2011 -- The Year of Retail Redesign

by Mike Wittenstein — Customer Experience and Service Designer, Storyminers

2011 will be the year of retail redesign. There are three reasons why this is true. The winners will be the stores that focus on value creation and do so by…

Top 100: 98. TJ Maxx

The fashionomics (as TJ Maxx terms it) of off-price retail is simple: selling clothing and accessories from major-label brands at low prices. By forging solid…

Why 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…

Top 100: 99. Toys "R" Us

In an effort to position itself as being more convenient for customers, Toys "R" Us launched some 600 Express pop-up stores in malls and shopping centers…

Item-level RFID comes to 150 European stores

December 20, 2010

Technology company Trimble Navigation Limited announced today that its ThingMagic M5e and M5e-Compact RFID reader modules are being used as part of an…

Five things customers hate about holiday retail

by James Bickers — Editor, Networld Alliance

Repetitive music, crowded aisles are on the list of things that can send shoppers screaming from your store.

NRF announces 2011 award recipients

December 20, 2010

The National Retail Federation has announced that executives from Nordstrom, The Container Store, Urban Outfitters and Sir Philip Green of Arcadia Group, which…

Post Holiday Success: Maximizing the Season of Me

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

Starting December 26th retailers move into what I call the Season of Me. Customers will descend on your store for the next two weeks armed with gift cards…

New Buy.com mobile app features barcode scanning, voice recognition

December 19, 2010

Online retailer Buy.com has launched its new app for Apple iPhone and iPod Touch. Using barcode technology and an advanced voice-recognition platform from…

Top 100: 100. ZARA

Rather than promoting predicted trends via fashion shows and similar channels of influence, ZARA focuses its attention on understanding the fashion items its…

Unexpected Consequences

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

I must admit I never saw this one coming.

Facebook users can print photos at Target kiosks

December 16, 2010

Consumers can now create prints of their Facebook photos by using Socially Connected KODAK Picture Kiosks deployed throughout Target stores.

Service with a Capital You

by Lisa Biank Fasig — Director, JZMcBride and Associates

It always bugged me that almost every specialty store displays its small-sized clothes on the top rack, where small people cannot easily reach them, while the…

Survey reveals generational differences in holiday shopping plans

Mobile phones have become an integral part of holiday shopping, in a number of ways.

Aligning store labor and inventory leads to customer advocacy

Inability to integrate labor and inventory forecasts can drag down customer experience.

I-Display rolling out battery-operated digital shelf display

December 15, 2010

London-based i-Display has announced that it is producing the iShelf, a battery-operated, digital signage shelf display that company representatives said can…

Independent We Stand emphasizes benefits of shopping local for the holidays

by James Bickers — Editor, Networld Alliance

A new movement called Independent We Stand is taking to the net this holiday season with a message about why consumers should spend more of their gifting…

Developments in Audience Measurement for Digital Signage

Video technology is being used to measure network audiences with pinpoint accuracy.

Visa Mobile app brings location-based services to iPhone

December 14, 2010

Visa Inc. today announced it is making shopping easier and more convenient for budget-conscious consumers by offering the Visa Mobile application for the…

TIO Networks partners with iQmetrix for bill-pay

December 14, 2010

TIO Networks, a provider of bill-payment services through kiosks and other technology, has announced a partnership with iQmetrix to serve a growing base of…