The Retail Defense Team: Protecting stores from customers in a mall near you

by Harry Friedman

Lease Line Deputies. Perhaps you've seen them. Perhaps you've had one working in your store. They're found in most retail malls, standing in front of their…

Topshop launching secret pop-up stores in two locations

May 24, 2011

According to My Fashion Life, two Topshop clothing retail stores in New York and London will launch a secret pop-up shop hidden within each store tomorrow.

Wowing Customers Doesn’t Come With A Groupon

by Bob Phibbs — CEO, The Retail Doctor

I was reading a blog about using Groupon for a restaurant and a posted comment stood out, "... the key is adding value, so that when they use their Groupon at…

Guy Kawasaki on enchantment in retail

by Doug Stephens — President, Retail Prophet Consulting

I caught up with author, speaker and investor Guy Kawasaki to discuss his new book Enchantment: The Art of Changing Hearts, Minds and Actions. Specifically, I…

Best Buy expands Shopkick app nationwide

May 22, 2011

Best Buy has announced that it is rolling out the location-based shopkick app to its stores nationwide. Smartphone users who download the app will be eligible…

Iconic NYC men's clothier Rothman's relocating, updating

May 22, 2011

Rothman’s Men’s Clothing, the iconic New York City menswear retailer, is moving. After 25 years at Union Square Park, the store announced it has signed a new…

Media Logic helps Cabela's celebrate its anniversary

May 22, 2011

Cabela’s, the world's largest direct marketer of hunting, fishing, camping and related outdoor merchandise, is having a birthday party and has retained Media…

NFC in the UK

Orange and Barclaycard introduce U.K.'s first contactless payment product

Agilysys unveils newest mobile version of POS for retail

May 18, 2011

Agilysys Inc., a provider of  IT solutions, has announced the release of its newest version of mobile point of sale (POS), a next-generation product with…

Heritage vs. innovations vs. relevance

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

In an interview published a few years ago in Fortune magazine, Disney CEO Bob Iger was asked if Disney's lessening emphasis on animation was diminishing the…

Panphonics unveils new directional audio systems for retail stores

May 16, 2011

Panphonics, a provider of directional audio speakers, today announced that it has developed new audio systems for the direct delivery of messages in retail…

How social media is changing conferences

by Jim Joseph — President, Lippe Taylor

Last week I went to two industry conferences (OTC Perspectives and PRSA Counselors Academy) and an awards show (Sabre Awards) — it was a big networking week.…

How 'karma credit' can build a business

by Laurel Tielis — Author and Professional Speaker, Laurel Tielis & Associates

While charity may begin at home, you build business by bringing it into your store. What goes around truly does come around. Take care of other people, and…

AVT Inc., Luxury Automated Retail partner to offer upscale vending units

May 15, 2011

AVT Inc., formerly Automated Vending Technologies, has partnered with Luxury Automated Retail, a Los Angeles-based distributor of high-end self-service…

The CXO: Why the time is now for customer experience officers

Retailers are hiring c-level executives whose sole focus is the customer experience.

Politics, religion and sex

by Harry Friedman

I admit it right here in the first paragraph. I am not really going to talk about sex. Too easy, a lob shot. So in this year of presidential hopefuls popping…

Consumers rank social networks better than online businesses for ability to protect personal information

May 12, 2011

ThreatMetrix, a provider of cloud-based fraud prevention solutions that do not require personally identifiable information (PII), has announced that a joint…

Maponics offers geofencing to mobile developers

May 12, 2011

Maponics, a provider of location-based data, announced a new offering that includes the geographic boundaries of more than 3,000 shopping malls, districts…

Report: Consumers influenced by a retailer's physical appearance

More than two-thirds of consumers say they have avoided a store based on its external appearance.

Study says $16 billion worth of loyalty program rewards go unredeemed each year

by Kim Williams — Reporter, NetWorld Alliance

Americans accumulate approximately $48 billion in rewards points and air travel miles annually.