Commentary: Building a proximity marketing strategy that protects customers

Consumers are wary, rightly so, of any attempt to use their personal information to gather data and sell products.

Putting for survival

by Harvey Mackay — Author, Mackay Mitchell

Like a million other people, Major James Nesmeth dreamed of improving his golf game from his usual score in the 90s. Circumstances forced him to quit the game…

The spectacular marketing fail of JC Penney

by Bob Phibbs — CEO, The Retail Doctor

Ron Johnson, Penney's CEO, said last week that "coupons were a drug."

When will I see the results of my customer experience program?

by Colin Shaw — Founder & CEO, Beyond Philosophy

When we start working with a client to improve their customer experience I am often asked, "How long will it be before we see a result?" On the face of it…

Brick-and-mortar retailers fighting back

May 22, 2012

Brick-and-mortar retailers hoping to compete with mobile devices, the Internet and daily deals are getting creative when it comes to in-store offers, according…

Can you steal an experience?

by Mike Wittenstein — Customer Experience and Service Designer, Storyminers

"Stealing an Experience" is completely different at the consumer and professional levels. At the consumer level, it might mean watching two movies on one…

Despite reboot, JCPenney still struggling

May 17, 2012

It's not looking good for JC Penney despite its new look and goal to turn around sales. The company reported Tuesday that its first quarter loss was bigger…

Why customers seem scarce - part 3

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

In the previous two segments (1, 2) we learned how industry overcapacity, a dying industry and a perception that our competitors' offerings are superior cause…

Roundtable: Vidal Sassoon's lasting legacy for retail

by James Bickers — Editor, Networld Alliance

The beauty pioneer changed the way people think about hair and built a retail empire in the process.

When choosing means losing time

by Lisa Biank Fasig — Director, JZMcBride and Associates

On a recent trip to a popular local pottery shop – the kind of place where everything is made on the premises by hand – I was faced with an unexpected dilemma…

Q&A with Bryan Pearson, author of 'The Loyalty Leap'

Pearson discusses the importance of relevance when it comes to building a loyalty program that people will care about.

You can trust the experts to be wrong

by Harvey Mackay — Author, Mackay Mitchell

There are two types of experts, and it's very important to distinguish between them: There is the expert who can make something happen, and there is the expert…

Another nail in the coffin of big box stores?

by Chris Petersen — Owner, IMS

You don't need to look very far to see another article on the growth of online retailing. The phenomenon of online shopping is truly worldwide. While Amazon…

What does Facebook's app store mean for retailers?

The bottom line for retailers is this: Now, the way Facebook works can be customized to lift sales.

NYC to welcome first Piperlime retail location

May 10, 2012

Piperlime, the e-retailer that launched in 2006, is opening its first brick-and-mortar location this fall in the SoHo neighborhood of New York City.

Why customers seem scarce - part 2

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

Last week we discussed how to grow your revenues, profits and customer bases when facing the challenges of industry overcapacity or a dying industry. Both…

Where Best Buy went wrong

Experts discuss why the retail giant is shrinking and whether it can stage a comeback.

Ingenico, Saygent solution to help retailers engage shoppers at POS

May 9, 2012

Ingenico, a provider of payment solutions, and Saygent, a company specializing in mobile voice feedback, are partnering to give merchants on Ingenico's new…

Anything they can do, you can do better

by Aaron Shapiro — CEO, HUGE

Take a look at the first-class section on any airplane today; it's full of corporate leaders lugging around Walter Isaacson's Steve Jobs biography, searching…

Two tales of retail showrooming

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

By now most folks have heard about "showrooming," the relatively new activity where consumers visit a brick and mortar store, look at a product they are…