Tausi Insider

Mastermind Toys CEO Sarah Jordan says consumers are returning to a more normal pre-pandemic holiday shopping pattern this year. HO/The Canadian Press It’s the most resilient holiday spending category: Toys. But even toy stores are expected to feel the fallout from inflation during the biggest shopping season of the year. “Holiday spending is going to be muted,” retail analyst Bruce Winder said. “But toys are the last thing you cut back on if you have kids. You want something under the tree for them – you just might do it in a more economical way.” While Canadians are expected to rein in their shopping lists this gift-giving season amid rising prices, high interest rates and a grim economic outlook, they still appear willing to open their wallets for toys, experts say. “Toys have been kind of that shining star in Canada,” said Tamara Szames, Canadian retail industry adviser with The NPD Group. “It’s continuing to outperform the rest of the retail industry.” While toy sales may be resi...

How Rakuten Works Formally known as Ebates, Rakuten is a cash back rewards app that earns you money when shopping with participating retailers. It’s fairly simple to use: If you’re on a website that supports Rakuten, you’ll see a pop-up appear letting you know how much cash back the stores allows, and offering a button that activates Rakuten then and there. Then, you continue to shop on the site, and anything you buy contributes to your Rakuten cash back. You’ll receive the cash back in the form of a check (no gimmicks!), but you do need to earn at least $15 before the check will be sent. Unfortunately, Rakuten’s biggest deals have come and gone following Black Friday and Cyber Monday, but there are still plenty of opportunities to take advantage of. If you’re already going to shop with these stores, why not make a little cash on the side? Not to mention, the app searches for available coupon codes to add at checkout, a feature central to another app you may have heard of ... ...

People shop in the produce area at a Loblaws store in Toronto on May 3, 2018. Nathan Denette/The Canadian Press Shoplifting has surged to an alarming level across Canada, industry insiders say, with inflation and labour shortages cited as major factors behind the increase. The uptick has triggered concern among Canadian grocers even as the rise in food prices helps pad their bottom lines. Grocery prices were up 11 per cent year-over-year in October and they’re not expected to ease any time soon. The total cost of groceries for a family of four is expected to be $1,065 more than it was this year, according to the most recent edition of Canada’s Food Price Report. Inflation in food prices is one of the main drivers pushing more people to steal, says Sylvain Charlebois, senior director of the Agri-Food Analytics Lab at Dalhousie University in Halifax. “There is a correlation between the two, absolutely. Theft is an ongoing issue. But the intensity actually does increase when food prices...

Hudson's Bay Co. says the head of The Bay, its online marketplace division, is retiring this month. Nathan Denette/The Canadian Press Hudson’s Bay Co. says the head of The Bay, its online marketplace division, is retiring this month and that the current president of Hudson’s Bay, which oversees Canadian retail stores, will take on the additional role. The retailer says Sophia Hwang-Judiesch, who came on as president of Hudson’s Bay last September, will lead efforts to transform and improve both the digital and in-store performance of the retailer after Iain Nairn retires. HBC separated its 86 stores into a separate division from its website in 2021. Nairn, who is stepping down as president and CEO of The Bay, was appointed president of Hudson Bay’s before the split, in January, 2020. Richard Baker, executive chairman of HBC, thanked Nairn in a statement and said he was confident Hwang-Judiesch could help improve the retailer’s performance. HBC did not give a specific reason for N...

A pedestrian walks past a Hudson's Bay store window in Toronto on Jan. 13. Ahead of this year's Lunar New Year on Jan. 22, retail stores such as Hudson's Bay are setting up special window displays and curating products in stores for the holiday. David Pike/The Canadian Press When Madelyn Chung was growing up, just a handful of stores had Lunar New Year displays. It felt like a special homage to her Chinese culture. Now she looks at the proliferation of Lunar New Year retail sales and marketing campaigns across Canada with a more critical eye. “I equate it to rainbow washing or green washing,” she said, referring to businesses that use pride colours to appeal to LBGTQ shoppers or ecological claims to appear environmentally friendly without taking meaningful action. “Some stores just want to capitalize on the Lunar New Year celebrations because they know there are a lot of Chinese people who have money to spend on luxury items,” she said in an interview from Toronto. The Lu...

Shoppers visit a Best Buy on Black Friday, in Toronto, on Nov. 26, 2021. Tijana Martin/The Canadian Press Best Buy, BBY-N one of the country’s largest consumer electronics retailers, is laying off about 0.7 per cent of its workforce, estimated to be about 700 employees. Anna LeGresley, a spokeswoman for Best Buy Canada, says the job losses come as the chain works to “support our stores and serve our customers.” LeGresley says some staff have also moved to different stores. It’s unclear whether the restructuring includes any store closures. Best Buy did not share whether the job losses are in both Canada and the U.S., or whether the layoffs include corporate office employees in addition to retail workers. While stores often shed temporary staff after the busy holiday season, the layoffs appear to be more than usual. At the end of fiscal 2022, Best Buy employed approximately 105,000 employees in the U.S. and Canada, according to the company’s annual report. It said its workforce is abo...

People shop in the produce area at a Loblaws store in Toronto on May 3, 2018. Nathan Denette/The Canadian Press Shoplifting has surged to an alarming level across Canada, industry insiders say, with inflation and labour shortages cited as major factors behind the increase. The uptick has triggered concern among Canadian grocers even as the rise in food prices helps pad their bottom lines. Grocery prices were up 11 per cent year-over-year in October and they’re not expected to ease any time soon. The total cost of groceries for a family of four is expected to be $1,065 more than it was this year, according to the most recent edition of Canada’s Food Price Report. Inflation in food prices is one of the main drivers pushing more people to steal, says Sylvain Charlebois, senior director of the Agri-Food Analytics Lab at Dalhousie University in Halifax. “There is a correlation between the two, absolutely. Theft is an ongoing issue. But the intensity actually does increase when food prices...