Amazon Delays Convenience Store Opening to Work Out Kinks by Laura Stevens at Wall Street Journal. “Amazon Go was due to launch to the public by the end of the month, after launching in beta mode to employees in December, according to people familiar with the matter. It is unclear when it will now open, as it works out kinks in the technology to automatically charge customers when they leave, instead of needing to have cash registers, checkouts and lines.” Read more

 

Walmart CEO regrets that the retail giant took too long to get aggressive in digital. “We hired talent, invested, and just kind of meandered along” by Adi Ignatius at Harvard Business Review. “In some ways we experienced what Clay Christensen calls the “innovator’s dilemma…” Read the Q&A

 

Amazon’s Ambitions Unboxed: Stores for Furniture, Appliances and More by Nick Wingfield at New York Times via CNBC. “The company is exploring the idea of creating stores to sell furniture and home appliances, like refrigerators…Amazon is also kicking around an electronics-store concept similar to Apple’s retail emporiums.” Read more

 

Whole Foods Has Lost Around 14 Million Customers by Brian Sozzi at The Street. “Short believes Kroger has been one of the prime beneficiaries…” Read more

 

The High-Speed Trading Behind Your Amazon Purchase by Christopher Mims at Wall Street Journal. “The vendor of the marshmallows I wanted told me his high price was an attempt to bait competitors into raising their own asking prices for the item. This works because sellers of commodity items on Amazon are constantly monitoring and updating their prices, sometimes hundreds of thousands of times a day across thousands of items, says Mr. Kaziukėnas.” Read more (subscription)

 

Washington Post: New Cabela’s megastore in Gainesville, Va., is a monument to gun rights by Abha Bhattarai at Washington Post. Read more

 

Target Spooks Long-Term Believers by Shelly Banjo at Bloomberg. “What is he bragging about?” one attendee remarked. “That’s the same amount of annual sales at Wayfair.” Read more

 

Citi Research:Wal-Mart is ‘best positioned’ in online grocery battle against Amazon by Jeff Daniels at CNBC. “Kroger also scored high among the pure-play grocers in terms of its online grocery positioning compared with e-commerce giant Amazon, particularly as it related to pricing. But at the bottom of the list was Whole Foods Market.” Read more

 

This is the No. 1 Thing that CEOs from Wegmans, Publix & REI Look For in Job Candidates by Laura Entis at Fortune. Read more

 

Amazon reviews by buyers worth billions, experts say by Elizabeth Weise at USA Today via Toronto Star. “Going from zero review to one increases the rate at which online window-shoppers actually click the “buy” button by 65 per cent, says ratings and review software executive.” Read more

 

**A message from Lock-it Block-it – Get rid of the stick! It’s time to retire the ugly wooden sticks sitting in window tracks around the world. Wooden sticks fall out, require measuring and cutting and don’t adjust up or down (no summer breeze for you!). The Lock-it Block-it is a high-impact security bar that allows windows to stay open AND secure at the same time. 13 adjustment holes allow for inch-by-inch opening adjustments. Great for sliding doors/windows too! Video | Sell sheet. Retailers request samples: info@shiftmarketinggroup.net

 

Salaries in Ecommerce by Allison Enright at Internet Retailer. “Ranking fourth in Mondo’s top 10 is vice president of e-commerce, with a salary range of $125,000 to $180,000…2015 Total Comp: Amazon CFO $7.78M, Etsy CEO $2.69M, Wayfair CTO $13.8M.” Read more

 

Boxed CEO shares the 3 things making his ‘Costco for millennials’ soar by Elizabeth Gurdus at CNBC. “All these retailers these days are under pressure. Why? It’s because … for the last 30 years, value equaled price. But now, value equals price, convenience, and a little bit of brand. And so that’s what we bring to the equation,” Huang told “Mad Money” host Jim Cramer on Friday.” Video/Read more

 

Aldi gives its logo a refresh via MSN. See it here

 

Florida Senate gives reluctant nod to selling booze with groceries by Janelle Irwin at Tampa Bay Business Journal. “A House version of the bill cleared its final committee stop Wednesday and heads to the floor for a full chamber vote.” Read more

 

Watch Amazon’s Prime Air make its first public U.S. drone delivery by April Glaser at Recode. Video/Read more

 

Ashton Kutcher, Kevin Durant help retail tech startup raise $30M by Cromwell Schubarth at Silicon Valley Business Journal. “Zenreach helps small bricks-and-mortar merchants provide free Wi-Fi to customers who are willing to register with their name and address or Facebook account. This information can then be used for targeted promotions and other analytics.” Read more

 

Kroger pioneer dishes career advice by Jon Springer at Supermarket News. “Be ambitious, but be patient. Seek experiences, not promotions. Get support in the workplace, but also at home. And never wear “old lady” shoes. Jayne Homco, a 42-year veteran of the Kroger Co., imparted these bits of wisdom and more during the closing session at Western Michigan University’s 52nd annual Food Marketing Conference in Grand Rapids, Mich.” Read more

 

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