The iPhone 5: Our best bet for clipping and saving trust?

by Bryan Pearson — President, LoyaltyOne

Of the many features the newly released iPhone 5 can offer, one of the most compelling for the consumer is this: It eliminates the clip-and-save.

Holiday sales predicted to increase

by Annamaria Turano — Executive Director, MCAworks

Deloitte recently shared their forecast that holiday sales are expected to increase between 3.5 percent and 4 percent as the economy and the presidential…

Total Wine announces plans to expand social media marketing

September 26, 2012

Total Wine & More, an independent retailer of wine, beer and spirits, announced a partnership with Dialogue Marketing to help support its social media…

ICSC forecasts holiday chain store sales to increase by 3 percent

September 26, 2012

With the holiday season right around the corner, the International Council of Shopping Centers (ICSC) is forecasting a 3.0 percent sales increase for the…

Facebook's sharing of user data raises concerns

September 25, 2012

More issues are being raised about Facebook privacy and the social networking site's practice of sharing user data. 

Three examples of radical differentiation at Lululemon

The popular yoga retailer 'zigs when everybody else zags.'

Robo-pricing: The latest pricing game

by Dale Furtwengler — President, Furtwengler & Associates, P.C.

In the July 8, 2012 Financial Times article, "Amazon 'robo-pricing' sparks fear," we get a glimpse at the latest game in pricing. According to the article…

RCE Podcast episode 11: Is retail any fun anymore?

A study this week suggesting that "retail therapy" isn't a real phenomenon leads to a fascinating discussion about how we feel and how we want to be spoken to…

Big data: Finding an ant in an avalanche

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

Big data. It's the latest answer to our marketing prayers; the "holy grail" that will deliver the ultimate return for our precious marketing spend. Last year…

Walgreens, LoyalBlocks unveil loyalty innovations

by Natalie Gagliordi — Editor of KioskMarketplace.com, Networld Media Group

The Walgreens app lets customers scan their mobile devices to earn points and redeem awards without a physical card.

Customer experience management 101: Identifying channels of communication

by Kimberly Nasief — President, Measure Consumer Perspectives

Customer experience management has changed, thanks to the digital age. Social media has changed the way businesses interact with their customers. No matter the…

The new 'super shopper' and the fate of bricks and mortar retail

Despite the mobile boom, 90 percent of consumers still embrace the physical store when making retail purchases.

Ignorance is expensive

by Dale Furtwengler — President, Furtwengler & Associates, P.C.

A construction company complained that while revenues were up over 40%, their profits hadn't grown much at all. When asked who their ideal customer is, they…

Back-to-school shoppers boost August sales, slightly

September 14, 2012

According to recent calculations from the National Retail Federation, August retail sales had a boost from back-to-school shoppers.

Why Costco discounts postage stamps ... and why it matters

by Micah Solomon — president, four aces inc

A good equation for value is as follows: Value = Personal Benefit minus Cost and Inconvenience. But the "personal benefit" variable can easily override the…

Fed policy hinders home sales

by Dale Furtwengler — President, Furtwengler & Associates, P.C.

The Federal Reserve governors' decisions to keep mortgage rates artificially low are hindering new home sales. Sound crazy? Isn't it true that lower interest…

RCE Podcast episode 10: A #Likeable social media chat with @DaveKerpen

We're taking a break from our usual format this week and next, so that we can bring you a few brief highlights from the third annual Retail Customer Experience…

How to increase demand, counter-intuitively

by Dale Furtwengler — President, Furtwengler & Associates, P.C.

A July 30, 2012 Reuters report stating that "Two of the country's major airlines, Kingfisher and state-owned Air India, are reducing capacity, which helped…

Back to school shopping drives retail revenue up 11 percent

September 5, 2012

U.S. consumers took advantage of back to school shopping this summer, according to findings from IBM. Over the months of July and August sales grew by 1…

'What Would Tommy Do?' The straightforward question that defines the brand strategy at Tommy Bahama

by Annamaria Turano — Executive Director, MCAworks

Defining a brand strategy that is differentiated, sustainable, and successful long-term is critical to retailer success. Tommy Bahama, a lifestyle company that…