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.

“Surf Shop Day Is Coming May 20th!” by SIMA via Shop Eat Surf

by admin | May 17, 2023 | Brick & Mortar, Community, Customer Loyalty, Event Planning, Holiday, Industry, News, Resources, Surf

Image courtesy of SIMA The SES article and the links below are shared with the express permission from SIMA. “If surfing is religion, then surf shops are the temples of stoke.” Shaun Tomson From the Jersey Shore to La Jolla, Cocoa Beach to Galveston, Nags Head to...

“Halt! 10 Ways of Mastering the Art of Getting Your Retail Employees to Listen” by Bob Phibbs via The Retail Doctor Blog

by admin | May 16, 2023 | Brick & Mortar, Customer Service, Educational Opportunity, HR, News, Resources, Retail Strategy, Sales Training

Honing your listening skills can significantly impact the success of your store.As a trained conductor, I’ve learned the importance of attentive listening, focusing on each individual part and questioning whether what I hear aligns with what’s written on...

“Is Livestream Shopping Ready to Shift Into High Gear?” by George Anderson plus nearly 20 retail experts weighing in on this topic via Retail Wire

by admin | May 14, 2023 | Community, Debate, Opinion, Resources, Retail Strategy, Social Commerce, Social Media

TikTok appears to be pumping the brakes on its U.S. livestreaming plans while retailers and platforms, including Amazon.com, Poshmark, Qurate, Shein and Walmart, are stepping on the gas. So is livestreaming ready to roll in America or not? A Wall Street...

“The Pros and Cons of P2P Payments in Retail” by  Suresh Dakshina via Total Retail

by admin | May 13, 2023 | Brick & Mortar, Get Paid, News, Resources, Retail Strategy, Retail Technologies

Credit: iStock.com by People Images Peer-to-peer (P2P) payment platforms aren’t just for splitting restaurant tabs or paying for piano lessons anymore. Platforms like Venmo, Cash App, and Zelle took off as a convenient way to negotiate informal electronic...

“9 Best Practices for Improving Gift Card Program Performance” by Joe Keenan via Total Retail

by admin | May 9, 2023 | Brick & Mortar, E-Commerce, Gift Cards, m-commerce, News, Omnichannel, Resources

As part of the 2023 US Merchant Gift Card Omnicommerce Evaluation, US Edition, a comprehensive report produced by Total Retail in conjunction with sponsor partner Blackhawk Network, best practices for the three channels (digital/e-commerce, in-store, mobile)...

“Loyalty Lifts Brands in a Recession” by Ken Hewes via The Robin Report

by admin | May 8, 2023 | Community, Customer Experience, Customer Loyalty, Resources, Retail Strategy

As recessionary clouds gather over the U.S. economy, retail CFOs are busy cutting capex, opex, and inventory. Facing the prospect of lower sales and higher borrowing costs, preserving cash seems the wisest option. But there is an area where we believe you should...