Nuts and Bolts

Retail Pops

Short-term stores provide buzz and new sales opportunities

From Feb 2011 | By M.V. Greene | Tags: Marketing, Nuts and Bolts

M.V. Greene

Short-term stores provide buzz and new sales opportunities

The idea of a smart retailer grabbing some temporary space to clear excess inventory is hardly new. It is “pop-up” retail at its core – usually coinciding with the promise of a robust holiday shopping season or the need to boost fourth-quarter sales.

While large retail chains like Toys “R” Us have rolled out pop-ups nationally to boost their footprint during peak sales periods, others are adopting the concept specifically as a means to introduce and elevate their brands or target and test merchandise to distinct groups of consumers.

Dynamic Displays

Electronic signage moving beyond mere advertising

From Feb 2011 | By Len Lewis | Tags: Information Technology, Nuts and Bolts

Digital Signage

Len Lewis

Electronic signage moving beyond mere advertising

Digital signage, a catch-all phrase that includes plasma and LCD technology, is being adopted by an ever-widening variety of retailers, foodservice establishments and mall operators.

The solutions are not being implemented simply for technology’s sake, however. Instead, they are increasingly being viewed as key competitive advantages, revenue builders and a mode of communication designed to enhance the customer shopping experience.

Room to Grow

Optimization solution helps personalized shopping experiences take root at Sprouts

From Feb 2011 | By Deena M. Amato-Mccoy | Tags: Information Technology, Nuts and Bolts

Inventory Management

Deena M. Amato-Mccoy

Optimization solution helps personalized shopping experiences take root at Sprouts

Even with limited store space, specialty grocery chain Sprouts Farmers Market is mindful to provide its shoppers with the best product assortment available. By trading manual processes for a space optimization solution that creates customized planograms for its 54 stores in four southwestern states, the Arizona-based chain is improving inventory management and replenishment. As a result, it has experienced increased customer satisfaction and higher sales.

Staying True to Form

Fresh & Easy builds sustainability into its basic business model

From Aug 2010 | By Fiona Soltes | Tags: Nuts and Bolts, Sustainability

Sustainability

Fiona Soltes

Fresh & Easy builds sustainability into its basic business model

It never fails: Every time Fresh & Easy Neighborhood Market opens a new location, the media takes note of the free parking for hybrid automobiles.

It doesn’t hurt that the spaces are front and center. But the El Segundo, Calif.-based grocer, a subsidiary of British retailer Tesco PLC with more than 150 stores in California, Arizona and Nevada, does a lot more to encourage environmental responsibility — and not all of it is marked with a sign.

Must-Buy TV

Marketers turn to syndicated programming to target back-to-school shoppers

From Aug 2010 | By Deena M. Amato-Mccoy | Tags: Marketing, Nuts and Bolts

Marketing

Deena M. Amato-Mccoy

Marketers turn to syndicated programming to target back-to-school shoppers

Retailers are prepping for the back-to-school season, and this year’s marketing arsenals are getting a facelift. At a time when retailers are trading traditional advertising methods for digital ones, television advertising continues to hold its own, thanks to syndicated programming. Savvy retailers are also learning how to merge new media with the power of syndication to target shoppers and drive sales during this critical sales period.

Keeping Time

Web-based labor scheduling helps retailers gain control over one of their biggest expenses

From Aug 2010 | By D. Gail Fleenor | Tags: Information Technology, Nuts and Bolts

Software

D. Gail Fleenor

Web-based labor scheduling helps retailers gain control over one of their biggest expenses

Payroll may be the largest controllable expense in business, but gaining control can be one of the most time-consuming chores retailers face each week. With employee-related expenses accounting for up to 65 percent of a retailer’s fixed costs, getting labor costs in line is crucial. When The Bon-Ton doubled its size through acquisition, labor scheduling became even more critical.

Recruitment Resource

Virtual application process takes the hassle out of hiring

From Aug 2010 | By Sandy Smith | Tags: Human Resources, Nuts and Bolts

Human Resources

Sandy Smith

Virtual application process takes the hassle out of hiring

High rates of unemployment would seem a bright spot for retailers seeking to hire. Finding outstanding candidates should be easy in this environment, right?

Not necessarily, says Blake Helppie, CEO of JobApp Network, a Troy, Mich.-based firm that helps companies screen and source prospective employees.

Reduced Feedings

PETCO finds relief from the headache of third-party online operations

From Aug 2010 | By Ed McKinley | Tags: Nuts and Bolts, Online

Online

Ed McKinley

PETCO finds relief from the headache of third-party online operations

Even in the depths of the Great Recession, U.S. online retail sales grew a healthy 11 percent last year, according to a recent Forrester Research study. What’s more, the study classified 42 percent of all retail sales in 2009 as having been “web-influenced.”

Neither of those findings has been lost on PETCO.

Redeeming Qualities

Jackson Hewitt experiencing better returns with online couponing platform

From Jul 2010 | By D. Gail Fleenor | Tags: Marketing, Nuts and Bolts

Marketing

D. Gail Fleenor

Jackson Hewitt experiencing better returns with online couponing platform

Retailers know the Internet’s power to draw customers into their stores, so many cast coupons into cyberspace, hoping for the clicks and redemptions that generate sales.

Nearly all of these merchants would like to use their marketing dollars more efficiently, and a new technology helps guide retailers in their choice of online promotions and offers real-time feedback for a more focused marketing spend.

Easy Call

One-stop solution takes static out of real estate decisions for Verizon Wireless

From Jul 2010 | By Fiona Soltes | Tags: Networking, Nuts and Bolts

Networking

Fiona Soltes

One-stop solution takes static out of real estate decisions for Verizon Wireless

The very thing that makes real estate successful – location, location, location – can also make it difficult to manage. Any retailer with multiple properties knows that lease administration, program management, percent rent calculations, audits, construction, compliance and other disparate pieces of data would be tough enough to handle with just one location, much less dozens, hundreds or even thousands.