Retail

"Ford County is the best writing that John Grisham has ever done." -Pat Conroy Wal-Mart and Amazon are slashing prices on soon to be released hardcover editions of some of the holiday season's potential best sellers, offering them online for $8.99 apiece, according to The New York Times. The titles affected include Sarah Palin's memoir, "Going Rogue"; John Grisham's short-story collection, "Ford County"; Stephen …

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Once upon a time, retail advertising or what's now often called "shopper marketing" (for reasons unknown), used to take a back seat to brand-building ideas, but that's changing. According to Ad Age, P&G is one of the companies busy changing the score. If it doesn't work at the store, it's no longer a good marketing idea for Procter & Gamble Co., which increasingly is driving home this concept, known as "store back," …

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I'm intrigued by this Wall Street Journal report that online fashion retailers are turning to "private sales" to boost revenue. The companies, including Gilt Groupe, RueLaLa and HauteLook, have built a following with virally marketed, daily "members only" sales of limited merchandise. Short, intense sales -- often just 36 hours -- along with constant updates on which items are out of stock create a sense of urgency …

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Alice.com, a new e-commerce site, is trying to put a dent into those weekly trips to Target or Wal-Mart. BusinessWeek has more: Instead of buying the goods from manufacturers, marking up the price to make a profit, and then selling them--the traditional retail model--Alice makes no money on the sale of the goods. The manufacturer sets the price, while Alice handles fulfillment and customer service, passing along …

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According to The Wall Street Journal, men are purpose driven shoppers who like to get in and get out. To combat that behavior, some high end retailers are popping tops and getting dudes to chill. By offering in-store drinks, a growing number of retailers are trying to get men to shop more like women, who often linger and browse, buy items on impulse, and return time and again to a favorite store. The recession is …

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I like working on retail accounts. It's a straight up game where you always know the score. You do "X" and bing, it works. Or the other, you do "Y" and it bombs. Retail is also a bellwether. If the economy is suffering, retail suffers. If it's booming, people are in stores buying product. According to The Wall Street Journal, the sectors falling fortunes have forced several retailers to curtail their experimental …

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