Despite efforts by “Big Box” companies to try to be everything to everyone, new evidence is emerging that customers prefer the personalized service offered by smaller stores, the Retail Institute reports. “Retail Wire recently published an online article about how Wal Mart and Target are trying to return to a more personalized level of customer […]
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August Retail Sales Beat Estimates
Retailers were able to post better-than-expected sales in August, according to numerous wire services and published reports. “Early reports gave analysts hope retailers were able to clear excess inventories ahead of the crucial holiday-selling season without having to resort to deep discounts,” Yahoo News reported. And in an encouraging sign, it was reported that retailers […]
Goodwill Trains Teens for Retail
Good help may be hard to find, but charitable organization Goodwill is making it easier via an in-house retail training program for teens. According to the Baltimore Sun, Goodwill has launched a program training teens in the fine art of retailing, enabling those who complete the course to achieve a certificate from the National Retail […]
Retailers Must Reach Out
Retail managers need to change their corporate culture if they want to make the most of all their assets, whether digital or physical. That’s the conclusion of a new study conducted by Retail Systems Research, in partnership with the National Retail Federation. According to the study, “Creating a single brand identity across all channels,” remains […]
Working Well With Others
Retail managers now have two compelling reasons to encourage employees to be polite in the workplace; polite to each other, that is. Sure, retailers know that rudeness to a customer means lost goodwill and lost sales, but new research reveals that rudeness shown by one employee towards another one is damaging too. Moreover, a different […]
Consumer Confidence Rises Slightly
The Conference Board says consumers’ confidence in the economy was up slightly in August, a good sign for struggling retailers.
Survey: VAT Increase Would Cut Consumer Spending
A Value-Added Tax being mulled in Washington has retailers worried. A survey says shoppers will cut spending if it’s enacted.
Is Your Store “Customer Friendly”?
An analysis from Retail Customer Experience.com has taken a close look at how customers perceive retail outlets, and the findings are surprising. In the study, it’s noted that something as simple as an end-cap with corners can trigger an ancient avoidance-response system within people, whose brain sees sharp corners as a danger, and turn away. […]
Retailers’ Online Sites Can Expect Back-To-School Surge
Consumers doing their back to school shopping will spend at least some of that time — and money— online, according to Web measurement service Compete. The study, summarized at MediaPost.com, found that 30% of shoppers will find their items on the Web, focusing on electronics, dorm accessories and kitchen supplies. School supplies were also cited […]
Whither Cash? Mobile Retail Payments Gaining Popularity
In the ongoing march toward a cashless society, two more companies are rolling out products that will allow consumers to pay for an item via their mobile devices. San Francisco Bay Area businesses Bling Nation and eBay’s PayPal are launching new applications that may render cash and credit cards a thing of the past, according […]
