Retail Rants & Raves
By Joe Keenan
About Joe
Joe Keenan is senior editor of Retail Online Integration and Target Marketing Group's web-only brand, eM+C. In addition to his work on those publications, Joe has contributed articles for fellow Target Marketing Group publications Book Business and Publishing Executive magazines. Previously, he served as senior editor at Reed Technology & Information Services for five years. Retail Rants & Raves covers the wide spectrum of retail marketing, from the very best it has to offer to the very worst.
Return on Inventory
4 Multichannel Inventory Planning Best Practices
Apr 17, 2012It seems every retailer I've spoken with recently is scrambling to gain control of their inventory planning, regardless of channel. It's...
Retail Rambles
SkyMall Helps You Prepare for the End of the World
Apr 2, 2012Perhaps I've been watching too much of "The Walking Dead" or maybe too many episodes of "Doomsday Preppers," but my paranoia about the...
Shipping Insights
Parcel Rate Increases for 2012
Dec 19, 2011UPS has announced 6.9 percent air increases, partially offset by a 2 percent fuel surcharge reduction. It's also announced a...
ThinkAbout: Inspirational Verve for Your Product Line!
Can You Up the Ante on Your Products’ Amusement Factor?
Oct 17, 2011Can you up the ante on any of your products’ amusement factors? Is there some ho-hum aspect of your product...
Return on Intelligence
The New CompUSA Rights a Wrong
Mar 16, 2011Two weeks ago in my blog, I totally skewered CompUSA and its warranty company (found out it's Assurant Solutions)...
Creating Positive Customer Experiences
How to Love Your Customers So They’ll ‘Just Love’ Your Business
Feb 14, 2012Customer loyalty is customer love for doing business with you. In fact, neuroscientists studying consumer behavior have discovered that when...
Really ‘Fair and Square’? How J.C. Penney Alienated an Important Customer (My Wife)
Shoppers want to think they're getting a good deal. By taking advantage of sales and using coupons, they get that feeling. J.C. Penney claims it's offering "every day" low prices, which isn't true. It may fool the nonshopper, but not the shopper.
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What I Learned at NRF 2012
The National Retail Federation's Annual Convention & Expo (aka Retail's BIG Show) in New York City wrapped up this past Wednesday. Here are some random conclusions I've drawn after roaming the cavernous Jacob Javits Convention Center for three days covering the event:
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Digital Shift in Plain Sight at Shop.org Conference
It's no surprise that the majority of cross-channel retailers are focusing their attention online when analyzing the future growth of their companies. Consumers spent $165.4 billion online last year, an increase of 14.8 percent compared to 2009, according to the U.S. Commerce Dept. While certainly eye-catching numbers, that $165.4 billion accounted for less than 5 percent (4.2 percent to be exact) of total retail spending. So you can see why there's such excitement over the future of...
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A Bright Spot Amid the Darkness
I’ve just returned from the eTail conference in Boston, and I got to say, the mood was pretty upbeat considering the economic news swirling around the event. A plummeting stock market, stagnant unemployment numbers, downgraded credit rating and talk of a double-dip recession seemed to be mere afterthoughts for those at the event. Heck, the only double-dip that internet retailers may be familiar with these days is scoops of ice cream as they celebrate their latest round of good news.
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Thoughts on Another IRCE Gone By
While bad news around the economy continues to pile up — a plunging stock market, troublesome unemployment, a soft housing market, national debt that's out of control — the e-commerce industry seems unaffected. E-commerce sales are steadily rising and for many cross-channel retailers the channel is a bright spot in an otherwise dark place. This mood was certainly reflected at IRCE, where people were upbeat with where they were at and optimistic about their future.
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