Amazon hits pause on controversial seller fee rollout that had caused a revolt at Yahoo Finance. “Hundreds of thousands of merchants on Amazon will get a brief reprieve from a new controversial fee that was to take effect on April 1, a company executive said. Amazon will still charge affected sellers the fee as planned, but will credit them back at the end of April. The company is referring to this grace period as a “transition period” that will show sellers how they would be affected by the so-called low-inventory fee without the sellers yet footing the bill.” Read more

 

Amazon is trying to get rid of its signature brown boxes at CNBC. “According to Amazon, roughly 11% of orders worldwide were sent in its original manufacturer packaging…Some companies that sell on Amazon say they will no longer develop new products that can’t be shipped without additional Amazon boxing.” Read more

 

Macy’s hasn’t closed 150 stores yet. But Target, Kohl’s CEOs already smell opportunity at CNBC. “Macy’s closures could put as much as $2 billion of market share up for grabs. The department store’s net sales were $23.1 billion in the most recent fiscal year, and it said the 150 stores that it’s closing account for less than 10% of sales.” Read more

 

The Dollar-Store Showdown Comes Down to Real Estate at WSJ. “Dollar General’s largely rural footprint also brings it tremendous property-related savings. The company’s real-estate occupancy cost is nearly a third lower than at Family Dollar, said Mark Sigal, chief executive officer of Datex Property Solutions…“Family Dollar is losing the competitive battle,” Sigal said.” WSJ subs.

 

Amazon’s palm-recognition tech gets its own mobile app, with new AI matching capability at GeekWire. “…users sign up for the service on their phones by taking a photo of their palm to register it for later use for entry, identification and payment. Up to this point, the initial signup and palm registration has been limited to in-store kiosks.” Read more

 

Black-Owned Autonomous Grocer Goes Where Other Stores Aren’t at Bloomberg. “The owners of Atlanta’s Nourish + Bloom are doubling down on their mission to tackle food deserts after ‘Shark Tank’ investors declined to fund them…The Nourish + Bloom store that’s up and running is compact: roughly 500 square feet. The three stores they are opening in Atlanta will be even smaller…” Read more

 

California could be first state to give workers right to ignore boss’s after-hours calls, texts, emails at The Mercury News. ““Smartphones have blurred the boundaries between work and home life,” said Assemblyman Matt Haney, a San Francisco Democrat, who announced a bill Monday, AB 2751 that would give employees a “right-to-disconnect” from emails, texts and calls after work hours. And, no, you don’t have to be at Disneyland or across an ocean to ignore your boss.” Read more

 

DoorDash Adds Lowe’s as First Home Improvement Retail Partner Press release

 

Outraged NYC biz owners are fed up with Carl Heastie over refusal to crack down on violent shoplifters at NY Post. “Heastie (D-Bronx) sparked widespread outrage last week when he shut down Gov. Kathy Hochul’s plan to toughen sentences for the criminals, bizarrely declaring, “I just don’t believe raising penalties is ever a deterrent on crime.” Read more

 

Overstock.com is Back Press release

 

Walmart Health Clinic Expansion On Track For 70 By Year’s End at Forbes. “Walmart, which has 48 Walmart Health centers in five states, said it will add 22 new locations in 2024, deepening its presence in Texas while opening new sites in Missouri. A sixth market, Arizona, will see an expansion in 2025 where the company doesn’t yet operate Walmart Health facilities.” Read more

 

Costco considering a switch from clear plastic containers to plastic bags with handles for their rotisserie chickens at Yahoo. “…a Redditor from Iowa claims to have spotted these new bags already in use at the flagship warehouse in Issaquah, Washington. Moreover, it’s similar packaging is already utilized in other countries like Canada.” Read more

 

Behind Target’s marketing plans for loyalty program overhaul at Ad Age. “The Target Lady—the crazy cashier played by Kristen Wiig on “Saturday Night Live”—is back, this time as the central character in a major marketing push from Target as it promotes its newly revamped loyalty program.” Read more (subs. required)

 

Home Depot rebrands its retail media network in pitch for ad dollars at Digiday. “Hosted at its Atlanta headquarters, The Home Depot pitched a rebrand to its retail media network from Retail Media+ to Orange Apron Media, a new partnership with Univision to open up more media placement opportunities and a new in-store advertising offering. The retailer brought executives, including Ted Decker, chair, president and CEO of The Home Depot along with Melanie Babcock, vp of Orange Apron Media (formerly Retail Media+) and monetization team, Molly Battin, svp and CMO onstage.” Read more

 

Walmart Unlocks New Retail Media Efficiencies at Progressive Grocer. “Beginning this month, Walmart Display is becoming primarily programmatic and auction based, which will offer advertising brands of all sizes greater access and control…Additionally, Walmart Connect is now offering offsite media to support brands that don’t sell with Walmart but offer complementary products and services that are relevant to its customers.” Read more

 

***Advertising inquiries, new product searches, comments, questions, etc., contact Jason Long at jlong@eyeonretail.net