Retail imports expected to drop in typically slow February

February 11, 2014

Import volume at the nation's major retail container ports is expected to drop 8.4 percent in February from the same time last year as the shipping cycle…

CardLinx standard takes aim at return fraud

February 11, 2014

The CardLinx Association, a new association that facilitates the interoperability and growth of card-linked offers (CLOs), and Deem, a cloud commerce company…

Retail CFOs forecast 5 percent sales growth for 2014

February 11, 2014

Despite ongoing market uncertainty, retail chief financial officers are feeling more confident about the state of the consumer. According to a new BDO USA, LLP…

UK retail director: Online is 'driving structural change'

February 11, 2014

Helen Dickinson, the director of the British Retail Consortium, told United Press International today that online shopping is fundamentally changing the retail…

New social media monitoring, analytics tool hits market

February 11, 2014

Market Force Information, a provider of customer intelligence solutions, is helping restaurants and other multi-location businesses provide better customer…

Consumer optimism inches upward

February 11, 2014

Consumer optimism about the economy continues to inch upward after bottoming out in October 2013, according the latest monthly NACS Consumer Fuels Survey that…

Five requirements for improving employee performance for store growth

by Chris Petersen — Owner, IMS

From the headlines coming out of last month's NRF Big Show, it was difficult to tell if retail stores were "running scared" of e-commerce, or very optimistic…

Victoria's Secret, Nike top retail brand engagement index

Brand Keys has published the results of its 2014 study of emotional loyalty and engagement in retail.

Price and profit

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

A January 9, 2014 Washington Post/Associated Press article, "Retailers of all stripes sing holiday blues," states that seven retailers have cut fourth quarter…

NRF forecasts 4.1 percent increase in retail sales for 2014

February 7, 2014

The National Retail Federation released its 2014 economic forecast yesterday, projecting retail industry sales (which exclude automobiles, gas stations, and…

Global e-commerce sales to hit $1.5 trillion, driven by growth in emerging markets

Asia-Pacific leapfrogs North America to become world's largest regional e-commerce market.

January retail numbers: Shoppers battle the weather for good deals

Shopper traffic and window conversion showed improvement over last year for yet another month.

International sales from US retailers to jump to $50B by 2020

February 5, 2014

Global strategy consulting firm OC&C Strategy Consultants released a report today in collaboration with Google, entitled "The Global Retail e-mpire." The…

Gas customers evolve in how they shop for price

February 4, 2014

Price remains the dominant reason why consumers buy gas at a particular location, but how consumers shop for that price is shifting, according to the results…

Consumers likely to be frugal for Valentine's Day

February 4, 2014

On the heels of a healthy yet modest holiday shopping season, cautious consumers aren't quite ready to splurge on Valentine's Day this year, continuing to keep…

Shoppers increasingly want in-store experience to mirror online

February 3, 2014

Even as online shopping continues to grow, more U.S. shoppers are planning to make purchases from physical stores, according to the results of the latest study…

Using customer feedback as an advantage

by Shep Hyken — CAO, Shepard Presentations

Customers have always had a voice, but today it is louder than ever. Great companies want to hear from their customers. They want their feedback, opinions and…

More than a lost sale

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

During a store visit I got a chance to talk with a young woman I consider an excellent sales person. She delivered very engaging experiences and seemed focused…

89 percent of moms are regularly prompted by coupons to buy new food items

January 31, 2014

A study of more than 2,200 moms who primarily buy food for their family at supermarkets reveals that an overwhelming majority (89 percent) are regularly…

Mindshare Technologies announces text analytics tool for customer comments, reviews

January 31, 2014

Mindshare Technologies, a provider of cloud-based Voice of the Customer (VoC) technologies, has announced the general availability of Comment Poster, a new…