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…

Tips for embracing showrooming during the holidays

In a surprising move, Best Buy is wholeheartedly embracing showrooming this holiday season. What gives?

5 ways to a customer-centric contact center

Your contact center is often the first introduction - or the last straw - a customer has with your company.

Simon, Macerich and Westfield malls launch same-day delivery

December 12, 2013

Deliv, a same-day delivery company, today announced alliances with three of America's largest mall operators, Simon Property Group, Macerich and Westfield, to…

Retailers commit to 'Customer Bill of Rights'

December 10, 2013

On Monday, a number of large retailers met with the Rev. Al Sharpton, and agreed to publish and abide by a Customer Bill of Rights. The meeting, and the…

Startup unveils wearable tech for retail floor, cloud connection

December 10, 2013

Technology start-up Theatro today announced the general availability of the Communicator Software-as-a-Service offering, a mobile workforce productivity…

Lululemon chairman Chip Wilson resigns

December 10, 2013

Chip Wilson, the controversial co-founder and chairman of Lululemon, has resigned from his position. Laurent Potdevin, recently the president of TOMS Shoes…

How to win with holiday shoppers, in-store and online

by Gary Edwards — Chief Customer Officer, Emathica

Fourth-quarter retail sales can make or break a brand, since anywhere from one-third to seventy percent of annual retail sales occur between Thanksgiving and…

Is there a strategy for customer loyalty?

by Mike Wittenstein — Customer Experience and Service Designer, Storyminers

We often think of customer loyalty as something that the customer does or is responsible for to the business. But, real loyalty begins when the business is…

The one word you need to know when it comes to holiday returns

by Micah Solomon — president, four aces inc

What’s the right way to handle holiday returns? Cheerfully.

Three tips to improve local retail customer experiences during the holidays

by Gary Edwards — Chief Customer Officer, Emathica

It's that time of year again. The holiday retail shopping season is upon us and scores of consumers are headed to your brick-and-mortar stores in search of…

Walmart worker and OUR Walmart member responds to CEO resignation

November 25, 2013

Walmart CEO Mike Duke announced today that he would be stepping down on January 31. The company immediately announced that Doug McMillon, currently the head of…

Building an “Insurance Store in a Box” Solution

From an innocuous request-for-info email 2 years ago, Meridian and Direct General Auto Insurance commenced on the path of a self-service solution that would…

Meridian Provides Convenient, Secure, User-Friendly Sales Locker Solution.

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The next step in self-service solutions is a convenient, secure, user-friendly purchase pickup station for buyers (both online and in-store).  Meridian calls…

How to survive your first holiday season as a retail manager

by Bob Phibbs — CEO, The Retail Doctor

When I was in college, I worked nights and weekends in a department store. I was there for the the guys shopping on Christmas Eve and for the after-holiday…

Make sure your associates are not practicing survey coercion

by Jim Joseph — President, Lippe Taylor

Last week in my class at NYU we discussed consumer surveys as a market research technique. They are a tried and true approach to getting feedback or getting to…

Retail industry adds 37,600 jobs in October

November 11, 2013

The National Retail Federation issued the following statement from NRF president and CEO Matthew Shay and chief economist Jack Kleinhenz on the October jobs…

President Obama reportedly supports $10.10 minimum wage

November 11, 2013

Reports surfaced last week that President Obama supports an increase in the federal minimum wage to $10.10 an hour, from the current $7.25 an hour. This…

Transforming your customers' necessary errands into something they want to do

by Micah Solomon — president, four aces inc

In anticipation of a recent overseas retail banking event where I was keynote speaker, I had the pleasure of interviewing Umpqua Bank Regional VP Michele…

Selling what's in stock. Or not.

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

A salesperson recently asked me if selling only what's in stock is good service. When I asked for details, she elaborated.