Whole Foods to stop accepting checks

by James Bickers — Editor, Networld Alliance

OnMilwaukee.com reports that Whole Foods is about to take away several payment options.

The Art of Saying "No"

by Dale Furtwengler — President, Furtwengler & Associates, P.C.

Whose Brand Is It Anyway? How To Stifle A Business: Us Versus Them

by Bob Phibbs — CEO, The Retail Doctor

One of my first clients was a Best Western hotel nearly twenty years ago and I’m going to share with you about them to illustrate a common challenge to…

Training Your Customers

by Dale Furtwengler — President, Furtwengler & Associates, P.C.

Old Navy is going under the knife. Can the creepy mannequins go, please?

by James Bickers — Editor, Networld Alliance

The Atlanta Journal-Constitution reports that Old Navy is about to undergo a pretty dramatic makeover. Seven stores in Georgia are going to get the facelift…

Retailing in the Absence of Recovery

by Doug Stephens — President, Retail Prophet Consulting

Each day we wait and wonder when the economy will kick in to a pattern of consistent recovery.  But in order to truly understand the forces at work in this…

Annoying Customer Behaviors

by Dale Furtwengler — President, Furtwengler & Associates, P.C.

Retail Customer Experience: Change or Die

by Bob Phibbs — CEO, The Retail Doctor

To compete in 2010 you've got to ask the hard questions and then find the answers. Generations of Americans have owned their own jewelry store and generations…

Is Discounting Ever Appropriate?

by Dale Furtwengler — President, Furtwengler & Associates, P.C.

Pricing and Name Awareness

by Dale Furtwengler — President, Furtwengler & Associates, P.C.

Is Technology Just Ahead--Or Is Retailing Behind?

by Mike Wittenstein — Customer Experience and Service Designer, Storyminers

It’s time for retail business design to catch up with technology.

New Orleans - The Ultimate Customer Experience?

by William Cusick — President, Customerspectives

I just got back from three days on a business junket of sorts in the Big Easy. I've been to NOLA a few times and the after-effect is always the same: I need…

Welcome to the new Retail Customer Experience!

by James Bickers — Editor, Networld Alliance

Let me be the first to cordially welcome you to the relaunched, revitalized, reloaded Retail Customer Experience web site!

The Discount Economy and its Implications for the Future

by Dale Furtwengler — President, Furtwengler & Associates, P.C.

We’ve been in a discount economy for several decades. There are a number of factors contributing to this reality:

Bank of America shows trends in retail store layout

by Bob Phibbs — CEO, The Retail Doctor

I have banked with Bank of America for a long time for my business. The branch I opened the account at was always friendly and efficient.  In preparing…

Are frontline processes ruining your customer experience?

by William Cusick — President, Customerspectives

Without processes, it’s tough to run a business. Things fall through the cracks. So you create processes (or as you’ve probably seen, they create…

The customer is wired. Are you?

by Doug Stephens — President, Retail Prophet Consulting

Last week, Target announced that their customers can now upload gift card balances to their mobile device, which can then be scanned and redeemed in-store.

The 4 keys to a successful customer strategy in 2010

by William Cusick — President, Customerspectives

If you’re going to dedicate any time and brain power on a real CRM strategy in this fresh, new year, here are 4 questions you need to ask yourself. The answers…

Designing a new experience, and putting fun back into retail

by Mike Wittenstein — Customer Experience and Service Designer, Storyminers

If you have ever worked on the front line, you can probably remember—even if it was a long time ago—how much fun it is to delight a customer with an experience…

5 signs your retail store needs a makeover

by Bob Phibbs — CEO, The Retail Doctor

As new stores have opened over the past several years, they have upped the bar, and you may unknowingly be turning off potential customers.