Newsletter Articles
The CEO as Rock Star: My Evolving Mindset
30 April 2013, 10:48
When politicians say their opinion on a particular subject has “evolved” you know you’re about to hear a complete flip-flop. I suppose it’s easier than saying “I was wrong.” Well, I’ve been thinking a lot about the role of a CEO in retail. It’s only natural, really. We’ve seen the [shocking] debacle of Ron Johnson [...]
Some Mobile Recommendations
5 March 2013, 08:19
The evidence is everywhere, for all to see. Mobile technologies have become ingrained into people’s daily routines. As those routines relate to shopping, consumers use their mobile techs to find the best solutions to their lifestyle needs by searching for content about products and services within the context of the need, checking what the community [...]
ARTS Founder Richard Mader: On Standards, Mobile, and RBTE
12 February 2013, 13:50
For those of us who know him, saying that Richard Mader, Director Emeritus of the Association of Retail Technology Standards (ARTS, a division of the National Retail Federation), is “outspoken” is a bit of an understatement. It is the force of his character – and his vision – that made the organization such an influential [...]
Retailers Hedge Their Mobile Bets
7 January 2013, 18:04
The evidence is everywhere, for all to see. Mobile technologies have become ingrained into people’s daily routines. As those routines relate to shopping, consumers use their mobile techs to find the best solutions to their lifestyle needs by searching for content about products and services within the context of the need, checking what the community [...]
What I Learned in 24 Hours at the Mobile Marketing & Commerce Forum
16 October 2012, 12:01
Last week I attended the MMCF – Internet Retailer’s Mobile Marketing & Commerce Forum. I could attempt to organize everything I learned into some kind of story or structure and say that it all ties nicely together, but that would be really hard. Instead, I’ll give you a taste of what I experienced, which is [...]
Cool Tech Alert: Browsing Gets Visual
28 August 2012, 10:48
At RSR, we’re forever pondering the implications of all things digital on the world of retail. But even strategy wonks like me like to have fun, and so like all of the partners, I’ll dabble with new stuff from time to time (and now thanks to things like the Apple App Store, I don’t have [...]
The Future of Mobile Payments: Can’t Tell the Players without a Scorecard
21 August 2012, 11:13
The last two weeks have brought us an explosion of new mobile payment groups, initiatives and conversations. If you’re a retailer, you’re either part of one of these groups and initiatives or you’re scratching your head saying “What the heck is going on, and what’s the best way to safely save myself a few sheckels [...]
Going ‘Private’: What If You Had Billions to Spend?
14 August 2012, 08:33
Last week, Best Buy co-founder Richard Shultze told the company’s Board that he wants to take the company private. He already owns about 20% of the outstanding shares, so the market estimates that he needs to come up with something in the vicinity of $7B USD to get the rest. Best Buy’s transition over the [...]
How Technology Could Really Threaten Stores
12 June 2012, 10:31
Like just about everyone connected to the retail industry, we at RSR have been mulling over “the future of the store”. We get asked a lot about that (as you might imagine), and I often feel that the desired answer is either, “the stores will be fine”, or “stores are dead” (depending on who asks [...]
Seismic Shifts for In-store Payment Handling
5 June 2012, 09:41
Being the 800 lb. gorilla in any industry has its challenges as well as its blessings. Take VISA: one sure-fire way to get any group of retailers riled up is to have a conversation about the giant payment network company. Whether its fair or not, the San Mateo company is closely identified with the implementation [...]