Not a day goes by that there aren’t a dozen stories connected to retail that speak to what’s really going on in our culture. Here are just five items I read about recently that warrant some consideration.

1) My physics teacher Mr. Richter commanded us to commit to memory “that for every action, there is an equal and opposite reaction.” Due to the escalating price of gas, now at about $4.10 per gallon as the national average, American consumers feeling the pinch aren’t heading as readily to their malls and shopping centers. Instead they are heading toward the Internet, where they can comparison shop, and obtain deals for free shipping. Retailers take note; you too are going to offer sweetheart deals to lure reticent drivers back to your door.

P.S. Dear Americans, our European cousins have a strong economy, and still have been paying upwards of $8 per gallon of gas for years. Get used to it.

2) The nationally respected Boys & Girls Club of America known for assisting “at risk” youth is now relying on retailer, Old Navy, to lend a helping hand. In a recently launched program, teenage kids are being mentored on the sales floor at Old Navy in the fine art of stock replenishment, bag checking, dressing room assistance and customer service. A theoretical quid pro quo. Is it a merely a covert form of retail indoctrination? Hmmm…You be the judge.

3) It appears time to say fare thee well to Canadian retailer Hudson's Bay Co., who is as Canadian as a red maple leaf. (Sob) There are some rumors that the equity firm that owns Lord & Taylor may want to absorb Hudson Bay into Lord & Taylor the way that Marshall Fields became Macy’s, which in retrospect, was sort of like moving a baby grand piano through a transom? (Does anybody know what a transom is?) Lord & Taylor is an unknown commodity in Canada, so what gives? As we say here in New York “Oh no you di…ent!!!” I love Lord & Taylor, but I hope the scrappy Hudson Bay will go out kicking and screaming. I know I would.

4) Due to the rise in obesity and heart disease, New York City's fast food establishments were told to lose the trans-fat oil they use altogether. Now adding insult to injury, they were also asked to post calories next to all the products they sell or face stiff fines. Now that customers at Starbucks realized that those yummy macadamia chocó-chunk cookies are a whopping 610 calories (about a third of your caloric intake for the day) the sales have plummeted. I too had to make a “Sophie’s Choice” at Dunkin Donuts this morning--was it going to be the 410 calorie strawberry frosted or the 440 calorie chocolate frosted. Meryl where are you when I need you? Mamma Mia?

5) Mars Candy Co. is launching a spectacular new confection called the “Gummi-Burst.” It sounds wonderfully atrocious! In sweet sequestered days of yore that would have meant a slew of TV ads in prime time, and on Saturday mornings, a catchy jingle and a clever hook like Lay’s Potato Chip  commercials “Nobody can eat just one.” There will be no TV advertising, it’s too old fashioned. Instead Mar’s Candy is heading where their customers are--the product launch will occur on YouTube. Does no one watch TV any longer?

What stories do you see on your radar that speaks to the bigger picture? Do tell.

--Ron Knoth, Guest Blogger