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.

Software-as-a-service for in-store digital signage

February 11, 2008

The distribution model is one of the most important aspects to investigate when selecting digital signage software.

Inserts more influential than TV ads

February 11, 2008

BALTIMORE — Vertis Communications announced the tenth anniversary of its proprietary Vertis Customer Focus study, which has been analyzing the key trends…

More companies realize customer experience will be critical in 2008

by James Bickers — Editor, Networld Alliance

February 11, 2008

Forrester Research has just published "Obstacles to Customer Experience Success, 2008," which distills the results of a survey of 287 customer experience…

Borders analyzes efficacy of its email coupon program

February 10, 2008

Stores: Kevin Ertell, vice president of e-business at Borders Group, wanted a clearer understanding of how behavior differed between "coupon seekers" (shoppers…

Putting the 'world' in Wincor World

by Tracy Kitten — Editor, AMC

Steady growth, innovation mark German firm's annual self-service show.

WINCOR WORLD: 360-degree scanning will speed check-out

January 30, 2008

The Real 360 works when a shopper places no more than 1 item each on its segmented conveyor belt. Merchandise then is sped through a tunnel of…

Luxury consumer confidence hits all-time low

January 30, 2008

Display and Design Ideas: Luxury consumer confidence has never been lower, dropping 23.8 points from the third quarter to 63.6 points in the fourth quarter…

How long before RFID check-out?

Solutions at Wincor World move closer to one of retail's Holy Grails.