Bob Phibbs

If we have heard anything from pundits it is that shoppers will only buy on "deals" or sales. While the mania seems to subside, the deal sites prey on small business owners' hope. Hoping they can attract new customer. Hoping they can be a successful store.

Except of course,...

Vibrant is not a word I would use for a mall. Especially as Mr. Drexler noted with the legions of kiosks that have popped up with a bored employee holding court on their stool while customers try to avoid them. This forces attention straightforward towards the exits.

Shoppers are...

The bigger issue is that customers are preferring reviews from people they don't know over people they do, as Paul Schottmiller from Cisco and I discussed in this video shot at last week's NRF.

There's a reason these paid reviews are growing because online retailers know that...

Having led a startup coffee franchise to over 125 units, I can tell you this is a smart move. 90% of coffee drinkers drink their coffee in the US before 11 a.m. -- what the heck do you do with your store that is open until 11 p.m. to...

Correction: Amazon has not reinvented the retail model -- they are hijacking customers other retailers paid lots of money to attract to their four walls.

The point that Amazon's whole business is a loss leader begs the question how long they can hold on with the "we'll make it...

Great retail is having a unique proposition. I noticed Dave (again) and wonder how much a pet food store or a gift store or a shoe store that just opened a few years ago could take from their story.

If you don't have a great story, which much of...

NRF's Big Show touted the great wave of technology and mobile, yet articles like these are continuing to pop up like 1% of users represent 50% of mobile.

While many will say it is the wave of the future, maybe it will take much longer to get...

Love the quote about taking a picture and not capturing the feeling. So important. I think it is important to realize that those high HQ employees are rewarded by tips so they not only "can" do it, they are rewarded "for" doing it.

That's why I think the only...

This is the crux of what must happen to have a successful retail store -- you must create an environment from which associates can come out of the shadows and shed the employee do's and don'ts to be themselves.

The best retailers will allow these brand ambassadors to shine...

I've said it for years, "'Retail lives and dies by the answer to just one question, 'What's new?'"

Smart for the brand, the employees who work there, buzz and most importantly -- profitable sales. A real winner of an idea.