Can Retailers Over-Optimize?
The glittering goal of store-specific assortments and planograms beckon retailers and I wonder: can retailers over-optimize? When I see retail technology roadmaps and capacity planning, there seems to be a real danger that the corporate office may be equipping itself...
How is it going with your Promotions?
--Do you know which ones are working? Simple Questions. But sadly, most retailers and their vendors don’t REALLY have answers. Truth is, about 1/3 of all promotions don’t improve sales. Another 1/3 do not deliver incremental profit dollars to the bottom line. (They...
Customer Service & the Lost Art of Conversation
Is a focus on omnichannel retailing taking away focus from Customer Service and the Lost Art of Conversation? While I will be at NRF next week to be dazzled with technology and retail innovation, I see a troubling trend in shopper experiences in our stores. In...
5 best books for Retail Managers and Leaders
The 5 best books for Retail Managers and Leaders is available here. We selected and curated the 5 best books that we think every store manager, team leader and student of the retail industry should read. These are the best for learning: What it takes to succeed. What...
The 5 Roles of Retail Signs
I continue to rail against visual clutter - especially with signs in stores. On the whole, I see how complicated retailers love to make this very simple industry. Customers come into stores to (1) find what they are looking for; (2) be pleasantly surprised to see...
The Most Common Retail RFP Mistake
Retailers who select new systems make several common mistakes with their RFP's. But there is one that stands out. I see it repeated everywhere I go. Here is how to avoid it. And make sure your next expensive investment pays out. No test drive. Imagine you were...
AI-Powered Space Planning
Watch this webinar featuring Flora Delaney, Delaney Consulting and Dirk Herdes, VP of Retail at Hivery. In this Category Management Association-hosted webinar they explore how AI can help drive hyper-local retail strategies. This webinar explores actual use cases and...
The Strategic Advantages of Space Planning
Space Planning is More Than a Merchandising Tactic For most retail implementations, Space Planning is focused on the right side of this continuum. The tactics of Space Planning. To be honest, those are table stakes. It is what you have to do to be able to get a seat...
How Space Planning Can React to the Competing Role of the Shelf
If you read your fair share of retail blog posts, you know they all start out the same: post-covid, professional shoppers, omnichannel shopping, new shopper expectations, supply chain…all of the buzz words. In this post, I want to focus on how Space Planning...
US Posts Steep Labor Productivity Decline – No Kidding!
The US Bureau of Labor Statistics reported reported a 7.5% decline in labor productivity during the first quarter of 2022. The steepest decline since 1947. I was not surprised. But apparently a whole lot of people excited by high US job growth in June were....