Ultimate irony – Amazon building warehouse at former U.S. mall

by Chris Petersen — Owner, IMS

As Chris Petersen writes, Amazon has simply been one of the most innovative retailers executing consumer choice and convenience and now is proving why…

Google veterans launch smartphone activated self-serve convenience concept

September 15, 2017

Google veterans Paul McDonald and Ashwath Rajan are launching a new concept called Bodega, a 5-foot-wide pantry box filled with non-perishable convenience…

Venmo tackles e-commerce payments with Williams-Sonoma pact

September 14, 2017

Venmo wants to get itself involved in e-commerce and has struck a deal with Williams-Sonoma to let users of the mobile P2P app buy or split gifts across all…

Alipay saunters down the runway with Rebecca Minkoff partnership

September 14, 2017

Fashion retailer Rebecca Minkoff is partnering with Alipay to enable Chinese tourists to make mobile payments with Alipay Wallet at all Rebecca Minkoff…

Long Island Bloomies gets a makeover

September 13, 2017

The Bloomingdale's store at the Roosevelt Field mall on Long Island is now boasting some new store design work.

What's really in it for your retail customers?

Tyler Douglas, chief sales and marketing officer at Vision Critical, offers up three key steps marketers can take to get back to the fundamentals. The first…

A shopper marketing conundrum: Providing a personalized mobile experience at scale

Matt McGinty, chief revenue officer, Fiksu DSP, provides insight on why targeting shoppers via mobile, based on their shopping habits, can improve the…

5 steps to turn retail sales associates into selling machines

Rieva Lesonsky, CEO of GrowBiz Media, offers up insight on why retailers need to treat salespeople with respect, arm them with the right training and tools and…

First Data sending mobile POS devices to help retailers hit by Hurricane Harvey

September 7, 2017

First Data is sending free mobile payment devices to Houston in a move to help retailers and businesses get back up and running as soon as possible following…

Kagan: Poor checkout experience hurts retail brand

by Jeff KAGAN — Wireless Analyst, Telecom Industry Analyst

Jeff Kagan offers up his view on retail winners and losers and what the changing customer expectations are starting to demand from retail stores.

A retailer's guide to driving modern customer experiences

Antoine Rizk, vice president of go-to-market programs at Axway, provides insight on how the customer journey is transforming into a cross-platform experience…

The overlooked weapons in your retail marketing arsenal

Karey Crump, senior director, product marketing at Blackhawk Network, discusses why marketers should use branded gift cards and egifts to attract new…

Coast taps Aptos to enhance website

September 5, 2017

Apparel retailer Coast's new website, developed by Aptos, boasts new modern features, including large retina display product images and an enhanced digital…

Making retail work for every generation - not just millennials

Bob Feher, an expert in analyst relations and market intelligence at NCR Corp., provides insight on why retailers which are striving to keep up with millennial…

Best Buy shares take a dive despite robust sales

September 4, 2017

While Best Buy enjoyed a 5.4 percent same-store quarterly sales boost and a revenue spike of 4.8 percent in the most recent quarter, its shares dropped 1…

Why subscriptions are literally sucking the life out of stores

by Chris Petersen — Owner, IMS

Chris Petersen offers insight on why the tremendous potential growth for subscription-based purchases is literally sucking the life and traffic out of bricks…

5 ways to provide the support your subscribers want

Georg Richter, founder and CEO of OceanX, explains why direct-to-consumer subscription businesses must focus efforts and investments on improving customer…

Houston mattress retailer opens stores to Harvey hurricane victims

August 30, 2017

A Houston retailer that sells mattresses is opening its stores to displaced hurricane victims to provide a safe, dry place to sleep.

Avoid these 5 mistakes in building a customer loyalty program

Arnab Mitra, marketing manager at SailPlay, explains why the value of a customer loyalty program is not just about acquiring and retaining customers. It's also…

Merchants seek ways to make their mobile apps indispensable

by Will Hernandez — Editor, NetWorld Media Group

Church's Chicken offers up a unique feature in its mobile app: a curated music playlist.