Below you will find helpful and relevant articles that we carefully curate for the benefit of our B.R.A. Retail Members almost every day. Be sure to scroll through the most recent article or use the Search/Lookup feature to find topics and keywords related to articles that may help you to lower costs, increase margins or create more remarkable customer experiences.
by admin | Mar 24, 2025 | Artificial Intelligence / CHAT GPT, Brick & Mortar, Customer Experience, Customer Service, HR, m-commerce, Resources, Retail Strategy, Social Media
I shared a story last month about a visit to Saks where associates were too engrossed in their smartphones to look up at shoppers. A friend commented they had the same experience and when they asked the manager, they were told, “Oh, they’re clienteling.” First, I...
by admin | Mar 22, 2025 | Community, Competitions, Industry, News, Olympics, Surf
Caroline Marks thinks USA Surfing should still guide surfing’s Olympic future. Photo: ISA A power struggle is brewing behind the scenes of Olympic surfing in the United States. As the United States Olympic and Paralympic Committee (USOPC) opens an application process...
by admin | Mar 20, 2025 | Resources, Retail Strategy, Shipping
When you think about how to optimize your shipping operations, the freight you receive from vendors might not be the first thing that comes to mind. However, you have more control over your inbound shipping than you may realize, and when you have the right resources...
by admin | Mar 18, 2025 | Brick & Mortar, Clearance Sales / Discounting, Governmental Affairs, News, Opinion, Retail Economy, Retail Strategy, Sales Training
I don’t care what side of politics you are on, the new administration in its first month in office unleashed waves of uncertainty surrounding the continued funding of federal grants, the work of federal employees and tariffs. With many retailers already...
by admin | Mar 16, 2025 | Community, Competitions, Governmental Affairs, News, Opinion, Predictions, Surf
So how’d ya know it was gonna be like this? in this part of the world? Photo: Marcus Paladino A growing number of mainstream news headlines these days have been heralding what appears to be the current executive branch’s systematic dismantling of myriad federal...
by admin | Mar 14, 2025 | Artificial Intelligence / CHAT GPT, Brick & Mortar, News, Resources, Retail Strategy, Retail Technologies, Reviews
Credit: Getty Images by MoMo Productions Competing in the tech-saturated business landscape is easier than you might think Industries are rapidly adopting artificial intelligence. Today, 83 percent of companies are prioritizing AI in their business plans,...
by Doug Works | Mar 12, 2025 | Community, Industry, News, Resources, Retail Strategy, Skateboard, Snowboard, SUP, Surf, Trade Shows
Image of a vintage copy of The Surfer Quarterly over from when an issue only cost $.75 courtesy of Surfer Mag SAN DIEGO — CARV Expo, taking place June 20–22 at the San Diego Convention Center, will bring together board sports brands, retailers, athletes, media, and...
by Doug Works | Mar 10, 2025 | Brick & Mortar, News, Resources, Retail Strategy
Retailers often think that the next boost in their business is going to come from finding the next amazing line of merchandise, or discovering a new marketing tool (the next Facebook?). Sometimes they believe it will happen because they hire a killer...
by admin | Mar 8, 2025 | Brick & Mortar, News, Retail Economy, Retail Strategy
I’m going to use a loosely analogous reference here to a classic game theory thought experiment known as the Prisoner’s Dilemma. In a nutshell, the Dilemma demonstrates that, in a set of adversarial or confrontational circumstances, everyone involved benefits from a...
by admin | Mar 6, 2025 | Brick & Mortar, Community, News, Retail Strategy, Retail Technologies, Surf
Hi, I’m Cheyne Cottrell, General Manager and Co-Owner of Island Water Sports. My family has been riding the waves of the surf retail industry since 1977. This is my short story of how we navigated decades of challenges and expanded into new opportunities. I’ve also...
