News

New Cree LED Bulb billed as better
The Home Depot is offering a new LED light bulb from Cree that is said to be brighter and longer lasting.

The LED bulbs resemble tradition incandescent bulbs but offer superior performance at a lower price, according to Cree. The new bulb provides the same cost savings and 25,000-hour lifetime that made the original Cree LED Bulb America’s best-selling LED bulb, according to the company. The new bulbs are available at Home Depot as 40- and 60-watt replacements in two color temperatures (soft white and daylight) for just under $8.
Plug & Play’s CEO Corner: Polina Marchenko
Plug and Play brings together retailers and start-ups who offer specific technology and expertise that can relieve merchants’ pain points. Customer Disruption highlights one of those start-ups in each issue with a brief Q&A. This issue, the spotlight is on Polina Marchenko, CEO of KptnCook. What does KptnCook do?

Walmart takes no prisoners with video game strategy

With a title like “Call of Duty: Advanced Warfare,” Walmart’s strategy to sell the popular game a day early, host in-store events and unveil a new used game assortment at 1,700 locations seems appropriately aggressive.
Survey: Health/beauty retailers have fewest online navigation attributes

Austin, Texas -- The platform behind today’s most inspiring shopping experiences today announced the results of a recent study based on an audit of 220 websites across 10 retail segments to identify benchmarks for how online shoppers are able to navigate in the digital realm. The study compared those results to existing attribute categories of current Edgecase retailers in the same categories to show the current disconnects in navigation standards.
Shoppers adjust behavior due to breaches

New York -- As the holiday season approaches, shoppers are apprehensive about the rise in credit card breaches at major retailers and adjusting their shopping behavior accordingly. According to a new survey from TheStreet conducted by GfK, two-thirds of them are concerned that their credit card and personal information will be stolen whether they shop online or in stores.
Toys “R” Us begins great big promotion

A strong start to holiday season at Toys “R” hinges on a carefully curated offering of merchandise offered online and in a catalog known as The Great Big Christmas Book being distributed to households this week.
Alibaba, Apple may partner on payment

Beijing, China –- Alibaba Group Holding Ltd. and Apple Inc. are reportedly considering partnering on digital payment. According to the Wall street Journal, Alibaba executive chairman Jack Ma and Apple CEO Tim Cook have both made separate public statements about partnering, with Ma more specifically citing digital payment, and plan to meet on the matter.
Report: Wal-Mart apologizes for online ‘fat girl’ costumes

Bentonville, Ark. –- Wal-Mart Stores Inc. has reportedly apologized for offering Halloween outfits labeled as “fat girl” costumes on its e-commerce site. According to Bloomberg, Wal-Mart issued the apology after receiving social media criticism from offended consumers.
Report: Japan’s Softbank to invest $10 billion in Indian e-commerce

Minato, Japan –- Japanese telecom/technology investment firm Softbank is reportedly planning to invest $10 billion in Indian e-commerce players during the next 10 years. According to TheStreet.com, Softbank’s investments will include $627 million into Indian e-commerce platform Snapdeal.
Midnight madness at 99 Cents

Consider it a Black Friday dress rehearsal as 99 Cents Only Stores invites all sorts of lunacy into stores with extended hours and a discount promotion in advance of Halloween.

The retailer is offering a $5 discount on purchases of $25 or more as part of its Halloween Midnight Madness promotion involving numerous stores in Southern California. The promotion period runs from 10 p.m. Thursday, Oct. 30 until midnight. The premise behind the promotion is that customers can use the extra time to secure amazing last minute Halloween deals, according to the company.