Whether you work in an office or from home, you’re likely familiar with the after-lunch slump that makes you reach for another coffee or a soda. If you’ve front-loaded a lot of caffeine in the morning, this is typically the time you would feel a crash. Eating a large meal or not drinking enough water […]Read More

While airlines are currently struggling with the spike in jet fuel prices caused by the war in Iran, the situation is often even more dire for travel agencies and companies selling various package holidays and organized tours. The string of family-owned travel agency collapses has been particularly prominent in the United Kingdom in recent months. […]Read More

Pizza seems like the perfect food for challenging economic times. It’s cheap compared to most lunch and dinner options, and it both travels well and works great as leftovers. But the overall pizza business has struggled. “The headlines are not kind to pizza right now. Pizzerias have fallen from Americans’ favorite restaurant category to sixth […]Read More

“I used to be with ‘it’, but then they changed what ‘it’ was,” Grandpa Abe Simpson said in “The Simpsons” Season 7, Episode 24, titled Homepalooza. “Now what I’m with isn’t ‘it’ anymore, and what’s ‘it’ seems weird and scary to me. It’ll happen to you!” Or, to put it into retail terms: “If you’re […]Read More

Coca-Cola’s glass bottle has become one of the most recognizable pieces of packaging in history. PepsiCo has spent decades trying to create a similar connection with consumers. “Every consumer goods company wants to find a unique way to present itself to the public, and this, for us, has been the Holy Grail,” Phil Mooney, Coca-Cola’s […]Read More

Less than a year after announcing plans to end one of retail’s highest-profile beauty partnerships, Ulta Beauty isn’t stepping away from collaborations after all. Instead, the beauty retailer has joined forces with another major fashion brand as it looks to strengthen customer engagement and accelerate growth following a period of market share losses. The announcement […]Read More

T-Mobile is doubling down on cutting back free offers just as the carrier begins seeing signs that its efforts to improve customer retention are paying off.  After its postpaid phone churn (the percentage of customers who canceled their service) increased last year following several price hikes, T-Mobile began ramping up its efforts to attract and […]Read More

Costco and Target operate under very different models. Costco relies on membership fees to generate revenue, and some of its best deals come in the form of bulk pricing. Target’s focus is a wide assortment of products that cater to customers looking to buy essentials and score the latest trends. Whereas Costco is almost obsessed […]Read More

Imagine a world where Walmart only has five stores left. It’s unthinkable because the company has dominated retail for so long, and it survived the pivot from pure brick-and-mortar operations to an omnichannel retailer. Even if it sells explosive diarrhea lettuce, replaces its greeters with unsupervised raccoons, or puts the people behind Fyre Festival in […]Read More

Although some people might complain about having to pay a membership fee, Costco has one of the most loyal customer bases in retail.  The company reported that its U.S. and Canada membership renewal rate reached 92.2%, while the worldwide renewal rate was 89.7%, during its most recent quarter. Those figures show that most members remain […]Read More