They Came, They Saw but Did They Shop? At Costco and Dollar Stores, They Did by Kate Kaye at Ad Age. “Costco shoppers spend 149% more per visit than at the average retailer, and dollar store shoppers are around 30% more likely to make a purchase than when visiting other retailers.”  Read more

 

As many as 1,000 employees could be laid off at Walmart HQ by Chris Bahn at Arkansas Democrat-Gazette. “As many as 1,000 employees could be laid off at the home office, according to Cameron Smith of Cameron Smith & Associates, which specializes in working with Wal-Mart vendors and suppliers. Smith said he sent the memo to his employees on the basis of conversations with people “inside Wal-Mart” Read more

 

Costco Photo still down after hacking incident, won’t return until early August by Tricia Duryee at Geek Wire. “Costco says it continues to take orders at its warehouse’s photo desks, and warns that if you received an email, saying that your account has been deleted due to inactivity, it is not true.” Read more

 

It’s Amazon’s World. The USPS Just Delivers in It by Devin Leonard at Bloomberg. “David Vernon, an analyst at Bernstein Research who tracks the shipping industry, estimates the USPS handled 40 percent of Amazon’s volume last year—or almost 150 million items—more than either United Parcel Service or FedEx. He figures that Amazon pays the USPS $2 per package, which is about half what it would pay UPS and FedEx.” Read more

 

Washington Post: New mini-Target in College Park hailed as a sign of what’s coming by Arelis R. Hernandez. “It’s a nice fit,” said Andre Fletcher, who lives in the District and uses mass transit to reach his job in U-Md.’s registrar office. “It seems they are creating more of a community instead of just a destination.” Read more

 

Whole Foods’ earnings fall short amid overcharging scandal by Lisa Fickenscher at NY Post. “Same-store sales were up just 1.3 percent — far less than the 2.9 percent Wall Street analysts had expected.” Read more

 

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Forbes: Best Places for Business & Careers (Atlanta #5, Seattle #6)  See the top 30

 

Merchants seek to void $6 billion Visa, MasterCard, AmEx settlements by Jonathan Stempel at Reuters. “Dozens of retailers are seeking to void nearly $6 billion of U.S. antitrust settlements with Visa Inc, MasterCard Inc and American Express Co after learning that opposing lawyers exchanged confidential information, potentially tainting the accords.” Read more

 

As Target pharmacies shift to CVS, will consumers stick around? by Martin Moylan at MPR News. “Investors have generally cheered the sale…Davidowitz, however, is a skeptic and believes it will be a major problem. “I don’t think Target looked at this correctly,” he said. “Target has positioned itself to where it was clear to the customer that they were real alternative to Walmart and their prices were very, very close to Walmart’s.” Read more

 

Dick’s Expands ‘Sports Matter’ Campaign in Second Year by Declan Harty at Ad Age. “For a group of kids in Harlem, lacrosse has become a lifestyle. Depicted in two new national spots from Dick’s Sporting Goods set to premiere on Wednesday, the Harlem lacrosse team has become the latest beneficiary of the retailer’s program, Sports Matter.” See the spots / Read more

 

Whole Foods Market Announces First 365 by Whole Foods Market Store Leases  Read the release

 

Inside the Quest to Breed the Perfect Strawberry by Dune Lawrence at Bloomberg. “A few years ago, during his commute across California’s Pajaro Valley, Phil Stewart began stopping more regularly at the Burger King in Watsonville. He wasn’t just there for the Whoppers. He was visiting a wild strawberry plant…” Read more

 

$48,000 Ovens? Meet The Luxury Retailer Selling Appliances Like Apple, Tiffany’s by Liyan Chen at Forbes. “The industry has been dominated by big-box retailing,” says retail analyst Dana Telsey of Telsey Advisory Group. “The products featured at Pirch start where Home Depot and Lowe’s end.” Read more

 

Tipsheet Extra

Costco’s Richard Galanti co-chairs United Way campaign

Walmart And Kroger Pull Cilantro From Stores

This Remarkable Short Film Set at Costco Explores the Empty Obsession With Shopping

Judge Backtracks On Walmart Shoplifter’s Lifetime Ban From All U.S. Stores

Meijer ad man who stole $78K from company pays it back, avoids jail

Wayfair Partners with Sherwin-Williams to Launch DIY Hub

Amazon starts charging $5 for Dash Buttons to make ordering a cinch

Read Tipsheet Extra Stories

 

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Eye-on-Retail Tipsheet is created early every weekday morning and read by retail merchants and executives worldwide. 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. See our website at www.eyeonretail.net