TECHNOLOGY

Study: Grocery shoppers not all that connected with social media
While supermarket shoppers engage with their primary grocer on one or more digital platforms, social media sites are not a priority. This was according to the “U.S. Supermarket Shopper Digital Update,” a report from the Retail Feedback Group (RFG). The new study, an offshoot of RFG's “U.S. Supermarket Experience Study,” focuses specifically on the digital aspects of shopper engagement with supermarkets.
Sears Holdings adds to Trump defections
The Trump brand at retail has taken another hit. Sears and Kmart this week removed 31 Trump Home items from their e-commerce sites, Reuters reported, to focus on more profitable products. Neither Sears nor Kmart carried the products in their brick-and-mortar stores.

These three retailers are tops in corporate reputation

Another corporate ranking, another first place finish by Amazon. The online giant came out on top in Harris Poll’s annual corporate reputation rankings report. The poll measures the reputations of the 100 most visible companies in the United States as perceived by the general public.
Report: Subscription beauty retailer expands options

Birchbox is launching a new, pricier service. The online beauty subscription retailer will debut a service that enables shoppers to better customize their monthly box of samples, along with other perks, TechCrunch said. The service, which is only currently available to current subscribers, is $14 per month. The original subscription is $10 per month.
Report: A new two-legged robot is walking onto the home delivery scene

A group of engineers from Oregon State University think it has a solution to solve the home delivery puzzle.
Starbucks’ social gifting feature launches in China

Starbucks has extended its social gifting promotions into China, where it has launched a major expansion program to double its stores within the next five years. The coffee giant’s new “Say It With Starbucks” program, created by Starbucks and Weixin, China’s leading mobile social communications app, enables users to gift a Starbucks beverage or digital gift card via a social gifting platform.
Whole Foods uses customer data to improve category management

Whole Foods Market, which is known for its premier shopping experience and customer service, wants to up the ante — especially among loyal shoppers. By partnering with global customer science company dunnhumby, the natural foods grocer will use customer data and insights to evolve its category management and merchandising efforts. Specifically, the chain will apply customer data models, science, and industry-leading processes to make store-level merchandising decisions based on specific customer needs.
Best Buy to close almost half of its in-store Facebook VR stations

Facebook is scaling back its first big brick-and-mortar retail push. The social media giant is closing approximately 200 of its 500 Oculus virtual reality (VR) pop-up stores operating in Best Buy locations across the United States, Business Insider said. Facebook launched the program in 48 stores last May, and the technology — which was available for demonstrations and sales — was rolled out to 500 stores in August, Engadget said.
Trump - Nordstrom controversy heats up — is TJX next?

Nordstrom’s decision to stop carrying the Ivanka Trump brand continues to generate controversy. On Thursday, Kellyanne Conway, counselor to the president, endorsed the first daughter’s products during an appearance on the television show, “Fox & Friends,” saying, “Go buy Ivanka’s stuff … It’s a wonderful line. I own some of it. … I’m going to give a free commercial here. Go buy it today. You can find it online.”
Report: How to improve retail-specific search rankings

Web searches are often inconsistent due to irrelevant keywords and content, making it more important than ever for brands to use more retail-specific factors to stay relevant. Details that can improve brands’ visibility in Google searches are shared in the “E-commerce Ranking Factors 2017 — Ten Things eCommerce Sites Need to Know to Rank on Google,” a report from Searchmetrics that analyzed the top 20 desktop search results on Google for over 6,000 industry-specific keywords.