When I was about twelve, my oldest brother made a post-college trek to Europe. I gave him a few bucks and a plea to bring me back a Swiss Army Knife. A real one. From Switzerland. Screwdrivers, tweezers, a saw, a corkscrew (for all those corks seventh-graders need to unscrew) and even a magnifying glass.

The funny thing about Swiss Army Knives, though, is no one really gives a rip about the knife part. Even though it’s called a “knife,” the reason to get one is to have all those other tools, the things we need to get things done. Mobile phones are that way, too, but in a much bigger way. Rather than gut a fish, tighten some screws or magnify… read more.

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How can retailers complement their in-store experience with mobile solutions and offerings for the shopper? Share your thoughts below or on our… read more.

Loyalty is a very tricky term to define. And even trickier to achieve.

So, let’s level the playing field here. Brand loyalty is a shopper’s preference for a particular brand, be it a retailer or product, and a commitment to repeatedly purchase that brand in the face of other choices. Traditionally, retailers establish loyalty programs that offer rewards to repeat customers. This allows retailers to keep track of preferences and buying habits, but is this loyalty defined?  It could just as easily be understood as opportunism, transient and fleeting, driven by a transactional relationship rather than long-term engagement.

To… read more.

When we’re young, the pressure to keep up with the in-crowd is one of which few of us escape. And as adults, the pressure remains – but instead of emulating the hairstyle of Susie Q., captain of the cheerleading squad, we now work to emulate the white picket fence lifestyle of the Jones’ across the street.

Retailers are not immune to this innate drive to gauge against what is accepted in the industry to be accepted, savvy and profitable. Only now it’s called benchmarking. And there’s nothing wrong with it… most of the time.

When it comes to deploying digital technology in retail, however, it’s not one-size-fits all.

It’s easy for shoppers to feel overwhelmed, lost and even anxious in complex indoor retail environments.

A store is like a city. It’s full of street-like aisles, nooks and crannies for us to explore and navigate. To a shopper, the task of efficient navigation through these mysterious territories can be frustrating. But it doesn’t need to be. Enter retail digital wayfinding.

Retail digital wayfinding technology picks us up where the out-of-store GPS guidance drops us off at the curb. Through screens and kiosks, wayfinders help navigate individuals through indoor environments in a more dynamic way than the static signage map… read more.

What makes a good digital experience for your shoppers? Well. Chances are if you ask 100 people, you’ll get 100 different answers. Even within your own company, opinions are as varied as a copywriter’s mood. Point is – there’s no de facto list of “you must do this”. But. There are some general principles that guide an experience in the age of all things digital.

So, before I give you my top 5 digital trends, I want to let you know my two guiding principles when developing a mobile-engagement strategy.

First, interaction.
People want to play with your brand. They want to make it their own. In a generation where everyone… read more.

A mobile presence is, of course, more than a novel idea or an add-on element of a business today. It’s the norm. But just as we saw happen with the web in the late 1990s, there is a tendency to jump before thinking. We’re still learning and experimenting as we figure out what works best and what doesn’t work at all. But, that doesn’t mean design trends and best practices aren’t emerging.

Step one is to think about what’s on the device and that means thinking about user interface and mobile sites. This is where user experience begins and it is central to building, or adding to, how shoppers will perceive your retail brand as a whole.

Thanks to the recent media blitz on distracted driving, most of us are well aware of the dangers of mobile multitasking behind the wheel. But have you stopped to consider what digital distraction may mean in other areas of life? As a retail strategist, my mind immediately goes to shopping and the challenge of sustained attention in a mobile world.

With all the excitement around mobile marketing and m-commerce, it’s easy to miss the deeper, behavioral implications of mobile ubiquity. Yes, mobile technology gives retailers new opportunities to connect with shoppers, but it also gives shoppers new reasons to disconnect from shopping experiences.… read more.