Think globally, sell locally

March 19, 2008

Cultural sensitivity can attract ethnic customers.

GlobalShop: A.R.E. award winners announced

March 19, 2008

Display & Design Ideas: A.R.E., formerly NASFM, hosted its annual Retail Design Awards at GlobalShop Tuesday evening. The Store of the Year award went to…

GlobalShop: Symon, Madix unveil screens at the shelf level

by James Bickers — Editor, Networld Alliance

March 19, 2008

CHICAGO — A partnership between digital signage company Symon and Madix Store Fixtures and Displays was unveiled this week at GlobalShop.

U.S. consumers making fewer shopping trips

March 18, 2008

SCHAUMBURG, Ill. — U.S. consumers are making fewer shopping trips across most retail outlets as they look for ways to combine errands and save money in an…

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…

Wal-Mart tweaks store for Arab-Americans

March 16, 2008

Associated Press: Shoppers at the new Wal-Mart in a Detroit suburb known as "the capital of Arab America" can now find the whole-wheat cookie Mamool on the…

Personas connect retailers, shoppers

by James Bickers — Editor, Networld Alliance

Fictional customers can lead to real-world improvements.

AOL launches paperless coupon program

March 12, 2008

DULLES, Va. — AOL has launched Shortcuts, its free service for paperless online coupons. The first retail partner to endorse the program is The Kroger Co., the…

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…

Kroger testing wireless coupons

March 9, 2008

Advertising Age: Five top package-goods manufacturers are using mobile phones in an effort to revive the art of coupon redemption. Procter & Gamble…

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.

Half of consumers would give up convenience packaging for green reasons

March 2, 2008

MILAN, Italy — According to a Nielsen Global Food Packaging Survey, nearly one in two global consumers would give up all forms of packaging provided for…

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…

Singapore grocer testing RFID cart this year

February 26, 2008

ZDNet Asia: Singapore supermarket chain Cold Storage says it will be the first in Asia to implement "technology-enabled" shopping carts by the end of this…

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…

Analyst: as belts tighten, customers choose Wal-Mart over Target

February 21, 2008

Associated Press: Citi Investment Research analyst Deborah L. Weinswig said Wal-Mart's "low-price message" resonates with consumers who are trying to scale…