Airport retail, foodservice trending toward more local flavor

March 4, 2008

The Salt Lake Tribune: Airports are responding to longer passenger wait times by improving the quality and focus of their retail and restaurant offerings.

Survey reveals shift in customer loyalty drivers

March 3, 2008

Display & Design Ideas: For the first time in 11 years all but two of the 57 categories tracked in the annual Brand Keys Loyalty Engagement Index have…

Convergence of digital signage, kiosks requires common strategy

March 2, 2008

The growing popularity of digital signage and the strong footprint already established by kiosks makes it impossible for businesses to ignore the two coming…

Half of consumers would give up convenience packaging for green reasons

March 2, 2008

MILAN, Italy — According to a Nielsen Global Food Packaging Survey, nearly one in two global consumers would give up all forms of packaging provided for…

Grabbing shoppers by the nose

by James Bickers — Editor, Networld Alliance

Intentional use of scents can profoundly impact the customer experience.

U.S. retailers just beginning to understand customer experience, report says

by James Bickers — Editor, Networld Alliance

February 27, 2008

Forrester Research has published "The State of Experience-Based Differentiation," a summary of its recent survey of 287 customer experience decision-makers…

Starbucks closes 7,100 stores for training

February 26, 2008

Wall Street Journal: Starbucks Corp. retaught baristas how to make espresso shots, steam milk and hand drinks to customers while it shut down nearly 7,10…

Singapore grocer testing RFID cart this year

February 26, 2008

ZDNet Asia: Singapore supermarket chain Cold Storage says it will be the first in Asia to implement "technology-enabled" shopping carts by the end of this…

IBM, Microsoft to collaborate on plug-and-play POS

February 25, 2008

REDMOND, Wash. — Microsoft Corp. announced that it is working with IBM to deliver a Windows Embedded-based "plug-and-play" solution to help make it faster and…

Wal-Mart, Target facing lawsuit over RFID use

February 25, 2008

CNET: Behind the scenes, Wal-Mart and Target use radio-frequency identification tracking systems to keep their shelves stocked, but that method could face new…

C-store signage network focuses on scalability, measurement

February 25, 2008

A digital signage network serving convenience stores needed a software solution that could accommodate a growing number of screens — all of which need…

EU may require deactivation of RFID tags at the POS

February 24, 2008

Reuters: RFID tags embedded in items ranging from pets to retail products will have to be deactivated at the point of sale to protect purchasers' privacy…

Opinion: the shopping experience can be more important than the product

February 24, 2008

Advertising Age: Nordstrom executives long have made it their business to do whatever is necessary to please the consumer — everything from stocking every…

Some Wal-Marts going upscale

February 24, 2008

Austin Business Journal: Wal-Mart Stores Inc. is going high-end. In some markets, such as the Dallas area, the retailer is upgrading its image to more closely…

Elf Yourself visitors skyrocket

by James Bickers — Editor, Networld Alliance

What value did it actually bring to OfficeMax?

Retail design conference to open Euroshop

February 21, 2008

Design Week: The Euroshop Retail Design Conference will open the 16th Euroshop trade fair in Düsseldorf, Germany, tomorrow. Speakers include Fitch chairman…

Blog: recession will be helped by 'reproduction mania'

by James Bickers — Editor, Networld Alliance

February 21, 2008

Heather Strang, blogger for Retail Design Diva, isn't particularly worried about the effect a possible recession would have on retail. No, she says, there are…

Analyst: as belts tighten, customers choose Wal-Mart over Target

February 21, 2008

Associated Press: Citi Investment Research analyst Deborah L. Weinswig said Wal-Mart's "low-price message" resonates with consumers who are trying to scale…

Customer satisfaction down overall, up online

February 19, 2008

Medill Reports: Another explanation for lackluster consumer spending emerged Tuesday when the University of Michigan's American Customer Satisfaction Index…

Public still wary of retail health clinics

February 19, 2008

Wall Street Journal: The public's still pretty wary of the retail clinics cropping up in Wal-Marts and drugstores around the country. But there are enough…