Camille P. Schuster, Ph.D.

Clearly JCP did not understand its loyal consumers. Working to attract a new demographic at the expense of the current loyal consumers is always a risk. The new advertising and merchandising that works for the new consumers may not work for the loyal consumers. The new consumers are not...

Ryan's right -- there are not many suitors left. If someone wants the real estate and Safeway locations then there is value. The question is -- for whom?

What does preemptively unhappy mean? Who are these people? If this means consumers who are unhappy at a specific point in time regarding a specific issue, then these recommendations are quite useful. If this means people who are chronic unhappy consumers then it is critical to determine whether those...

Are there specific issues to be investigated? Examining the company just because it is large is hardly a reason. What would be revealed? What is the purpose?

Of course the apps will be created. Consumers will continue to become more intelligent shoppers making the shopping environment more challenging. Consumers who really want the information will be willing to take the time to check the facts while they are shopping before making a purchase. With the apps...

If selling gasoline is profitable to supermarkets and big box stores, the practice will continue and increase. If many more outlets for gasoline become available, there will be some outlets that go out of business because the growing number of outlets cannot be supported without a big increase in...

Going online to determine who is offering the product for the lowest price changed purchasing behavior because consumers could choose the retailer, the location of purchase from local to online retailer, the delivery method, and price. Providing the opportunity for a retailer to meet or match other prices changes...

How does detailing what channels are used by most retailers provide useful information? Which of those channels are consumers using for what products in what kind of situations? At this point every retailer needs to be experimenting with alternative forms of message transmission and collecting metrics so these questions...

Inasmuch as every store need to tailor its offerings to the local consumers, why is this a separate question for Whole Foods? If the Midtown area is near Wayne State, how different will this location be from other university neighborhoods? Checking the local food co-ops and other solutions that...

I can understand the argument of the manufacturers who want to control the distribution of the product if they are to be liable for product performance. However, do different channels of distribution affect the reliability or performance of the product? This argument is more clear in the case of...