Pricing

Last week, Dollar General announced price cuts on hundreds of items across 2,000-plus stores. This announcement reflects the retailer’s goal to increase store visits from its core low-income demographic. It also comes three months after Wal-Mart said it would speed up price cuts to restore its reputation as the retailer with the lowest prices. According…

Fashion retailer Zara got hit with a lawsuit for allegedly cheating American shoppers out of billions of dollars. The retailer, known for its trendy but reasonably priced clothing for women and men, was accused of unlawful pricing. Attorney Mark Geragos represents the plaintiffs. He accused Zara of "bait and switch and cover-up pricing." He said many products…

Last week, Wal-Mart confirmed that it will be bringing back its rollback program to 300 stores. The decision indicates a major shift in its retail positioning, according to an article on SeekingAlpha. "We're focused on low prices, up front, on the shelf," John Forrest Ales, a Wal-Mart spokesman, said in an interview. The rollback program…

In episode 48 of Total Retail Talks, Mabel McLean, director of Amazon IQ at L2, a member-based business intelligence firm that benchmarks digital trends, discusses the key findings of L2's most recent fashion digital survey, “Amazon: Fashion Pricing Insight Report," including how aggressive Amazon’s dynamic pricing algorithm is relative to third-party discounting, how frequently Amazon changes the…

Michael Kors isn't very happy with the excessive discounts department stores give on its products. CEO John Idol says that come February, the brand will no longer participate in family-and-friends sales or accept coupons for its products. Michael Kors plans to cut back on the amount of merchandise it ships to department stores in an…

Coach on Tuesday announced that it will shutter about 25 percent of its North American department store locations. Most of the locations tend to be low volume, according to the company, and the closings will be spread out in terms of geography. Coach will keep open its best-performing sites and avoid the stores that put its…

The results are in, and despite technical glitches, Amazon Prime Day proved even more successful for the company than last year, with worldwide orders rising 60 percent compared to 2015. Analysts estimated 1.5 million people signed up for Prime on July 12. Retailers knew Amazon.com would put its marketing weight behind its own manufactured holiday and…

Consumer attitudes toward supermarket food preparation are changing. A strong demand for gourmet cooking persists over traditional takeout options. According to an article on Forbes, this trend is creating an opportunity for grocers to deliver unique meal options while creating a learning environment for actual chefs. That’s right, more and more supermarkets are hiring experienced…

Target updated its point-of-sale cash register software and its coupon policy to make sure discounts are accurate at checkout.

Amazon.com celebrated its 20th anniversary in 2015 by creating “Prime Day,” a shopping “holiday” that offered Prime members an ongoing series of deals over the 24 hours of July 15. Although much of the news that day focused on disappointed Prime Day shoppers, Amazon quickly declared victory — and rightly so, from its perspective. Amazon…