| News for the retail industry | January 26, 2012 |  | |
| Special Report Introduction |  |  | | | Digital and Mobile Retail | | | | - "Brave new world" of retail on display at BIG Show
 Retailers got a big taste of technology that promises to transform many of the ways they do business at Retail's BIG Show last week, from iPhone apps that free shoppers from checkout lines to digital vending machines that scan faces to determine age and gender to a semi-automatic gift-wrapping machine. The Wall Street Journal (1/21)      - Consumers consider brands over channels
Terms such as "multi-channel" and "omni-channel" are fast becoming irrelevant, retailers heard at Retail's BIG Show last week. Shoppers don't think about "channels" in their quest to find the products they want at the best price, even when they're doing online research and checking mobiles for the best price while shopping in stores. CNBC (1/19) - Retailers have different takes on new technology
Retailers have a slew of new digital technology options for improving the in-store experience, from tablets that speed the checkout process and improve customer service to face-recognition software that allows merchants to personalize offers. It's a boon for some, while others are more cautious and may even be pulling back on technology spending, analysts say. Star Tribune (Minneapolis-St. Paul, Minn.) (1/21) - 12 reasons online shoppers click "buy"
Human beings in effect have three brains that collaborate when it comes to decision making -- one evaluates facts and figures, the second processes emotions and gut reactions and the third is the tie-breaker between the two, Eight by Eight's Amy Africa told attendees at Retail's BIG Show. She shares a list of 12 factors retailers can use to tailor their websites to the way our brains make buying decisions. Shop.org Blog (1/18) - How to benefit from the "data boom"
Retailers today have access to a flood of valuable consumer data that comes from a wide variety of "unstructured" sources such as social media, which presents an opportunity for merchants who figure out how to harness the data and use it to create personalized shopping services, IBM's Jon Iwata said at Retail's BIG Show. Their efforts may be aided by computers like Watson, the "Jeopardy!"-winning machine that understands natural language. Retail's BIG Blog (1/16)  | How can you quantify the hidden impact of mobile on purchases, purchase intent, loyalty and retention? Now you can do a better job of managing your mobile initiatives and maximizing mobile’s ROI with ForeSee satisfaction analytics. Learn more at foresee.com … | | Merchandising and Store Design | | | | - Macy's makes existing customers No. 1
Macy's top-down philosophy of focusing on pleasing the customers it already has, rather than living in new-customer acquisition mode, has paid off for the department store. Some 70% of U.S. households shop at the department store at least once a year, CMO Peter Sachse said during a panel at Retail's BIG Show. Retail's BIG Blog (1/17) - How do you make your customers love you?
Baker and entrepreneur Linda Hundt loves her customers, and that shines through starting with the hugs they get when they walk into her Michigan store, Sweetie-licious, Hundt told attendees at Retail's BIG Show. Hundt and Dave Ratner of Dave's Soda and Pet City shared the many ways their small businesses have used creativity to win shoppers' love and loyalty. Retail's BIG Blog (1/16) | Marketing and Brand Management | | | | - Retail's BIG Show draws record crowds
Retail's BIG Show in New York City last week attracted about 24,000 people, a record crowd that reflects a year of solid industry growth. Retail sales rose 4.7% in 2011, according to NRF data. CNBC (1/16) - Retail CEOs stress direction, corporate culture
Retail chief executives change jobs 30% more often than Fortune 1000 CEOs across all industries, Russell Reynolds Associates director Brenda Malloy told attendees at the closing session of Retail's BIG Show. Often, though, it's not the leader that needs to change, said Saks CEO Stephen Sadove. "Direction and culture are the two most important things that as leaders we have to focus on." DMNews (1/18) - Saks bets on customer-centric strategy
Saks is in the early stages of moving toward a customer-centric retail model, starting with a database that aggregates information from all sales channels and is available to all departments across the company, marketing executive Kimberly Grabel told attendees at Retail's BIG Show. "Our early tests in marketing are getting everyone excited and we're beginning to engage the whole company." Multichannel Merchant (1/17) - Retailers catch on to conscious capitalism
A growing number of retailers are discovering they don't have to choose between profits and doing what's right, whether it's for employees, the community or the planet, Whole Foods CEO Walter Robb told attendees at Retail's BIG Show. The conscious capitalism movement lets companies grow and prosper while staying true to their values, he said. Richmond Times-Dispatch (Va.) (1/22) | NRF News | | | | - Shop.org executive director shares thoughts on digital retail's "critical juncture"
Last week's Shop.org presence at Retail's BIG Show -- which featured a full track devoted to trendspotting and predictions in the digital retailing space -- found the perfect introduction in retail veteran (and current Shop.org executive director) Vicki Cantrell. Cantrell shared inspiring and motivational thoughts for the hundreds of digital retailing professionals in the room, but also focused on the "critical juncture" the digital retail industry is facing today in three main areas: globalization, personalization and organization. Read more. Shop.org Blog (1/26) | | | 
Product announcements appearing in SmartBrief are paid advertisements and do not reflect actual NRF endorsements. The news reported in SmartBrief does not necessarily reflect the official position of NRF. | This SmartBrief was created for cpgbrokers.data@blogger.com
| | | | | | | | | Recent NRF SmartBrief Issues: - Wednesday, January 25, 2012
- Tuesday, January 24, 2012
- Monday, January 23, 2012
- Friday, January 20, 2012
- Thursday, January 19, 2012
| | | Lead Editor: Megan Conniff
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The 2012 NRF Annual Convention & EXPO was easily the largest event in its 101-year history with more than 25,500 retail industry professionals attending from 78 countries around the world. The 2012 event was also our most successful, not just by the numbers, but by the palpable energy and optimism felt throughout. 
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