Chris Petersen
The new retail era where logistics is both sexy and essential
From AI to predictive inventory, logistics ain’t what it used to be By Chris H. Petersen Image Credit: Pixabay I recently had an opportunity to deliver a keynote address at the RVCF 2018 Fall Conference. In listening to the speakers and attendees, o...
Why and how retailers must create relevancy to survive
Winning retailers focus on convenience, consistency, customized value By Chris H. Petersen Toys R' Us is an example of a "category killer" that did not make the cut. Sears will enviably fall by the death of a thousand short cuts that diminished its re...
Why “the second sale” is more critical than new acquisitions
Acquiring a sale today does not ensure retention creating lifetime value By Chris H. Petersen Image Credit: Pixabay.com Retail has a legacy of focusing on immediate results. Historically, the cash register drove the retailers' core metrics. The resu...
Big boxes are building small stores – How small is too small?
As retail transforms, even the largest retailers are "right sizing" stores Image Credit: Pixabay.com In the heyday of mass merchants and hypermarkets, the philosophy was "bigger was better". Walmart, Target, Kmart and the clubs were in a race to bui...
How “Less is More” when competing with Amazon
Curation strategies that limit choices improve CX and closing sales By Chris H. Petersen Image Credit: geralt; pixabay.com When is too much choice a bad thing? Brain scientists and psychologists have discovered that too many choices overwhelms our b...
What matters most in your healthcare customer experience?
Modern tech can save your life … Patients remember staff who cared By Chris H. Petersen Technology is becoming pervasive in all arenas of our lives. Hundreds of millions of IoT devices already supply real time data on all kinds of things and our behav...
The question for today’s retailers: What business are you in?
Theodore Levitt's classic advice is more relevant than ever before Image Credit: Pixabay.com By Chris H. Petersen It is always amazing how many of the classic leaders and principles are lost to the ravages of time. Today's business leaders are often...
Are Amazon online cost advantages eroding?
10 Signs indicate the pendulum will swing to a more level playing field in retail By Chris H. Petersen Image Credit: Pixabay.com A decade ago, there were substantially different cost models of selling through online versus physical stores. Today, co...
Lessons in “Goodwill” and the power of people
People remember what they felt, not what you said or did By Chris H. Petersen Image Credit: Pinterest.com Customer experience continues to be a hot topic in retail. It is intriguing how much debate continues to focus on what customer experience is, ...
How small retailers can thrive in a world of retail giants
How do you compete with Amazon? The simple answer is you don't. Imagine the following retail scenario. You discover beautiful piece of furniture only to find that it is a "one of a kind". You discover where you can order one only to find out…
The secret sauce for increasing store conversion – ASK
What do successful store managers do differently from all the rest? By Chris H. Petersen Image Credit: Nenetus; Freedigitalphotos.net I have had the opportunity to work with some great store managers in my retail career. As a group, they are the mos...
Symbiotic partnerships for survival in an Amazonian world
New ways of collaborating to differentiate value and remain relevant Image Credit: Pixabay.com By Chris H. Petersen In the nature, there is a fascinating phenomenon called symbiosis. Symbiosis occurs when organisms "live together with benefits". For...
5 Retail lessons learned from the upcoming lingerie wars
Everything and every aspect of retail is being disrupted and reinvented Image Credit: Pixabay.com When I started this blog 12 years ago, I could never have imagined that I would be writing this post about women's intimate apparel retailing! My backg...
Do customers want help from associates or technology?
Retail Dilemma – Defend yesterday's strengths or invest in innovation? By Chris H. Petersen Image Credit: Pixabay.com You see it in the repeated in the headlines – bricks and mortar stores greatest strength is the staff on the floor. The one thing t...
The horse you rode in on will not win the race for the future
Reducing customer effort is critical in earning customers relationships By Chris H. Petersen Image Credit: Pixabay.com How easy is it for customers do business with us? How much effort is required for customers to find what they want, and have it pr...
Winning the race to the home requires more than the last mile
The future of retail is not linear – the winners are building ecosystems Image Credit: Ring By Chris H. Petersen The "last mile" to your door is paved with gold in terms of future ecommerce potential. Home delivery is a current customer expectation, ...
When one door closes, the other one is “Always Open”
Strategic collaboration is finding the right partners to reach customers Image Credit: pixabay.com If you ask friends about eBay, most remember it as the "old auction site" where you put your stuff up for bid. Yes, many sellers still post used items...
Lessons learned from two of the best brick & mortar retailers
How two of the best retailers thrive by doing more to help you buy By Chris H. Petersen I am as guilty as the rest of the bloggers and pundits. The latest headlines on Amazon's innovation for Go stores or Amazon delivery suck the air…
#notmyretailapocalypse – Fact, Fiction or pending Reality?
History may not predict the future of retail and critical success factors Image Credit: Pixabay.com By Chris H. Petersen To paraphrase Mark Twain, the prediction of retail's demise is premature. While many pundits are talking about a "retail apocaly...
Amazon Go – What should retailers Stop, Start and Continue?
Lessons in retail survival are increasingly clear – change is not an option By Chris H. Petersen Image Credit: Amazon.com If you did not hear about Amazon's launch of its new Go store in Seattle, you had to be living under a rock. Amazon's new…