Bank of America's CEO: Brave or naive?

by Colin Shaw — Founder & CEO, Beyond Philosophy

I have seen so many proclamations like the one Brian Moynihan, CEO of Bank of America sent to his 270,000 employees recently stating they needed to improve…

Customer service will transform your business ... starting today

by Micah Solomon — president, four aces inc

Customer service–exceptional, consistent, customer-centered service–can transform your business more quickly than nearly any other advantage.

The future of the retail store

by Doug Stephens — President, Retail Prophet Consulting

Retail is dead! At least, that’s how Marc Andreessen sees it. The entrepreneur and tech investor was recently quoted saying that all physical retail stores…

Stage, actors, script: Great theater and retail

by Chris Petersen — Owner, IMS

One only needs to peruse the retail headlines to see the wide ranging discussion on the importance of customer experience in retail. In IMS Retail University…

Giving shoppers what they don't know they want

by Jeff Weidauer — Vice President, Marketing & Strategy, Vestcom International, Inc.

The National Grocers Association and Supermarket Guru released some teaser facts from their Consumer Panel Survey that will be released at the annual…

The single greatest miss in retail store metrics: Footfalls

by Chris Petersen — Owner, IMS

Online retail knows everything about you, but stores are not even sure you were there.The old saying is "build it and they will come." One of the greatest…

To bundle or not to bundle?

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

Business owners can’t seem to win. If they bundle their offerings, customers ask for itemization of the various components with the price of each clearly…

An amazing customer experience from TSA?

by Doug Fleener — President and Managing Partner, Dynamic Experiences Group, LLC

Last Friday I was in line for security at Logan airport. I noticed that there was only one agent checking IDs, so I figured this was going to be a long and…

French made: Tax on personal data could cause dust up

by Bryan Pearson — President, LoyaltyOne

If there is one thing the French government is not laissez-faire about these days, it is taxes. But its recent proposal to attach tariffs to personal…

What if Best Buy charged admission?

by Doug Stephens — President, Retail Prophet Consulting

O.K., suspend your disbelief just for a moment and hear me out…

When retail associates hold their head up

by James Bickers — Editor, Networld Alliance

During a panel discussion this morning at the NRF 102nd Annual Convention & EXPO, the conversation turned to hiring and keeping employees that are willing…

Is strategic pricing dead?

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

Given the accessibility of pricing information today, is it possible to be strategic in pricing your products and services? Or are we, all, trapped by the…

Retail Social Media Top 10 [Infographic]

by James Bickers — Editor, Networld Alliance

A look at how some of the top U.S. retail brands stack up on social media.

POS users: A new attack has been discovered

by Brad Cyprus — Chief of Security and Compliance, Vendor Safe Technologies

During the Christmas holidays, families across America were anxiously awaiting the day of merriment and joy when they could rip open their presents, spend time…

Starbucks reusable cups, a redemption story

by Lisa Biank Fasig — Director, JZMcBride and Associates

Will a reusable cup get people thinking about their reusable cards? Starbucks may soon find out.

The Retail Revival has begun!

by Doug Stephens — President, Retail Prophet Consulting

Are you creating value?

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

Three calls is all that it took to identify a futile effort and how wasteful the investment in an innovation effort had been.

Did you just spell your customer's name wrong?

by Micah Solomon — president, four aces inc

"They spelled my name wrong again!" sings Loudon Wainwright III, the incomparable (if hard-to-spell) singer-songwriter.

Cookies and the key to success in retail

by Doug Stephens — President, Retail Prophet Consulting

For the holidays I took my friends, clients and business colleagues cookies. I bought them from a small coffee house and bakery in Toronto called Le Gourmand …

Leverage others' experience instead of wasting time on pure invention

by Chris Petersen — Owner, IMS

From the first days of school, we are taught that "copying others is bad." In the process of teaching students to think creatively, we create a lifetime…