The Bizarre Story of Piggly Wiggly, the First Self-Service Grocery Store

What's in a name?

Florida’s favorite grocery store seeks to be uncomplicated in a complicated

Could you build a company like Publix today?

The Man Who’s Going to Save Your Neighborhood Grocery Store

American food supplies are increasingly channeled through a handful of big companies: Amazon, Walmart, FreshDirect, Blue Apron. What do we lose when local supermarkets go under? A lot -- and Kevin Kelley wants to stop that.

The Napoleon of Your Living Room

Gary Friedman, who runs RH (formerly Restoration Hardware), is out to conquer the world, one luxurious sofa at a time. Next stop, Waterloo?

How Buc-ee’s gas stations became the unlikely champion of EVs

At a time when many electric vehicle makers are pulling back, the cult gas station brand is building out its EV charging infrastructure.

Costco is building out an ad business using its shoppers’ data

The third-largest US retailer is planning on rolling out targeted ad capabilities on and off its website.

The Bargain Bin Evolves

Thoughts on modern commerce from going to a bin store. It’s a place where e-commerce returns go to die.

Lawyer reveals why shoppers should avoid self-checkout kiosks at stores and

Criminal defense lawyer Carrie Jernigan says that using self-checkouts can be risky and might land you in jail.

The economics of dollar stores

A visual explainer of the numbers behind America’s ubiquitous bargain-basement chains.

Why are dollar stores a microcosm for America's shrinkflation problem?

Recent reports have tapped dollar stores as the top offenders of shrinkflation — even beyond grocery stores

How Dollar Stores Became Magnets for Crime and Killing

Discount chains are thriving — while fostering violence and neglect in poor communities.

What’s new in visual merchandising?

Retailers have been using visual merchandising and props to draw in customers for as long as shops have been open. Of course, things have moved on a little from the early days of simple displays, with retailers now having a whole arsenal of tools at their disposal to not only…

The Hottest Restaurant in France Is an All-You-Can-Eat Buffet

Les Grands Buffets features a seven-tiered lobster tower, a chocolate fountain, and only what it considers traditional French food. Gourmands are willing to wait months for a table.

Why strip malls are having a revival

As shopping malls across America struggle to attract customers, fill floor space and ultimately stay open, strip malls are apparently seeing a surge in value and popularity.

Back to Basics: How to operate a successful private label brand

Proprietary items work best if retailers differentiate them through either cost or innovation and are thoughtful about choosing categories, experts say.

Trader Joe's: The Anti-Grocer

The grocer created a cult brand with sales of $16B+ a year by doing the opposite of industry best-practices (from wages to product to ads).

Revolutionary culinary collective Ghetto Gastro is bringing its goods to Ta

Starting today, you can pick up Ghetto Gastro's new food goods at Target.

Ohio toy store becoming one of the largest in the country

The Toy Department is opening a new location.

Dollar General has racked up $21M in OSHA penalties since 2017. It’s paid $

The retailer discounts the importance of in-store safety, the regulatory agency says, and was named a severe violator this fall.

Should Print Circulars Stay or Go?

Kroger is following in the footsteps of Giant Eagle, attempting to phase out its print inserts in newspapers and mailed to homes in favor of digital alternatives.

Retail and Shopping: Vintage Photos Show How People Shopped in the 1960s an

The 1960s and 1970s were a time of significant change in the world, and the shopping and retail culture of these decades reflected this social transformation.

As Dollar Stores Proliferate, Some Communities Say No

More than 70 proposed dollar stores have been rejected since 2019, a report shows. It’s a small number compared with those that opened but evidence of opposition to the industry.

What Can We Learn from Barnes & Noble's Surprising Turnaround?

Digital platforms are struggling, meanwhile a 136-year-old book retailer is growing again. But why?

GoodwillFinds.com gives shoppers more reasons to feel good about buying sec

A new recommerce venture offers all of the benefits of buying second hand plus a means to help fund social service programs in local communities, such as job training and youth mentorship. Do you see retailers trying to raise the visibility of their secondhand offerings in light…

Why Fast Food Is Racing to Ditch the Dining Room

America traded eating out for ordering ahead during the pandemic—and chains noticed.

The American Mall's Long Goodbye - The Sunday Long Read

As painful as it might be for millennials like myself to admit, malls are now viewed through historians' rear-view mirrors.

Salvage stores achieve sales growth by selling ‘unsellable’ goods

In an inflationary era when customers are increasingly strapped for cash and hunting for discounts, a category of ultra-low-priced grocers that sell the unsellable is growing in popularity. Do you expect mainstream grocers to change their protocols for "unsellable" CPG items if…

Vending machines will sell you (almost) anything

Eggs, champagne, underwear, hats for your cat. Here’s why “unattended retail” is taking off — especially with Gen Z.

The hidden makers of Costco’s Kirkland Signature and Trader Joe’s O’s | CNN Business

Store brands are shrouded in secrecy. Who makes them?

The Very Sincere Economics of Greeting Cards

Believe it or not, the biggest demographic driving the greeting card industry is millennials.

This is the last Sears for hundreds of miles. What can it tell us about the

The department store in Maryland is sparsely merchandised and low on traffic. Senior Reporter Ben Unglesbee takes a look inside to see how retail has changed since the heyday of malls.

Retail’s ‘Dark Side’: As Inventory Piles Up, Liquidation Warehouses Are Busy (Published 2022)

Consumers are buying fewer discretionary goods and returning more. To clear their shelves, retailers are selling to liquidators at steep discounts.

Where Should We Build a Mall? The Formation of Market Structure and Its Effect on Sales

This research by Doug J. Chung, Kyoungwon Seo, and Reo Song bprovides a rigorous, yet practical, framework to understand and evaluate why retail stores join a shopping mall and how their decisions affect mall revenue.

Nobody likes self-checkout. Here’s why it’s everywhere | CNN Business

Why has this problematic, unloved technology taken over retail?

Payless punks fashionistas by opening a fake luxury store and inviting them to comment on its 'designer' shoes

Bargain shoe chain Payless recently took over a Santa Monica retail shop and turned it into Palessi, a luxury store selling their bargain shoes. Then they invited influencers to the…

How Do Dollar Stores Make Money?

In good times and bad, dollar stores seem to thrive. But how are they are able to make so much money selling things so cheaply?

What Makes Shoppers Click? A Lesson in E-Commerce Consumer Psychology (INFOGRAPHIC) - Conversion Sciences

Consumers have access to all kinds of buyer information on-line. So what is it that makes them click?

Why Procter & Gamble Is More Disruptive Than You

When people in tech talk about disruption and customer development, the typical picture that pops to mind is a couple of plucky young…

Why Your eCommerce Business Should Have a Pop-Up Shop

Ecommerce is booming, and there’s no doubt about that. The numbers speak for themselves. After all, in 2017, ecommerce sales reached $2.3 trillion, and

1980 Sears Spring Summer Catalog, Page 729 - Catalogs & Wishbooks

The Outlandish Story Of Ollie’s: A $5 Billion Retail Empire That Sells Nothing Online (But Is Beating Amazon)

Ollie’s is very possibly the only company in America whose brick-and-mortar stores are not just surviving but thriving.

Why You’re Never Really Happy With the Things You Buy Anymore

Constant bargain hunting makes us value all the wrong things about shopping.

5 Surprising Findings About How People Actually Buy Clothes and Shoes

Retail has been constantly reinventing itself, and participants race to keep up with what feels like a series of epic shifts in consumer preferences. To get a clearer, more-complete picture, we studied the actual decisions made by 1,500 apparel and footwear shoppers in the…

'The most effective technology is technology that no one sees': Lowe's CEO

Coming out of a banner year, Marvin Ellison discusses how initiatives put in place years ago contributed to the retailer's success.

Instant gratification: The neuroscience of impulse buying

Our brains did not evolve to shop on Amazon.

The $2 Billion Mall Rats

The inside story of a black sheep hedge fund, a massive bet that shopping malls would crash, and how they proved Wall Street wrong.

A Peek Inside the World's Greatest Record Store

A lovable grouch, obsessed with the magic of American sidewalk harmony, runs the Philadelphia shop

The unique culture of Japanese convenience stores - BBC Travel

The true star of the Akutagawa Prize-winning novel Convenience Store Woman is the convenience store itself. But what is it that makes these shops so magical?

Japanese vending machines: the cutting edge of merchandising … and on the b

Media reports focusing on Japan's quirky vending machine culture dive into what new items are on offer and the risk they face due to competition from convenience stores.

SKU rationalization helps Bed Bath & Beyond achieve 95% in-stock level

The company expects to improve its inventory management even further as it overhauls its technology stack with a new ERP and forecasting system.