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.

“What Can Retailers Do About Trump’s Tariffs?” by Mark Cohen via the The Robin Report

by admin | Apr 14, 2025 | Apparel /Fashion, Brick & Mortar, Industry, News, Opinion, Political Action, Retail Economy, Retail Strategy

The $8+ trillion retail industry is the backbone of the American economy and like all industries, success in retail relies on the presence of orderly strategies and planning disciplines. It’s difficult enough to accommodate the ever-changing landscape of consumer...

“Save Your Margins: 15 Retail Management Tactics” by Bob Phibbs via The Retail Doctor Blog

by admin | Apr 8, 2025 | Brick & Mortar, Governmental Affairs, News, Resources, Retail Economy, Retail Strategy, Sales Training

All retail chains face a brutal reality in 2025. Your margins are under attack from three directions: Promotion addiction: Your marketing team runs flash sales that train customers to wait for discounts, delivering temporary revenue spikes but permanent margin erosion...

“Retail’s AI Taskmaster: Technology Turns Associates into Digital Servants” by Bob Phibbs via The Retail Doctor Blog

by admin | Mar 26, 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...

“THREE TWEAKS THAT BRING SIGNIFICANT CASH FLOW” by BRA Advisory Member, Retail Consultant, and remarkable speaker Dan Jablons

by Doug Works | Mar 24, 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...

“Tariffs Aren’t Your Problem: The Truth About Retail Pricing” by Bob Phibbs via The Retail Doctor Blog

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...

“The Retail Buyer’s Dilemma” by Mark Cohen via The Robin Report

by admin | Mar 12, 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...