January 14, 2019 by Scot Meyer
brick-and-mortar, Scot Meyer
2019, Issue 01-14-2019, Issues, Opinion
Technology is rapidly changing the retail industry, but for now the fears of an apocalyptic impact on brick-and-mortar stores seem overblown. With Walmart, Target and many other mass retailers leveraging their physical stores to help them succeed with online customers as well as those that prefer to do their shopping in person, there is also
December 17, 2018 by Scot Meyer
Scot Meyer, trade
2018, Issue 12-17-2018, Issues
NEW YORK — Just in time for the holidays, retailers received some good news about trade. First, right after retailers posted strong Thanksgiving weekend sales, came the news that President Trump, Canadian Prime Minister Justin Trudeau and Mexican President Enrique Pena Nieto had signed a new trade pact — the United States-Mexico-Canada Agreement — to
November 26, 2018 by Scot Meyer
National Retail Federation, Scot Meyer
2018, issue 11-26-2018, Issues
Unemployment is low, and consumer confidence is high. But no matter how well the overall economy is doing, Americans are still focused on saving money. Recent research from the National Retail Federation shows that the preference for value affects where consumers shop and what they buy. A survey of more than 3,000 U.S. adults found
November 12, 2018 by Scot Meyer
Adobe Analytics, holiday, Scot Meyer
2018, Issue 11-12-2018, Issues
The upcoming holiday season is projected to be a good one for the retail industry. But much of the sales growth will be a result of additional traffic on retailers’ websites rather than in their stores. Online spending during the upcoming holiday shopping season is expected to grow 14.8%, to $124.1 billion, according to Adobe
October 29, 2018 by Scot Meyer
Chapter 11, Scot Meyer, Sears
2018, Issue 10-29-2018, Issues, Opinion
The recent Chapter 11 bankruptcy filing by Sears Holdings Corp. offers another reminder, as if anyone in the industry needed one, of how fragile success in retailing can be. Sears in its prime was as disruptive as Amazon.com is today, and, in fact, it pioneered shopping from home (via catalogs and the U.S. Postal Service)
October 1, 2018 by Scot Meyer
NRF, Scot Meyer
2018, Issue 10-01-2018, Issues, Opinion
As this issue of MMR goes to press, the economic forecast for the retail industry looks bright. Unemployment is low and the stock market is high. Consumer confidence is strong, and retail sales projections for the rest of the year, including the holiday season, are rosy. There is really only one dark cloud on the
September 17, 2018 by Scot Meyer
Accenture, Retail Industry Leaders Association, Scot Meyer
2018, Issue 09-17-2018, Issues
Shopping is now something people can do nearly anytime and anywhere, by using an app on their phone or talking to a smart speaker in their home. Or even, of course, by going to a brick-and-mortar store. So in a world in which shopping is truly ubiquitous, how can retailers stand out in the minds
August 20, 2018 by Scot Meyer
Consumption Habits poll, online grocery shopping, Scot Meyer
2018, Issue 08-20-2018, Issues, Opinion
The past month has seen retailers from Amazon.com to Target Corp. to Kroger Co. launch new online grocery shopping initiatives.Which raises the question: Do consumers really want to shop for their food in this way? A recent Gallup poll suggests that they do not. Gallup’s latest Consumption Habits poll found that 81% of U.S. adults
July 23, 2018 by Scot Meyer
National Retail Federation, NRF, Scot Meyer
2018, Issue 07-23-2018, Issues
The retail industry is a major employer of Americans, with the National Retail Federation (NRF) estimating that the retail trade (including food services and drinking places) accounts for 28,984,100 jobs in the United States. That compares to 19,855,000 jobs in health care and social assistance, and 12,596,500 jobs in manufacturing. It is possible to imagine
June 25, 2018 by Scot Meyer
Boston Consulting Group, CPG, IRI, Scot Meyer
2018, Issue 06-25-2018, Issues
Bigger is not necessarily better anymore, at least when it comes to consumer packaged goods companies. According to research from the Boston Consulting Group and IRI, scale is not the competitive advantage it once was for CPG companies. In fact, one of the study’s key findings was that smaller companies are outpacing their larger counterparts
June 11, 2018 by Scot Meyer
National Retail Federation, Scot Meyer, tariffs
2018, Issue 06-11-2018, Issues, Opinion, Videos
The National Retail Federation is once again using a funny TV commercial in an effort to send a serious message. Last year the trade group had a hit with what looked like one of those late-night commercials for dubious products. The commercial, which ran during the Fox News Channel’s “FOX & Friends,” and during NBC’s
May 21, 2018 by Scot Meyer
Dollar General Corp. chief executive officer Cal Turner Jr., opinion, Scot Meyer
2018, Issue 05-21-2018, Issues, Opinion
Many companies today embrace some form of continuous improvement process, under which they strive to make their products, services and systems better over time. The CIP concept seems very professional and corporate, but former Dollar General Corp. chief executive officer Cal Turner Jr. had a blunter version of the same idea. “Would you like to