From The Editor's Desk
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On-Demand Webinars: Smart Networks, Mobile POS, And More
11/24/2015
In case you missed them, here are some of our information-rich webinars that are available on-demand. In less than an hour, you’ll learn how savvy retailers are using innovative technologies to improve customer engagement.
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Getting Smarter About Retail Shrink
11/19/2015
Last week, I wrote a column about some pretty damning stats coming out of the 2015 Global Retail Theft Barometer for our Innovative Retail Technologies NextLP newsletter. In sum, I pointed out that U.S. retail shrink hit a record high this year, and that according to the report we’re the worst offender on the planet. I also posited that as a global retail tech leader, we ought to be getting better, not worse.
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Record Shrink Demands An Unprecedented Response
11/17/2015
The fourteenth annual Global Retail Theft Barometer was published a bit earlier this month, and its release exposed a hard-to-swallow truth to the U.S. retail loss prevention community. We’ve taken our eyes off the ball, and consumers are paying the price.
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What’s So Unique About Amazon Books?
11/5/2015
In case you missed it, Amazon opened a brick-and-mortar bookstore, appropriately dubbed Amazon Books, in Seattle last week. Its grand opening came as no surprise, as even months ago the company did little to quell speculation of its low-key next-step into physical retail. Still, the tech, retail, and mainstream media had a field day with the news this week. Without fail, the commentary I’ve read is littered with attempts to wring something unique, innovative, or earth shattering out of Amazon’s grand brick-and-mortar book selling experiment. But the most innovative element of Amazon’s new store experiment is flying under the radar.
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Location, Location, Location Data
10/28/2015
The Location Based Marketing Association (LBMA)’s hyper-informative event, RetailLoco, wrapped recently, and I had the pleasure of attending. If I had to summarize the event’s message, it’s location, location, location data. Location is all about data, as it’s a data set that covers multiple platforms.
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Store Tech Spending Reveals A Focused Investment In Omni-Channel
10/22/2015
Our 2016 Retail Tech Spending report is live here, and it’s quite revealing. Asked about their tech spending plans for the coming year, our sample of 500 retail executives provided the most abundantly clear evidence I’ve seen to date that discipline- and channel-specific silos are being actively dismantled.
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IoT, Machine Learning, Demand Forecasting, And More
10/15/2015
The Innovative Retail Technologies team delivers insightful, compelling content in the various formats our readers want to receive it — print, Web, daily eNewsletters, video, audio — you name it. If you’re strapped for time, or if you like to listen while you work, here are some recent podcasts we think you’ll find particularly valuable.
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Onboarding Holiday Help? Don’t Cut Corners
10/7/2015
Earlier this month, I shared a few tips for hiring holiday help in a shallow labor pool marked by low unemployment and a growing population of able-bodied Americans who simply don’t want to work.
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Hard Times For Holiday Hiring?
10/6/2015
The Bureau of Labor Statistics pegs the national unemployment rate heading into the holiday season at just 5.5%, a drop of nearly 50% from its post-recession peak in late 2009. It’s considerably lower in some regions. That’s positive news for the labor force and the economy, but it could have some negative implications for retailers and logistics providers looking to staff up for the holidays. Good help is hard to find in a deep labor pool, and it’s incredibly hard to find in a shallow one.
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3 Ways To Compete On Service
10/1/2015
Last week, I had the opportunity to participate in a webinar for Vend, and the topic was how to win customers without competing on product and price. It’s a great topic; here are some of the points I covered during the webcast.