"Kroger Testing Grocery Pick-Up Service in Cincinnati" by Alexander Coolidge at Cincinnati.com. "The service is not yet available to customers at the Liberty Township store. Kroger is in such early testing, only associates are using it. "We are now in the embryonic stages of a click and collect test at one of our local stores – so early in fact, we just started testing with our associates," said Rachael Betzler, a Kroger spokeswoman." Read more   J.D. Power Ranks Top Appliance Retailer Websites (Home Depot #2, Costco #5) "The incidence of using a smartphone or tablet to research information online [...]

  "Amazon Spends More on Google Search Ads than Walmart/Target/Home Depot Combined" by Tim Petersen at Ad Age. "Amazon spent $157.7 million on Google U.S. search ads in 2013, by far the most by any company...there's good reason to have expected more stores to make the ranking, considering that search is the dominant digital-ad format for direct-response advertisers like retail brands." See the rankings / Read more   "Savings Catcher returns more than $2 million to Walmart shoppers" by Kim Souza at The City Wire. "Since inception we have helped our customers capture more than $2 million by using Savings Catcher. Immediately [...]

  "Wal-Mart's Chief Spokesman Said to Resign Over Resume Falsehood" by Renee Dudley at Bloomberg. "David Tovar, who announced last week that he was leaving the job as vice president of communications, has previously said he earned a bachelor of arts degree from the University of Delaware in 1996...Tovar gained attention this year by criticizing the New York Times on Wal-Mart’s blog. He posted a copy of a “wildly inaccurate” Times editorial by Timothy Egan and marked up the text with red editor’s notes." Read more   "Eddie Lampert giving Sears a $400 million loan" by Alexia Elejalde-Ruiz at Chicago Tribune. "The loan comes [...]

  "Costco Turns Tables on Democrats" by Jay Greene at Seattle Times. "Employees and executives have donated more than $48,000 to Republicans and $17,000 to Democrats so far this year in (WA) state contests, according to filings with the state Public Disclosure Commission...Kinda conspicuous, isn’t it?” said Sinegal, the former Costco CEO and current board member, who acknowledged the liquor fight in Olympia was at the heart of the shift in donations..Sinegal said he doesn’t recall ever donating to a Republican before. (A search of election records suggests he’s right.)." Read more   "Target Aims to Be 'in a class [...]

  Walmart: "Woman-owned suppliers connect through non-profits" by Kim Souza at The City Wire. "We've set specific goals for 2016 and are working toward them with good progress,” (Ravi) Jariwala told The City Wire. He said Walmart.com is now working with 35 woman-owned companies who are supplying more than 350 items for sale via the Empowering Women Together website page on Walmart.com. Sales begin in March 2013 from 19 woman-owned businesses from around the world." Read more   "Dem wants hearing on Home Depot hack" by Julian Hattem at The Hill. "The top Democrat on the House Oversight and Government [...]

  "Dept. of Homeland Security Asks Retailers to Watch Customers Behavior" by Stephen Dinan at Washington Times. "Homeland Security Secretary Jeh Johnson said his department will be issuing new guidance to retailers this week giving them pointers on how to spot potential terrorists among their customers by looking at what they’re buying. While saying the government cannot prohibit sales of some everyday materials, Mr. Johnson said retailers should be trained to look for anyone who buys a lot from what he described as a “long list of materials that could be used as explosive precursors.” Read more   Target's Annual Meeting Highlights: "Target revs up [...]

  "Dollar General goes hostile with Family Dollar bid" at CNBC. "Dollar General said it would take its $9.1 billion offer directly to shareholders of Family Dollar Stores, after being spurned twice by its smaller rival. The company said it had started a tender offer to buy all shares of Family Dollar for $80 per share." Read more   ...Dollar General's 'Hostile' Press Release "Dollar General’s all-cash offer of $80.00 per share provides Family Dollar shareholders with a substantially superior valuation to the $74.50 per share cash / stock offer announced by Dollar Tree, Inc. on July 28, 2014." Read the [...]

  "Home Depot confirms data breach" at CNBC. "Home Depot officially confirmed a data breach on Monday. Home Depot's investigation is focused on transactions made as far back as April. There is no evidence that shoppers' debit PIN numbers were compromised, according to a statement the retailer released Monday." Read more   ....Home Depot's Press Release: "We apologize for the frustration and anxiety this causes our customers, and I want to thank them for their patience and support as we work through this issue," said Frank Blake, chairman and CEO. "We owe it to our customers to alert them that we [...]