Top 100: 48. Cafes and other amenities

In-store cafés have become an integral part of bookstores, offering shoppers an oasis in which to linger over reading material. Last year, upscale chain…

RSR releases state of retail benchmark report

May 3, 2011

RSR Research's latest report, "Crystal Ball 2.0: The State of Retail Demand Forecasting, Benchmark 2011," finds that retailers believe demand forecasting…

Sears chairman takes blame for first-quarter losses

May 3, 2011

According to Reuters, Sears Holdings Corp. Chairman Edward Lampert took the blame for the company's first-quarter losses during the annual shareholders meeting…

Study: One in four shoppers will pay more for environmentally friendly products

May 3, 2011

According to a shopper experience study currently underway by The Integer Group and M/A/R/C Research, titled "The Checkout," nearly one in four shoppers are…

When two become one: Corporate Safe Specialists merges with Fire King

May 3, 2011

Corporate Safe Specialists Inc., a Posen, Ill.-based provider of cash-management products and services has merged with its portfolio company, FKI Security…

CETW: MediaTile's HumanKiosk

MediaTile CEO Simon Wilson shows how the HumanKiosk lets brands have a customer service representative on the sales floor without really having one on the…

Social Vending from Pepsi

by Jim Joseph — President, Lippe Taylor

My friend Stan Phelps turned me onto this little marketing innovation from Pepsi. It's actually pretty cool -- they've reinvented the vending machine and…

5 Questions Companies Must Tackle To Attract & Retain Customers (Part 1)

by Jeanne Bliss — Founder, CustomerBliss

The best leaders in my life asked more questions than they gave answers. Too often we jump to prescribing. We feel we know what customers want. We believe we…

NRF: Retailers increasing mobile, search efforts

May 2, 2011

In an effort to better serve multi-touchpoint, always-on, and empowered consumers, a growing number of retailers are experimenting with mobile and social…

Survey: Consumers will pay a premium for good service

U.S. consumers also tell twice as many people about bad service compared to good service.

Top 100: 49. Interactive storefront windows

More companies are using channels such as augmented reality (see No. 77) to create enhanced interactive storefront displays designed to allure and captivate…

Supermarket chain Big Y offers rewards card - with a fee

While some consumers expressed interest in the new plan, others were unenthusiastic.

Kidlandia opens shop inside FAO Schwarz

May 2, 2011

According to DDi Online, Kidlandia, a San Francisco-based company that lets kids personalize fantasy maps to create their own "kingdoms," has opened its first…

MasterCard CEO says company is looking at all mobile payment scenarios

May 2, 2011

On an earnings call with analysts today, MasterCard Inc. President and CEO Ajay Banga addressed mobile payments. According to Forbes, when asked about consumer…

CETW: A look at the Verizon bill payment kiosk

The new unit from KIOSK Information Systems allows users to pay by check as well as upgrade phone services.

CETW: Kiosk as social-media marketer

A new iSnap kiosk brings the photo booth into the social media era by allowing posers to take pics and upload them onto Facebook and Twitter on the spot.

Pricing patterns are predictable. Use them to your advantage.

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

It's fascinating how predictable pricing is, especially during changing economic times. During economic downturns the vast majority of companies discount…

Change your store hours to increase sales

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

No matter what state the economy is in, no matter how frugal consumers are, customer-centric retailers are building business. Here's one way for you to be one…

HP expands retail portfolio with kiosk, POS solutions

HP's technology can be used in a variety of settings, including retail, hospitality and healthcare.

Prysm announces new retail digital display solutions

May 1, 2011

Prysm, a company specializing in dynamic digital signage and kiosk initiatives, today announced its new line of retail solutions. Prysm’s product suite…