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How 5 retailers have responded to online-shopping trends
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With Wal-Mart and other major retailers closing stores and laying employees off, Amazon continues to innovate with flying packages and data-driven stores. - photo by Sam Turner
Wal-Mart announced last week that it will be closing 269 stores in the U.S. and internationally. About 10,000 jobs will be lost in the process.

According to its statement, Wal-Mart will focus on "growing the e-commerce business" in lieu of these closures.

Wal-Mart, the world's largest company by revenue, has been too slow in adapting to online shopping trends, reports the New York Times. Even though Wal-Mart has already made significant investments in its online presence, it simply has not been able to catch up with online-only retailers like Amazon.

Wal-Mart is not the only one shutting down its bricks-and-mortar superstores. Macy's also announced that it will be laying off 2,500 employees and closing down five stores, reported Time.

J.C. Penny will be closing 47 stores, eliminating almost 5,500 jobs, says ABC News.

The problem is that traditional retail locations are weighed-down by the expensive overhead costs of employees and buildings, reports CNBC. Where traditional retailers have the advantage of a physical network for sales and distribution, online retailers have the edge when it comes to convenience and ease of purchase.

The front-runner in the online retail sphere is Amazon. According to Statista, Amazon's quarterly revenues have increased by over 300 percent since 2010, seeing third-quarter earnings of $25 billion in 2015.

Dave Wendland, vice president of Hamacher Resource Group, told Forbes that "variety, reliable/predictable delivery, fair prices, and constant reach toward their next ambitious goal have all greatly contributed to Amazon's success.

Amazon is constantly cooking up game-changing innovations. In November, Amazon announced Amazon Prime Air, a new delivery service that would allow buyers to receive their purchases within 30 minutes. The service will use drones to deliver items from an Amazon distribution center to the customer's backyard. Small items only, though. No refrigerators just yet.

On Tuesday, Amazon announced its latest creation the Dash Replenishment Service, which can replenish items just as customers are about to run out. For example, certain Brother printers are wired to alert Amazon when they are almost out of ink, reports Mashable. The same works for detergent in select GE and Whirlpool appliances.

Ironically, one of Amazon's latest projects does not appear to be innovative at all. In November, Amazon opened a bricks-and-mortar bookstore of its own in Seattle.

Far from being a retrogression, however, this store may redefine how physical retail is done.

According to Entreprenuer, Amazon is "leveraging online data for offline sales." This means that Amazon will arrange and stock its physical stores based on consumer patterns observed online.

Its data with heart, Jennifer Cast, vice president of Amazon Books, told Forbes. Were taking the data we have and were creating physical places with it.

Amazon's new bookstore is expected to be especially popular with millennials, says Forbes. While Amazon's sales of Kindle e-readers are declining, 79 percent of millennials reported reading a print copy of a book in 2014.

As Entrepreneur says, "Amazon knows that people still yearn for the shopping experience, the book right now, the booksellers recommendations, the thinking process that occurs in a bookstore."

Amazon's new bookstore allows shoppers to do just that in a data-optimized environment.
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How to avoid 'sharenting' and other paparazzi parenting habits
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A recent study revealed parents often spend up to two hours staging a single photo of his or her child to post online. - photo by Amy Iverson
Before having kids, some people just dont appreciate their friends baby posts. But after having a child of their own, three fourths of new parents jump right on the parental social media bandwagon. If you have become a member of this group, there are some rules to follow for posting responsibly.

Much of a parents worry is how to teach their children to use social media responsibly. We talk with our kids about privacy, oversharing, and setting restrictions on their devices to keep them safe. But parents themselves need to look in the digital mirror once in a while. Before having children, it doesnt take as much effort to think about what to post online. Its up to us to decide what we share about our own lives. But once you become a parent, there are many questions to think about regarding what is appropriate to post about your kids on social media.

In a recent survey, kids clothing subscription company Mac and Mia surveyed 2000 new parents to find out how they are documenting their kids lives on social media, and what concerns they may have.

First of all, people without children seem to feel a bit differently about the onslaught of baby pictures online than those who are parents. 18 percent of people say before they had kids, they were annoyed by their friends baby posts. But after having children of their own, 73 percent admit they post progress pictures of their little ones every single month.

Not only are new parents letting the world know each time their baby is a month older, but they are posting about their kids every few days or so. Men and women report they post 6-7 times per month about their baby.

And while 70 percent of new parents say the benefit of using social media is how easy it is to help family and friends feel involved, there are some downsides. Here are a few tips to avoid the pitfall of becoming paparazzi parents.

Dont miss the moment

In the Mac and Mia survey, some parents admitted to spending up to two hours to get the perfect shot of their baby. That seems a little extreme. New and old parents alike should be careful about spending so much time taking pictures and videos that they dont enjoy the moment. Years ago, I decided to never live an experience through my phone. A study by Linda Henkel, a psychology professor at Fairfield University in Connecticut, found that when people took pictures of objects in an art museum, they didnt remember the objects as well as if they simply observed them.

This photo-taking impairment effect can happen to parents as well. If we are so consumed by getting the perfect photo, we can miss out on the moment all together, and our memory of it will suffer.

Dont forget about privacy

60 percent of couples say they have discussed rules and boundaries for posting their babys photos, according to the Mac and Mia survey. Even so, men are 34 percent more likely to publish baby posts on public accounts. If parents are concerned about their childrens privacy, keeping photos off of public accounts is a given.

In the Washington Post, Stacey Steinberg, a legal skills professor at the University of Florida, and Bahareh Keith, a Portland pediatrician, wrote that sharing too much information about kids online puts them at risk. They write that all that sharenting can make it easier for data thieves to target out kids for identity theft. Check that your privacy settings are where they should be and never share identifying information like full names and birth dates.

Dont be paparazzi parents

36 percent of parents say they take issue when their childs photo is posted online by someone else. Responsible social media users will always ask permission before posting a photo of another child. But parents should also think about whether their own children will take issue with their own posted photos a few years down the road.

When parents are constantly snapping pictures and throwing them on social media, it can be easy to forget to pause and make sure the post is appropriate. I always use the billboard example with my kids. I ask them to picture whatever they are posting going up on a billboard in our neighborhood. If they are okay with that, then their post is probably fine. Parents should ask themselves this same question when posting about their children. But they should also ask themselves if their child would be OK with this post on a billboard in 15 years. If it would cause embarrassment or humiliation, it might be best to keep it private.

Once children reach an appropriate age, parents should include them in the process of deciding what pictures are OK to post. Researchers at the University of Michigan surveyed 10- to 17-year-olds and found children believe their parents should ask permission more than parents think they should. The kids in the survey said sharing happy family moments, or accomplishments in sports, school and hobbies is fine. But when the post is negative (like when a child is disciplined) or embarrassing (think naked baby pictures or messy hair), kids say to keep it off social media.
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