Joel Rubinson

For over 7 years, I have predicted that Amazon will (and should) open a physical store in Times Square and perhaps Piccadilly Circus. Finally, they appear to be considering this although it's in Seattle ... not exactly the world's crossroads! (But I guess they want to keep it close...

I'm sure that there are a bunch of people in Washington DC who smoke, regularly have sex with their staff, and drink who have decided they know what is best for less capable Americans and should impose that for the greater good. Of course, we should regulate sugar. Let's...

I must be completely atypical. I dislike greeters. Who are these strangers pretending to be my friend? What I want is someone to direct me to the aisle when I can't find what I'm looking for amidst a gazillion SKUs. The greeter will eventually become electronic via a digital...

The comment per se might be subject to suspicion, but the quantity of comments also has a meaning. I bet we could test that where the same product or app or whatever with 2 reviews vs. 100 reviews is regarded quite differently, regardless of content. One of those behavioral...

Hello everyone. Thanks for the lively debate. System beaters have always existed as has the need to be social. However, just like Facebook is transformational vs. the water cooler, mobile enabled system beating is transformational vs. S&H green stamps and end-of-aisle displays. About emotional bonding for brands, if you're...

Mobile customer service is an obvious choice. I won't predict the death of brick and mortar until I see an empty Apple store!

I like it. A lot. Target and Apple each have such strong brand images that this will only be about the retail experience. It adds the type of Disney experience that Target wants to constantly enhance and it gives Apple additional retail reach.

The best loyalty program is to make it much easier to repeat purchase than to switch. Forget the games, badges, etc. Remember me -- my passwords, credit card, preferences, addresses, etc.

There are four independents/small chains I shop at in Long Island and Queens. They have all found a way to survive and even thrive (judging from the physical expansions). I think they follow the formula here pretty much but also, you simply cannot get the cheeses, deli products, olives,...

The big thing is the use of mobile to transform the physical shopping experience (more so than online replacing physical shopping). As such, I think Apple and Google are higher on the list than Amazon. Facebook is the dark horse. They want to create the unified profile for people...