retail news stories on Newser

Your New Grocery Store: Dollar General?

Kevin Spak — Tue, 01 May 2012 13:46:04 CDT

When you think dollar stores, you probably think of Tiki statues, fragile toys, and cheap kitchen implements. But Dollar General is trying to change all that, the Wall Street Journal reports, by taking a real shot at the grocery market. Over the next year, the discount chain intends to open...

Amazon Rewards Customers for Walking Out of Stores

Kevin Spak — Wed, 07 Dec 2011 14:05:05 CST

In a scheme clearly devised to give brick-and-mortar retailers nightmares, Amazon is running a one-day promotion on Dec. 10 in which customers can score up to $15 in discounts for literally walking out of stores. Here's how it works: Download the Amazon Price Check app for your iPhone or Android...

Why Apple Stores Work

Matt Cantor — Tue, 22 Nov 2011 16:13:34 CST

Apple Stores’ success is about much more than Apple products; after all, you can get Macs, iPhones, and iPads elsewhere for less money. What draws customers is the fact that an Apple store is “more than a store to people,” writes Apple's former VP of retail, Ron Johnson. “People come...

Gap Closing Scores of Stores

Matt Cantor — Fri, 14 Oct 2011 08:50:05 CDT

Gap, once the king of clothing chains, rapidly expanded before the recession; afterward, it found itself with more stores than shoppers. Now it plans to close 189 of its North American locations—more than a fifth of the total—by 2013, leaving some 700 remaining, the Wall Street Journal reports....

Best Online Shoppers: Tablet Users

John Johnson — Wed, 28 Sep 2011 09:03:04 CDT

Marketing in the modern age: It seems tablet users make the best online shoppers, reports the Wall Street Journal . Industry stats put the coveted "conversion rate" at 4% or 5% for tablet users vs. 3% for PC users. What's more, perhaps because tablet users tend to be wealthier, people who...

Victoria's Secret Quietly Destroys All Returns

Kevin Spak — Sun, 01 May 2011 07:45:05 CDT

Marie Wolf got quite a shock when she returned an unworn $70 pair of sweatpants to Victoria’s Secret a few weeks ago. A clerk happily refunded her money—then took out some scissors and sliced the pants to shreds, explaining that it was store policy. Wolf was outraged, she tells...

Walmart: Gas Prices Hurting Our Shoppers

Kevin Spak — Fri, 29 Apr 2011 13:12:05 CDT

Walmart shoppers are running out of cash, pinched by high gas prices and unemployment, the company’s CEO said this week. “We’re seeing core consumers under a lot of pressure,” Mike Duke said at a retail industry gathering, according to CNN . “There’s no doubt that rising fuel prices are having an...

Wal-Mart to Make Its Food Healthier

Nick McMaster — Thu, 20 Jan 2011 16:49:23 CST

Wal-Mart is embarking on a plan that could have a big impact on American nutrition: It will modify its house brand to make the food healthier, and lower costs for items such as fruits and veggies, and products made with whole grain. The initiative is the result of collaboration with...

Blizzard Delays $1B in Retail Spending

Wed, 29 Dec 2010 16:16:18 CST

The blizzard that swept through the Northeast delayed $1 billion in retail spending, according to research firm ShopperTrak. Despite that hit, it won't derail a holiday shopping season expected to be the best since 2007. About $10 billion in retail sales usually occurs Dec. 26-27, ShopperTrak says, and bad weather...