August RTG Newsletter

From the Principal’s Office Much has happened in the industry since our May Newsletter.  We decided to discuss a topic near and dear to many retailers; Omni-channel retailing from the systems perspective.  Many retailers, retail publications and CIOs talk about Omni-channel retailing as a necessity.  Omni-channel Systems simply provide the customer a consistent brand experience […]

May 2017 Newsletter

From the Principal’s Office Well, our beloved industry has been undergoing a lot churn and turmoil in the three months since the last newsletter.  This month we open with a commentary on technology, what’s appropriate, what’s out there pushing the envelope. And then there is the good, the bad, and the ugly of what is […]

RTG Newsletter November

RTG Newsletter Published quarterly by The Retail Technology Group November, 2016   From the Principal’s Office Didn’t notice this before but who gains the most from big eCommerce sales during the traditional holiday shopping season?  The delivery companies!  They get the business on the way out and on the way back!  It is an interesting […]

BB&B: No more coupons? Will it work?

Bed, Bath & Beyond is going to institute an fee-based loyalty program. It will eliminate the ubiquitous coupons for which the retailer has become known. Our commentary on this topic was featured in RetailWire. Loyalty programs, coupons, margin erosion are mine fields that retailers must walk regularly. Trying something new can be as successful as […]

RTG August Newsletter

RTG Newsletter                                   Published quarterly by The Retail Technology Group                                   August, 2016   From the Principal’s Office In this issue, we offer a mixed bag of interesting tidbits going on in our industry.  Please enjoy this light reading. Bob Amster […]

Technology that enables the store associate

RetailWire started a discussion on the application of technology to enable the store associate as compared to enabling customer self service.  Store systems can accomplish both.  There is no reason why the emphasis should be on customer self service.  Enabling the store associate to assist customers is a very powerful approach.  We pay lip service […]

Will Amazon teach retailers how to execute omni-channel right?

We commented on a RetailWire discussion on whether Amazon can excel at omni-channel retail and show others how it’s done.  Well, not necessarily.  While Amazon has been very successful at ‘pure-play’ commerce, its foray into brick-and-mortar retailing is not guaranteed to be successful.  As we all have learned, the two business channels are very different, each […]

RTG May Newsletter

From the Principal’s Office Doing something a little different this issue.  We are listing some products and trends that look interesting and poking fun at some other things. Bob Amster – Principal, RTG What are we seeing? Serious notes There are sufficient bankruptcy and threatening-to-fold events to give us pause.  To wit, Pac Sun filed […]