The Retail Buzz

The Retail Buzz News Letter!

2010-11-12T09:19:00.000-08:00

The latest Retail Buzz Newsletter is now available! We publish this newsletter every month, with new articles, tips, news and good things happening in retail. It's free! http://onestepretail.com/OSD/newsletter/newsletter.php

Free Dell laptop with POS system

2010-03-29T10:25:00.000-07:00

Take advantage of our incredible Dell laptop promotion!

If you've outgrown or are unhappy with your POS system and ready to make a change, we have a great incentive.

One Step Retail Solutions is offering new clients a FREE LAPTOP with their purchase of a complete POS solution to the first 5 customers of this promotion.

The POS solution in this promotion includes POS software, POS hardware, membership and professional services.

More info about this promotion:
http://onestepretail.com/l/laptop-promotion.php

Breathing Life Into Brands

2010-03-12T16:02:00.000-08:00

New article at One Step Retail Solutions that talks about factors involved with erosion of brand value and how to evolve to align your brand within the new economy.

Here is what the article says ...

There has been a lot of discussion around the erosion of brand value and the fact that consumer brand loyalty has been slipping for an extended period of time.

Many factors have contributed to this, not the least of which is the ability to compare products and prices on the Internet. Any given retail chain or online store also develops its own "brand image" that can improve or deteriorate based on the overall shopping experience and merchandise lines.

For example, in the early years of online sales there were a number of absolutely livid Web shoppers whose purchases didn't arrive in time for Christmas - those store brands certainly suffered! Now that time has healed the wounds and the retailers involved managed to revamp their systems and rebuild their service and delivery image, online sales continues to reach record numbers.

But rather than looking at it as a single company or brand that is losing value, I would argue that when one brand is slipping more often than not another is gaining. An example of that would be the wireless handset industry - while Motorola lost its place as a leader, BlackBerry held its own and now even new players such as Dell and Google are entering the market.

Read rest of article ...

CEO Scott Kreisberg Named Chairman

2010-02-08T08:16:00.000-08:00

One Step Retail Solutions CEO Scott Kreisberg Named as Chairman of the Retail Pro Business Partner Advisory Council

Retail Pro International announced that One Step Retail Solutions' CEO Scott Kreisberg has been elected by his peers as Chairman of the Retail Pro Business Partner Advisory Council.

One Step Retail Solutions has been Retail Pro's "Global Business Partner of the Year" for the last four years. Retail Pro's Business Partner Advisory Council is an honor and achievement for a select number of very successful Retail Pro software service providers throughout the world, signifying they have been through extensive training, delivering outstanding customer service, and focused on the issues and needs of small to mid-size retailers.

As Chairman of the Business Partner Advisory Council, Mr. Kreisberg stated "The Council looks forward to working with Retail Pro to even more fully service the specialty retail industry and help to create a resurgence and rebound for retailers all across the country."

OSRS Named HP Elite Partner

2010-02-03T13:28:00.000-08:00

One Step Retail Solutions Named As An HP Elite Partner

Hewlett-Packard (HP) recently named One Step Retail Solutions as an HP Elite Partner, designating HP’s highest level of sales and technical certification requirements.

The HP Elite Partners have an extensive proven industry qualifications validated by HP. One Step’s collaboration with HP enables the company to deliver collaborative point of sale (POS) service offerings relating to POS hardware solutions for small to mid-size retailers, providing tailored solutions fully supported by HP.

One Step Retail Solutions has serviced the retail industry for 25 years, and is one of the nation’s leading resellers and service providers of point of sale solutions for the retail environment, providing retailers with on-going consulting, training and technical support to thousands of retail stores across the US, as well as in Europe.

One Step’s track record of satisfied HP POS customers combined with HP Elite Partner designation positions One Step as an experienced partner able to fully support customers in the selection, installation and configuration of customized HP solutions in their IT environments.

About One Step Retail Solutions:
One Step Retail Solutions is celebrating its 25 years of experience in the retail point of sale / inventory control industry, with over 3000 stores currently being serviced and supported across the US. As one of the largest retail service providers in the United States, it has supplied retail technology solutions to large name retailers in apparel, sporting goods, museums, jewelry, shoes, entertainment venues and sports arenas. Its corporate headquarters are in Phoenix, Arizona with offices in Los Angeles and New York. Website: www.onestepretail.com.

About Hewlett-Packard
HP was founded in 1939 and is a technology company that operates in more than 170 countries around the world. HP explores how technology and services can help people and companies address their problems and challenges, offering consumers a wide range of products and services from digital photography to digital entertainment and from computing to home printing. This comprehensive portfolio helps HP match the right products, services and solutions to their customers' specific needs. Corporate headquarters are in Palo Alto, CA. Website: www.hp.com.

Specials on POS Systems

2009-12-14T13:41:00.000-08:00

One Step Retail Solutions is having its BIG Year-end Specials on POS Systems. Retailers can take advantage of getting a complete POS system (hardware, software, and pro services) and big savings.

Check out the Year-end Specials now!

Retail New Year Checklist

2009-12-09T12:01:00.000-08:00

Get the most from your retail technology systems in order to increase your survival potential. Use this retail checklist to gain a competitive advantage in 2010:

Ensure your retail technology equipment is PCI Compliant
Use reliable retail-hardened POS hardware to run your POS system
Add more POS stations to help prevent long check-out lines.
Upgrade your POS software to the latest version to better manage inventory, customers, and vendors
Get any customized programming that tailors your system to meet unique or specialized needs
Have an efficient reporting tool with your POS software to gain valuable insight into your business
Optimize merchandise distribution to increase sell-through and prevent markdowns
Ensure merchandising and finance are working together as an integrated system
Have reliable, up-to-date security systems set up (loss prevention systems) for both your hardware and store
Back up your files and POS system regularly (Retail Backup recommended)
Integrate credit card processing and gift cards with your POS system
Integrate your online store (e-Commerce) with your POS system using EDI (Electronic Data Interchange)
Keep Technical Support contracts in place to get the help you need to run smoothly
Review your Returns Policy to minimize returns fraud

Here are some tips for 2010:

Gather customer information at point of sale to use for targeted promotions
Track your customer purchases and review customer's history at POS to improve customer relations
Have a customer loyalty program in place
Hold periodic events at your store
Have contests with either employees and/or customers
Run reports regularly to gain insight that helps you manage your business better
Train your sales employees on basic customer service and find ways to reward them for this
Minimize return fraud using upgraded POS software and security systems
Expand your channels of retailing (videos, blogs, social networking, etc)
Do planned pricing to unload stock through scheduled markdowns
Offer classes to individualize your store
Use framed signage to show why your merchandise is unique
Provide a shopping experience that includes respect, honesty, and trust

Visit our website for informative articles, whitepapers, and retail industry eBook - all complimentary of One Step Retail Solutions: http://www.onestepretail.com/

Time for a New Retail Strategy

2009-12-03T11:43:00.000-08:00

Our latest retail industry article by retail expert Scott Kreisberg talks about an "inflection point", which occurs when an industry or segment faces lasting changes so large and significant that it calls for companies to adapt with a new strategy or ability to compete, or face what becomes an irreversible decline and failure.

Almost every company faces ongoing changes of one type or another in its
industry, and retail is no exception. However, various news and events of the
past year or two make me think that there are fundamental permanent changes
going on that will leave some retail chains behind if they are not on top of it.

I am not referencing the banking crisis or recession itself, which we will
eventually pull through after some period of time. Nor am I referring only to
some of the long-term trends we outlined in our report “Six Biggest Challenges
Facing Retailers Today”, which is available on our website.

Issues such as dealing with national chains and big box retailers have been
on the table for a while, and most smaller and mid-sized chains have figured out
how to successfully deal with that type of competition.

What I am referring to is the type of change called an ‘inflection point’
as defined by Andy Grove, the long-time CEO of Intel, in his book “Only The
Paranoid Survive.” This occurs when an industry or segment faces lasting changes
so large and significant that it calls for companies to adapt with a new
strategy or ability to compete, or face what becomes an irreversible decline and
failure.

Such an inflection point may bring even greater opportunity than before
for organizations who do figure out how to take advantage of it.

Read full article

Shape of Things To Come

2009-11-18T14:25:00.000-08:00

An article by Scott Kreisberg takes a look at factors that weigh in for improving the bottom line for a retail store.

There has been a tremendous amount of discussion by economists and government experts in regard to the type of recession we are in, as well as the possible ways we could come out of it.

The good news is that it seems to be a fairly unanimous sentiment that we are at or very near the bottom. Plus there are other positive signs such as retail sector sales picking up slightly (with autos excluded) in both August and September. However, there are varied opinions and speculation as to where things go from here.

This is pretty clearly demonstrated in the different models, or 'shapes', that the recovery might take, which have come to be characterized by various letters of the alphabet.

It is likely that many of you have seen these so I will only briefly touch on what they are. We have the classic 'V' shape recession, which is a clear downturn and bottom followed by clear and sustained recovery, the 'U' which is a longer time spent at the bottom and in recovery, and the 'W' or double-dip.

Read full article ...

Retail Executive Advisory Panel

2009-11-04T15:32:00.001-08:00

One Step Retail Solutions, a leading reseller and service provider of retail point of sale software systems, recently launched a Retail Executive Advisory Panel (REAP) to conduct routine retail industry studies among retail leaders.

Retail executives participating in REAP will take advantage of being part of a panel of their peers to gain and share knowledge of retailing, including approaches to new and innovative retail strategies. Members of the Panel who participate in the studies then receive an Executive Summary of the study’s research findings, which provides them access to information from other top retail executives.

One Step’s objective is to bring top level retail executives together in a forum for pursuing excellence in their own retail business. Believing that these executive’s opinion measures heavily on the retail landscape, One Step plans to make strides in gaining more insight into what current challenges retailers face and what they are doing or not doing to boost their bottom line.

A new monthly newsletter publication, The Retail Executive, will get mailed out primarily to REAP members, providing another form of sharing articles and knowledge from top retail experts and REAP members about the retail business. The publication will also distributed to retail CEO’s, CFO’s, CIO’s and other top level executives in the industry who are not a member of REAP but wish to subscribe to the newsletter.

Information about joining REAP and subscribing to the newsletter is at the One Step website: http://onestepretail.com/OSD/REAP/

Retailers Taking The Offensive

2009-10-29T10:37:00.000-07:00

Recent article by Peter Pishko:
"It's Over and Done But The Heartache Lives On"

Consumer confidence is up once again, albeit a small increase attributed to the Cash for Clunkers program initiated by the Federal government.

We have gone through all of the hard decisions during the past 12 months, cutting to the bare bones of our organizations, jettisoning some staff and operations that should have been cut from our organization long ago, but also letting go of some talent and expensive endeavors or plans for expansion that in these economic times are not cost effective; all very smart moves for survival, but now where do we go?

The decision to cut staffing levels at our executive levels have made for some grateful employees who are 1) very happy to be employed, 2) loyal employees because the loyalty thing goes both ways, 3) over worked because they are picking up tasks and functions their former colleagues, bosses, underlings used to perform.

Our store level employees have been cut to bare bones, staffing is at a minimum, affecting customer service and loss prevention. One employee reported to me that they have no security in their building on a regular basis, maybe two or three times a week for 6 hours.

The decision to terminate employees is not an easy one; it has been shown that it is often more stressful to let staff go than to actually be the one being let go. Yet our employees carry on and they are asking the same questions we do: where do we go from here?

The defensive moves have been made, but the game is not won on defense alone. Time to return to our playbooks and take a look at the offense and who to put into the game, evaluate the whole playing field. We have survived but the game is not over...

Read rest of article ...

Social Media for Retailers

2009-10-15T13:19:00.000-07:00

Watch our latest recorded Webinar, "Social Networking for Retailers" about the social media revolution and how retailers can utilize these channels to increase sales.

The Webinar discusses Web 2.0 strategies in the 21st Century and the shift in the way businesses communicate with their public. It shows how we've moved from "push" marketing to "pull" or "engagement" marketing.

Find out how to best use social media in your retail business, how to select the right social media channels, set boundaries, and establish a game plan to implement these social channels in your retail business.

Watch Webinar

One Step Retail Analytics

2009-10-01T09:25:00.000-07:00

New product release! One Step Retail Analytics!

One Step Retail Analytics is a solution that includes a new Retail Pro 9 Appliance with the new exclusive reporting engine.

One Step Retail Analytics provides the capability to build, modify, pivot, sort, rank, drill down, and process the data from your business.

• Increase efficiency and sales by quickly investigating hunches or changes in trends using a pre-built data mart and drill down analysis
• Manage using key performance profiles like turn, GMROI, sell through, days of supply or stock to sales by vendor, dept or merchandise
• Pivot, sort, rank data to get the view of your business you need to make the right decisions
• Build reports specific to your needs and your business

Read all about the new Retail Analytics!

SoCal Roadshow Video

2009-09-18T11:36:00.000-07:00

Make an on-line slideshow at www.OneTrueMedia.com

Trailer for Smart Retail

2009-09-17T15:23:00.001-07:00

The Smart Retail Web channel will be premiering Season Two of Smart Retail on October 12, 2009.

The webisodes, hosted by retail expert Scott Kreisberg, is a production of One Step Retail Solutions that broadcasts on SmartRetail.tv every Monday. The show features independent specialty retail stores and how these retailers stand up in the new era of retailing.

The new season revamped its format to add even more entertainment and lively interaction with specialty retail stores.

Watch new trailer of upcoming season!

SoCal Roadshow

2009-08-27T14:59:00.000-07:00

One Step Retail Solutions is presenting a complimentary event for their Retail Pro customers called "Reaching Vital Milestones" at their annual Roadshow on September 15, 2009 at Dave & Buster's in Irvine Spectrum.

The Roadshow focuses on using technology and social media to increase profits and efficiency in a retail business. Highlights of the day include:

Retail Pro User's Panel
Social Media for Retailers Workshop
Learning More About PCI Compliance
How to Make the Most from e-Commerce
WebCCTV Security Systems
Retail Pro 9 and Business Intelligence
Retail Pro Training Session
Q & A with Kevin McAdam and Charles Wood

Sponsors of the event are:
The Bart Group, Retail Dimensions, Quadrox, Network Video Management, Retail Pro

Smart Retail in the News

2009-07-24T08:46:00.000-07:00

Internet TV Focuses on Smart Retailers

In a recent featured article in CA. APPAREL NEWS, it reviewed Smart Retail, the new Internet TV series hosted by Scott Kreisberg.

"Scott Kreisberg, chief executive officer of Glendale, Calif.-based software distributor One Step Retail Solutions, grew frustrated hearing all the doom and gloom coming from the retail sector over the past several months, so he decided to do something about it.'

"Scott talks about technology and what can be done with it, but none of it is a sales pitch. You have to be smart to get through this recession. Technology enables you to be really smart and strike better deals with vendors and manage inventories better. It becomes vital, and we'll be seeing some amazing things that retailers are doing to attract new customers and see why they are doing well even during these tough times."

Smart Retail broadcasts a new episode every Monday. Visit the Internet TV channel for latest episodes and to stay tuned for upcoming shows. http://smartretail.tv

See full article ...

Business Intelligence for Retailers

2009-07-16T13:35:00.000-07:00

As the old saying goes, "more is better" and this is truly the case for retailers who need to make profit-enhancing decisions quickly and with ease. That's where Retail Pro Business Intelligence (BI) comes in.

The BI module is designed to bring Retail Pro 9 users a distinct advantage for managing their business whereby they can monitor and analyze vast amounts of data in a snapshot view, enabling them to respond quickly to changes in their business conditions.

Since retailers need to be alerted to potential problems and make better, more informed decisions, BI is a tool that will provide valuable insight and actionable information to allow fast response in business conditions.

With independent industry research indicating a ROI of up to 2,000%, a business intelligence application should be a key component of a retailer's architecture.

Read article "Does Business Intelligence Give a Retailer Insight Into The Future?

For more information, contact a Sales Representative at One Step Retail Solutions and see how Business Intelligence could help your business. Send email to sales@onestepretail.com or call (800) 266-1328.

Smart Retail TV

2009-07-07T11:22:00.000-07:00

New episodes of Smart Retail are broadcast every week. Watch the latest episode "Building Your Store Around Your Community" featuring Bailey's Bedding & Bone - a new eco-friendly pet supply and dog boutique that opened with a big splash in their community and rapidly carving its niche and becoming known with the use of events, promotions and free publicity.

If you missed Episode 2 "Adding Value Using POS" featuring the Body Factory, a health and beauty supply store that opened 16 years ago and now has 3 stores draws a celebrity crowd and hooks its customers on their healthy drinks, then manages its customer base with POS.

Leave a comment on episodes at http://smartretail.tv/!

Getting Smarter in Retail

2009-07-02T15:32:00.000-07:00

Resourceful retailers are finding creative ways to reinvent themselves and transform their business into something that entices and keeps customers. The more creative a retailer is, the more that business is going to last. Even in an economic down-turn, 50% of consumers will often pay more for a better customer experience.

While filming Smart Retail™, I saw some pretty clever retailing and it brought to mind all the opportunities that are out there for independent specialty retailers in this threatening economy. What it all boiled down to was unique customer experience and exceptional customer service.

Times have indeed shifted and retailers had to cut back to basics. Interesting that basics included customer service, isn’t it? This means that, in many cases, retailers had once dropped out the fundamental action of servicing their customers in better, more competitive ways.

The days when retailers could just sit back and watch customers come in because of location or brands or nice merchandise are over. Now retailers need to get on the ball and drive customers in with offers or gimmicks and keep them coming back because of something exceptional.

That something exceptional falls into customer service.

I once came across “the Japanese way” of customer service, which is giving customer-service representatives time for long conversations with targeted customers and tuning into the customer needs.

One time I was at an electronics store and was being serviced by an employee who was interrupted by another customer needing assistance while helping me. The employee got on his walkie-talkie and got another service representative over to assist the other shopper without making either one of us feel ignored. He then proceeded to give me his full attention again showing me this and explaining that and taking the time to make sure I could make the right decision on a product.

Servicing a customer is similar to how we want to be treated by our friends and family. We like the fact that our friends and family know us, know what we like, and treat us with more warmth than a stranger might treat us. It feels good to know they care and, in turn, they earn our loyalty and love.

When a wife prepares a gourmet meal for her family, sets the table nicely, and presents the food in a lavish manner, this is an over-and-beyond way of preparing a meal. It expresses that she cares and this transmits to her family who are experiencing something other than an average meal.

One of the retailers we filmed put on a party event, which they do every Thursday night at their store. Elaborate bouquets of flowers were arranged on tables, tasty snacks were laid out, wine was poured in nice wine glasses, and employees were greeting every guest as if they knew them for years. You would watch people walk in and stay for hours browsing around, talking, and just enjoying themselves.

Many of those people were already loyal customers who showed up as if they came to visit friends. Others had never been inside the store before and it was pretty certain that they left as a new loyal customer.

That came about because of customer experience.

And then there’s a specialty sports shop that specializes in skate boards which holds regular skate board events in their store, making the customer’s experience a fun one. Most of their customers are the type that wouldn’t think of shopping elsewhere and many of their younger clientele even tell the employees that they work to shop there.

One café turned their struggling business around based strictly on kindness. As local businesses closed down, their patrons vanished, until the owner promoted a campaign around kindness. Soon, the café was filled with people who came from all over town to experience participating in acts of kindness.

I myself have dined at particular places because of the experience I get when I go there, even though I may prefer another food menu choice. The employees that serve me treat me like a good friend has just come to visit, and we’re on “How’s the kids?” terms.

Many hair salons have loyal customers coming back for years and years. One salon cut her prices to a customer who suffered a pay cut at her job. She would never have known this happened to her customer if they didn’t get on a personal level with each other.

A suit shop really had an over-and-beyond approach for helping customers who hit hard times. They promoted that they would give money back to their customer if they lost their job, and let them keep the suit.

I keep finding and reading stories every day about exceptional service and care. An apparel store irons a shirt for a customer who needed it for a meeting that day. A hand-written note was sent to a customer thanking them for shopping there and commenting on the outfit they purchased. A dress was sent to a tailor to make it fit their customer better. Drinks were offered at an upscale men’s store while they shopped. A foot massager was positioned at a comfortable chair for a shopper’s companion.

I could go on and on but, bottom line is to get to know your customers, know what they want, treat them with exceptional service and show you care. The way you do that, the way you provide an experience for them when they come to your store, is the way you’ll bring them back.

By Scott Kreisberg

Follow him on Twitter: http://twitter.com/scottkreisberg

New Internet TV Series for Retailers

2009-06-25T10:09:00.000-07:00

Smart Retail, a new Internet TV series hosted by retail expert Scott Kreisberg, premiered June 19, 2009 to an eager audience who have been following the show updates via Twitter and Facebook from pre-production through post-production.

These five minute “Webisode” series is a production of One Step Retail Solutions that will broadcast weekly episodes on SmartRetail.tv and a YouTube channel. The first episode of Smart Retail broadcasted on these two Internet channels June 22, 2009.

The show features independent specialty retail stores and how those retailers run their businesses, their challenges and successes in competing against big box retailers, and how they are making the transition to the new era of retailing.

The first twelve episodes will highlight among others a specialty sports /skateboard shop, a women’s apparel store, a gift store, a salon and spa, a jewelry store, and an art gallery.
These retailers are all located in quaint communities in Southern California that include Montrose, Burbank, Northridge, La Canada, Studio City, and Sunland.

Executive Producer and host Scott Kreisberg began his professional career when he worked his way through college as a retailer. After graduating from College with a double Bachelors of Science degree in Finance and Marketing, Scott established a company, One Step Data, in June of 1985 and consulted retailers on how to run their businesses more efficiently.

Cyndi Seidler produced, wrote and directed the Smart Retail series. She was brought into the project because of her multimedia video background and experience, and this is her first Internet TV series. “With the way the Internet is going, video is the way to go, and I believe that the Smart Retail show rides on the wave of video entertainment on the Web and gives insight to both retailers and shoppers alike.”

Big Retail Webinar to Get New Customers

2009-04-16T10:59:00.000-07:00

New Strategies for Retailers that get New Customers and Keep Them Coming Back to Your Physical Store

Tuesday, April 28, 2009
Time: 11:00 AM - 12:00 PM PDT

Reserve your Webinar seat now at:
https://www2.gotomeeting.com/register/238260659

Leverage market conditions and new opportunities. Hear about strategies to optimize the marketing mix and build a competitive advantage.

Learn:

Some specific exciting in-store promotions that draw customers in
How to target your most profitable existing customers
How some pricing rules may be obsolete and limiting your revenue or profit potential
How to know if your traffic drivers actually yield profitable traffic or if they encourage cherry-pickers
The buy online/pick-up in-store' model
And much more!

Kevin McAdam, author, speaker and Vice President of One Step Retail Solutions will present this idea-inspiring webinar to really get your creative imagination working on how you can attract new customers and maximize return on existing customers.

It makes sense to maintain or actually increase marketing spend and sales resources during a recession. Over the past 50 years, companies that have been aggressive in these regards experienced a 275 percent growth rate improvement during the first full year of recovery. Whereas, those that pulled back on their marketing and sales spending increased revenue by only 19 percent during the recovery period.*

But how to spend your marketing dollars and on what? One of the most famous cliches in advertising is the one from retailer John Wanamaker: "Half the money I spend on advertising is wasted; the trouble is I don't know which half." But with the advent of technology systems, this is no longer true. Find out how to know the return on investment of your advertising dollars, how many new customers it brings in and how many old customers it motivates to buy more.

Attend this free on-line webinar and find out new strategies for acquiring new customers and keeping existing ones. After registering you will receive a confirmation email containing information about joining the Webinar.

*Nielsen's Predictive Macroeconomic Impact System (PMIS).

Live to Give Campaign

2009-04-13T16:35:00.000-07:00

One Step Retail Solutions has embarked on an internal campaign with its employees to shift focus from economic doom and gloom to higher, positive energies.

What started with an executive order to the marketing department instructing them to start promoting “good news” to its staff, clients and public soon took on new dimensions at One Step. The initiative started with broadcasting regular and frequent emails about good news in the retail sector, expanding its reach using the Blogosphere and Twitter.

The Marketing Dept. searched and compiled good news relating to the retail industry from various resources on the Internet and distributed the news along its various channels. While most of the news resources were still mostly promoting gloom about retail, there was one source that provided the bulk of good news; and that was on Twitter.

Twitter led to many sources with messages of encouragement and success in retail, despite the recession. One source led One Step marketers to get a daily dose of inspirational stories from DarynKagan.com which also pumped positive fuel into good news pipeline.

It was one of those stories that sparked One Step’s next campaign: the Live to Give campaign, based on a story of a woman whose life turned around by putting her attention on outreaching to people and giving something each day.

Today, One Step launched its new campaign effort in an email inviting employees to participate by performing one act of caring each day for a one month period of time, stating it was strictly on a voluntary basis.

The campaign promotes that employees can do this by giving something to another person (a gift) or doing something for another (like a pay-it-forward act of kindness). They can do this on a fellow co-worker, a client, a stranger in the street, their friend, a family member, or anyone.

Each staff member participating in the campaign can keep their own log of what they did (doesn’t have to be to whom they did it to necessarily). They can choose to share their deeds daily, weekly, at end of campaign, or not at all. The idea is to enable them to look back at things they did, if they so desire.

The company believes that the Live to Give campaign will put the focus on where it should be: outward instead of inward.

Innovations in Retail

2009-04-10T13:07:00.000-07:00

Almost every day news stories pop up about retailers using clever tactics to reinvent themselves in an effort to entice customers to shop in their store.

Anything from reduced prices to hefty discounts when purchasing more than one item to brand labeling to free stuff to really clever gimmicks is the new approach for retail today.

These value-oriented retailers is something we've been "tweeting" about on Twitter, and I'd like to highlight some of the clever ideas retailers have come up with:

A triangle of success for retailers featured a reopening of a climbing area, heightening the value of the retail stores in that community. Story at: http://tinyurl.com/c6bgdv
Barnes & Noble got innovative by entering the Blogosphere with Blogging Booksellers posting short video blog posts. Story at: http://tinyurl.com/cmfs4w
Upscale men's retailers offering drinks in an effort to get men to linger and shop more. Story at: http://tinyurl.com/c8jajt
Popeyes uses strategy of using real people in ads, highlighting the brand's personality. Story at: http://tinyurl.com/cextbv
Office Depot applied its expanding "Try and Buy" concept to a full aisle for ACCO Brands' Wilson Jones binders. Story at: http://jijr.com/YAQ
Kid apparel retailers stand out with Dress Up Kids campaigns. Story at: http://tinyurl.com/cv9tsh
KMart launched a Twitter promotion offering free shipping on online orders with promo code only to Twitter users. Story at: http://tinyurl.com/cc9b5d
A retailer's Webisodes introduce online instruction to customers for DIY projects. Story at: http://tinyurl.com/ccy67o
Walmart's Great Value private label expansion signaled new trends in retail. Story at: http://tinyurl.com/c2ouoa
Warehouse Express introduced ratings and reviews to offer customers detailed product experiences. Story at: http://tinyurl.com/dk52fr
JoS A. Bank Clothiers gives money back if customer loses their job and lets them keep suit. Story at: http://tinyurl.com/czn4ve

There are so many ways a retailer can pump up their efforts to lure shoppers - holding parties, workshops, you name it. These were some that I came across within the past month.

I'd love to get comments about more ideas or what you've done to get more customers.

Tough Times Demand Tighter Retail Security

2009-04-09T08:07:00.000-07:00

By Scott Kreisberg

Every retailer has a unique set of security challenges and, in the retail world, your security challenges never end.

More retailers are realizing that using perimeter and anti-virus technologies alone are not enough. As someone once said, it's like locking your doors but leaving your windows open. Now retailers must take a lot more security measures.

Some vital strategies retailers need to take for preventative measures against retail loss include:

Security for your network
Security against theft
Protection of data
Prevention of administrative errors

In today's competitive environment, a retailer's shrinkage performance can mean the difference between a good year and one that fails to meet expectations.

Recording what occurs in your store is also very important, whether it be before, during or after an event. Digital video surveillance and POS monitoring can deter common forms of employee theft, register theft and fraud.

Going on for some time now is "sweet-hearting," as it's known to retailers, which is when the cashier lets friends and family walk out with more than they paid for. It is quite common in the retail sector.

To prevent this, security software is necessary which uses a motion analysis algorithm designed to spot each instance when an employee may have bypassed the checkout price scanner with a grocery item, or passed a barcode-side-up over the infrared lens. It then checks with the store's point-of-sale system and cross-references time stamps to confirm the missed scan.

Read full article ...