Two simple ingredients of personalization that almost all retailers miss

by Chris Petersen — Owner, IMS

Having lived in Canada, it is true that Thanksgiving is also celebrated there, albeit a month earlier than the US. The US Thanksgiving celebration has become a…

Four myths of the marketplace

by Harvey Mackay — Author, Mackay Mitchell

1. We don’t have any competition.

Best Buy invests 50,000 hours in employee training on Windows 8

The radical new operating system is leading to the kind of products that people need to see and touch.

Delivering loyalty: Ten lessons learned From Zappos.com

Zappos.com is more than an electronic shoe store. It is a community that happens to put you in a pair of great-looking shoes.

Autonomy vs. standards: in business, customer service and the customer experience

by Micah Solomon — president, four aces inc

As a business keynote speaker, I spend a lot of time speaking about the need for employee autonomy in customer service and business operations in general. And…

The one simple thing your retail associates should be doing, but probably aren't

by James Bickers — Editor, Networld Alliance

As Dale Carnegie's sixth principle teaches us, the sound of a person's name is the sweetest and most important sound to that person. It is an immutable truth…

Women in the retail workforce can increase sales

November 12, 2012

Retailers looking to boost sales should consider bumping up the number of women on their workforce.

I have seen the future of retail and his name is Errick

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

Last week I was in California visiting family, but like most of us on "vacation" these days, I was still working in my subconscious. One of my goals while…

Hire the person, not the resume

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

If you're like me, you have made some terrific hiring decisions. A number of people I hired went on to be excellent employees and highly successful people. The…

What every retailer must know about Gen Y, part 2

Thrift is the new shopping; they call it thrifting. In this way, Millennials resemble their grandparents' Silent Generation.

These Target training videos are a joke. I think.

by James Bickers — Editor, Networld Alliance

We've all got that one family member who thinks he's hilarious, but he is not. Let's call him Uncle Kevin. At any family gathering, Uncle Kevin can be counted…

Nike's Chicago flagship reopens

October 2, 2012

Last week, Nike re-opened its Chicago flagship store after remodeling and expanding the retail space, according to an article on ballerstatus.com.

Retailers begin to announce seasonal hire numbers

September 19, 2012

The holiday hiring season has begun, and retailers are trickling out statistics on the numbers of new hires, according to an article on ibtimes.com. 

The Peak-End Rule: A way to improve every customer experience

by William Cusick — President, Customerspectives

The only way you keep a customer, and get her to buy more, is to create a positive perception. And the only way a perception is created is through the customer…

Retail Doctor Bob Phibbs talks customer service training

The Retail Doctor Bob Phibbs recaps some highlights from his customer service training session at the 2012 Retail Customer Experience Executive Summit.

The ten commandments of networking

by Harvey Mackay — Author, Mackay Mitchell

1. I will not assume that the person with the credentials is the person with the power.

Best Buy looks to improve employees as a way to boost sales

September 7, 2012

After a decline in sales and uneven store performances, Best Buy CEO Hubert Joly plans to put more focus on employee training, according to an article on…

Mystery shopping professional conference coming this fall

by Kimberly Nasief — President, Measure Consumer Perspectives

Mystery shopping agencies, companies and mystery shoppers from around the country will be in San Diego, California this October in order to attend one of the…

Five ways retail leaders participate in their team's success

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

A couple weeks ago the Daily Retail Quote was, "True leadership comes not from position but from participation and effectiveness." Some of the best leaders…

You don't need to be a jerk to give bad customer service

by Micah Solomon — president, four aces inc

Great customer service — what I call anticipatory customer service — requires more these days than simply not being a jerk and not hiring jerks. It means…