Your favorite retail 'store' might just be your pickup locker

by Chris Petersen — Owner, IMS

The growth of ecommerce is literally old news. Pure e-tailers and traditional retailers with online sites are increasingly winning the hearts and wallets of…

Boston menswear boutique serves booze with custom suits

October 8, 2012

At the soon-to-open Boston store Alton Lane, men can enhance their shopping experience by sipping bourbon at the in-store bar.

Tesco to deploy 'scan as you shop' at more locations

October 5, 2012

The U.K. chain store Tesco is planning a national rollout of scan-as-you-shop devices after a successful trial, according to a recent article on…

Survey: retail CFOs not concerned with showrooming

October 3, 2012

An annual poll by financial consulting firm BDO shows that the majority of retail CFOs are not concerned with the showrooming phenomenon. 

What every retailer must know about Gen Y, part 1

Millennials live two lives: one in real time and the other in an edited virtual world.

Axiom's secret sauce for customer experience in Dubai

by Chris Petersen — Owner, IMS

Last stop on my around the world tour of retail was Dubai in the United Arab Emirates. In a land of perpetual heat, it is easy to understand why consumers…

RIP customer experience: Seven reasons why customer experience is in danger of dying

by Colin Shaw — Founder & CEO, Beyond Philosophy

I am becoming increasingly concerned that the focus on improving the customer experience is heading the same way as CRM, into failure. I fear this as I am…

Nike's Chicago flagship reopens

October 2, 2012

Last week, Nike re-opened its Chicago flagship store after remodeling and expanding the retail space, according to an article on ballerstatus.com.

LightSpeed offers retailers omnichanel reach with latest platform

October 1, 2012

The Canadian software company LightSpeed today announced the release of its 3.7 Apple-based core platform. The software enables retailers to interact with…

A customer service solution (soul-ution, actually)

by Micah Solomon — president, four aces inc

When I boarded the commuter ferry on Saturday, it seemed unusually crowded. A crew member explained: "We have a capacity crowd — about 2,500 souls — aboard…

Build-A-Bear targets tech savvy kids with updated stores

September 27, 2012

Build-A-Bear Workshop stores will try to capture more technologically adept young shoppers with new store formulas that increase interactivity, according to an…

Isaac Mizrahi New York app brings printed content to life

September 25, 2012

The latest augmented reality retail app from Xcel Brands and Aurasma makes those moving photos from Harry Potter seem like a real possibility. The companies…

Three examples of radical differentiation at Lululemon

The popular yoga retailer 'zigs when everybody else zags.'

Robo-pricing: The latest pricing game

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

In the July 8, 2012 Financial Times article, "Amazon 'robo-pricing' sparks fear," we get a glimpse at the latest game in pricing. According to the article…

RCE Podcast episode 11: Is retail any fun anymore?

A study this week suggesting that "retail therapy" isn't a real phenomenon leads to a fascinating discussion about how we feel and how we want to be spoken to…

Retail therapy untrue, UK survey shows

September 20, 2012

Retail therapy could be just a myth, according to an article on The Daily Mail, that cites a recent study showing that a third of women hate clothes shopping.

Big data: Finding an ant in an avalanche

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

Big data. It's the latest answer to our marketing prayers; the "holy grail" that will deliver the ultimate return for our precious marketing spend. Last year…

Retail 'channel surfing' and its implications for sales, customer service and team morale

by Micah Solomon — president, four aces inc

Never forget: Your customers are likely to use the different sales channels you offer in different ways. Some of your customers may buy exclusively over the…

The Peak-End Rule: A way to improve every customer experience

by William Cusick — President, Customerspectives

The only way you keep a customer, and get her to buy more, is to create a positive perception. And the only way a perception is created is through the customer…

Empowered consumers drive future of retail, study shows

September 18, 2012

This week in London, leading retailers are gathering for the World Retail Congress. At the center of the conversation is how the empowered consumer, or the…