NRF: March retail sales growth marks positive start to spring

April 16, 2012

Thanks to an earlier Easter holiday and unseasonably warm weather through much of the country, retailers in March witnessed solid sales growth. According to…

Beating the showrooming blues

by Jeff Weidauer — Vice President, Marketing & Strategy, Vestcom International, Inc.

Today's Wall Street Journal carries an article on what's being called "showrooming." This is a relatively new activity where shoppers go to a local brick &…

Study: How grocery shoppers use digital media

April 11, 2012

More than 23,000 shoppers participated in a survey that has generated insights about how best to market to customers in today's increasingly multi-channel…

RAMP: Getting customer feedback without boring surveys

Talking to customers is the only way to keep them happy, according to Saygent, a company that has designed an open-voice feedback system that asks customers…

Can Penney's squareness lead to loyalty?

by Lisa Biank Fasig — Director, JZMcBride and Associates

Being fair and being loyal are not the same thing. But can one engender the other?

Study: French e-commerce growing despite delivery kinks

April 6, 2012

Although 91 percent of French consumers shopped online over the past year, 27 percent asked for a refund at least once because of delivery hassles, according…

March retail sales trend up

April 6, 2012

March was a good month for the nation's retailers. Major chains posted a 4.3 percent sales increase in March compared with the same month a year earlier…

Why consumer confidence deserves much less attention

by Doug Stephens — President, Retail Prophet Consulting

To say things have changed since 1967 is an understatement. Much of the technology we take for granted today was merely science fiction then. National…

Amazon.com is America's 'most relevant retailer'

April 5, 2012

Amazon.com is America's most relevant retailer of any kind, according to a study by Brodeur Partners that ranked the Top 10 most relevant retailers.

Online shoppers embracing live chat options

April 4, 2012

Online shoppers in the U.K and the U.S. are embracing live chatting options as a way of communicating with retailers, according to a study by LogMeIn Inc. and…

Study: Mobile isn't the end for brick-and-mortar stores

Most consumers still want to shop in stores.

Australia reports increase in February retail sales

April 3, 2012

Australian retail sales increased last month, led by gains at department stores and newsstands in an economy driven by mining investment, according to…

The agony and the ecstasy of online product reviews

by James Bickers — Editor, Networld Alliance

Today's xkcd comic is a pretty brilliant illustration of just how frustrating online product reviews have become for consumers.

Sony moves to common pricing

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

Sony's CEO, Phil Molyneux, announced a move to common pricing beginning April 1, 2012. What is common pricing? More importantly, what is the impetus for this…

NRF 2012: Tools to get more from the retail floor

SMS (Store Management System) believes retailers overestimate floor traffic and the percent of it they sell. Analytics and resulting strategies can increase…

For retail, honesty is the only policy

Misleading customers leads to far worse problems than telling them something unpleasant they need to hear right now.

NRF: Easter sales to exceed $16 billion

March 20, 2012

Americans will shell out an average of $145.28 on everything from apparel and candy to food and decorations this year, up 11 percent from $131.04 last year…

Walmart customers now shopping Amazon.com

March 20, 2012

Although most of Walmart’s customers were latecomers to online shopping, they are now trolling for deals at Amazon.com and putting pressure on the retail giant…

Retailers on trend with mobile technology

March 19, 2012

Retailers are following the old adage of "If you can't beat 'em, join 'em" when it comes to mobile technology. Instead of fighting it, they are arming their…

The dangers of competitive pricing intelligence

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

Many businesses, particularly larger businesses, feel that competitive pricing intelligence is essential to their success. Is that true? Or will their…