TECHNOLOGY

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.
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.

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.
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.
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.”
Fast-food brand launches online wedding registry for pizza-loving couples

The wedding industry’s newest gift registry is being launched by an unlikely company — Domino’s Pizza. The service, which is called the first registry “for couples that prefer delicious melty cheese to crystal gravy boats,” according to Domino’s website, targets couples unsure about what to serve at pre-, during or post-wedding festivities.
Target tops among retailers in this key area

Target Corp. leads other retailers when it comes to reaching and attracting qualified talent. The discounter ranked the highest (at No. 26) among Fortune 500 retail-ers for employment branding in a study by global talent solutions com-pany WilsonHCG. Target was followed by Publix (No. 42), The Home Depot (No. 50), Walmart (No. 64), Nordstrom (No. 77) and Whole Foods Market (No. 115). No retailer cracked the top 10, which was led by Gen-eral Electric, Johnson & Johnson and AT&T.
Trump takes a swipe at Nordstrom — is TJX next?

Nordstrom on Wednesday found itself the latest target of President Donald Trump's Twitter attacks. The department store’s shares fell from session highs midmorning after Trump tweeted that his daughter, Ivanka, had been treated “so unfairly.” His comments were made in response to Nordstrom’s decision to stop carrying the Ivana Trump brand, which the retailer said was based on the brand’s performance.