You don’t have to be a management consultant to know that we are all besieged by information, but it’s the consultant’s job to come up with a snappy buzzword to describe the phenomenon, and they have settled upon the …
smartphones
Time to Do the Math and Switch to a Prepaid Smart Phone?
The number of smart-phone users electing to skip the locked-in two-year contract and instead go with a prepaid plan is on the rise. But considering how much consumers stand to save by switching to prepaid — easily more than …
Auto Screen Overload: Is There Too Much Tech in Cars?
In a column for Automotive News, Larry P. Vellequette risks getting labeled as a cranky old-fashioned fuddy-duddy by calling for a halt to the arms race for more and more video screens in cars. In the column, which he presumably …
Why Smartphones Won’t Be Replacing Wallets Anytime Soon
For quite some time, we’ve heard that smartphones will replace wallets. Instead of using cash or plastic, the day will come, likely soon, when consumers will simply wave, tap, or swipe their phones for payment. While there are …
Smartphone Shoppers Actually Increase In-Store Sales
They call it “showrooming,” and to hear the nation’s retailers and other experts fret about consumers using smartphones to buy online while shopping in stores, it’s the worst thing to happen to brick-and-mortar sales since Jeff …
How Forces That Drive the Mobile Industry’s Growth Also Threaten Its Future
The mobile industry is enjoying a remarkable moment in business history, one that ought to make executives from other industries look on it with envy. Thanks to the burgeoning popularity of smartphones, demand for mobile …
Why Everyone Should Be Shopping Online—While in Actual Stores
“Showrooming,” the practice in which consumers check out merchandise in a physical store and then buy it at a cheaper price online, is the bane of brick-and-mortar retailers everywhere. It’s got to be extra insulting when …
Odd Angry Birds Merchandising: Angry Birds-Themed Soda, Jewelry, Debit Cards & More
Sure, Angry Birds is popular. More than 1 billion Angry Birds games have been downloaded around the world. But somewhere between the arrival of Angry Birds toys and T-shirts and Angry Birds’ debit cards, the craze over the silly, …
Scan This! Target Encourages Shoppers to Scan Items with Smartphones Nationwide
Some shoppers have felt the need to stealthily scan items in stores with their smartphones. They’d rather not be accused of “showrooming,” the practice in which one scopes out merchandise in a brick-and-mortar store, only to …
Target Doesn’t Want to Be a Showroom for the Stuff You Buy for Less at Amazon
The retail term “showrooming” got a lot of attention in early December, when Amazon offered special discounts encouraging shoppers to use brick-and-mortar stores merely as showrooms, allowing consumers to scope out items in …
10 New Year’s Resolutions For Your Budget
So you’re going to lose 15 pounds, organize your closets and stop biting your fingernails. Great — now how are you going to improve your personal finances in 2012? Having a budget for your personal or household expenses is a great place to start, but New Year’s resolutions are about improving on the good habits you’ve already …
Use Amazon’s Price Check App and Save $15 This Saturday
How’s this for a brazen move to steal business away from brick-and-mortar stores? Under normal circumstances, a shopper using Amazon’s Price Check app in a physical store can instantaneously check to see if Amazon sells the same merchandise for a better price. This Saturday, however, when a consumer uses the app, Amazon will show its …