Epicor announces CRM 7.0, POS for Windows 8 tablets

January 13, 2014

Today at the NRF Convention & Expo, Epicor Software Corp. announced the general availability of Epicor Retail CRM 7.0, which it says gives retailers a…

NRF 2014 opener: Retail stores 'meet a human need, not just a commercial one'

by James Bickers — Editor, Networld Alliance

An innovative mall operator opened this year's Big Show with a fresh breath of optimism and positivity.

Retail hiring lifts employment in December

January 10, 2014

The National Retail Federation today issued the following statements from NRF President and CEO Matthew Shay and Chief Economist Jack Kleinhenz on the December…

NRF and University of Phoenix to award 20 retail workers with 'Dream BIG' scholarships

January 9, 2014

For a second year, the National Retail Federation and University of Phoenix are providing the opportunity to U.S. retail workers to make their career dreams a…

Costco co-founder Jim Sinegal to accept NRF's Gold Medal Award next week

Nike named retail innovator of the year; Half Price Books VP also to be honored.

How real-life customer needs drive innovation

Customer experience innovation is all about looking for examples of what's working and what your customer really wants next.

Ten trends to watch for in 2014

by Doug Stephens — President, Retail Prophet Consulting

2013 was another year of incredible change in the retail industry. From economics and demographics to media and technology, disruption came at retailers from…

Your staff inventory and 2014 development goals

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

Hello again and Happy New Year!

Customer experience a senior-level focus for 69% of leading UK firms

January 6, 2014

More than two-thirds of leading U.K. firms now have a senior level customer experience position, a confirmation that customer experience strategy has now…

Report: Affluent adults are heavy Amazon users

January 3, 2014

New research from The Shullman Luxury and Affluence Monthly Pulse says that more than two-thirds of Americans making more than $250,000 per year have shopped…

Five predictions for customer experience in 2014

by Mike Wittenstein — Customer Experience and Service Designer, Storyminers

Happy near year! Here are five things that I believe will impact customer experience in the coming months:

The problem with 'Priced to sell'

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

Priced to Sell, an article that appeared in Bdaily Business News, touts the use of auctions to "achieve maximum value" from sales. According to the author…

JC Penney, Sears, A&F make list of 2013's worst CEOs

December 30, 2013

Fox Business has released its annual list of the worst CEOs, and three of the seven slots are reserved for retail leaders.

New Burberry concept offers digitally enhanced in-store experience

December 27, 2013

Burberry has opened a new retail concept in London that uses personalized physical and digital experiences, according to Marketing magazine. The Burberry…

Late flurry of online sales nails UPS, retailers

December 26, 2013

A number of large retailers that promised to deliver goods before Dec. 25, including Amazon, Walmart and Kohl's, missed some of their deadlines, and the finger…

What the future holds for retail iPad apps

From low-bandwidth video to eco-friendly communication, the tablet will transform retail even more than it already has.

Three ways to improve local customer experiences during the post-holiday rush

For many retailers, the post-holiday rush can be just as challenging as the holiday shopping season.

Study says shopper satisfaction up 23 percent since 2008

December 20, 2013

Motorola Solutions has unveiled the results of its seventh annual Holiday Shopping Study which found that overall in-store satisfaction has grown 23 percent in…

Retailer John Lewis rolls out new in-store tech for the holidays

December 18, 2013

The upscale retailer John Lewis, which operates 43 department stores throughout the U.K., has announced three new in-store technology initiatives it is taking…

Declaring that you are omni-channel does not make it so

by Chris Petersen — Owner, IMS

You have to be living under a rock if you haven't seen the seismic shift in consumer shopping patterns. While US retailer stores did OK on Black Friday…