News & Media From Doug Stephens
Is the deal finally done for daily deal sites?
by Doug Stephens — President, Retail Prophet Consulting
One short year ago, the hype around daily deals was electric. In the analyst community, you could barely get through a day without hearing something about…
read nowThe one and only question facing Sears
by Doug Stephens — President, Retail Prophet Consulting
Amid the sounds of tearing gift wrap and popping champagne corks, ailing giant Sears Holdings Corp. announced over the holidays its intent to close as many as…
read nowIf the only discernable difference between you and Amazon is the sales tax, you never had a chance in the first place.
by Doug Stephens — President, Retail Prophet Consulting
The recent launch of Amazon's price check app was greeted with everything from retailer outrage to government sabre rattling! Some even called it evil! Really?
read nowThe problem with mobile wallet no one is talking about
by Doug Stephens — President, Retail Prophet Consulting
If you own a credit card, it's entirely possible that you've run into situations where your card won't work. Maybe your credit limit was exceeded, your mag…
read nowHow Google Street View might open the e-com door for small retail
by Doug Stephens — President, Retail Prophet Consulting
If you use Google maps, then you're probably familiar with Street View. As the name suggests, Street View allows users to literally fly down to street level…
read nowSocial media doesn't suck (but your marketing might)
by Doug Stephens — President, Retail Prophet Consulting
Hardly a day goes by that I don't read at least one article that debates the inherent value of social media. The marketing community continues to hunt for the…
read nowThe declining need for, and escalating value of, human service
by Doug Stephens — President, Retail Prophet Consulting
Technology has been steadily reducing the number of human service interactions we require in an average day. For at least the last decade, the list of what we…
read nowThe income gap: The growing chasm between server and served
by Doug Stephens — President, Retail Prophet Consulting
Review any retail sales training program written in the past 50 years and you'll likely encounter multiple references to the word "rapport." Rapport, or the…
read nowAvoiding your Napster Moment
by Doug Stephens — President, Retail Prophet Consulting
In a previous post I talked about how companies are often blind-sided by what I call Napster moments. Napster moments are radical, game-changing innovations…
read nowTaking search right to the shelf
by Doug Stephens — President, Retail Prophet Consulting
If you’ve ever searched for a product on your mobile device that you wanted to find and buy right away, you know what you mostly get back are a mix of results…
read nowGuy Kawasaki on enchantment in retail
by Doug Stephens — President, Retail Prophet Consulting
I caught up with author, speaker and investor Guy Kawasaki to discuss his new book Enchantment: The Art of Changing Hearts, Minds and Actions. Specifically, I…
read nowIs 'America-washing' the next big thing?
by Doug Stephens — President, Retail Prophet Consulting
Walmart CEO Mike Duke surprised analysts last week by announcing that the majority of the products the retailer sells are made in the United States. The…
read nowThe Napster Moment
by Doug Stephens — President, Retail Prophet Consulting
In 1999, a teenager and a relatively simple piece of technology rocked the music industry. The teen was Shawn Fanning, the technology was P2P file sharing…
read nowDoes love scale?
by Doug Stephens — President, Retail Prophet Consulting
Wal-Mart recently announced its purchase of social media firm Kosmix to help it better manage and capitalize on its social and mobile marketing efforts. What…
read nowScan This! QR Codes Are History
by Doug Stephens — President, Retail Prophet Consulting
Google recently announced that it is ending both its development and support of QR (Quick Response) codes. QR or 2-D barcodes as they are sometimes called…
read nowLuxury Isn't Social
by Doug Stephens — President, Retail Prophet Consulting
I've read a number of articles recently commenting on the conspicuous lack of social marketing in the luxury sector. While it's also true that participation in…
read nowThe Enduring Allure of the Secret Handshake
by Doug Stephens — President, Retail Prophet Consulting
The world is an increasingly inclusive place and as a society, we've grown to expect equal and open access to just about everything. Facebook has become the…
read nowWhy Your Incentive Plan Might Be Killing Sales
by Doug Stephens — President, Retail Prophet Consulting
New research into human motivation may hold some surprises for companies who have long held to the "carrot and stick" approach to incentives. The truth is…
read nowWhy Apple Will Dominate Location Based Marketing
by Doug Stephens — President, Retail Prophet Consulting
Location based services are quickly becoming the marketers most powerful tool to reach consumers in a contextual and relevant way. But could an unlikely…
read nowAugmented Reality: The Impeding Battle for Digital Real Estate
by Doug Stephens — President, Retail Prophet Consulting
By Doug Stephens
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