Retail sales in Canada increase slightly in some sectors

October 23, 2012

Canadian retail sales rose 0.3 percent in August, according to numbers released by Statistics Canada, but the offset from higher food and gas prices resulted…

Retail sales have positive, unexpected September surge

October 18, 2012

Economic reports released this week show more signs of a gradual economic expansion in the U.S., according to an article on costar.com. The Census Bureau…

The high price of being too clever

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

"Any intelligent fool can make things bigger and more complex ... It takes a touch of genius — and a lot of courage to move in the opposite direction." So said…

NRF: Consumer spending surged in September

October 15, 2012

Propelled by solid sales in clothing and electronics stores, growth in retail sales in September offered a promising outlook for the critical holiday months…

'Sudden' interest in everyday low prices

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

An article by Ely Portillo at CharlotteObserver.com indicates that Lowe's is the latest company to try everyday low prices. This comes on the heels of failed…

Brick-and-mortar retailers gaining ground on Web-only, off-shore rivals

October 11, 2012

An analysis by the Commonwealth Bank of Australia reported by The Australian Financial Review found that brick-and-mortar retailers are gaining ground on…

Customer experience management makes for good marketing

by Kimberly Nasief — President, Measure Consumer Perspectives

Customer experience management can be the difference between good marketing and bad marketing. As every business owner knows, a happy customer is the best form…

What every retailer must know about Gen Y, part 2

Thrift is the new shopping; they call it thrifting. In this way, Millennials resemble their grandparents' Silent Generation.

Your favorite retail 'store' might just be your pickup locker

by Chris Petersen — Owner, IMS

The growth of ecommerce is literally old news. Pure e-tailers and traditional retailers with online sites are increasingly winning the hearts and wallets of…

Like ketchup, but sweeter! The customer experience and customer taste

by Micah Solomon — president, four aces inc

My son and I were eating barbecue together recently. The restaurant in question is one of those excruciatingly cheerful, homogenized theme restaurants. Not my…

Who is the master of your company's destiny?

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

Who's controlling your business's destiny? Here are some simple questions to assess how much control you have over your business.

Hybris study finds consumers prefer to purchase direct from retailer, instead of via social media

October 3, 2012

The communication software provider Hybris announced the results of its U.S. 2012 Social Media and Shopping Survey which analyzed U.S. consumers' attitudes…

What every retailer must know about Gen Y, part 1

Millennials live two lives: one in real time and the other in an edited virtual world.

NRF forecasts 4.1 percent growth in holiday sales

October 2, 2012

Tempered by political and fiscal uncertainties but supported by signs of improvement in consumer confidence, holiday sales this year will increase 4.1 percent…

Unmetric's Top Retailer Report shows social media showdown

Target is the clear leader on Twitter, while Walmart leads in Facebook presence.

A customer service solution (soul-ution, actually)

by Micah Solomon — president, four aces inc

When I boarded the commuter ferry on Saturday, it seemed unusually crowded. A crew member explained: "We have a capacity crowd — about 2,500 souls — aboard…

The iPhone 5: Our best bet for clipping and saving trust?

by Bryan Pearson — President, LoyaltyOne

Of the many features the newly released iPhone 5 can offer, one of the most compelling for the consumer is this: It eliminates the clip-and-save.

Latest tech pair-up brings retailers detailed shopper data

September 27, 2012

Irisys Inc., which specializes in thermal technology, and WirelessWerx, which specializes in in-store behavioral analytics, have announced a partnership and a…

Holiday sales predicted to increase

by Annamaria Turano — Executive Director, MCAworks

Deloitte recently shared their forecast that holiday sales are expected to increase between 3.5 percent and 4 percent as the economy and the presidential…

ICSC forecasts holiday chain store sales to increase by 3 percent

September 26, 2012

With the holiday season right around the corner, the International Council of Shopping Centers (ICSC) is forecasting a 3.0 percent sales increase for the…