News

Forecast for back-to-school spending is sluggish
After two years of benefitting from gasoline price tailwinds, still-stressed consumers will generate only a sluggish 3.3% year-over-year increase in this year’s back-to-school sales, according to Customer Growth Partners’ 14th Annual BTS Forecast. Total BTS sales for the season will reach $540 billion — a new record, but the lackluster 3.3% growth represents a marked slowdown from the 4%-plus BTS growth seen in both 2014 and 2015, when sales were boosted by declining gasoline prices.
Amazon Prime Day starts with some hiccups
Online checkout problems are indicative of heavy e-commerce traffic, but still were not what Amazon.com hoped to see in the first hours of Prime Day. According to multiple media reports, a glitch was causing problems for some U.S. and U.K. consumers attempting to check out their Amazon purchases the morning of Tuesday, July 12. Numerous shoppers tweeted their frustrations using hashtags such as #PrimeDay and #PrimeDayFail. A sampling of tweet complaints includes:

Amazon plans new DC, pickup center

Amazon.com is continuing its aggressive strategy of launching new distribution facilities and physical pickup centers. The retailer will open a new fulfillment center in Kansas City, Kansas by the end of 2016. The 855,000-sq.-ft. facility, the second large-sized fulfillment center Amazon has announced within a span of four months, will create more than 1,000 full-time roles. In addition to this center and an upcoming facility in Edgerton, Amazon has existing Kansas facilities in Lenexa.
Newegg takes another step into the physical world

Newegg.com is expanding its physical footprint, this time in Canada. The online electronics retailer opens its Hybrid Centre in Richmond Hill, Ontario on Friday, July 15. The facility serves a dual purpose of allowing customers to pick up their will-call orders, as well as browse tech products or attend an educational seminar. Some of the products on display are available exclusively through Newegg, many of which are making their North American debut at the Hybrid Centre.
This retailer satisfies appliance shoppers

Consumers have spoken, and they have a favorite chain when it comes to buying appliance products.
Walmart adds to employee learning opportunity

Walmart’s Lifelong Learning Program is getting a boost from a new partnership with educational technology and services company Cengage Learning.
Study: Want to engage Gen Z? Here’s how

Shoppers age 14-19, known as “Gen Z,” are not as hard to reach as some retailers think.
Pet Supplies Plus heads west

Specialty pet retailer Pet Supplies Plus is entering three new states as part of an aggressive 2016 expansion plan. The chain is entering California, Colorado and Oklahoma, as well as furthering its expansion in the states of New Jersey, Texas, Missouri, Iowa and Georgia. In addition, Pet Supplies Plus recently signed a deal to open 10 new stores in Kansas City, and is on target to open approximately 60 new stores by the end of the year.
C-store giant looks to reduce energy use

7-Eleven has set itself new energy conservation goals. The world’s largest convenience store chain, in collaboration with Conservation International, has committed to reducing its energy footprint in stores by 20% by 2025, and also reducing its packaging footprint by 20% by 2025.
Starbucks employees look forward to fall

The end of summer is often a sad time, but workers at U.S. Starbucks stores have more to look forward to with the coming of autumn than football and the changing of leaf colors. Effective Oct. 3, 2016, the coffee retailer is giving all employees and managers in U.S. company-operated stores an increase in base pay of 5% or greater. The range of increase will be determined by geographic and market factors.
Another retailer enters Prime Day battlefield

Walmart is not the only big-name retailer preparing a July 12 online sales extravaganza. Toys “R” Us is launching an online discount event so simple even a child could take advantage of it. All day Tuesday, July 12, shoppers on the Toys “R” Us and Babies “R” Us e-commerce sites can receive 15% off regular-priced items. There will also be more than 50,000 toys and baby products on sale sitewide.
Stater Bros. lightens energy load

Stater Bros. Markets is decreasing electricity output this summer. The San Bernadino, California-based regional supermarket chain is voluntarily reducing lighting energy use by 50% in all 168 Stater Bros. locations during the summer months. This reduction will decrease electricity use by 425,000 kWh per month, which is the equivalent of powering 470 homes per month. It also reduces the possibility of rotating outages during the summer.