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 | Aug 14, 2026 | Brick & Mortar, Customer Experience, Customer Service, HR, Opinion, Resources, Retail Strategy, Sales Training
Why is turnover so high in your stores? Why are your managers exhausted by closing time? And how do you get the same selling behavior in location 1 and location 200? Your team is your customer experience. In a punishing labor market, the retailers who win are the ones...
by admin | Aug 11, 2026 | 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 | Aug 8, 2026 | Brick & Mortar, E-Commerce, News, Retail Crime
The NRF attributes a slowdown in shoplifting to retailers’ investments in “technologies, training and measures to harden stores.” Some have resorted to locking up merchandise. Kaarin Moore/Retail Dive Phone and gift card scams, plus supply chain vulnerabilities like...
by Doug Works | Aug 5, 2026 | Associate Members, Brick & Mortar, News, Opinion, Product Reviews
A Sun Care Brand With Strong Shelf Appeal, Smart Repeat Sales Potential, And A Story Customers Connect With Not every sunscreen belongs in every store. Big-box SPF may work in a supermarket aisle, but independent surf, skate, wake, SUP, and outdoor retailers know...
by admin | Jul 31, 2026 | Brick & Mortar, Customer Experience, News, Resources, Retail Strategy, Sales Training
Brick-and-mortar stores struggle without sales training because the purchase decision is made on the sales floor, and most associates were never taught how to influence it. In first-time mystery shops across our client base, associates score an average of 36%. They...
by admin | Jul 28, 2026 | Artificial Intelligence / CHAT GPT, Brick & Mortar, Community, Consumer Behavior, Customer Experience, Customer Service, News
It’s summer-escape time, and we’ve all run into the addictive, slow-burn love stories typically found on epic, multi-episodic romantic streamers. You’re rooting for the intractable lead character who just needs a persistent love-washing treatment to reveal his or her...
by admin | Jul 21, 2026 | Brick & Mortar, Consumer Behavior, Holiday, News, Predictions, Retail Economy
While online shopping is still holding its own, its share of spending among both K-12 and college households is slipping year by year. Yearly BTS spending for college students cracks $100B for the 1st time Back-to-school spending is on track to smash records this...
by admin | Jul 9, 2026 | Industry, News, Opinion, Outdoor, Resources, Snowboard
Avalanche beacons are a crucial part of backcountry skiing. However, even if the devices have saved many lives already, we haven’t yet reached the pinnacle (pun intended) of the technology’s potential. Students at OSU Cascades are working to change that, though. As...
by admin | Jul 2, 2026 | Artificial Intelligence / CHAT GPT, Brick & Mortar, News, Opinion, Resources, Retail Strategy, Sales Training
What an AI shopping agent actually does At Google’s I/O event, the company announced Universal Cart. Here is what it does, in plain terms. An AI agent is not a search box. It is a runner you send out. You tell it what you want, set a budget, and it goes shopping...
by admin | Jun 30, 2026 | Apparel /Fashion, News, Opinion, Story Telling, Surf
Photos courtesy of Louis Vuitton. Pharrell Just Made Surf the Coolest Thing in Paris. Surf Industry Leaders Weigh In. SESO asked Pat Tenore of Tenore, Ryan Hitzel of Roark, Evan Slater of Sun Bum, Candy Harris of Unlisted Brand Lab, Ryan Mangan of Quiksilver and...
