Five barriers to building retail customer loyalty

Loyalty programs should be about companies demonstrating their loyalty to customers, not the other way around.

Mobile Monday: Best Buy

Electronics retailer's app copies the in-store experience, is designed from the buyer's perspective.

Kmart offering discount flu shots, with loyalty card points

February 17, 2011

With flu season at its peak and the possibility of cases occurring as late as May this year, Kmart announced it is offering $15 flu shots, while supplies last…

Coinstar expanding services to stay in the game

Photo booth, "eBay in a kiosk" among the company's new launches.

Ask for My Phone Number and You’ll Get ZIP

by Lisa Biank Fasig — Director, JZMcBride and Associates

This week I have an unusual motivation for wanting to go out and buy something ­– I want to see if the cashier asks me for my ZIP code.

Walmart's pricing strategy: Further evidence revisited

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

Conflicting stories spawned further research. Did it change my message? A December 2010 Bloomberg Businessweek article cited in my "Further Evidence" article…

Retail POS Suite integrated with NetSuite cloud computing platform

February 15, 2011

MentisSoft LLC, a supplier of software and services for retail, healthcare, and educational applications, has announced the integration of its Retail POS Suite…

Bailey Banks & Biddle launches private-label credit card

February 15, 2011

Bailey Banks & Biddle, an iconic name in retail jewelry, has joined TD Retail Card Services' L.J.C. (Luxury, Jewelry, Class) private-label credit card…

Kiosk prints copies of even hard-to-find books

February 14, 2011

Most would assume that downloading e-books would cut paper demand. However, that’s not the case at the Harvard Book Store in Cambridge, Mass.

NRF: Stronger discretionary spending helps boost retail sales for seventh straight month

February 14, 2011

With consumers showing spending power beyond the holiday season, January marked the seventh straight month of retail sales gains. According to the National…

ACSI: Customer satisfaction weakens in biggest slump since 2008

February 14, 2011

Customer satisfaction as measured by the American Customer Satisfaction Index (ACSI) has not improved since the middle of 2009, and now registers its biggest…

Deutsche Telekom spoils Apple's NFC surprise?

by James Wester

February 14, 2011

Reports from Deutsche Telekom's press conference at the Mobile World Congress in Barcelona seem to confirm Apple's entry into the world of mobile payments. In…

ACSI falls: Biggest slump since 2008

Strong showings for Amazon, Netflix, Newegg, Publix, Nordstrom, Kohl's not enough to bolster satisfaction.

Rent redbox movies by phone

February 14, 2011

Movie lovers can now rent redbox DVDs from their mobile phones. The company has developed an Android app, an upgraded, iPhone app and an enhanced web…

The Enduring Allure of the Secret Handshake

by Doug Stephens — President, Retail Prophet Consulting

The world is an increasingly inclusive place and as a society, we've grown to expect equal and open access to just about everything. Facebook has become the…

Top retailers make employee health, happiness a priority

What comes first: Great retailers or great employers? The answer is that they go hand-in-hand.

Mobile Monday: Bebe app

The Bebe app offers just about everything a customer would want, but can be difficult to navigate.

Tried and true, or tired and through

by Doug Fleener — President and Managing Partner, Dynamic Experiences Group, LLC

I was talking with a retailer Monday who discussed with me all of the changes and decisions she needs to make concerning her stores, including investing in new…

Five ways to win back new private-label shoppers

American consumers continue to switch to lower-cost, private-label goods across every supermarket category.

Is the era of the printed mail-order catalog coming to an end?

by James Bickers — Editor, Networld Alliance

JCPenney has shut down its catalog after 48 years, but other retailers are using theirs to strategic advantage.