Welcome to Retail Therapy.
As the editor of Retail Dive, it’s my job to keep a close eye on every piece of retail-related news—the good, the bad, and even the silly. Starting today, we will be publishing what I like to call "Retail Therapy" — a once-a-week column on Fridays that will bring you the weirdest and wackiest retail stories from around the web.
I hope you'll find "Retail Therapy" to be a light-hearted reprieve after a long week of work.
From a bucket full of Slurpee to Ikea’s new veggie balls, here are the strangest and most interesting stories from the past week.
Apple Watch fan fiction is already a thing
Just in time for Apple Watch’s highly anticipated launch, a (creative? infatuated?) tech enthusiast has posted a narrative chronicling a fictional day-in-the-life of an Apple Watch user. While it mainly reads like one big Apple-sponsored odyssey, the phrase “A cab? What is this? 1999?” shows up, so it just might be worth a read, if only for the laughs.
Bucket-o-Slurpee
Ever looked at your 7-Eleven Slurpee and said, “A cup of Slurpee is great, but you know what would make it better? A bucket of Slurpee!” If so, 7-Eleven wants to give you that option this Saturday, April 11.
Insert inappropriate jokes here
In an effort to become everyone’s favorite low-price furniture retailer, Ikea is rolling out a new vegan option of its famous meatballs. No word on whether “Schweddy Balls” will also appear on the menu.
The church of consumerism
Repurposed churches are so last year. Caruso Affiliated, real estate developer in Glendale, CA, has plans to transform a former Masonic Temple into a new development that includes restaurant, retail, and office space.
And then there’s this
Quartz drew up a nifty graph detailing some of the best "features" on the new Apple Watch, from a seven minute battery life to a new U2 song at "U2 o'clock."
