Online auto shopping gaining favor: J.D. Power
TROY—Nearly half, 49%, of all vehicle shoppers are willing to purchase a new vehicle online, which is an increase of 11 percentage points from 18 months ago and 4 percentage …
SpartanNash opens ‘micro fulfillment center’ for online grocery shopping
BYRON CENTER—Officials at the Byron Center-based grocery retailer and distributor SpartanNash (Nasdaq: SPTN) announced plans to open the company’s first “micro-fulfillment center” at 5199 68th St. SE in Caledonia. The …
Jet’s Pizza offers new text ordering program
STERLING HEIGHTS—Jet’s Pizza is offering 20 percent off pizzas to customers who use the company’s new text-to-order platform at participating locations. Jet’s has partnered with Ann Arbor-based startup Ordr AI to offer …
Pure Michigan offers Michigan-made gift guide
LANSING—Holiday shopping is in the home stretch, and the Michigan Economic Development Corp.’s Pure Michigan business promotion efforts is offering shoppers ways to consider giving Michigan-made products, supporting local retailers …
Amazon falters in pandemic; Costco, Etsy, and Nordstrom take online retail crown
ANN ARBOR—To absolutely no one’s surprise, new survey results from the American Customer Satisfaction Index show that 2020 has been a tough year for retailers. Four out of five retail …
Little Caesars, DoorDash broaden partnership
DETROIT—Little Caesars and DoorDash announced an expansion of their exclusive partnership, extending the availability of Little Caesars delivery to the DoorDash app and website. Little Caesars delivery, already available directly …
PackageFromSanta.com returning for Christmas 2020
DETROIT—The defense agency NORAD began tracking Santa in 1955, after a young child accidentally dialed the unlisted phone number of the Continental Air Defense Command Operations Center in Colorado Springs, …
Wayfair to bring 500+ jobs to Lansing area
LANSING–Wayfair, the Boston-based online store for home furnishings and décor, announced it would establish a customer service center in Meridian Township, which the company says will create 500 full time …
CFI study: retail consumers now expect online chat
ANN ARBOR—A new retail report, based on a survey conducted by the Ann Arbor-based customer experience analytics firm CFI Group and the Pennsylvania-based e-commerce consultant Radial, shows that today’s shoppers …
Valassis research: Amazon Prime Day is the Black Friday of summer
LIVONIA—The Livonia-based marketing firm Valassis has released new research ahead of Amazon Prime Day (July 15-16) on consumer behavior related to the mid-summer event. The research found Prime Day now …