Maximizing sales during the Christmas rush

by Harry Friedman

'Twas the day before Christmas and all through the store,Not a salesper­son was available, so I walked out the door.

Survey names top 10 retailers for customer service

November 20, 2011

Whether it's an unbeatable return policy, a helpful sales associate or 24-hour shopping convenience, holiday shoppers define customer service in a variety of…

NRF: Eight in 10 customers plan to give gift cards this year

November 20, 2011

Thanks to e-gifting, instant delivery through Facebook, personalized video and even mobile options, gift cards have become unique gift ideas in their own…

Retailers planning extended Cyber Monday, holiday promotions

November 20, 2011

As online shopping continues to reach unprecedented levels, retailers plan to emphasize value and savings to their shoppers all holiday season long. According…

Torex launches mobile POS platform

November 20, 2011

Torex today launched kachng!, a cloud-based HTML5 point of sale which will work via browsers on tablet devices, smartphones and the traditional POS.

Checkpoint Systems helping Books-A-Million enhance customer experience

November 20, 2011

Checkpoint Systems Inc., a global supplier of shrink management, merchandise visibility and apparel labeling solutions for the retail industry, today announced…

CVS debuts new mobile features

November 20, 2011

Customers using smartphones can now scan refills, check ExtraBucks Rewards and order prints from CVS/pharmacy Photo Centers.

Shopkick rewards Visa cardholders

November 20, 2011

Visa Inc. has announced that its mobile app, Shopkick, now allows mobile users to earn more redeemable "kicks" by linking their eligible Visa debit or credit…

Social shopping: Are we there yet?

Retailers are increasingly turning to social media, but how many have realized its potential?

Some thoughts on Black Friday

by Jim Joseph — President, Lippe Taylor

In case you haven't noticed all the pre-hype, Black Friday is coming soon to a retailer near you.

How Google Street View might open the e-com door for small retail

by Doug Stephens — President, Retail Prophet Consulting

If you use Google maps, then you're probably familiar with Street View. As the name suggests, Street View allows users to literally fly down to street level…

Speed up sales by using QR codes

by Laurel Tielis — Author and Professional Speaker, Laurel Tielis & Associates

In addition to sushi and bonsai trees, we can thank the Japanese for QR codes, those black-and-white patterned squares that have become ubiquitous.They were…

NRF: Up to 152 million shoppers expected on Black Friday weekend

November 16, 2011

Though there are already plenty of great deals on everything from e-readers and smartphones to apparel and toys, Americans know there is only one Black Friday…

Holiday shopping going mobile

November 16, 2011

Twice as many shoppers plan to use smartphones or tablets this year to purchase gifts than last year, according to research from Webroot, an Internet security…

Study: Retailers must specialize in multi-channels to reach consumers

November 16, 2011

Boots, the health and beauty retailer headquartered in the UK, offers the best user experience across its online, mobile and in-store platforms, according to…

AT&T testing new store concept in Chicago

November 16, 2011

AT&T, with 2,300 stores, is one of the country's largest retailers, but now it's on a mission to be the best when it comes to customer service.

Website rewarding consumers for old purchases

November 16, 2011

Rewarding customers for what they already own is the goal of RNKD, a new website created by Nick Swinnurn, founder of Zappos.com

ShopSavvy releases new, improved version of its mobile shopping app

November 16, 2011

Fresh off a round of $7 million in Series A funding, mobile shopping assistant ShopSavvy released an updated version of its popular app for both iOS and…

Why is lululemon athletica quoting Ayn Rand?

by James Bickers

The yoga retailer's blog and shopping bags have recently extolled the "Bible of the Tea Party."

Unintentional branding

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

When we think of branding we tend to think of very large companies with hundreds of millions of dollars to spend on branding.