Saying no, thank you, to bad customer relations

by Lisa Biank Fasig — Director, JZMcBride and Associates

Consumers today are accustomed to earning points for their purchases, but coins for being courteous? How Nice.

Declaring that you are omni-channel does not make it so

by Chris Petersen — Owner, IMS

You have to be living under a rock if you haven't seen the seismic shift in consumer shopping patterns. While US retailer stores did OK on Black Friday…

Kohl's, JCPenney, Nordstrom top Google's 2013 most-searched apparel brands and retailers list

December 17, 2013

Google's Zeitgeist feature, which lets users browse dozens of different interactive lists that detail online activity, offers up this year-end list of the…

Heavy snowstorm brought down retail traffic, sales last week

December 17, 2013

The time to procrastinate is nearly over for holiday shoppers. ShopperTrak, the world's largest counter and analyzer of retail shopper traffic, reported GAFO …

Four customer experience management predictions for 2014

Geofencing, A/B testing in real life are on the way in the coming months.

Half of holiday shoppers plan to wrap up lists online, highest in NRF survey history

December 17, 2013

According to NRF's latest holiday survey conducted by Prosper Insights & Analytics, nearly half (49.9 percent) of holiday shoppers indicate they plan to do…

Four differences between U.S. and European loyalty programs

by Bryan Pearson — President, LoyaltyOne

My dollar may be worth just 70 cents in Europe, but my loyalty rewards, and lessons, run in the multiples.

Retail haggling is making a comeback

December 16, 2013

NBC News reports that this holiday season, retailers are seeing the return of a practice once mainly relegated to single-location stores, flea markets and…

With clock ticking, retailers and consumers prepare for a very big holiday shopping weekend

December 13, 2013

According to the National Retail Federation's latest holiday survey conducted by Prosper Insights & Analytics, as of Dec. 9, the average holiday shopper…

November SpendTrend analysis shows hike in prepaid use

December 13, 2013

First Data Corp. SpendTrend analysis for Oct. 31 through Dec. 2. charted a dollar volume growth of 4.4 percent — a downturn from October growth of 6.8 percent.

Study reveals which online retailers did best on Cyber Week across the 'three screens'

December 12, 2013

Keynote, a provider of mobile and Web cloud testing and monitoring, just wrapped up its analysis of Cyber Week — the outshoot of Cyber Monday — as online…

Shortened calendar, promotions spur November retail sales

December 12, 2013

The shortened holiday shopping season spurred consumer spending in November, as Americans took advantage of Black Friday and Cyber Monday deals to make holiday…

ShopperTrak reports retail sales, traffic decreased last week

December 11, 2013

Consumers spent a majority of last week recovering from "Black Weekend" holiday shopping. ShopperTrak reported that for the week of Dec. 2 to Dec. 8…

Consumer spending growth slowed despite strong retail sales during Thanksgiving and Black Friday

December 11, 2013

First Data Corp. has released its First Data SpendTrend analysis for Oct.31, 2013 through Dec.2, 2013 compared with Nov. 1 through Dec. 3, 2012. SpendTrend…

IDC Retail Insights releases top 10 predictions for 2014

December 10, 2013

IDC Retail Insights today hosted a webinar, "IDC Retail Insights 2014 Predictions: Worldwide Retail" highlighting the top 10 predictions for the year ahead. It…

Post-Black-Friday research: Consumers more focused on their budget, getting good deals

December 10, 2013

After a successful extended Black Friday and another week in the stores, a healthy proportion of holiday shoppers are well on their way to being finished with…

Lululemon chairman Chip Wilson resigns

December 10, 2013

Chip Wilson, the controversial co-founder and chairman of Lululemon, has resigned from his position. Laurent Potdevin, recently the president of TOMS Shoes…

Nearly 70 percent of consumers under age 30 consider social issues before buying

Study also finds increasing demand for conflict-free gifts.

Nordstrom named shoppers' favorite apparel retailer

December 10, 2013

Nordstrom is North America's overall favorite fashion retailer for the second consecutive time, according to a new study of more than 6,800 consumers conducted…

Fairfield University professor delves into 'acquisitive buying behavior'

December 10, 2013

Most people have a "Santa Claus moment" this time of year, when they're knee deep into the "physical hunt" of shopping and "boasting" about nabbing that good…