When choosing means losing time

by Lisa Biank Fasig — Director, JZMcBride and Associates

On a recent trip to a popular local pottery shop – the kind of place where everything is made on the premises by hand – I was faced with an unexpected dilemma…

Two tales of retail showrooming

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

By now most folks have heard about "showrooming," the relatively new activity where consumers visit a brick and mortar store, look at a product they are…

Technology upgrades helping Victoria's Secret exceed sales expectations

May 7, 2012

Doubling its technology infrastructure investments on inventory management and point-of-sale systems may have helped Limited Brands, owner of Victoria's Secret…

Target to debut home collection from Nate Berkus

May 4, 2012

Nate Berkus, probably best known as Oprah's design guru, is Target's latest design partner.

Brick-and-mortar's inherent advantage: In-store relevance

Smart retailers make customers feel that their preferences, wants and needs are a priority from the minute they walk into the store.

'Retail is theater'

April 26, 2012

Retail is a form of theater, visual merchandising guru Martin M. Pegler said recently during his session at the 2012 International Home + Housewares Show in…

JDA releases 3D merchandising/visualization tool

April 24, 2012

JDA Software Group Inc. has released its integrated category optimization and 3D virtualization solution to provide consumer-driven collaboration and…

CGS releases merchandise planning module

April 23, 2012

Computer Generated Solutions has released its BlueCherry Multi-Channel Merchandise Planning (MCMP) solution designed to improve individual retail, wholesale…

RedPrairie releases Price Tag Generator Solution

April 23, 2012

RedPrairie Corp. has released its new Price Tag Generator solution available through a Web Interface to RedPrairie's Merchandise Management Point-of-Sale Plus…

JDA launches new merchandising solution

April 19, 2012

JDA Software Group, Inc., has released a merchandising solution, JDA Assortment 8.0, that combines consumer purchase preferences, in-depth analytics, complete…

Opinion: Customization becoming essential to the customer experience

Far from being just a feature, customization is a product strategy.

A conversation about building great retail window displays

by James Bickers — Editor, Networld Alliance

This weekend, MSNBC's "Your Business" ran a segment on the venerable retail window display, and how the basics of good window design are the same for everyone…

Apple partners with French designer Philippe Starck?

April 16, 2012

Apple is working with Philippe Starck, the famous French product designer, on a "revolutionary" project to be unveiled later this year, according to…

Will poster shopping change the face of retail?

March 23, 2012

Since Tesco's poster retail experiment in a Korean subway station last June, the idea of using QR codes and NFC tags to let consumers make purchases from…

Gamers must shop Walmart for full Angry Birds Space experience

March 22, 2012

Players of the newest Angry Birds game, Angry Birds Space, must go through Walmart to unlock the game's first round of bonus content, according to a story on…

Angry Birds crashing into retail shelves

March 21, 2012

Angry Birds will be flying to retail shelves nationwide, now that the game’s creator Rovio has partnered with a major U.S. retail chain to put its branded…

Frank Mayer, Mizuno come out swinging with new modular displays

March 16, 2012

Frank Mayer & Associates has teamed up with Mizuno to design and produce a line of modular sporting goods displays to showcase their products. The displays…

GlobalShop 2012: 8 ways the smartphone can help your customers love you

Mobile technology is not the brick-and-mortar retailer's enemy.

GlobalShop 2012: Family Dollar using new technology to get 'on-site insight' to increase sales

Retailers can measure customer shopping patterns with ShopperGauge.

You're hot and you're cold ...

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

American retailers have been accused of being obsessively consumed with acquiring new customers, but negligent when it comes to retaining existing customers.