Target and Neiman Marcus partnership dissapoints shoppers

January 2, 2013

Internet chatter is rampant in regards to the recent flop of Neiman Marcus's collection for Target. A recent article on time.com cited comments from the…

Report: Online holiday shopping sales up 15.2 percent

December 27, 2012

2012 marked another strong season for e-commerce retail, according to the Chase Holiday Pulse, which aggregates payment processing data from 50 of Chase…

In spite of cost, customized merchandise worth considering

December 21, 2012

Online shopping has not only allowed for retail convenience, but also retail personalization. More and more retailers are allowing for item customization with…

Cookies and the key to success in retail

by Doug Stephens — President, Retail Prophet Consulting

For the holidays I took my friends, clients and business colleagues cookies. I bought them from a small coffee house and bakery in Toronto called Le Gourmand …

Outhouses and QR codes: Never assume the norm

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

New research from the NPD Group shows that nearly 100 million people (or about half of Internet users) listened to music online in the past three months. No…

Predictable results

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

In the world of pricing, results are more predictable than we might think. Recently a Fortune 500 marketing professional told me that his company had changed…

Under the Radar: Ten emerging marketing trends

Loyalty programs are becoming a commodity due to their ubiquity and lack of creative differentiation.

Commentary: The facts about card-linked incentives

A retailer's most loyal customers spend $1.44 with competitors for every $1.00 spent with them.

The trouble with facial recognition technology

December 14, 2012

While the use of facial recognition technology for marketing purposes is attractive for retailers, an article on independent.co.uk discusses how the process…

Microsoft to begin selling Surface at retail stores

December 12, 2012

Microsoft said Tuesday it would make its Surface tablet computer available to outside sellers as soon as mid-December, citing interest from retailers and…

Toys 'R' Us creates Facebook game, players get discounts

December 12, 2012

Toys 'R' Us and game manufacturer Ubisoft have teamed up to create a free toy store simulation game, according to retailingtoday.com.

Article discusses 3 ways to make showrooming an opportunity

December 12, 2012

One-in-five consumers are now showrooming, according to new research by Aprimo/Teradata and Forrester Research, which revealed that 96 percent of those…

Are deal-day monikers becoming overused?

December 11, 2012

It started with Black Friday. Then came Cyber Monday, which was later preceded by Small Business Saturday and Sofa Sunday, and followed by Giving Tuesday. Oh…

Can you add value?

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

If you think I’m asking about your organization’s capabilities, I’m not. Then where, exactly, does the ability to add value lie?

AT&T intros location-based AT&T Alerts for use by retailers

December 5, 2012

AT&T today launched AT&T Alerts, an opt-in, geo-location text messaging alerts service that will enable consumers to receive offers such as discounts…

Research points to puny layaway figures

December 3, 2012

Retailers may have been excited about the potential benefits of revamped layaway policies, but according to an article in the Houston Chronicle, several recent…

Google grabs coupon start-up Incentive Targeting

November 29, 2012

The retail coupon technology company Incentive Targeting has been acquired by Google, the company announced. Incentive Targeting, at just five years old, had…

Is this the end of marketing?

by Doug Stephens — President, Retail Prophet Consulting

Imagine a world without marketing. No really… imagine a world where no one tries to sell you anything. Not because they don’t want to but because attempting…

Thanksgiving and Black Friday spending round-up

This year's average ticket price spiked, thanks to less aggressive discounting.

Multichannel and showrooming helped retailers that did it right

November 27, 2012

Booz & Co. chief retail analyst Thom Blischok said Monday on CNBC that retail companies did well if they successfully integrated their online and…