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…

Zytronic bringing interactive retail deployment to Asia

August 5, 2009

U.K.-based Zytronic, a display technology manufacturer, has announced its selection by digital media company Yeahpoint for an interactive project with…

Redbox responds to Fox pulling its new releases

August 5, 2009

According to an article in the L.A. Times, 20th Century Fox has joined Universal Studios in the fight against redbox. The studio has instructed its DVD…

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…

Intelligent online marketing boosts purchases by 25 percent

Marketers must employ direct digital marketing strategies that demonstrate an understanding of how consumers use technology to make purchases.

Three reasons customer service is so bad

August 3, 2009

New York Times blogger Jay Goltz says in his blog that even though people usually blame poor customer service on a particular generation, it really is caused…

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.

How to catch male shoppers: Market to women

The men's grooming market is set to explode, and retailers can reach it more directly by marketing to women.

Coinstar continues '09 march with Kroger deal

August 2, 2009

Despite this year's challenging economic environment, Coinstar Inc. has had a monumental 2009, so far. In the past two months, the company has announced the…

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…

NCR self-checkout wins IDEA award

July 30, 2009

NCR Corp. announced its SelfServ Checkout solution has won a bronze award in the 2009 International Design Excellence Awards, or IDEA, competition. According…

Hardware retailer seeks to boost profits with digital signage

July 30, 2009

Scandinavia's largest hardware store chain, XL-BYG, has announced the launch of a digital signage network in its stores after a three-month trial revealed…

Private label: The prestige brands of tomorrow?

Retail expert and author Kate Newlin says the only odd thing about private label brands is that they've taken so long to win shoppers over.

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…

Tesco accused of misleading ads

by James Bickers — Editor, Networld Alliance

July 28, 2009

The U.K.'s Advertising Standards Authority has a problem with recent ads from mega-retailer Tesco, which claim lower basket prices than competitor Asda.

Opinion: Why customer satisfaction surveys don't work

With 95 percent of our cognitive processing handled by the subconscious, how much value is there in surveys that probe the other five percent?

MarketLive dashboards serve up real-time e-tail data

by James Bickers — Editor, Networld Alliance

July 27, 2009

MarketLive announced the availability of its MarketLive Intelligent Insights solution, a SaaS business intelligence package that helps retailers "create…

Best Buy's new laptop sales model includes Internet service, steep discounts

by James Bickers — Editor, Networld Alliance

July 26, 2009

Electronics retailer Best Buy has tried a lot of strategies in recent months to stay ahead of its discount competition, everything from expanded Geek Squad…

New Christopher & Banks prototype celebrates 'women of all sizes'

by James Bickers — Editor, Networld Alliance

July 26, 2009

Minneapolis-based apparel retailer Christopher & Banks announced it will open a new prototype store in Moosic, Penn., and it will be branded with the…