Retail

March 1, 2011

The Hyper-Connected Consumer

By Doug Stephens I had a chance recently to speak with Lori Schafer and Bernie Brennan, authors of the book Branded! How Retailers Engage Consumers with Social […]
February 22, 2011

Surviving the Dual Economy

By Doug Stephens From the Wall Street Journal, February 22nd, 2011:  “Wal-Mart’s fiscal fourth-quarter earnings rose 27% as the retailer capitalized on strength in its international […]
February 17, 2011

Clicks and Mortar

By Doug Stephens The battle between bricks and clicks seems destined to end in a truce that blurs the lines between the two. The best attributes […]
February 5, 2011

Death of the Focus Group: Research Meets Mobility

By Doug Stephens I sat on a panel discussion this week that explored how social and mobile media is changing the way customer feedback is collected, […]
January 20, 2011

The Enduring Allure of the Secret Handshake

By Doug Stephens The world is an increasingly inclusive place and as a society, we’ve grown to expect equal and open access to just about everything.  […]
January 13, 2011

NRF 2011: The Real Show is Off Broadway

By Doug Stephens If you’ve never attended the National Retail Federation conference in New York it’s truly a unique experience.  A three day retail-a-thon, where delegates […]
January 12, 2011

What’s That Buzzing Sound?

By Doug Stephens Blogging live from the National Retail Federation conference in New York This morning I attended one of the opening super sessions of the […]
January 9, 2011

Reconstructing Retail: 2011 and Beyond

By Doug Stephens Unfortunately, the future isn’t as simple as the headlines might have us believe.  It can’t be neatly summed up in the words recession […]
January 4, 2011

2011: The Good, the Bad and the Reality

By Doug Stephens The Good If you’ve been reading business media lately, you’d be inclined to believe in Christmas miracles.  By some accounts, the positive holiday […]