Sales & Marketing

Tuesday, Nov. 10, 2015
2:30 PM - 3:30 PM EST

Now that its service has gained traction with retailers, on-demand delivery provider Instacart has created a new promotional platform for brands to connect with shoppers.

Breaking the cycle of promotional ridiculousness at Jos. A. Bank is proving to be a far worse drag on sales and profits than parent company Men’s Wearhouse expected.

Men’s Wearhouse revealed the cost of breaking the promotional cycle at the acquired Jos. A. Bank stores on Nov. 6 when CEO Doug Ewert announced a huge downward revision to the combined company’s third quarter and full-year sales and profit outlook.

Meijer is practically giving away roughly 1 million turkeys this thanksgiving to help generate store traffic and boost transaction size.

The Grand Rapids, Mich.-based operator of 223 stores said it planned to repeat a turkey promotion from last year that involved selling birds at half off as long as shoppers spend at least $20. The pricing discount applies to any size, brand or type of turkey. In the case of Meijer brand frozen turkeys, that means the price will be 52 cents a pound.

While Whole Foods Market and The Fresh Market struggle to eke out sales growth and profit, Sprouts Farmers Market is quietly emerging as a perennial winner in the grocery sector.

Sprouts reported its third quarter results this week, and the company's financials exceeded company guidance and even Wall Street estimates.

The grocery chain reported results for the 13-week third quarter ended Sept. 27 that included:

• Net sales of $903.1 million, an 18% increase from the same period in 2014

For a variety of retailers – from supermarkets, to restaurants, to department and convenience stores – the holiday shopping season represents the peak time of year for staffing up on temporary workers to help meet all of the increase in consumer demand. However, the need to staff up may be even greater this year as some companies have already been operating with limited capacity given the nation-wide labor shortage.

Dishonest employees and shoplifters pushed shrink rates to record levels and earned the United States the distinction of leading the world in the least desirable of retail metrics.

According to retailers surveyed for the Global Retail Theft Barometer, shrink rose in the U.S. from 1.28% of sales in 2013-2014 to 1.97% during 2014-2015. Globally, this compares to 1.42% , a figure also up from the previous .94% average of all common retailers surveyed the previous year.

The New York attorney general's office has reached a settlement with Lowe's to refund up to 10% of flooring installation fees paid by more than 16,000 customers. The Associated Press reports that Lowe’s, with 64 New York stores, overcharged the customers with a deceptive sales practice that it has since agreed to halt. The retailer had offered installation of carpeting, tile, wood and laminate flooring by third-party contractors at square-foot rates that were applied to materials bought, not those actually installed.