“Why CVS and Rite Aid are blocking Apple Pay” by Phillip Elmer-DeWitt at Fortune. “I don’t know that CVS and Rite Aid disabling Apple Pay out of spite is going to drive customers to switch pharmacies” writes Gruber. “But I do know that CurrentC is unlikely to ever gain any traction whatsoever.” Read more

 

….Apple Pay Down to 25 Retail Partners by Jim Edwards at Business Insider. “A quick look at Apple’s website explaining the service highlights just 34 retail partners that support the system. Eight of those are different flavors of Foot Locker. One is Apple itself.” Read more

 

“Traffic At Los Angeles Ports Backed Up For 2 Weeks, Threatens Holiday Season” at Inquisitr. “This is really a perfect storm,” Port of Los Angeles Executive Director Gene Seroka told the Los Angeles Times…it’s made worse this year by the use of massive container ships. These larger vessels can be up to one-third larger than Los Angeles and Long Beach ports have the capacity to handle. The root of the problem, though, is likely due to a shortage of trucking equipment.” Read more

 

“The $1-billion fright economy: How Canadians are now outspending Americans on Halloween” by Hollie Shaw at Financial Post. “A recent survey from digital couponing site RetailMeNot.com found that 68% of Canadians now celebrate Halloween…“In the past three years, the Halloween holiday has just gone viral in Canada — we have just seen it shoot up,” said Diane Brisebois, the Retail Council’s president and CEO. “Adults have really, really gotten into it. Now it’s adults and their pets.” Read more

 

“Costco Still Refuses To Ruin Thanksgiving” by Emily Cohn at HuffPo. “Sam’s Club, the Walmart-owned bulk goods retailer, will also be closed on Thanksgiving day, according to Sarah McKinney, a company spokeswoman.” Read more

 

“Target thinks outside the (big) box” by Phil Wahba at Fortune. “The discount retailer has exclusively told Fortune that it plans in 2016 to open a CityTarget store in the City Point development in Brooklyn, New York.” Read more

 

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“Obama plans executive actions to strengthen U.S. manufacturing” at Reuters via Yahoo. “The White House said NASA and the departments of Defense, Energy and Agriculture would invest more than $300 million in the emerging technologies of advanced materials including composites and bio-based materials, advanced sensors for manufacturing, and digital manufacturing.” Read more

 

“Bricks-and-mortars aim to gain on Amazon pain” by Krystina Gustafson at CNBC. “This holiday versus a year or two ago, Amazon, in terms of online sales, is facing a much higher competitive bar,” said Craig Johnson, president of research firm Customer Growth Partners. “Bricks-and-clicks store-based retailers have stepped up.” Read more

 

“Alibaba ramps up recruiting for Seattle office” by Rachel Lerman at Puget Sound Bus. Journal. “Rumors have been swirling for months that the company was preparing to launch a Seattle office, which would be its second U.S. office, in addition to a Silicon Valley location. Alibaba has been recruiting this week for engineers in Seattle, job postings on LinkedIn show.” Read more

 

“USPS gets approval to test grocery-delivery with Amazon in San Francisco” by Kate Taylor at Entrepreneur via Fortune. “The Postal Regulatory Commission approved a plan to deliver groceries between 3 a.m. and 7 a.m. The two-year market test of what it calls “Customized Delivery” is currently restricted to San Francisco, but may someday expand into a national program.” Read more

 

“UK: DIY is in decline because today’s men are too soft” by Martin Daubney at The Telegraph. “The dismal fact that a mere five per cent of 18-24s would attempt to unblock a sink doesn’t bode well for humanity – unless you’re a plumber. Although the UK DIY sector is still worth a healthy £7.3 billion per year, that’s its lowest annual worth since 1999, and if it continues to decline at the current rate of 13 per cent per annum, there will be no DIY sector at all by 2040.” 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 happening in the world of retail. Contact us @ info@shiftmarketinggroup.net.