Sears CEO: Technology key to revitalizing company

January 2, 2012

Sears' chief executive officer, Lou D'Ambrosio, plans to turn around his company's performance by implementing technology and spending more money on stores…

Re-assuring the assurance factor: Why smiles and happy faces aren't enough

When providing customer service, courtesy is not a substitute for competence and skill.

Teamwork Retail using iPads to manage stores

December 29, 2011

Employees in Teamwork Retail stores are using iPads to ring up purchases and look up product info on the retail floor,

If only Ocean Marketing had been versed in bilateral customer service

December 29, 2011

The Ocean Marketing public relations nightmare that played out in the blogosphere last week never had to happen. Providing good customer service is retail 101…

3 things shoppers care more about than price

December 28, 2011

American consumers were less concerned with costs during the 2011 holiday shopping season than last year, according to the Foresee E-Retail Satisfaction Index…

Big boxes going condo is a "material" change

by Mark Murray — Director, The Store Channel

The most noticeable change for mass-market retail in the year ahead will be the introduction of new architectural materials and flooring. As "stores" evolve…

Amazon's deadline extended! Quick, what thought pops into your mind?

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

I just received an email from Amazon. In big, bold letters it said "FREE Super Saver Shipping Deadline Extended." Quick, what thought pops into your mind?

Book store owner starts petition against Amazon

December 27, 2011

A small shop owner is standing up against Amazon.com and its recent promotion urging customers shopping in brick-and-mortar stores to use its price-check app.

Retailers phasing out paper receipts

December 27, 2011

Receipts are going digital as more retailers offer to skip paper and email shoppers receipts, according to Consumer Watchdog Michael Finney.

Telescoping display caters to variety of store environments

December 26, 2011

Walls + Forms, Inc., a provider of displays, wall systems and signage, recently launched Scopic, a system that telescopes to provide flexibility in height and…

UK report defines retail's male 'hunter-gatherer'

December 26, 2011

A new type of male shoppper has emergerd, according to MyWardrobe.com, a U.K. online designer-led boutique.

Hold onto your wallets: Mobile payments seeing slow adoption

December 26, 2011

Although several major retailers from Gap to Toys R Us are partnering with banks, payment processors and Google to allow shoppers to pay via smartphones, the…

Facebook may be overrated

December 26, 2011

Retailers are still waiting for Facebook to payoff, and they may be waiting a long time, according to a story recently published on GulfNews.com.

IBM survey shows increase in Christmas Day m-commerce

December 26, 2011

If you received a shiny new mobile device from Santa, according to IBM the chances are good you used it to do a little online shopping.

What is 'knock your socks off customer service'?

Research finds that it costs five times more to attract a new customer than it does to keep one you already have.

Study: Consumer spending up this year

December 21, 2011

Consumers are spending more than last year, responding aggressively to holiday promotions, according to First Data's SpendTrend reports. The electronic…

Barneys NY using mobile POS

December 21, 2011

Barneys New York is going mobile this holiday season with MICROS-Retail's miStore mobile point-of-sale in its flagship Manhattan store.

It's Amazon's world, we're just living in it

by Jeff Weidauer — Vice President, Marketing & Strategy, Vestcom International, Inc.

It doesn't seem like all that many years ago when Amazon.com was touting itself as the "world's biggest bookstore." I remember listening to its radio ads in…

Six trends that will cause brick-and-mortar retailers to lose sleep in 2012

by Bob Phibbs — CEO, The Retail Doctor

It's customary to look ahead at the retail trends that will shape 2012 and the buzz, profits and challenges to profitable retailing. Here then are the good…

Waging war: Marketing vs. sales

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

Over the years I’ve seen and heard a lot of commentary about the roles of marketing and sales within organizations. Geoffrey James, a popular sales writer…