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.

“Why Do Brick-and-Mortar Stores Struggle Without Sales Training?” by Bob Phibbs via The Retail Doctor Blog

by admin | Aug 17, 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...

“AI Agents Buy Sight Unseen. Salespeople Keep You Off the Wrong One” by Bob Phibbs via The Retail Doctor

by admin | Jul 20, 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...

“Retailers’ Ace in the Hole Was Product Knowledge – in the 1950s. Here’s What It Has to Be in 2026.” by Bob Phibbs via The Retail Doctor blog

by admin | Jun 17, 2026 | Brick & Mortar, Customer Experience, Industry, News, Opinion, Resources, Sales Training

Product knowledge was a legitimate competitive edge when customers had no other way to get it. That world ended decades ago. Today’s customer walks in already researched. The retailers winning in 2026 aren’t the ones with the most knowledgeable associates...

“Your Big Sale Worked. That’s the Problem.” by Bob Phibbs via The Retail Doctor Blog

by admin | May 26, 2026 | Clearance Sales / Discounting, HR, News, Opinion, Resources, Retail Strategy, Sales Training

Why retail owners and CEOs can’t take more money out of their business – and how a waiting culture is the cause. Why can’t I take more money out of my business? That question lands differently depending on where you sit. If you own one store,...

“Why “Anything Else?” Is Costing You 10% of Every Sale” by Bob Phibbs via The Retail Doctor Blog

by admin | May 2, 2026 | Brick & Mortar, Customer Experience, Customer Service, Sales Training

Your associate looks up at the register and says: “Anything else?”The customer says no. The sale closes. And roughly 10% of that transaction walks out the door with them.Not because the customer did not want more. Because your associate handed them the...

“Your Associates Passed the Training. So Why Can’t They Sell?” by Bob Phibbs via The Retail Doctor Blog

by admin | Apr 24, 2026 | News, Resources, Sales Training

Retail training fails for one reason: it protects associates from failure instead of using it as the mechanism for learning. Videos, quizzes, and microlearning apps improve completion rates but do not change behavior on the floor. The only thing that does is repeated...