February 17, 2010
By Doug Stephens I was reminded recently of a really good book I read several years ago called Going Shopping by Ann Satterthwaite, a city planner […]
January 21, 2010
It’s been called the first rule of modern warfare – “never bring a knife to a gun fight”. Although I’m not certain who coined the phrase, […]
December 11, 2009
By Doug Stephens As the recession drags on, it’s become clear that few in the retail sector are being spared its wrath. In separate stories this […]
November 4, 2009
Apple's CEO Steve Jobs recently assisted Disney with the plans for a chain-wide overhaul of their 340 retail stores. While we mere mortals could never dream of engaging the help of someone like Steve Jobs, there are some valuable lessons that we can take from this. Lessons that are transferable to any size of retail operation.
October 29, 2009
As consumers we are continually making trades, concessions and compromises in the quest to satisfy our needs and wants. It's a never ending battle between experiences based on convenience versus those based in rich experience. For retailers the key is being one or the other.
October 20, 2009
If you believe a lot of what you see and hear about social media, you'd be left with the impression that it's something you can venture into free of costs and improvise as you go. Nothing could be further from the truth.
Despite all the reasons that retailers should be considering social media, there are a few legitimate reasons that they might want to hold off at least temporarily.
August 31, 2009
August 21, 2009
By Doug Stephens You’ve likely seen the relentless stream of news articles and blogs lately touting the “new consumer mindset”. Terms like “post-consumerism”, “belt-tightening”, “frugal chic” […]