BrandWeek reports that a new study by Global Market Insight suggests that Americans will be less influence by holiday sales advertising this year, and in fact will be paying more attention to word of mouth, in-store sales promotions and their own budget constraints.
Snail mail update: Published reports say that the cost of first class postage for a letter in the US will go up two cents in January, to 39 cents.
GNX and the WorldWide Retail Exchange (WWRE) announced that they have completed their merger, creating a new company named Agentrics LLC, which they said highlights their “core competency, as the agent for Retail Information and Collaborative Solutions within the global retail and consumer products industry.”
Kroger Co. announced that its unionized workers in Ohio ratified new labor contract that runs through June 2009. Terms of the deal were not disclosed.
Whole Foods announced that it will conduct a study of the supply chain that provides it with live lobsters for is stores, to make sure that the treatment of the crustaceans is as compassionate as possible…at least until the lobsters are taken home by shoppers, at which point they are plunged into pots of boiling water and then eaten.
