The missing link in retail customer experience

by Chris Petersen — Owner, IMS

As I make my rounds teaching Retail University around the world, one of the most asked questions is "how do we transform customer experience in retail stores?…

Price increases leading to more spending on back-to-school shopping

July 31, 2012

Consumers' days of cutting back-to-school spending are behind them, according to Deloitte's annual "Back-to-School" survey.

RCE Podcast episode 5: Amazon profits plummet, more JC Penney news, and whether 'Made in America' still matters

Amazon made an awful lot of money in the second quarter - but kept only a fraction of it. We run the numbers in this episode, then talk about all of the news…

NRF releases infographic with top back-to-school trends for 2012

July 26, 2012

The National Retail Federation has released a new infographic filled with data relative to the upcoming back-to-school season.

Macy's novel approach to rolling out mobility in 800 stores

by Chris Petersen — Owner, IMS

Unless you have been living under a rock lately, you'll know that showrooming is one of the hottest topics in retailing. Consumers are increasingly using their…

Five ways to lose your Facebook business page fans

by Bob Phibbs — CEO, The Retail Doctor

Creating a Facebook business page for your small business and then growing your fan base has become a focus for many businesses and has the potential to be a…

RCE Podcast episode 4: Mobile retail marketing and Walmart's innovative approach to back-to-school

The mobile phone brings with it an almost infinite array of possibilities for retail marketers, but new innovations bring new concerns about ethical marketing…

Forecast: Women's clothing sales, online chatter about discounts to surge in Q3

July 19, 2012

In-store sales of women's clothing are expected to see a 9.2 percent increase in the third quarter of 2012, according to a just-released IBM analytics-based…

Commentary: Paying attention to the Retail Rule of Six

Loyal customers are six times more likely to rebuff competitive offers, especially price-based offers.

Charming CHARLIE adds in-store experience analytics tool

July 18, 2012

ForeSee, a customer experience analytics company, has announced that it will measure and analyze the in-store customer experience for Charming CHARLIE.

Study: One in 10 smartphone owners have written a review while in-store

Mobile and social customer experience strategies are becoming more important than ever for brands.

Loyalty means never having to say, "Eat that second doughnut"

by Bryan Pearson — President, LoyaltyOne

Smart marketers know that the key to winning customer loyalty is through using personal data in a way that benefits both the company and the consumer.

Petco discovers shopping trends with new analytics solution

July 18, 2012

Petco is learning about its customers with a new text analytics solution from LivePerson Inc., a provider of real-time engagement solutions. The pet store…

Do customers control your pricing?

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

The CEO of a staffing firm asked what I did for a living. When I told him that I help companies get higher prices regardless of what their competitors or the…

Survey: Average US consumer will spend $300 on back-to-school

July 17, 2012

The back-to-school shopping season is already underway with one-third of households reporting that they have begun to shop, according to a special ICSC-Goldman…

Why don't the old customer service ways work anymore?

by Micah Solomon — president, four aces inc

"Why don't the old ways work with customers anymore?" I hear this question frequently when I'm speaking at a business event or starting a new customer service…

Report: Mobile retail commerce rises in second quarter, social shopping drops

July 16, 2012

Mobile shopping rose while social media sales fell, providing an indication of where U.S. retailers may invest in order to capture the attention and loyalty of…

Retail purchases fall .5%

July 16, 2012

Retail sales dropped by .5 percent in June in the U.S., making it the third month in a row for decreased sales, according to Bloomberg, which reported that…

Klout: More social influence equals a better customer experience?

by Colin Shaw — Founder & CEO, Beyond Philosophy

I was very interested to see that organizations are starting to provide a better customer experience to people that have more social influence. You may have…

The customer-centric retail pricing zone

Analyzing shopping patterns across multiple stores allows for a more profitable pricing-zone strategy.