Men's 'shopping shrines' court lifestyle dollars

October 1, 2008

Forbes: While women are cutting back on discretionary purchases, men are still buying. According to the NPD Group, a retail market research firm, sales in…

Tapping the wisdom of crowds

Crowdsourcing gives retailers a way to learn customer needs, wants.

Study: Free samples drive sales

September 29, 2008

Brandweek: More than one-third (35 percent) of customers who tried a free sample product bought that product during the same shopping trip, per the poll of…

Luxury retailers emphasize off-price operations

September 25, 2008

Business Week: With the economy stalled and consumer spending in free fall, snobbery is a bit harder to pull off than in years past. Even the most upscale…

Brands are sold on shopper marketing

September 23, 2008

Brandweek: In-store marketing tactics have not only become actively embraced by marketers of consumer packaged goods, many rank it as one of their most…

Opinion: Most loyalty programs use the wrong incentives

September 22, 2008

Wall Street Journal: The biggest problem with loyalty programs, according to two professors of management science, is that most retailers adopt a…

Two-thirds of young U.K. shoppers use catalogs

September 21, 2008

Hellmail: According to research carried out by Royal Mail, almost two thirds of young consumers in the UK use a catalog to shop. In fact, 54 percent of all UK…

Shopping bags that matter as much as what is in them

September 21, 2008

Boston Globe: Over the past two years, a growing number of merchants have increased their investment in shopping bags, selecting heavier, more durable…

Touchscreens engage shoppers at NY Fashion Week

September 21, 2008

NEW YORK — Azure Media, a mobile marketing strategy firm, released FIA Touch, an interactive and mobile digital signage solution during the Mercedes-Benz New…

Short may not be sweet for online product descriptions

September 18, 2008

SMART COMPANY (Australia): A recent online retail customer experience survey found that around 60 percent of top e-commerce sites used very brief product…

Online retailers get help with conversions

September 15, 2008

SAN FRANCISCO — Customer reviews and social-merchandising-solutions company PowerReviews and organic search solutions provider YourAmigo have announced a…

Frito-Lay uses fake store to watch customer behavior

September 11, 2008

BNET: When Frito-Lay wants to see the impact of a packaging change or an end-cap display, the Dallas salty snack purveyor no longer has to wait for sales…

Startup will show how 'green' products really are

September 10, 2008

Wired: Ever since companies across America, from Exxon to Wal-Mart, started "going green," scientists, environmentalists and skeptics have all been wondering…

Macy's deal makes it exclusive Tommy Hilfiger dept. store

September 7, 2008

Houston Chronicle: Starting this week, Tommy Hilfiger U.S.A. will have an exclusive alliance with Macy's that leaves it as the only U.S. department store…

Phoenix Technology deploys Voice Blast marketing program

August 26, 2008

TORONTO — Phoenix Technology Holdings, the exclusive licensing-and-operating company for the SCTN Company, a provider of end-to-end, customer-loyalty and…

Urban Outfitters emphasizes 'cool,' lets employees design the store

August 26, 2008

Wall Street Journal: Amid the worst consumer-spending slump in years, Urban Outfitters Inc. has been racking up big sales and earnings gains without putting…

Customer-centric planning

Retailers must look at touchpoints from the shopper's point of view.

DSE East coming to Philadelphia

Digital signage's largest tradeshow spins off an East Coast convention.

Circuit City brings tablet PCs to the aisles

August 20, 2008

REDMOND, Wash. — Microsoft Corp. and Circuit City Stores Inc. have announced that select Circuit City stores are empowering their sales associates with tablet…

J.C. Penney, Sears test social media for back-to-school promos

August 19, 2008

Internet Retailer: Multichannel retailer J.C. Penney has launched a virtual game called "DorkDodge" in which female teens must escape the embrace of several…