BF Group digital signage pods at Westfield London

Westfield is West London’s newest shopping mall. Much has been made of BF Group’s installation of CBS Outdoor pods at Westfield last year, which are placed…

Digital signage on London's Oxford St.

Walking up and down one of London’s busiest corridors shoppers and commuters can find screens galore, many of them in the windows of cell phone providers…

New retail display system provides item-level intelligence

April 23, 2009

DIXON, Ill. — UPM Raflatac, Seeonic and Alliance have announced the deployment of a new generation of Alliance's MAXRPM, an inventory management system for…

Netflix CEO: Kiosks are our main competition

April 23, 2009

MarketWatch: Netflix Inc. chief executive Reed Hastings said Thursday that the online DVD rental pioneer expects $1 kiosks to be its main competitor by the…

Espresso Book Machine prints books on demand, while the customer waits

April 23, 2009

Times Online: Beginning next week a small revolution in bookselling will make searching for obscure, out-of-print and otherwise long-forgotten books a whole…

Finding the financial value of the customer

When making customer service decisions, consider the lifetime revenue each customer provides — and their potential for sending referrals.

Survey shows effectiveness of in-store cosmetics demos

April 21, 2009

GOLDENROD, Fla. — Cosmetic Promotions, a national marketing and promotion company, completed a six-month customer response survey on in-store demonstrations.

Zenhire, Associates Interactive offer pre-hire training tool

April 21, 2009

BUFFALO, N.Y. — Retail training firm Associates Interactive has announced that it will develop customized training programs for Zenhire Inc., a provider of…

Tesco plans next-gen loyalty program

April 21, 2009

Marketing Week: Supermarket giant Tesco intends to create a next-generation loyalty scheme as a powerful weapon in its fight to prevent rivals eroding its…

NCR buys DVD kiosk operator TNR

April 21, 2009

Home Media Magazine: NCR Corp. has bought the remaining equity in TNR Holdings Corp., which operates The New Release and MovieCube kiosks. NCR had been a…

J.C. Penney rolling out 'smart fixture' kiosks

April 21, 2009

The Dallas Morning News: Penney is melding its online and in-store presence with something it calls a "smart fixture," a device which hasn't been given a…

Live chat drives sales, satisfaction — but only when executed honestly

by James Bickers — Editor, Networld Alliance

Web retailers that offer live text-chat assistance can increase conversion and generate word-of-mouth, but poor or dishonest execution can spell disaster.

Study: Shoppers trading down, changing shopping patterns

April 19, 2009

Progressive Grocer: The recession and related consumer financial concerns are driving dramatic change in shopping and eating behavior. Recent Retail Forward…

Office Depot offering free resumes, faxing

April 19, 2009

BOCA RATON, Fla. — Office Depot announced it is offering customers free copies of their resumes and free faxing from April 19 to May 30, 2009.

Opinion: Loyalty is more than points programs

Building a perfect loyalty program requires a delicate balance between reward and customer effort — and online retailers are leading the way.

Virtual shopping trips yield real results

April 16, 2009

Brandweek: Despite the flash-in-the-pan success of virtual reality mediums like Second Life, marketers are flocking to VR—for research purposes. Computerized…

Denver retailer is half gallery, half store

April 15, 2009

The Denver Post: Part gallery and part retail shop, Composition offers what owner Jennifer Roberts calls "curated rotational retail." The themed shopping…

Mother's Day spending dips, but 'moms will understand'

April 15, 2009

WASHINGTON, D.C. — It's not easy having the hardest job in the world, but mom will likely understand the reasoning behind smaller, less expensive gifts for…

Gamefly debuts video game rental kiosks

April 15, 2009

The Daily Toreador (Texas Tech Univ.): GameFly, an online video game rental service, recently launched its G-Box Kiosk, the first of its kind at colleges and…

Luxury vending machine sells Bentley convertibles, condos

April 14, 2009

Chicago Tribune: In the market for a Bentley sports car, a Jean Paul Gaultier dress or a cell phone, but don't feel like dealing with a pesky salesperson?