For souvenirs: Would you like to return it online? You may not have to return it in the end. This year, 59% of retailers are offering a “keep it” policy on such items, up from 26% last year, according to return services company goTRG. Reuters I will report. The company surveyed 500 executives from 21 major retailers, including Amazon and Walmart. As retailers deploy technology to eliminate excessive costs, more companies are adopting no-return policies for certain online purchases. This is clearly a trend that retailers want. In some ways, online grocery stores have similar policies in place. Is there something wrong with your Instacart order? You can report it and get a credit, but in many cases you end up keeping the item. Will consumers start abusing these systems? Time will tell. —Chloe Riley
Chicken conundrum: When it comes to rotisserie chicken, it takes a lot of effort to be proactive. A Costco deli worker explains on Reddit why warmers are sometimes empty in stores, and sometimes it’s a losing battle. The main reason is that Costco requires employees to determine how many chickens are needed in two hours to avoid drying out the chicken. The employee says the formula is far from scientific and often results in too much demand and not enough labor. Another reason is that there is no limit to the number a shopper can buy, so chickens can be stacked to his 40 or 50 bird height. (It must be some kind of safety issue.) Some Reddit readers may empathize with Rotisserie She Circus. One said he had “worked chickens for over four years” and it was one of the hardest jobs in the warehouse. It seems like chicken isn’t the only thing being cooked on the counter. —Bill Wilson
An apple a day will keep you from feeling hungry. There was a surplus of apples this year due to several different factors. A bumper harvest has kept domestic supplies high, and exports have fallen 21% over the past decade, a sign of retaliatory tariffs from India. Weather has also played a role this year, with hail making a large portion of the apples unsuitable for the fresh market due to their aesthetic appeal. In West Virginia, the USDA will now pay growers for the apples they produce rather than letting them rot. For this apple relief program, he purchased $10 million worth of apples from more than a dozen growers, which were donated to charities fighting hunger across the country, from South Carolina and Michigan to the Navajo Nation. Let’s talk about avoiding food waste. —CR
Killer strategy: Dave’s Killer Bread comes with a pretty killer story. After spending over 15 years in prison, founder Dave Dahl found his true calling: creating organic whole grain bread. This 6-minute video from HubSpot examines how Dave’s Killer Bread turned to social to nail its target market and tell its story. Dahl was not ashamed of his criminal past, but his advisers begged him not to mention it…so he fired them and became a champion of second-chance employment. Ta. That strategy, combined with a national expansion following its acquisition by Flowers Foods in 2015, will ultimately lead to his 50% growth of the brand within his purpose-driven brand identity. What is the morale of the story? It pays to be intentional. —CR
Self-checkout is even faster: Checkout scanners are far from perfect, and when you add in users who aren’t trained to interact with the technology, the entire process can become a shopping cart filled with frustration. But British grocer Tesco is taking the approval beep in self-checkout areas out of consideration. The retailer is currently installing a scan-free kiosk in one of its stores. This technology allows him to complete the transaction without scanning a single item. According to a recent study by retail data supplier PYMNTS, 28% of retailers, including grocers, have invested in scan-and-go functionality within their apps. Surprisingly, shoppers don’t have to wait in line to access luxury gadgets. Another PYMNTS study revealed that only 1 in 3 consumers want to use technology. If you’ve ever had to wait at a self-checkout for an employee to come and help you, you might think differently. —BW