Bill Bittner

The whole "Facebook Phenomena" confuses the heck out of me. The Facebook advocates envision it becoming "Internet 3.0." Instead of using your browser to search the Internet, you will simply log on to your Facebook account to be automatically connected with your friends, the brands you buy, the organizations...

I can't imagine a more difficult job than being a store manager in this economic environment. Employees feel stuck in their jobs because the job market in general is downbeat. Consumers are arriving armed with internet research that not only makes them feel like subject experts but makes them...

If "The Graduate" were in theaters today, Mr. Robinson's advice to Benjamin would be "Nanotechnology" instead of "Plastics." Nanotechnology is emerging everywhere, not just in food. Contrary to Representative Barton's knee jerk reaction against regulation, the fact that an unsubstantiated rumor started on Facebook or Twitter can bring down...

One of the reasons for reading RetailWire is that the discussions can drive a different perspective to a problem. This discussion has just done that for me.

We have watched for years as the lines between retailer formats have blurred. This has mostly been a one way street as...

I think this is a great idea. As the internet becomes more widespread and the barriers to entry keep declining (cloud based services, cheap URL names, web savvy grade school graduates), it becomes more and more difficult to separate the wheat from the chaff. The legitimate payment systems require...

It is interesting that this discussion appears on the same day as the first discussion on the continued decline of the brick and mortar business model. It is clear that Best Buy has suffered significantly from the "showroom syndrome" and that they need to make long-term changes. RadioShack looks...

This is exactly what Best Buy needed to do. I am only surprised that they did not take it even further by downsizing the stores even more. I can see Best Buy embracing the business model I have been urging for RadioShack for years: A local store presence dominated...

I don't know all the details surrounding Lands' End, but it certainly seems the current environment is much more conducive for a manufacturer selling direct to consumers. With the next generation of shoppers completely familiar with online shopping and the whole US distribution network being converted to fulfillment centers,...

There are a million quotations that buttress the tenor of this question. One of my favorites is that "Big Data provides us a plethora of transactions and a dearth of wisdom." The challenge is that like most generalizations (including this one), Big Data is not always useless.

Like any...

When I first heard their name many years ago, I couldn't stop laughing at the mental image it conjured up of a 'wiggly pig". Over the years I've learned to appreciate their tenacity as retailers.

I think consumers are sympathetic to this type of campaign IF you can show...