 | April 4, 2011 | News for the retail industry |  |  | |
- Amazon, Kohl's and Costco rank tops in customer service
U.S. consumers ranked Amazon, Kohl's and Costco tops in customer service in a new survey from Temkin Group, in which 15 of the top 20 companies ranked were retailers. The survey of 6,000 consumers who had interacted recently with 143 large U.S. companies revealed that only 16% of the chains drew "good" or "excellent" ratings, with retailers and hotels winning the highest scores. USA TODAY/Technology Live blog (4/3)       - Home Depot keeps tab on weather for local ad buys
Home Depot is tailoring ad campaigns to match with local weather conditions. The retailer has delayed the roll out of its Spring Black Friday event in some markets that are still experiencing winter weather. It has also teamed with the Weather Channel for its local Lawn & Garden Outlook, while location-based social media and mobile campaigns offer consumers products suited for their region. Advertising Age (tiered subscription model) (4/4) - HSN gains popularity with shoppers on the go
HSN was aiming for a catchier name when it switched from Home Shopping Channel several years ago, but the company was also preparing for a future that moved away from the stereotype of customers at home on the couch with a clicker in one hand and a phone in the other, said CEO Mindy Grossman. Today's HSN customers are clamoring for celebrity-branded fragrances and cosmetics, and they're buying via a growing number of channels from TV and online to iPads and Facebook. Los Angeles Times (4/2) - Wal-Mart reportedly might test online grocery service in Calif.
Wal-Mart Stores reportedly is considering testing online grocery service in the San Jose, Calif., market to increase online sales. The retail giant recently transferred Richard Ramsden, former head of home shopping for the company's ASDA division in the U.K., to Walmart.com's headquarters in California. Bloomberg (4/2)  | Akamai - The Right Partner with the Right Solution
Are you failing to to satisfy user expectations for an outstanding online shopping experience? Do you need to accelerate your dynamic content? Do you strive to be a retailer that pushes the envelope with site technology and offerings? Learn why the Akamai Dynamic Site Accelerator is the right solution for those issues and more. |
 - U.S. retailers fight back against organized theft rings
Large U.S. retail chains including Target and Supervalu have ramped up their efforts to fight organized theft rings, which steal an estimated $15 million to $30 million from merchants each year. Target has opened several crime investigation centers, armed with analysts and investigators who search through surveillance video and spreadsheets to track organized theft rings. Merchants say organized theft has been on the rise in recent years, as the Internet makes it easier for thieves to sell their loot -- 90% of retailers said they had been victims of organized retail crime last year, according to an NRF survey. Star Tribune (Minneapolis-St. Paul, Minn.) (4/3) - Late Easter may mean first monthly sales drop since 2009
Easter's late April date, the disaster in Japan and consumers putting off spring shopping until the weather warms up may signal a same-store sales decline for March, the first since August 2009. Easter fell on April 4 last year, which helped drive March 2010 sales up 9%, and the March 11 earthquake and tsunami in Japan had a negative impact on U.S. merchants' operations there and curtailed travel by Japanese tourists. The Wall Street Journal (4/4) - More merchants may look to public markets as IPOs heat up
Fast-growing chains including budget-priced accessories retailer Charming Charlie and fashion merchant Love Culture are reportedly talking to bankers about the possibility of going public in the near future, stirring talk of a hot IPO market now that retail stocks are on the rise. "The summer could be a better time for companies to go [public] because we'll start to get more visibility into how the consumer's going to react to higher costs for everything," said retail analyst Erika Maschmeyer. Women's Wear Daily (subscription required) (4/4)  | 3 DAYS LEFT: Save 50% on a 12-pack of $100 hotel gift cards powered by Expedia Networks. Reward employees and say thanks to customers with The Hotel Card. Each one knocks $100 off a 2-night stay at 55,000 hotels (all major brands). And lucky you—you pay just $50 each. Get bizy and buy now. |
 - Gown registry helps prom-goers avoid duplicating dresses
Fashion website Fashism.com has added a registry to help teen girls call dibs on their prom dress choices, to ensure they won't show up wearing the same gowns. Some students say they've already started posting their prom dress pictures to Facebook for the same reason. "When you spend $400 on a dress you don't want someone else wearing it," said one Boston-area senior. Boston Herald (4/3) - Services help consumers stick to their credit resolutions
PayPal and a growing number of other alternative payment services are seeing an increase in consumers using them to avoid racking up new credit card debt. Services such as EBillme.com, which has partnered with 800 retailers including Amazon, Foot Locker and Home Depot, and Google Checkout offer options that bill themselves as secure ways to pay using cash from consumers' bank accounts. The Hartford Courant (Conn.) (4/2)  | Complimentary Aberdeen Cross-Channel Research
Learn what your competitors are planning and doing now to advance from multi-channel to integrated cross-channel retailing, and how you can keep pace. This in-depth, 30-page market research report - a $399 value - is now yours at no cost. |
 | Hot Topics |  | | | Top five news stories selected by NRF SmartBrief readers in the past week. - Results based on number of times each story was clicked by readers.
| | | Most Popular Headlines from Last Week Results based on number of times each story was clicked by readers. |
| NRF News | | | | - Retail's "state of the industry" report available now
For nine years, NRF and KPMG have produced the retail industry's most authoritative source for benchmarks and trends, based on an annual survey of hundreds of retail executives. The 2011 report, "Retail Horizons: Benchmarks for 2010, Forecasts for 2011," is now available for purchase and covers topics such as store and field operations, e-commerce, supply chain management, merchandising, marketing and advertising, customer insight and human capital. Learn more. - NRF SmartStat: April 4, 2011
 Almost 15% of Americans will spend their 2010 tax refund on a big-ticket item, such as a TV, furniture, or a car. Source: NRF survey conducted by BIGresearch. - Shop.org to host half-day online marketing workshop May 3 in NYC
Senior executives from companies such as The Sports Authority, Forrester Research and Social Shopping Labs will lead sessions on e-mail marketing, SEM, social commerce and more during a May 3 half-day workshop as part of Shop.org's Online Marketing Month. Held in New York City at Macy's flagship building, the workshop precedes a free New York City networking dinner for multichannel retail executives. Workshop registration is $395 per person; Shop.org retail member companies receive one complimentary pass. Learn more.
| Chain Restaurant News | | | | - Subway's Middle East plan calls for 125 stores this year
 Subway plans to grow to 125 stores in the Middle East region by the end of the year and add about 25 new units each year afterward as part of the largest quickservice chain's aggressive global expansion strategy. In the Middle East, development plans include a significant number of nontraditional locations including university campuses, gas stations and hospitals, said development agent Marwan Al Hamar. "It's not about having the biggest number of stores but finding concentrations of people and providing convenient locations for everyone to get the product," Al Hamar said. Hotelier Middle East (United Arab Emirates) (4/2011)  | Career Track | | | |  | |  | | | | |  |  Internal IT Auditor II | Dollar General | Goodlettsville, TN | | Senior Manager, Retail Operations | Total Wine | Potomac, MD | | Vice President of Supply Chain & Replenishment | Total Wine | Potomac, MD | | Merchant Opportunities at Kohl's | Kohl's | Menomonee Falls, WI | | Sr. Manager Recruiting | PetSmart | Phoenix, AZ | | Senior Corporate Internal Auditor | PetSmart, Inc. | Phoenix, AZ | | Senior Marketing Manager | Stage Stores, Inc. | Houston, TX | | Director of Customer Loyalty | Aeropostale | New York, NY | | Senior Project Manager | PetSmart | Phoenix, AZ | | Vice-President 24HourFitness.com | 24 Hour Fitness | San Ramon, CA | | Energy Manager | Tractor Supply Company | Brentwood, TN | | General Manager, Merchandise | Smithsonian Enterprises | Washington, DC | | Inventory Manager | Tractor Supply Company | Brentwood, TN | | | |  | |  |
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