Five rules of real-time marketing

Use new tools and tech to know your customers, and interact with them appropriately.

Panphonics Directional Audio Speakers installed in 7-Eleven in-store digital networks

February 23, 2011

Panphonics, a provider of directional audio speakers, announced Wednesday that its patented Sound Shower loudspeakers have been installed in the industry’s…

The communication station: are you making your connections?

by Sharon Goldman — Senior Director, COLLOQUY

Savvy loyalty marketers know that deeper engagement and personalized communication are the biggest loyalty drivers for high-value customers, not mass e-mail…

What you can't teach buyers

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

There are some things you just can't teach buyers. Nor should you try.As sellers, we can educate buyers on:

Amazon offering unlimited instant streaming to Prime members

February 22, 2011

According to WSJ.com Market Watch, Amazon announced yesterday that it is now offering unlimited instant video-streaming of movies and TV shows at no additional…

Five barriers to building retail customer loyalty

Loyalty programs should be about companies demonstrating their loyalty to customers, not the other way around.

Kmart offering discount flu shots, with loyalty card points

February 17, 2011

With flu season at its peak and the possibility of cases occurring as late as May this year, Kmart announced it is offering $15 flu shots, while supplies last…

Walmart's pricing strategy: Further evidence revisited

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

Conflicting stories spawned further research. Did it change my message? A December 2010 Bloomberg Businessweek article cited in my "Further Evidence" article…

The Enduring Allure of the Secret Handshake

by Doug Stephens — President, Retail Prophet Consulting

The world is an increasingly inclusive place and as a society, we've grown to expect equal and open access to just about everything. Facebook has become the…

Mobile Monday: Bebe app

The Bebe app offers just about everything a customer would want, but can be difficult to navigate.

Tried and true, or tired and through

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

I was talking with a retailer Monday who discussed with me all of the changes and decisions she needs to make concerning her stores, including investing in new…

Five ways to win back new private-label shoppers

American consumers continue to switch to lower-cost, private-label goods across every supermarket category.

Is the era of the printed mail-order catalog coming to an end?

by James Bickers — Editor, Networld Alliance

JCPenney has shut down its catalog after 48 years, but other retailers are using theirs to strategic advantage.

Cellfire introduces location-driven grocery coupons

February 8, 2011

Cellfire Inc. has announced a partnership with Location Labs, a provider of mobile location-as-a-service infrastructure and applications, for its Store Alerts…

Creative Realities releases "2011's Critical Five: Top Digital Strategies for Revolutionizing the In-Store Experience"

February 7, 2011

Creative Realities, a digital brand-experience company that has helped major brands bridge the physical and virtual worlds of digital marketing, has released…

Mobile Monday: Abercrombie & Fitch app

The A&F iOS app comes up short in a critical area: Actually selling product.

Penetration pricing: Good strategy or self-inflicted wound?

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

Penetration pricing is a strategy in which a company offers lower prices to garner market share. Is this a viable strategy? If so, when will it work?To answer…

Don’t Discount the Effects of Snow

by Lisa Biank Fasig — Director, JZMcBride and Associates

Much of the country is buried under snow banks. America's retailers, meanwhile, are trying to dig out from a pile of inventory.

RichRelevance unveils open-source retail personalization testing tool

January 31, 2011

RichRelevance, a provider of e-commerce personalization for retail, today introduced RecLab, a new open-source project designed to spur innovation in retail…

Is this the death of loyalty rewards as we know them?

When customers choose which company to do business with, rewards just don't matter like they used to.