Innovation::

I was snooping around the Co-op and see that Amazon has an in-store collection point about to become operational.

I could see this, with free delivery or discounted delivery combined with the security of knowing that the item is safe in transit – for high value purchases, being a really interesting service extension.

However this is both the revenue stream and the service extension that the Post Office should have embraced a decade ago – and had they then, their business model would not be where it is today.

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Retail ::

Best Buy, the US retailer, is rolling out an in-store mobile couponing via startup Shopkick.

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Retail ::

P&G is launching an online store – eStore – to test the water for direct sales to consumers. The platform is owned by PFS Web.

Interesting to see what will happen in terms of both take up by consumers and also in terms of retail price points and P&G possibly earn considerable higher margins with this semi-direct sales channel.

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