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February 22, 2011

Surviving the Dual Economy

By Doug Stephens From the Wall Street Journal, February 22nd, 2011:  “Wal-Mart’s fiscal fourth-quarter earnings rose 27% as the retailer capitalized on strength in its international […]
February 18, 2011

Retail Prophet Supports Charity:Water

A billion people in the world are living without clean water – but how much are they really living? Millions contract deadly diseases from contaminated water. […]
February 17, 2011

Clicks and Mortar

By Doug Stephens The battle between bricks and clicks seems destined to end in a truce that blurs the lines between the two. The best attributes […]
February 16, 2011

Cutting the Cord on Point of Sale

By Doug Stephens One of the hottest topics at this year’s National Retail Federation conference was mobile point of sale.  Whether offering customers the convenience of […]
February 5, 2011

Death of the Focus Group: Research Meets Mobility

By Doug Stephens I sat on a panel discussion this week that explored how social and mobile media is changing the way customer feedback is collected, […]
January 20, 2011

The Enduring Allure of the Secret Handshake

By Doug Stephens The world is an increasingly inclusive place and as a society, we’ve grown to expect equal and open access to just about everything.  […]
January 15, 2011

The Customer in Control: Mobile Self-Check Out

One of the hottest topics at the 2011 National Retail Federation Conference was that consumers are increasingly using brick and mortar stores as mere showrooms to […]
January 14, 2011

Can Hudson’s Bay Rise From Zellers’ Ashes?

By Doug Stephens In many ways, this week’s acquisition of Canada’s long-floundering Zellers chain is symbolic of the conditions that so many North American retailers face. […]
January 13, 2011

NRF 2011: The Real Show is Off Broadway

By Doug Stephens If you’ve never attended the National Retail Federation conference in New York it’s truly a unique experience.  A three day retail-a-thon, where delegates […]