The nightmare is that Halloween will prove scarier than usual this year, for retailers at least. Will the threat of a second wave of COVID-19 infections frighten away trick-or-treaters? If so, that could hurt sales of candy, of course, but also of costumes and home decorations. Especially if Halloween parties are another casualty of the
American shopping habits have changed in many ways during the COVID-19 pandemic. People who had not previously tried shopping for groceries online have embraced the practice, for example. And consumers worried about contracting the virus by touching things have helped drive the increased use of contactless payment methods. The big question for retailers is whether
In his 2007 book, Where’s My Jetpack?: A Guide to the Amazing Science Fiction Future That Never Arrived, robotist and author Daniel Wilson took readers on a tour of some of the revolutionary technologies that were supposed to change everything, but didn’t. Something like that has happened in the retail industry, according to a new
Retailers are understandably wondering what consumer behavior will look like as the economy opens up again. Will people venture back to stores and restaurants, or will they still be afraid that they could be exposed to the novel coronavirus? Will those who have tried online shopping for the first time during the early days of
KEASBEY, N.J. — Wakefern Food Corp. had its start in 1946, during a challenging time for independent food retailers. The problem back then was that independent operators were seeing their loyal customers lured away by the big self-service supermarkets of the day, which could offer lower prices. To compete, eight grocers in the Newark, N.J.,
GOODLETTSVILLE, Tenn. — Dollar General Corp. seems to defy the kind of gravity that is keeping much of the retail industry earthbound. At a time when some retailers are scaling back their brick-and-mortar expansion plans and may see their profits constrained by the need to invest in their omnichannel offerings, Dollar General has been growing
As online shopping becomes more frictionless and ubiquitous, retailers with brick-and-mortar outlets need to pay more attention to the kinds of products they put in them. What do people still want to buy in a store these days? Two recent studies suggest some answers. One of these is the latest Global Market Development Center (GMDC)|Retail
A customer who has a positive shopping experience with a retailer will come back for more, a new study suggests, which seems obvious enough. But the research, conducted for the ICSC (International Council of Shopping Centers), found that a single in-store purchase translates into additional spending via the retailer’s online platform, and vice versa. The
Back in 1974, Richard Nixon became the first U.S. president to resign from office. Writer Steven King published his first novel. The Sears Tower in Chicago became the world’s tallest building. And in another first that year, a pack of Wrigley’s chewing gum was scanned at a Marsh Supermarket in Troy, Ohio. Although little appreciated
Technology is not just changing the way people shop and buy. It also may be changing the way some of them steal, and the ways that retailers are fighting back. “We are seeing dramatic changes in the risks faced by retailers, and loss prevention practices and priorities are evolving to meet those challenges,” NRF vice
The German hard discount grocery retailer Lidl stumbled in its much anticipated U.S. debut two years ago. The retailer has proven a strong competitor throughout Europe, with a business model based on small stores, a no-frills shopping experience and low low prices, and Lidl had big plans for the U.S. market. After opening nine stores
For a growing number of brick-and-mortar retailers, the future looks small. Sears is the latest company to embrace the trend. The retailer, which emerged from bankruptcy and a court-supervised auction process in February with about 425 big-box stores, said it plans to open three small Sears Home & Life stores in May. The stores will