013-02-12/wal-mart-medical-clinics-trail-cvs-generating-39-growth-retail.html

“Toy Trends for 2013 Announced by Toy Industry Association, Official Voice of Toy Fair” “From toys that are “So Retro!”…to arts and crafts inspired by “DIY Design” television shows…and playthings for sociable teens and tweens, the hottest toy trends of 2013 were unveiled by the Toy Industry Association (TIA) today at its 110th American International Toy Fair. One of the trends:

SO RETRO!

It’s back-to-basics for many toymakers, who are introducing an abundance of nostalgic, vintage and classic playthings. Just like bell bottom jeans and neon colors, the best-loved items of generations past can grab hold of a new generation decades later. These favorite toys and characters bring kids, parents and grandparents together in reminiscent fun. Includes: Playthings that evoke feelings of excitement among nostalgic parents; toys with vintage or retro styling; and beloved tried-and-true staples in every household that kids will always love. See the list of six toy trends at: https://media.prnewswire.com/en/jsp/latest.jsp?resourceid=6287574&access=EH

“Retailers a prime target for cyber criminals in ’12, says Trustwave” by John P. Mello Jr at CSO. “The motivation for targeting retailers is one that spans decades, according to Jeff Williams, director of security strategy at Dell Secureworks. “They go where the money is and they go there often,” he said. Pogue argued that retailers are more vulnerable because their core competency is not cybersecurity. As a result, basic security steps aren’t taken, giving attackers an avenue into their systems. Those vulnerabilities include remote system administration that’s enabled at all times; weak passwords; and default accounts with administrative privileges. According to the report, the most common password is still Password1 and an analysis by Trustwave of three million user passwords, revealed that half of all users chose passwords that met the bare minimums for their organizations.” Read more: https://www.csoonline.com/article/728747/retailers-a-prime-target-for-cyber-criminals-in-12-says-trustwave

“Whole Foods in Wichita won’t be a Whole Foods” by John Stearns at Wichita Business Journal. “Whole Foods Market is coming to Wichita, but it won’t be called Whole Foods. “It will be a division of Whole Foods, but they’ll have a different name,” says Johnny Stevens, a partner in The Waterfront development in northeast Wichita where Whole Foods Market Inc. plans to operate. He was a guest speaker Tuesday at a luncheon meeting of the Wichita Independent Business Association. The reason for the name change? The local Whole Foods Association, which operates three health food stores in Wichita under the name Whole Foods. Stevens says the big Whole Foods didn’t want to fight with the little Whole Foods. Read more: https://www.bizjournals.com/wichita/blog/2013/02/whole-foods-in-wichita-wont-be-a.html

“The Home Depot To Host Fourth Quarter & Fiscal 2012 Earnings Conference Call On February 26” “The Home Depot®, the world’s largest home improvement retailer, announced today that it will hold its Fourth Quarter and Fiscal 2012 Earnings Conference Call on Tuesday, February 26, at 9 a.m. ET. A webcast will be available by logging onto https://earnings.homedepot.com and selecting the Fourth Quarter Earnings Conference Call icon. The webcast will be archived and available beginning at approximately noon on February 26.” Read more: https://media.prnewswire.com/en/jsp/latest.jsp?resourceid=6290155&access=EH

Thanks for reading…