GlobalShop: Day 1 news roundup

by James Bickers — Editor, Networld Alliance

March 17, 2008

CHICAGO — Today was opening day for GlobalShop 2008, the 16th installment of the trade show devoted to store design, visual merchandising and in-store…

RFID a boon for retailers, bane for privacy advocates

March 16, 2008

Associated Press: The problem with RFID, critics say, is that the microchipping of products might have unintended consequences. With tags in so many objects…

Personas connect retailers, shoppers

by James Bickers — Editor, Networld Alliance

Fictional customers can lead to real-world improvements.

Freedom Shopping unveils RFID checkout solution

March 12, 2008

HICKORY, N.C. — Freedom Shopping Inc. announced the availability of an OEM offering that plugs into existing cash registers and point-of-sale terminals to…

Harris poll: Consumers expect retailers to know their preferences

March 10, 2008

Advertising Age: A Harris Interactive poll finds that a whopping 95 percent of people believe it is at least somewhat important that companies know "who I am…

Fotozines revive novelty concept

Theme park favorites making their way into malls, cinemas.

Customer experience spending will intensify in 2008

by James Bickers — Editor, Networld Alliance

March 5, 2008

According to a new report just published by Forrester Research, customer experience spending is about to take off to new levels.

Grabbing shoppers by the nose

by James Bickers — Editor, Networld Alliance

Intentional use of scents can profoundly impact the customer experience.

U.S. retailers just beginning to understand customer experience, report says

by James Bickers — Editor, Networld Alliance

February 27, 2008

Forrester Research has published "The State of Experience-Based Differentiation," a summary of its recent survey of 287 customer experience decision-makers…

Opinion: the shopping experience can be more important than the product

February 24, 2008

Advertising Age: Nordstrom executives long have made it their business to do whatever is necessary to please the consumer — everything from stocking every…

Some Wal-Marts going upscale

February 24, 2008

Austin Business Journal: Wal-Mart Stores Inc. is going high-end. In some markets, such as the Dallas area, the retailer is upgrading its image to more closely…

Blog: recession will be helped by 'reproduction mania'

by James Bickers — Editor, Networld Alliance

February 21, 2008

Heather Strang, blogger for Retail Design Diva, isn't particularly worried about the effect a possible recession would have on retail. No, she says, there are…

Customer satisfaction down overall, up online

February 19, 2008

Medill Reports: Another explanation for lackluster consumer spending emerged Tuesday when the University of Michigan's American Customer Satisfaction Index…

Temporary shops make lasting impressions

February 17, 2008

Los Angeles Times: "Pop-up" or guerrilla shops have been lurking in the shadows of the world's cities for the last few years. Rei Kawakubo of fashion label…

Borders concept store includes digital services

February 13, 2008

USA Today: Borders' new concept store, located in its home town of Ann Arbor, Mich., features a digital center where customers can download music or books…

New Nokia store designed for interactive retailing

February 12, 2008

Design Week: A new Nokia concept store is built around an interactive customer experience, with functioning handsets for customers to play with and a…

Up close and personal

February 12, 2008

Becoming familiar with customers builds lasting loyalty.

Know your customer

by James Bickers — Editor, Networld Alliance

February 12, 2008

See how personas help retailers shape the customer experience.

Product pros

February 12, 2008

Knowledgeable employees are trained, not hired.

The Tao of wow

February 12, 2008

Analyze what customers want from your brand, and give it to them.