GlobalShop: Paco Underhill discusses recession realities and lessons

by Kim Williams — Reporter, NetWorld Alliance

Retail guru says the U.S. is 'over-stored' by 15 to 20 percent.

Discounting in the off season: Good strategy or slippery slope?

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

In one of my earlier blogs I dealt with the folly of discounting during peak selling season. I guess it was inevitable that I was asked, "What about the off…

GMC Inspire platform offers enterprise solution for customer engagement

March 24, 2011

GMC Software Technology, a global company offering end-to-end software solutions, has introduced GMC Inspire, a Customer Communications Management (CCM…

Aggregator site launches commitment-free coupons program

by Kim Williams — Reporter, NetWorld Alliance

Services like Xferral offer an easy way to browse deal-a-day sites like Groupon and others.

Study: Personalization key to retail growth

In-store technologies can boost customer satisfaction, according to two new consumer reports.

Retail websites reach 75 percent of European audience, according to study

March 21, 2011

ComScore, Inc., a leader in measuring the digital world, has released results from a study of online shopping in Europe. In January, 270.6 million unique…

Report: Healthy growth for e-commerce as retail continues shift to web

Growth rates to taper off as online retail matures, according to a new study.

Organization engagement: Five key steps to aligning around the customer

Retailers might think they're customer-centric, but many customers experience the opposite.

Marketing and 'the wrong hero'

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

Marketing messages must be great stories ... about the true hero.I wish I could remember the source of this elegant language for the person certainly deserves…

Honor What Customers Care About

by Jeanne Bliss — Founder, CustomerBliss

CustomInk is a $70 million T-shirt shop that prints custom T-shirts for family reunions and group and business events. Because actual people at CustomInk…

A sweet rewards program

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

I'm not a big fan of traditional loyalty programs although I do belong to multiple grocery and drugstore programs. And that's exactly why I'm not a fan. If…

February brings more good news for retailers

March 13, 2011

Improvements in the U.S. economy bolstered retailers’ February sales, reflecting improved consumer sentiment as it relates to spending. According to the…

Merkle announces new retail marketing suite and leadership roles

March 9, 2011

Merkle, an independent customer relationship-marketing agency, announced the release of its new retail database-marketing suite. Merkle’s Retail Marketing…

The three key attributes of effective mobile retail apps

Very few successfully incorporate all three, and without all three, an app will likely be short-lived.

New study says creating emotional ties with consumers is a successful strategy

March 9, 2011

According to NRF.com, a recent research study by Kurt Salmon, a global management consulting firm, says that consumers feel a personality connection to the…

Why I continue to encourage higher prices

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

Even as I advocate higher prices, I understand that they will inevitably fall.In his book, The Rational Optimist, Matt Ridley offers countless examples of how…

St. Patrick’s Day expected to give U.S. retailers a boost, according to NRF

March 7, 2011

With an estimated 122 million Americans planning to celebrate St. Patrick’s Day this year, there will be no shortage of parties or celebrations. According to…

IBM report: The smarter consumer has arrived

by James Bickers — Editor, Networld Alliance

Growing numbers of people are "instrumented," using two or more technology channels to shop.

Canadian consumers embracing mobile retail

March 1, 2011

Canadians are adopting new technologies that improve their shopping experiences faster than consumers in most other countries, according to an annual IBM…

IBM is testing biometrics technology for retail marketing

February 28, 2011

International Business Machines Corp. (IBM) is testing technology that would use biometrics — automated ways of recognizing humans based on physical or…