NPR's Planet Money discusses the proliferation of dollar stores and their effect on rural America. Here's a snippet from the transcript of the discussion: STEVE INSKEEP, HOST: A new dollar store will open up every six hours this year in this country. There are more dollar stores than there are Walmarts and McDonald's combined, according to the Institute for Local Self-Reliance, which is an advocacy group. How do those dollar stores affect a community? Sarah Gonzalez of NPR's Planet Money podcast has more. SARAH GONZALEZ, BYLINE: There are more than 30,000 dollar stores in the U.S. By … [Read more...]
Walmart’s Good Call on Flipkart
Walmart made its biggest acquisition ever when it purchased Indian e-commerce company, Flipkart last year. What the American retailer didn't know then, was that a subsidiary of the e-commerce company would end up being a runaway success in the digital payments market. Flipkart's PhonePe (pronounced phone-pay) has seen the volume and value of its transactions quadruple since last year. Bloomberg's Saritha Rai reports: The startup was founded in December 2015 by three friends who left Flipkart to get it off the ground. Within a year, Flipkart founders Binny Bansal and Sachin Bansal decided … [Read more...]
Can Brick and Mortar Stores Ever Catch Up Online?
In response to Amazon's complete revolution of the retail industry, many companies with traditionally brick and mortar operations are racing to catch up online. Many are acquiring smaller online startups in an effort to to just that, but is it enough? Tige Savage reports at Revolution: Many top retail and consumer products companies are now facing the moment when their leadership is at peril as consumer behaviors permanently shift away from store-based buying and faceless packaged goods to online-oriented consumption and authentic brands. The megadeals everyone was talking about in 2016 … [Read more...]
Amazon Takes its Hands Off the Wheel in Purge of Small Suppliers
Rumor has it that Amazon is about to purge its small supplier in order to favor larger branded companies that can better supply its customers. The move will put Amazon into even more direct competition with Walmart and Target. Bloomberg's Specer Soper reports: In an emailed statement, an Amazon spokeswoman said: “We review our selling partner relationships on an individual basis as part of our normal course of business, and any speculation of a large scale reduction of vendors is incorrect.” Amazon secures inventory two ways. The company buys products directly from wholesale vendors, … [Read more...]
Land’s End and Sears Go Separate Ways
With different customers and different plans going forward, Sears and Lands' End are parting ways. The companies had maintained a symbiotic relationship with stores-within-stores at 40 locations, down from 174 last year, but will now separate all remaining Lands' End stores from their parent Sears locations. The Chicago Tribune reports: Lands’ End is back at Oakbrook Center mall — this time, outside the shadow of Sears. The Dodgeville, Wis.-based casual clothing retailer had a shop inside the Sears, its former parent company, on the mall’s northwest side before the Sears temporarily shut … [Read more...]
Walmart’s Robot Army
Walmart has deployed an army of robots in its stores to monitor inventory, clean floors and unload trucks. The effort to increase efficiency comes at a time when the company's chief competitor, Amazon, has used robots to revolutionize its fulfillment centers. The race is now on, as mega-retailers are finding the best ways to incorporate robots into their businesses. Sarah Nassauer and Chip Cutter write in The Wall Street Journal: The country’s largest private employer said at least 300 stores this year will add machines that scan shelves for out-of-stock products. Autonomous floor scrubbers … [Read more...]
Retail Wars: CVS Launches Nationwide Same-Day Rx Delivery
In an effort to catch up in the retail delivery war, CVS has announced the roll-out of nationwide same-day prescription delivery. CVS announced: CVS Pharmacy, the retail division of CVS Health (NYSE: CVS), today announced that it is now offering prescription delivery within hours in addition to their 1-2 day prescription delivery service available nationwide. The service, delivered by Shipt, a leading same-day delivery marketplace, is available at 6,000 CVS Pharmacy locations across the country, giving patients a faster and even more convenient way to get their medications. "A year ago CVS … [Read more...]
“Good Stuff Cheap!”
I like this story about Ollie's, a fast growing retail outlet that sells nothing online and focuses on selling “Brands at drastically reduced prices." It reminds me of Building 19 which used to sell “Good Stuff Cheap!” The trick was not to go in looking for something, but to just go in and come across something at a too good to resist price. My mom loved Building 19 and the stock market and even to this day is always careful with her money. At Forbes, Abram Brown reports on the success of Ollie's: The sheriff’s deputy arrives early, assuming his position before 9 a.m. He stands silently, in … [Read more...]
The World is a Drive-Thru With Xevo and Domino’s
You can now order pizza in your car and have it delivered anywhere Domino's will deliver with an automotive commerce platform from Xevo. Food Logistics reports on what may be the next step in the fast food wars: Domino's Pizza is working with Xevo Inc. to launch an ordering platform pre-loaded in cars starting in 2019. The new in-vehicle Domino's app is powered by Xevo Market, an automotive commerce platform for connected cars. "At Domino's, we want pizza ordering to be simple and always within reach, no matter where a customer happens to be," says Chris Roeser, director of digital … [Read more...]
Is Amazon Pulling a Bait and Switch Scheme on You?
As Amazon grows, and it aims to turn sales into profits, things are changing. Sometimes that means customers aren't always getting what they thought they paid for. One Amazon Prime customer ordered a ladder and a different one arrived... broken. A month later, he was still trying to get a refund. Katherine Bindley explains what's happening in The Wall Street Journal: Mr. Arguello says the seller then told him that to get a refund, Mr. Arguello must destroy the ladder, so no one will get hurt using it. Though it wasn’t a Prime purchase, Amazon intervened after the Journal’s inquiry and … [Read more...]
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