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…

Retail Roundtable: Amazon's patent for 'anticipatory shipping'

by James Bickers — Editor, Networld Alliance

Can the online giant really ship products before they're ordered, or is this another well-executed piece of hype?

SpartanNash stores add price optimization from KSS Retail

January 29, 2014

KSS Retail, a dunnhumby company, announced it has entered into an agreement to extend its price and promotion optimization solution across the retail banners…

Retailers modify objectives in 2014 as mobile tops priority lists

January 29, 2014

Corresponding with the growing number of mobile users among shoppers, retailers overwhelmingly agree mobile must be the number one priority for their digital…

The 'miserable men of shopping,' via Instagram

by James Bickers — Editor, Networld Alliance

In the early days of my marriage, my wife and I spent a lot of time at local shopping malls. In those pre-children years, shopping was more a leisure activity…

Baynote launches self-service tool for e-commerce merchandising

January 28, 2014

Baynote, a provider of big data solutions for retail, today announced the release of Baynote VUE, a self-service merchandising application purposely built to…

The Business Case for Automated Retail Kiosks

Automated retail kiosks can expand your presence beyond online and brick-and-mortar retailing while offering a host of branding opportunities.

Five customer service tactics to increase sales

by Shep Hyken — CAO, Shepard Presentations

As you read this, you may think this article could fall under the heading of sales tactics. I respectfully disagree. This is all about customer service, as it…

NRF 2014: The show floor, in tweets and vines

Attendees made good use of social media at this year's BIG Show.

Cobalt, Edmunds announce partnership to study online car-shopping behaviors

January 22, 2014

Cobalt, a business unit of ADP Dealer Services Inc., and Edmunds.com, an online car shopping destination, today announced a strategic partnership to bring…

How do your CX efforts stack up?

by Mike Wittenstein — Customer Experience and Service Designer, Storyminers

Comparing your track record to others in the world of customer experience is a great way to find areas for improvement and see where you are doing well.

Sleep Train implements cloud-based analytics tool

January 21, 2014

Software provider Manthan Systems announced today that Sleep Train Inc. has gone live with ARC Merchandise Analytics, its cloud-based advanced analytics…

New Year's resolution: Stop negative reviews from ruining your customer experience

Here are three ways brands can get a handle on negative comments and address them productively.

Photos: Remodeled American Apparel store opens in Berlin

January 16, 2014

American Apparel has announced the opening of its newly expanded and renovated Berlin store. Located in Mitte, the central borough of Berlin, the store was…

2014 is 'The Year of Empathy,' according to Temkin Group research

January 15, 2014

Bruce Temkin, widely recognized as a customer experience visionary, has released his annual listing of customer experience trends to watch. Headlining the…

Holiday retail sales come in at NRF expectations

January 15, 2014

Severe winter weather did not dampen December retail sales as shoppers took advantage of heavy promotions and last-minute deals. According to the National…

NRF 2014: The coolest new products, and why

Many of today's coolest new products are the result of the small daily activities of consumers.

Natural Markets deploys ThoughtWorks technology throughout its grocery/restaurant chain

January 13, 2014

ThoughtWorks, a provider of retail technology solutions and strategic customer experience consulting, today announced that it has partnered with Natural…