Now Amazon Doesn’t Care If You Accidentally Shoplift
By Bill Turner, LPC
Got your attention, right? After five years of development and fourteen months of testing, Amazon opened a new, cashier-less Amazon Go grocery/convenience store in downtown Seattle on January 22. There is no waiting in checkout lines because there are no lines–and no cashiers.
In order to shop, customers must download the Amazon Go app on their cell phones, connect it to their Amazon account and choose a payment method. A QR code is generated, and the customer scans it at a station located at the front of the store. Once the customer is scanned in, multiple sensors and cameras throughout the store tracks items that the customer takes off the shelf. All prices are posted on the shelf. Items selected are automatically charged to the customer when they leave the store…. Read the full article.
What Happened to Toys “R” Us?
By Bill Turner, LPC
September 2017: Toys “R” Us declares bankruptcy.
Early 2018: Toys “R” Us announces the closure of 180 stores.
February 2018: Toys “R” Us announces the closure of 200 more stores.
March 2018: Speculation abounds that Toys “R” Us will close all US stores and liquidate.
March 14, 2018: Toys “R” Us announces that it will close or sell all 800 of its US stores…. Read the full article.
How’s It Going at Amazon Go?
By Bill Turner, LPC
Amazon Go, the company’s first revolutionary store without a cashier, opened on January 22, 2018. It’s been six months. So, how’s it going?
It must be successful overall as Amazon has announced the development of two more Go stores: one in Chicago, one in San Francisco… Read the full article.
The Busiest Shopping Days Are Here: Top Tips to Prevent Holiday Shoplifting
Retailers, are you ready? Now is the time to take preventative steps against holiday shoplifting.
By Catherine Walsh
As promotions are starting to run in TV ads and in storefronts, there’s no denying the holiday season is almost here. Retailers have been preparing for the busiest shopping season since the late spring and early summer to make sure they’re ready for the droves of shoppers. However, as the holiday season becomes more top of mind for consumers, the increase in shopper traffic also means the potential for holiday shoplifting and theft issues.
While retailers button up and finalize their in-store staffing strategies for the holidays, it’s important to keep in mind the days and times that are expected to be busiest in-store. According to ShopperTrak‘s historical data, 45 percent of all holiday shopper traffic falls during the top ten busiest days, beginning on Black Friday and dispersed throughout the end of the year… Read the full article.
Many Say the Brick-and-Mortar Industry Is Dying. Here’s Why They’re Wrong.
Are brick-and-mortar stores needing to change and innovate? Yes. But they’re far from dead.
By Bill Turner, LPC
When I was growing up in retail, the word was that “department stores are dying. That was in the early 1980s. Then came the resurgence of Macy’s. Dead? Not so fast.
OK, it’s true that in 2018, traditional department stores may now be an endangered species, but it took forty years.
Over the years, retail has been in a constant state of change and disruption. What is an industry disruption? Think Uber. The taxicab industry will never be the same… Read the full article.