News

Amazon Marketplace gives small retailer big consumer access
For vertical medical accessory retailer Cielo Pill Holders, simply getting its products in front of potential customers is a key business challenge. To meet this challenge and also obtain third-party fulfillment support, North Bend, Washington-based Cielo has been leveraging the Amazon Exclusives program of the Amazon Marketplace platform since summer 2015. The Exclusives Program, which provides extra benefits in exchange for agreement not to sell items on any other third-party retail platform.
Commentary: Walmart primes new two-day shipping program
Walmart offered its own version of the Amazon Prime Day online sales event last summer, and now is directly taking on Amazon Prime. The discount giant is piloting a two-day version of its paid ShippingPass unlimited online delivery program. Normally, customers pay $50 per year for the ability to obtain three-day delivery of more than 1 million items Walmart.com with no additional fees.

Walmart to launch two-day shipping

Walmart is escalating competition with Amazon’s Prime service. The discounter’s online subscription ShippingPass program, which is still in pilot, will begin offering delivery in two days rather than three, Bloomberg reported.
Retailer installing Tennessee’s largest solar array

Ikea is going big in Memphis. The home furnishings giant plans to install the largest rooftop solar array in the state of Tennessee at its new store in Memphis. The 271,000-sq.-ft. Memphis Ikea is scheduled to open in late fall 2016, and panel installation for the solar energy system will begin this summer.
Big surprise from Sears—a new store format

Sears Holdings has been making news lately mostly by closing stores. But in an unexpected move, the troubled retailer announced plans to test a freestanding appliance specialty store concept .
Party City shrinks loss

Party City Holdco Inc. narrowed its loss in the first quarter as gross margins improved. The party supplies retailer and wholesaler reported a loss of $394,000, in line with Wall Street expectations, for the quarter ended March 31, down from a loss of $8.5 million in the year-ago period. Total revenue was flat at $457.7 million, which missed Street forecasts.
Furniture giant to open first retail store

Furniture manufacturer Herman Miller will continue its transformation from a maker of modern office furniture to a lifestyle brand with the opening of its first retail store. The store, opening in late 2016, will be located in the company’s recently opened flagship in Manhattan’s Gramercy neighborhood. The non-retail components of the flagship—the Herman Miller and Geiger showrooms—are already open, by appointment.
Jet.com pilots grocery delivery

Online retailer—and would-be rival to Amazon— Jet.com is continuing to spread its wings. The retailer is testing a home delivery service for fresh groceries in certain markets in the metro areas of New York, New Jersey and Connecticut, Pennsylvania and Washington, D.C. According to an email sent to some customers, produce delivery will take one to two days, with no fee for orders of $35 or more.
Spring retail funk hits Kohl’s as Q1 profit plunges

Call it a spring retail funk. The day after Macy’s posted disappointing results for its first quarter, Kohl’s Corp. upped the ante, reporting an 87% drop in net income amid heavy one-time costs. Kohl’s net income for the three months that ended April 30, was $17 million, down 87% from the $127 million Kohl's earned in the year-ago period. Excluding impairments, store closings and one-time costs, net income was $58 million, down 55%.
Study – The customer journey is on the move

The typical shoppers takes many steps along the way toward a purchase, and the mobile and social channel are increasingly part of the route. According to a new study of more than one billion brand and customer interactions from customer journey management provider Kitewheel, “State of the Consumer Journey 2016 Report.,” a year-over-year comparison of 2014 to 2015 data reveals that mobile apps represent the fastest growing channel, with interactions increasing tenfold from 2014 to 2015.
Hip yogurt café coming to Target

Target Corp. has lined up Greek yogurt giant Chobani to open an café in its upcoming store in Manhattan’s Tribeca neighborhood. The 45,000-sq.-ft. store, opening this October, will feature a Chobani Café. The cafe will have a natural theme, offering items made with Chobani’s signature Greek yogurt and hand-selected, artisanal ingredients. Also on the menu: sandwiches, soups, coffee and desserts, all made with only natural ingredients.
How to Increase Compliance with Shipment Consolidation

It’s a sobering statistic: North American retailers lose $158.5 billion annually to supplier issues. Out of stocks cause 4.1 percent in lost revenue, according to retailwire.com; just as troubling, overstocks result in 3.2 percent in lost revenue for the average retailer. Retailers continue to refine their compliance programs to strike the right balance of inventory and meeting higher consumer service standards.