Amazon’s Local Services Market Place Will Add Much-Needed Margin to the Bottom Line Summary Amazon already runs a market place with more than 2 million third-party vendors. Amazon needs to increase margins or they will continue to be punished by investors. Their product market place has reduced the impact of losing the sales tax exemption….

With an Amazon Smartphone, the Retailer Seeks a Tether to Consumers By David Streitfeld Hold the phone: Amazon wants to burrow even deeper into your life. The retailer is expected to introduce a smartphone on Wednesday at an event in Seattle, a long-rumored project that aims to close any remaining gap between the impulse to buy and…

No matter how often I say that to my microwave nothing happens.  Yes, I am a Star Trek fan and I have visions of having a food replictor in my house.  That day may be getting closer as 3D printers start producing food.  The new Keurig cold solution and 3D printers will change consumer purchases…

Convenience, technology leading small-store push at Walmart By Jon Springer Wal-Mart Stores will open more small stores than big stores in the U.S. this year, underscoring not only that more convenient concepts like Neighborhood Markets are outperforming their larger sibling Supercenters, but a concurrent companywide effort to use digital technologies to make those small stores behave…

Amazon and Walmart are making lots of big plays to ensure that they are well positioned to provide fast delivery to consumers.  They are building distribution centers at an unprecedented rate, optimizing inbound transportation, and building last mile infrastructure.  The race is on to provide the fastest possible delivery.  You want it, you click, you…

Traditional american supermarkets are being eaten alive By Matt Phillips The grocery store business has never been easy, given its traditionally thin margins.  But the last decade has seen a fundamental transformation of the food business as giant discounters such as Wal-Mart and Target cut into food sales. According to a recent note published by equity analysts…

Click & Collect operations have been very successful in the UK and Europe with retailers like Tesco and Auchon.  This concept is expanding in the US with most retailers, like Walmart, Stop & Shop, and Hannaford, testing options.  Click & Collect is one of the most cost effective solutions for retailers to provide a last…

Retailers are working hard to figure out how to get product to consumers in our new omnichannel world.  The bigger challenge looming may be how to deal with all of the stuff that they don’t want.  It is inevitable that there will be returns, even in a CPG world.  Consumers will make mistakes with their…

With steady improvements in employment this year, the forecast for consumer spending in the United States is the brightest it has been since 2008. Consumer spending accounts for almost 70 percent of the economy today. Americans will be spending more as a whole due to the higher number of people employed. This will lead to…