Discounting while preserving the brand

Why retailers need to focus on intelligent promotions, rather than across-the-board discounts.

Customers still want organic, but are skeptical of claims

August 20, 2009

HARRISBURG, Pa. — When it comes to all natural and organic foods, today's consumers are wiser to the differences than most marketers might think and eager to…

Breaking retail's addiction to discounting

When retailers emphasize price above all else, everybody loses. Author Kate Newlin offers some alternatives to "okay, available and cheap."

Thinking beyond traditional retail packaging

How retailers are mixing packaging with interactive technology to connect with consumers.

Walmart emphasizing 'endcaps on steroids'

by James Bickers — Editor, Networld Alliance

August 11, 2009

Retailers are reclaiming their endcaps, traditionally used by brands to merchandise their products in thematic fashion. Recent months have seen a greater…

Best Buy turns Sunday circulars into interactive 3D demos

by James Bickers — Editor, Networld Alliance

August 6, 2009

Electronics retailer Best Buy has quietly unveiled a new interactive domain, www.BestBuyin3D.com, which turns the company's Sunday circulars into impressive…

Luxury brands extend their names to non-luxury items — and consumers buy it

by James Bickers — Editor, Networld Alliance

August 4, 2009

An article in the latest issue of Time magazine is fodder for retail skeptics everywhere. It rehashes the results of an upcoming study in the Journal of…

Study: Customers want simpler, easier-to-understand food labeling

by James Bickers — Editor, Networld Alliance

August 4, 2009

Progressive Grocer reports on a new survey from Guiding Stars Licensing Co., which suggests that grocery shoppers are getting fed up with arcane, hard-to-read…

Intelligent online marketing boosts purchases by 25 percent

Marketers must employ direct digital marketing strategies that demonstrate an understanding of how consumers use technology to make purchases.

How to catch male shoppers: Market to women

The men's grooming market is set to explode, and retailers can reach it more directly by marketing to women.

Luxury retailers expanding the reach of their 'secret sales'

by James Bickers — Editor, Networld Alliance

August 2, 2009

The New York Times reports on the growing incidence of luxury retailers taking their "secret sales" and making them not-so-secret, in order to actually move…

Tesco accused of misleading ads

by James Bickers — Editor, Networld Alliance

July 28, 2009

The U.K.'s Advertising Standards Authority has a problem with recent ads from mega-retailer Tesco, which claim lower basket prices than competitor Asda.

Opinion: Why customer satisfaction surveys don't work

With 95 percent of our cognitive processing handled by the subconscious, how much value is there in surveys that probe the other five percent?

Best Buy's new laptop sales model includes Internet service, steep discounts

by James Bickers — Editor, Networld Alliance

July 26, 2009

Electronics retailer Best Buy has tried a lot of strategies in recent months to stay ahead of its discount competition, everything from expanded Geek Squad…

New Christopher & Banks prototype celebrates 'women of all sizes'

by James Bickers — Editor, Networld Alliance

July 26, 2009

Minneapolis-based apparel retailer Christopher & Banks announced it will open a new prototype store in Moosic, Penn., and it will be branded with the…

What the Amazon/Zappos deal means for customers

Amazon has acquired Zappos.com in a deal that exceeds $800 million. From the customer's standpoint, is this a marriage made in retail heaven?

Pop-up shops becoming mainstream

by James Bickers — Editor, Networld Alliance

July 23, 2009

The Economist has published a brief exploration of the concept of pop-up shops, temporary stores set up by retailers in unexpected locations — from abandoned…

Report: Green retailing is not a fad

by James Bickers — Editor, Networld Alliance

July 21, 2009

Green retailing is about more than just building a positive perception; it's a serious cost saver that means more than ever during tough economic times.

Borders adding teen sections, taking real estate away from music/DVD departments

by James Bickers — Editor, Networld Alliance

July 21, 2009

Borders, the second largest bookstore chain in the United States, is taking away some floor space from its music and DVD departments in order to build new…

Surprise: Low-income shoppers more willing to pay a premium for sustainability

by James Bickers — Editor, Networld Alliance

July 19, 2009

In the prevailing cliché, it is the wealthy among us who care the most about the environment; they are the ones willing to pay a premium for products and…