Putting romance back into retail

by Chris Petersen — Owner, IMS

Retailing has changed more in the last 3 years than in the past 3 decades. Actually, it is the consumers who have changed. They are shopping 24/7/365 anywhere…

Everything that's wrong with retail summed up in one question

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

During my presentation last week at the Retail Customer Experience Executive Summit, a question was asked that sums up everything that's wrong with retail…

Hello Kitty goes high fashion in Asia

August 13, 2012

Hello Kitty's first and only high-end fashion brand is heading toward its roots in Asia with the opening of 15 stores across the continent. Pynkiss boutiques…

How to get your customers to picture regret

by Bob Phibbs — CEO, The Retail Doctor

I was speaking at the Sturbridge Inn & Convention Center recently and had to print something at the business center. A guy was on the one computer checking…

Ur missing teens' biz if u don't text

August 3, 2012

Brands trying to reach younger shoppers have turned to text speak to entice them. For example, Charlotte Russe last week invited young shoppers to a happy hour…

RCE Podcast episode 6: The Chick-fil-A debacle and how retail is becoming more political

Wednesday's "appreciation day" set sales records at Chick-fil-A, and polarized an awful lot of people in the process. Meanwhile, other retailers have come out…

Why Target’s ‘gay couple ad’ is in the spotlight

by Cherryh Cansler — Publisher, FastCasual.com

One of Target's banner ads promoting its wedding registry has gained significant attention this week. The ad, which has been running since April at the top of…

JCPenney: Not a pricing failure

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

There's a lot of talk about JCP's failed pricing strategy, but is it really the pricing that's off?

Retailers trucking into the fashion world

August 2, 2012

Remember when food trucks were the cool "new" thing? Now, the trend is all about fashion. A few retailers in New York, Boston, L.A. and Portland have taken…

London retailers marketing around Olympics

July 30, 2012

British retailers are taking advantage of the world's focus on London during this Olympic season. Department stores, including Selfridges, Harrods, Harvey…

RCE Podcast episode 5: Amazon profits plummet, more JC Penney news, and whether 'Made in America' still matters

Amazon made an awful lot of money in the second quarter - but kept only a fraction of it. We run the numbers in this episode, then talk about all of the news…

NRF releases infographic with top back-to-school trends for 2012

July 26, 2012

The National Retail Federation has released a new infographic filled with data relative to the upcoming back-to-school season.

Augmented reality is part of IKEA's 2013 catalog

July 25, 2012

IKEA is taking the catalog experience up a notch, using augmented reality to grab readers' attention. After downloading the IKEA app to smartphones or tablets…

Solution to help retailers of 'any size' offer digital coupons

July 24, 2012

With more than 55.7 million American consumers using online coupons each year, retailers of all sizes are looking to provide shoppers with easy ways to obtain…

Macy's novel approach to rolling out mobility in 800 stores

by Chris Petersen — Owner, IMS

Unless you have been living under a rock lately, you'll know that showrooming is one of the hottest topics in retailing. Consumers are increasingly using their…

Five ways to lose your Facebook business page fans

by Bob Phibbs — CEO, The Retail Doctor

Creating a Facebook business page for your small business and then growing your fan base has become a focus for many businesses and has the potential to be a…

4 retailers with hot summer marketing tactics

Retail experts discuss how to incorporate summer into marketing plans.

RCE Podcast episode 4: Mobile retail marketing and Walmart's innovative approach to back-to-school

The mobile phone brings with it an almost infinite array of possibilities for retail marketers, but new innovations bring new concerns about ethical marketing…

Forecast: Women's clothing sales, online chatter about discounts to surge in Q3

July 19, 2012

In-store sales of women's clothing are expected to see a 9.2 percent increase in the third quarter of 2012, according to a just-released IBM analytics-based…

Macy's, shopkick instantly launch mobile rewards program

July 18, 2012

Macy's is the latest retailer to fully roll out shopkick, a location-based shopping app that rewards shoppers for walking into stores and interacting with…