Chico's adds live help to its e-tail sites

by James Bickers — Editor, Networld Alliance

August 24, 2009

Chico's, which operates three online retail brands (www.chicos.com, www.soma.com and www.WhiteHouseBlackMarket.com), is adding an integrated live help…

Getac unveils real-time RFID kit

by James Bickers — Editor, Networld Alliance

August 18, 2009

V3 reports a new RFID release from ruggedized computing manufacturer Getac. Aimed at retail, warehousing and manufacturing, the system is "a hybrid of active…

Hands-on review: Best Buy's Twelpforce

by James Bickers — Editor, Networld Alliance

The electronics retailer is using Twitter to connect customers to an army of tech experts. How well does it work?

Study: Attractive store personnel could 'put off shoppers'

by James Bickers — Editor, Networld Alliance

August 16, 2009

While conventional wisdom suggests that you want attractive, well-groomed people staffing the aisles and counters of your retail establishment, a new study…

London retailer puts shoplifter photos on its web site

by James Bickers — Editor, Networld Alliance

August 16, 2009

Home Bargains, which operates 190 discount stores throughout the United Kingdom, is taking a rather drastic step in combating theft: it is uploading CCTV…

Luxury retailers need to personalize the online experience

by James Bickers — Editor, Networld Alliance

August 13, 2009

Shopping a luxury retailer is a singular experience — the setting, the products, the (hopefully) excellent service. But most of those things go away when…

Thomas Pink, Warehouse merge channels with BT

by James Bickers — Editor, Networld Alliance

August 12, 2009

British luxury shirt maker Thomas Pink and high-street retailer Warehouse have implemented the BT Expedite multi-channel solution to link their online and…

Hilo Hattie goes live with MICROS-Retail POS/merchandising solution

by James Bickers — Editor, Networld Alliance

August 12, 2009

Hilo Hattie Fashion Centers, a Hawaiian retailer of apparel and merchandise, announced that it has completed roll-out of an end-to-end POS and merchandising…

Deloitte reports consumer spending up for second straight month

by James Bickers — Editor, Networld Alliance

August 11, 2009

A year or two ago it would have seemed meager, but today it feels like reason for celebration: Consumer spending went up in July, the second straight month of…

Walmart emphasizing 'endcaps on steroids'

by James Bickers — Editor, Networld Alliance

August 11, 2009

Retailers are reclaiming their endcaps, traditionally used by brands to merchandise their products in thematic fashion. Recent months have seen a greater…

Taming the loyalty card beast

by James Bickers — Editor, Networld Alliance

New tools — both high-tech and low-tech — aim to liberate loyalty cards from the key chain.

Research: Most consumers will pay more for a good experience

by James Bickers — Editor, Networld Alliance

August 9, 2009

Research firm Strativity Group has released the findings of its "2009 Customer Experience Consumer Study."

Microsoft unveils retail store logo

by James Bickers — Editor, Networld Alliance

August 9, 2009

Late last month, Microsoft filed an application with the U.S. Patent and Trademark Office to protect the image you see at the right. The class status for the…

Best Buy turns Sunday circulars into interactive 3D demos

by James Bickers — Editor, Networld Alliance

August 6, 2009

Electronics retailer Best Buy has quietly unveiled a new interactive domain, www.BestBuyin3D.com, which turns the company's Sunday circulars into impressive…

Home Depot channel VP: 'We're going to come into the 90s'

by James Bickers — Editor, Networld Alliance

August 5, 2009

Getting retail channels integrated is not easy, and that's precisely why so many retailers haven't fully done it yet. Home Depot's specialty channel VP Michael…

Luxury brands extend their names to non-luxury items — and consumers buy it

by James Bickers — Editor, Networld Alliance

August 4, 2009

An article in the latest issue of Time magazine is fodder for retail skeptics everywhere. It rehashes the results of an upcoming study in the Journal of…

Study: Customers want simpler, easier-to-understand food labeling

by James Bickers — Editor, Networld Alliance

August 4, 2009

Progressive Grocer reports on a new survey from Guiding Stars Licensing Co., which suggests that grocery shoppers are getting fed up with arcane, hard-to-read…

Is Radio Shack rebranding as 'The Shack'?

by James Bickers — Editor, Networld Alliance

August 2, 2009

Founded in 1921, Radio Shack is one of the oldest retailers in the electronics space, beginning its life as seller of high-end amateur radio gear.

Luxury retailers expanding the reach of their 'secret sales'

by James Bickers — Editor, Networld Alliance

August 2, 2009

The New York Times reports on the growing incidence of luxury retailers taking their "secret sales" and making them not-so-secret, in order to actually move…

Sweden testing mobile phone payments

by James Bickers — Editor, Networld Alliance

July 28, 2009

There has been much speculation about the mobile phone as the all-in-one payment device of the future, and while adoption of that technology has taken off in…