More retailers testing the 'wisdom of crowds'

July 20, 2008

San Francisco Chronicle: Companies like Threadless, a T-shirt company in Chicago, and Ryz, an athletic shoe company in Portland, Ore., are making it possible…

Customer experience and IP

by James Bickers — Editor, Networld Alliance

Protecting crucial aspects of an in-store experience against imitators.

Tomax, CXA partner on tech for auto retailers

July 17, 2008

eWeek: Enterprise retail solutions provider Tomax and WHI Solutions, a specialist in technology for automotive retailers and wholesalers, are integrating key…

Staples expands video-assist program

July 14, 2008

SEATTLE — Experticity, provider of video-assisted customer support solutions, announced that Staples Business Depot, Canada's largest supplier of business…

Trying on Clothes, 2.0

by James Bickers — Editor, Networld Alliance

Do shoppers want high-tech dressing rooms?

Big-name retail comes to grips with online

July 9, 2008

CNBC: If there's one indisputable truth about retailing on the Internet, it's that the established retail cliques have consistently underestimated how it…

Calgary Co-op completes self-checkout install

July 8, 2008

DALLAS — Calgary Co-operative Association Limited (Calgary Co-op) has completed a chain-wide rollout of self-checkout that has enhanced customer service and…

Building the perfect survey

Best-practices for crafting a survey that customers will complete.

Digital signage innovations create fashion-forward displays

July 7, 2008

Display & Design Ideas: Digital signage has become commonplace in retail. So in order to really spice things up, retailers have begun incorporating a…

Experiential store environment leads to big sales boost

July 7, 2008

Display & Design Ideas: Caryn Lerner, president and chief executive of Toronto-based Holt Renfrew & Co. Ltd., recently attributed a sales increase of…

Wal-Mart, JCPenney use experimental branding to reach new audience

July 6, 2008

Dallas Morning News: Last month, Wal-Mart Stores Inc. mailed shoppers a 33-page Canopy catalog and launched the Canopy brand Web site. Online, the…

Understanding the female shopping psyche

July 1, 2008

Belfast Telegraph (U.K.): Dr. Karise Hutchinson, who teaches human resources at the University of Ulster, writes in the Belfast Telegraph of the difficulty…

Survey: Small stores, independents preferred over big names

June 30, 2008

Retail Week: On Friday, Retail Week published the "100 Stores You Must Visit" and a quick scan through the names reveals an uncanny fact: the great bulk of the…

Over the course of a lifetime, women spend a year shopping

June 29, 2008

Sunday Telegraph: A new report estimates the average female spends 12 months of her time on Earth in shopping centers hunting down bargains and buying…

Social e-commerce taps voice of shopper

Web 2.0 connectivity changes the game for online retail.

Study: Customers won't tolerate waiting in line more than four minutes

June 26, 2008

DALLAS — A study conducted by M/A/R/C Research found 10 percent of shoppers are frustrated enough to leave a check-out line if the wait is too long. The study…

Sprint Studio built around digital signage

June 25, 2008

LEXINGTON, Ky. — Hammond Communications Group, a supplier of turnkey digital signage solutions, and Sprint recently debuted the Sprint Studio in Kansas City.

Loyca retail loyalty system now available in U.K.

June 25, 2008

BELGIUM — Databac Group has announced that its loyalty system Loyca, a card-based solution that enables retailers to respond in real-time to marketing…

soundDNA player gives retailers advanced audio messaging, music capabilities

June 25, 2008

PASADENA, Calif. — DMI Music & Media Networks, formerly Private Label Radio, a provider of out-of-home music and media programming solutions to Fortune…

Alternative c-store offers healthy choices, green options

June 24, 2008

Dallas Morning News: The Green Spot Market and Fuels is the traditional convenience store turned on its head. Lottery tickets and cigarettes are absent from…