retail

(This is the first installment of “brand experience briefs” — insights from my audits of new retail and restaurant concepts.)

What: the Walmart.com store

In just the past week, I’ve had several conversations about the future of retail – and how drastically shopping as we’ve known it is going to change. From these provocative discussions, it’s become clear to me that retailers must change the way think about and build their brands, or face extinction.

For the retail industry, the Great Recession has become the Great Malaise.

Last week, Karen Talley reported in the Wall Street Journal that most retailers missed expectations for May. While there were some bright spots, the 25 retailers tracked by Thomson Reuters posted 4.9% growth in May same-store sales, instead of the expected 5.4% gain.

(Welcome to the second in a two-post series on how retailers manage the choice conundrum. This is written by C. B. Whittemore, Chief Simplifier of Simple Marketing Now, a marketing communications consultancy focused on simplifying customer interactions with social media and content marketing.

Guest Post by: Simon Phillips

Whilst some big retailers are still sitting on the sidelines considering whether social media has a role in their business, one of our biggest retailers has acquired its own social media company.

The first part of this video talks about the retail opportunities, in American (and Europe), that result from the  rise in Type 2 Diabetes.

Guest Post by: Jo Strattman

Retailers are increasingly using digital signage to engage their customers in-store.

The sessions at eTail, the conference for multi-channel and online retailers, were chock full of new perspectives and new technologies.

The title for this year’s event, held last month in Palm Springs, was: “The Future Is Now: Managing ‘What’s Next’ While Remaining Focused on Today’s Brand Experience.”