Brian Numainville

Same-day delivery will continue to pick up steam and be important to certain groups of shoppers, indeed expected by those shoppers. While it moves closer to immediate gratification, brick and mortar stores still have that advantage, as they do if product advice/knowledge or personal service is important. However for...

Marrying all of the sources of in-store data is critical. While most retailers know a fair amount about operations metrics, far fewer know what their shoppers THINK about the experience in the store. So it is important to gather and look at all sources of information and how they...

Unfortunately the policies, procedures and directives of management often get in the way of innovative thinking at store level. Many store level employees, if given the tools and freedom to integrate channels, would be able to do so, especially as we consider the "digital natives" who are totally comfortable...

Each situation is unique depending on the competitive set. As someone else said, if you are the only game in town, you have one set of competitive dynamics and you would need to carry a more full spectrum of products to meet community needs. On the other hand, if...

There are many factors that make it especially difficult for those conventional supermarkets that are "caught in the middle." And it is more than just price or a large store size that threatens them. They are in the middle on differentiation, on price, on services, on freshness and so...

Like others, I signed up for Prime because of the free shipping but find myself using it because Amazon is convenient, easy, stocks most of the items I want and I don't have to waste time and energy (at least physically) going somewhere to get the items. Prime is...

Retailers absolutely should pay attention to things that go wrong on social media. Having managed a traditional PR department in the past, the social media and blog network can take off far faster than the traditional press and can do more damage that can be "under the radar" if...

As a firm with 40 years of experience helping grocery retailers listen to and gain feedback from their customers (and in the interest of full disclosure, the provider of the feedback tool used in this white paper), a couple points of importance:

Many stores on these programs receive very large...

It is all about the right culture, which of course takes time and leadership to implement. This could work well in some organizations, while in others the prevailing culture will make it difficult. However, having a collaborative organization that values openness, clear communication, and engages associates is a good...

The perception of objectivity is a big issue here. Clearly this has to be overcome in order for this to succeed. While these may be expert bloggers, Target will need to prove that their "special treatment" does not cloud their objectivity and render their influence less valid.