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…

JCP spurring Macy's profitability?

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

In his August 8, 2012 New York Post article, "Macy's profit climbs 16%," James Covert states "[Macy's] Profit rose 16% as the New York-based retailer continued…

How Plink works: A conversation with CEO Peter Vogel

At this year's Retail Customer Experience Executive Summit, attendees got to spend some time with Peter Vogel, CEO of Plink, a platform that allows shoppers to…

SUPERVALU seeks customer segmentation strategy

August 28, 2012

SUPERVALU Inc., one of the largest grocery companies in the U.S., has chosen LoyaltyOne's Precima customer analytics solution to create a segmented consumer…

7 easy ways to get more visitors to your retail website

by Bob Phibbs — CEO, The Retail Doctor

Any retail consultant knows that more traffic to your brick and mortar retail store means more sales.

RCE Podcast episode 8: This week's big changes at Best Buy, Groupon

Two big retail names announced big changes this week: Best Buy installed its new CEO, and Groupon shook up its leadership with a new emphasis on its…

Which retail brands do a good job at pricing?

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

Some days, despite your best intentions, you fumble the ball. Such was the case at the Retail Customer Experience Executive Summit when I was asked "Who [among…

Apple to open store in Russia

August 22, 2012

Rumor has it that Apple may be setting up shop in Russia. Russians, some of the world's biggest consumers of Apple goods, now mainly buy via eBay, but Apple…

Positioning on a price point: Dollar Tree

by Annamaria Turano — Executive Director, MCAworks

Dollar Tree continues to harvest success from its unique positioning built on its value-oriented price point. According to a recent company press release…

Retailers try to outbribe one another to target back-to-school shoppers

August 17, 2012

The bribes are plentiful this back-to-school season as retailers vie for a piece of the $83.8 billion that the National Retail Federation expects Americans to…

NRF: School, college shoppers still have a lot left to buy

August 16, 2012

Even though they began shopping for back-to-school and college items earlier than ever this year, families with school and college-aged students as of Aug. …

When will the penny finally drop for J.C. Penney's Ron Johnson?

J.C. Penney showed a big 2Q 2012 loss, down another 23 percent, which is much bigger than expected.

The most common mistake made during a customer experience change, and how to overcome it

by Colin Shaw — Founder & CEO, Beyond Philosophy

I was once called into see a new client who had a problem they wanted to discuss: "We undertook research about 18 months ago on how we could improve our…