Retailers can weather economy by focusing on basics

Trusted brands and an enlarged pool of skilled workers provide leverage.

New research dissects what makes a 'wow experience'

by James Bickers — Editor, Networld Alliance

July 8, 2009

A new survey from The Verde Group and the Retail Council of Canada says that most shoppers — just slightly more than 50 percent — have had a great retail…

Fighting online shopping cart abandonment

While most e-commerce sites measure conversion, many do not take a structured and proactive approach to abandonment.

The five myths of customer service: What you don't know is hurting your business

A wiser approach than just pushing sales is to harness word of mouth and improve customer experience.  

Is customer experience relevant in tough economic times?

Certain trends lead to the growth in customer experience attention and investment.

Column: Younger generations expect less customer service

June 23, 2009

Kansas City Star: "Most teens and college students, I think, have become accustomed to dealing with salesmen whose only job seems to be ringing up your…

Blog: Apple's magical retail experience in its global stores

June 22, 2009

Information Week: A professional investor who's used PCs for 20 years relates the superb retail experience he had at the Apple Store in Tokyo, and emphasizes…

Opinion: The fine art of reading customers

June 18, 2009

Publisher's Weekly: Training staffers to read customers' signals can lead to much better, more successful experiences for both customer and retailer. Though it…

Hispanic foods moving out of the ethnic aisle

June 14, 2009

MSNBC: Several major chains are expanding their specialty offerings to capture business from Latinos, the country's fastest growing population and already…

Loyalty segmentation needs to extend into the store

When front-line employees are left out of the loyalty process, points programs miss the point.

Whole Foods offering free rides home — via rickshaw

June 9, 2009

Supermarket News: Whole Foods Market stores in Manhattan this week are offering to take shoppers home for free — via rickshaw.

RetailWire Discussion: Most loyal customers aren't profitable

A recent Harvard Business Journal article suggests that few customers are profitable — and of the ones that are, most are not loyal.

Three specialty stores that stand out from the pack

When times are tight, experience counts more than ever. Here are three small retailers with singular in-store experiences.

Netflix takes service outage, turns it into a customer service opportunity

by James Bickers — Editor, Networld Alliance

Quick response and a proactive attitude turn what could have been a negative into a win for the brand.

The financial discipline of customer experience

For the retail CFO, customer experience needs to shift from a "nice to have" to a "must have."

Bloomingdale's veteran: We need to react to changing shopper attitudes

May 6, 2009

Retail Week: Retailers need to work harder to persuade shoppers to start spending again in what is the most difficult time in the sector's history. That was…

Opinion: Retailers giving lip service to customer service

Noted retail trainer and author discusses how the concept of customer service has been watered down by many retailers.

Satisfying the customer whose credit has been denied

The retail credit scene is tough, but retailers don't have to bear the brunt of rejection.

Finding the financial value of the customer

When making customer service decisions, consider the lifetime revenue each customer provides — and their potential for sending referrals.

Live chat drives sales, satisfaction — but only when executed honestly

by James Bickers — Editor, Networld Alliance

Web retailers that offer live text-chat assistance can increase conversion and generate word-of-mouth, but poor or dishonest execution can spell disaster.