The retailer 'race to the bottom' brings pricing conundrums

December 11, 2012

As retailers become tangled up in price confusion in what a Forbes blogger calls a "race to the bottom," the consumer now has quite a few pricing styles to…

Small Business Saturday spending landed above forecast

December 11, 2012

A recent follow-up survey to the Small Business Saturday Consumer Insights Survey released by the National Federation of Independent Business (NFIB) and…

Can you add value?

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

If you think I’m asking about your organization’s capabilities, I’m not. Then where, exactly, does the ability to add value lie?

Multichannel makes shoppers take longer to make purchases, study shows

December 6, 2012

A new report from retail researchers Conlumino and loyalty specialist Webloyalty has found the advent of multichannel retailing has lengthened the shopping…

Hotel retail ditches the towels in favor of oddities

December 4, 2012

Hotel retail helps create an experience, according to an article on usatoday.com. While retail doesn't play a major role in revenue for hotels, unique retail…

Opinion: C-store retailers need convenient loyalty programs

December 4, 2012

An opinion piece on csnews.com explains the importance and benefits of loyalty programs for c-store retailers. The author cited a recent study from the NPD…

Indoor mapping gives power to retailers

by Natalie Gagliordi — Editor of KioskMarketplace.com, Networld Media Group

In-store navigation systems appeal to retailers looking to gain shopper insight and boost customer engagement.

Research points to puny layaway figures

December 3, 2012

Retailers may have been excited about the potential benefits of revamped layaway policies, but according to an article in the Houston Chronicle, several recent…

Two simple ingredients of personalization that almost all retailers miss

by Chris Petersen — Owner, IMS

Having lived in Canada, it is true that Thanksgiving is also celebrated there, albeit a month earlier than the US. The US Thanksgiving celebration has become a…

Is this the end of marketing?

by Doug Stephens — President, Retail Prophet Consulting

Imagine a world without marketing. No really… imagine a world where no one tries to sell you anything. Not because they don’t want to but because attempting…

Thanksgiving and Black Friday spending round-up

This year's average ticket price spiked, thanks to less aggressive discounting.

Researcher finds the scent of retail is a simple one

November 28, 2012

Retailers hoping to attract customers with the luring smells of the season should stay away from complex combinations of scents and stick with simple basics.

Anchoring effect a tool for sales people

November 28, 2012

The anchoring effect, a psychological phenomenon describing the common human tendency to rely too heavily on the first piece of information offered when making…

Mobile users shop in record numbers

November 28, 2012

PayPal announced the final numbers for Cyber Monday, the unofficial start to the online portion of the shopping season, and as expected, the numbers are…

Four myths of the marketplace

by Harvey Mackay — Author, Mackay Mitchell

1. We don’t have any competition.

Multichannel and showrooming helped retailers that did it right

November 27, 2012

Booz & Co. chief retail analyst Thom Blischok said Monday on CNBC that retail companies did well if they successfully integrated their online and…

Black Friday foot traffic went up while one-day sales declined

November 27, 2012

Black Friday data shows that foot traffic in stores rose 3.5 percent over Black Friday 2011 while sales saw a 1.8 percent decline from Black Friday 2011. Why…

New survey app rewards consumers as it tracks their behavior

November 27, 2012

TrendSource Inc., a market research company, announced the launch of an interactive mobile survey app, wINput (Win By Giving Your Input), which is now…

The allure of low prices

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

I missed the irony on my first read of the email in which a marketing firm talked about pricing. The second reading left me laughing. It never ceases to…

Early promotions get credit for Thanksgiving online sales

November 26, 2012

According to analytics findings from IBM, U.S. shoppers once again took advantage of early promotions this holiday season, driving a 17.4 percent increase in…