Lessons learned from the Transit of Venus

by James Tenser — Principal, VSN Strategies

Recently I attended an event that will never be repeated in your or my lifetime. It was a viewing of the transit of the planet Venus across the face of the…

How stress impacts buyer behavior

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

Behavioralists tell us that if you want to know the true nature of a person, observe them in stressful situations. How can we tell when buyers are stressed?

The seven reasons independent retailers go broke

by Bob Phibbs — CEO, The Retail Doctor

When I was first starting my retail consultancy business back in the 90?s, independent retailers dreaded the arrival of retail super chains like Walmart in…

Retailers to better understand consumer behavior with Adlucent's shopping analytics

June 6, 2012

Non-brand campaigns generate more new customer sales than brand campaigns, according to findings from Free People, a clothing boutique that used new shopping…

NRF: Shoppers will spend more than ever for Father's Day this year

June 6, 2012

Dads' loved ones will heed the call of those shiny new golf clubs and hot new electronic gadgets this year, according to NRF's latest survey that found that…

Accelerating your company or store's performance

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

accelerate - to cause faster or greater activity, development, progress, advancement, etc., in: to accelerate economic growth.

Buyers behave irrationally

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

Ruti Levy, in her Haaretz.com article "Building blocks of high prices," cited the fact that Israelis are paying 3 to 3.5 times what they would online for…

Survey: Big box retailers are earning visits on price, but losing customers on experience

June 5, 2012

Empathica Inc., a provider of customer experience management solutions, has announced that its Consumer Insights Panel survey of more than 6,500 U.S. consumers…

IBM Mobile Shopper provides in-store digital scanning, self-checkout

June 4, 2012

IBM has launched retail technology that allows consumers to scan items into their mobile phones while shopping and then check themselves out at an IBM…

Brazil: Retail lessons from the land of beef

by Chris Petersen — Owner, IMS

While in much of the world economies and retail are still in recovery mode, Brazil is a bull of an economy. Brazil is bold, brazen and the land of where "beef…

Study: Consumers want choice of manned, self-service checkout

May 31, 2012

Consumers want a choice of service options with manned checkout (60 percent) and self-service (21 percent), according to a recent survey conducted by TNS on…

You had me at hello, but: What neuromarketing and Big Data miss

I'm a geek. I love big data and ferreting out patterns. Nothing fascinates me more than the burgeoning field of neuromarketing.

Can pricing build trust?

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

As business owners, we instinctively know that trust is essential to our success. The day we lose our customers trust is the day we lose their business. Game…

Staying on your customer's friends list

by Bryan Pearson — President, LoyaltyOne

Many of us strive to be No. 1, but when it comes to social circles, the first task is to make it into the 150.

Commentary: Building a proximity marketing strategy that protects customers

Consumers are wary, rightly so, of any attempt to use their personal information to gather data and sell products.

Study: Consumers name Giant Food, ShopRite as favorite grocers

May 24, 2012

Giant Food is consumers' favorite grocer, followed closely by ShopRite and then Walmart, according to a new consumer study by Market Force Information, a…

The spectacular marketing fail of JC Penney

by Bob Phibbs — CEO, The Retail Doctor

Ron Johnson, Penney's CEO, said last week that "coupons were a drug."

Government-controlled pricing

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

A May 7, 2012 article in the Bankgok Post, "The price of ignorance can be high," highlights the folly of government interference in pricing. Why are…

NRF: Retailers leveraging tablets to elevate brand, boost sales

May 23, 2012

With more than 60 million Americans forecast to own a tablet computer by the end of this year, retailers say tablets are driving an increasingly larger share…

Social media has the power to kill pink slime

by Chris Petersen — Owner, IMS

Bettina Siegel is the poster child for what a blog can do.