An amazing customer service idea: The $5 lifeboat

by Shep Hyken — CAO, Shepard Presentations

The second-generation owner of a chain of Ace Hardware stores, Tom Glenn, tells an inspiring story about his father, Elder Glenn.

Survey says mobile use to be high this holiday season

November 11, 2014

The report found shoppers are using their phones mostly to compare pricing and read product reviews, but retailers' tech-enabled associates are using mobile…

Half of Americans opposed to stores being open on Thanksgiving

November 11, 2014

Iconic retailer Macy's plans to launch Black Friday shopping at 6 o'clock Thanksgiving evening, down from 8 p.m. last year, and from midnight in 2011. Other…

ARTS announces major update to data model standards

November 11, 2014

The ARTS Operational Data Model is a retail-specific roadmap that allows a company to plan how it organizes and uses its transaction data.

Five retailers using technology to create remarkable shopping experiences

by Jeannie Walters — Chief Customer Experience Investigator, 360Connext

Customers are willing to pay more for a better experience. Here are five retailers using technology to deliver it to them.

NCR Silver POS adds bitcoin compatibility

November 10, 2014

Bitcoin support, which will be integrated with NCR Silver by the end of 2014, will be free to merchants.

Coupons.com, Samsung partner on mobile deals

November 10, 2014

Shoppers can now add Coupons.com's Card Linked Offers via their Samsung Wallet for automatic redemption at checkout.

Survey says holiday shoppers will spend more of their budget in-store than online

November 10, 2014

Respondents with incomes less than $100,000 spend more of their total holiday budget in-store than those with higher incomes, 54 percent versus 46 percent.

Index says Walgreens, Amazon, Pizza Hut and eBay have the best retail apps

by James Bickers — Editor, Networld Alliance

November 7, 2014

Research group ARC 360 has published its report "The State of the U.S. Retail Apps Economy," which aims to identify the best- and worst-performing retail apps…

Home Depot sheds more light on data breach

November 7, 2014

In addition to the payment information already known stolen, the company says the thieves also took files containing 53 million email addresses, but not their…

'Tis the season for insane pricing strategies

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

In times of heavy discounting, retailers are ignoring the power of convenience.

Givex's Vexilor POS now accepts bitcoin

November 7, 2014

Company announces partnership with Bitpay.

Gamifying your loyalty program: Five tips for a good hand

by Bryan Pearson — President, LoyaltyOne

Gamification is among the buzziest trends in loyalty marketing these days, and while it can be a compelling tool for early engagement, its effectiveness…

Book retailer ERNSTER adds 'Scan2Order' shopping feature

November 6, 2014

ERNSTER - l'esprit livre, Luxembourg's largest book retailer, has installed a new "Scan2Order" feature.

MasterCard to acquire TNS' Payment Gateway business

November 6, 2014

MasterCard will acquire TNS' e-commerce and card-present payment gateways, which will become part of the DataCash payment gateway suite.

Target appoints Jacqueline Hourigan Rice as SVP, chief risk and compliance officer

November 6, 2014

Rice joins Target effective Dec. 1 and will report directly to Brian Cornell, chairman of the board and chief executive officer of Target.

North American consumers embrace mobile payments and virtual currency

November 6, 2014

Accenture survey finds that 40 percent of consumers in Canada and the U.S. have used their smartphone to make a payment at a merchant location.

Six tips for becoming EMV compliant

by Laura Miller — Director of Marketing, Kioware

With the liability shift now less than a year away, it's time for retailers to get serious about their compliance plans.

Electronic gift cards gaining popularity, especially among millennials

November 5, 2014

Fifty-nine percent of gift cards are now offered electronically, up 18 percentage points from 2010.

How retailers can turn Big Data into real insights

Most of the data you're looking for is already in place; it's just a matter of going beyond spreadsheets to find it.