Choosing the right special effects for your brand's story

by Andrew Sharpe — Retail Strategist, BRANDSPANK

Last month I was in New York City for the National Retail Federation's (NRF) annual "Retail's BIG Show" conference. For those who have never attended this…

Clicks to bricks to clicks: Bringing curated commerce back into the store

Three ways retailers can imitate the online product curation model to create a boutique shopping experience.

Cibo acquires customer experience agency HYDRANT

February 20, 2014

Integrated brand experience agency Cibo recently announced the acquisition of HYDRANT, an established customer experience agency based in San Francisco. The…

Innovating under the Latin influence

by Arturo Nava — Managing Partner & Co-founder, Marketealo

Innovation is the life blood of any successful business; without it, companies cease to offer brands, products, services and experiences that delight their…

Retail customer satisfaction improves for a third consecutive year

Better customer service, discounting more than offsets a drop in customer satisfaction with online retail.

Why retailers need to keep a laser focus on the customer

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

I spent the first 15 years of my retail career in operations, i.e. working in and ultimately managing stores. Those years gave me invaluable first-hand…

To create mobile shopping traction, retailers should think beyond payment

SAP study finds that most U.S. consumers use smartphones and tablets for research, but not final purchases.

Five tips to make the most of your Valentine's Day retail experience

Only 54 percent of Americans are planning to celebrate Valentine's Day this year, compared to 60 percent last year.

H&M Conscious Foundation donates $9.3 million for clean water in schools

February 11, 2014

The H&M Conscious Foundation and the international non-profit WaterAid launched today a new global partnership for safe water and toilets in schools that…

Study shows top retailer websites are 31 percent bigger, 21 percent slower

February 11, 2014

Radware, a provider of application delivery and application security solutions for virtual and cloud data centers, today released a new study titled "State of…

Experience design can help architects design the retail store of the future

by Mike Wittenstein — Customer Experience and Service Designer, Storyminers

Top retail store design architects have long been creating spaces that are functional for the brand and the customer. With the added element that experience…

Big Lots is now the official Hostess outlet store

February 11, 2014

Hostess shut down its 600 thrift store outlets in the summer of 2013, but the brand announced it is reviving the concept by placing its overstock inventory in…

Five requirements for improving employee performance for store growth

by Chris Petersen — Owner, IMS

From the headlines coming out of last month's NRF Big Show, it was difficult to tell if retail stores were "running scared" of e-commerce, or very optimistic…

Victoria's Secret, Nike top retail brand engagement index

Brand Keys has published the results of its 2014 study of emotional loyalty and engagement in retail.

Five ways to improve customer service with video

Video can help reduce customer service costs, and is more likely to get your customers engaged.

Temkin Group accepting nominations for 2014 Customer Experience Vendor Excellence Awards

February 5, 2014

The Temkin Group has announced the opening of the nomination period for its 2014 Customer Experience Vendor Excellence Awards. These awards recognize the…

CVS Caremark to stop selling tobacco products

February 5, 2014

CVS Caremark announced today that it will stop selling all tobacco products at its more than 7,600 locations by Oct. 1 of this year. It is the first major…

The future of retail: Death of a salesman

by Doug Stephens — President, Retail Prophet Consulting

Like most people, at least a half-dozen times a day I consult Google for answers. Some of what I search for is trivial, "bet-settling" sort of stuff but there…

Caribou Coffee installs larger-than-life Pinterest board at Mall of America

February 4, 2014

To celebrate the launch of its new Real Inspiration blend, Caribou Coffee has installed a 64-foot-tall "Living Pinterest Board" in the rotunda of the Mall of…

Infographic: BLE vs. NFC

This infographic compares the key similarities and differences between Bluetooth Low Energy (BLE) beacons and Near Field Communications (NFC) in how they are…