How to make men feel at home while shopping

by James Bickers — Editor, Networld Alliance

September 7, 2009

San Francisco Chronicle fashion correspondent Aaron Britt recently went on a walking tour of S.F. men's retail with Bertrand Pellegrin, author of "Branding the…

Making the case for custom point-of-purchase content

A core factor of the retail customer experience is advertising. But how we speak to a potential customer versus a customer at the point of purchase are not the…

Designing a new experience — and putting fun back into retail

Now is a great time to design and launch a new customer experience — especially for brands feeling the pinch of commoditization.

Roots Canada adds social commerce features to web site

by James Bickers — Editor, Networld Alliance

August 31, 2009

Roots Canada, a leading Canadian lifestyle retailer, announced it has added social commerce features to its e-commerce site at www.roots.com. The product…

Driver's license scanning reduces fraud, but may alienate shoppers

by James Bickers — Editor, Networld Alliance

In an effort to fight return fraud and abuse, a growing number of retailers are using a service that keeps a database of return activity — and feels like an…

Reader Q&A: How do I drive more traffic into the store?

A legendary retailer asks for advice on getting shoppers into the store, and Kate Newlin responds with some practical tips.

Sam's Club, eSoles taking footcare kiosks on cross-country tour

August 24, 2009

Sam's Club and eSoles Custom Footbeds are taking eSoles' 3D TruCapture kiosk scanning systems to Sam's locations across the United States in a series of "road…

Chico's adds live help to its e-tail sites

by James Bickers — Editor, Networld Alliance

August 24, 2009

Chico's, which operates three online retail brands (www.chicos.com, www.soma.com and www.WhiteHouseBlackMarket.com), is adding an integrated live help…

Luxury retail at a crossroads

Shattered by heavy discounting, luxury retailers now need to focus on two distinct customer types - those looking for branded items at a lower price, and the…

Discounting while preserving the brand

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

London retailer puts shoplifter photos on its web site

by James Bickers — Editor, Networld Alliance

August 16, 2009

Home Bargains, which operates 190 discount stores throughout the United Kingdom, is taking a rather drastic step in combating theft: it is uploading CCTV…

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."

Thomas Pink, Warehouse merge channels with BT

by James Bickers — Editor, Networld Alliance

August 12, 2009

British luxury shirt maker Thomas Pink and high-street retailer Warehouse have implemented the BT Expedite multi-channel solution to link their online and…

Thinking beyond traditional retail packaging

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

Hilo Hattie goes live with MICROS-Retail POS/merchandising solution

by James Bickers — Editor, Networld Alliance

August 12, 2009

Hilo Hattie Fashion Centers, a Hawaiian retailer of apparel and merchandise, announced that it has completed roll-out of an end-to-end POS and merchandising…

Why good customer service is like billiards

Retail Doc Bob Phibbs explains why customer service staff need to scatter around the customer, like pool balls reacting to the cue.

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…

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?

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…

Retailers taking 'Christmas in July' more seriously this year

by James Bickers — Editor, Networld Alliance

July 15, 2009

The concept of "Christmas in July" is more than 100 years old, but this year especially it looks like retailers are using the poor economy to suggest to…