Sales & Marketing

Washington, D.C. -- A report issued Thursday by the Conference Board said that its consumer confidence index fell sharply in December to 65.1 from 75.1 in November, impacted by fears of tax increases and impending government spending cuts.

The fall in confidence is the second straight decline and the lowest level since August.

The survey showed that consumers are slightly more optimistic about current business conditions and hiring. But their outlook for the next six months deteriorated to its lowest level since 2011.

From mobile payments to mining big data for customer insights, savvy retailers are using all the tools at their disposal to engage and connect with shoppers and provide relevant, convenient and personalized shopping experiences across all channels.

As retailers competitively position themselves for growth in 2013 and beyond, there are a number of hot buttons or key considerations that will be driving their strategies. Here is a look at some of the top ones:

Marketing and IT collaboration

New York City -- Research results released Wednesday by Chase found that online holiday shopping sales for the season rose 15.2% year-over-year.

By event, the Chase Holiday Pulse reported that from Black Friday Nov. 23 through Friday, Nov. 30, year-over-year sales increased 22.5% and transactions increased 32.7%.

Getting closer to the customer has always been important to retailers, but never more so than it is today. Chain Store Age spoke with SAP’s Lori Mitchell-Keller about the transformational shifts that are shaking up the retail model.

All the buzz today is about how retailers need to get closer to the customer, but what exactly does it mean?

MOORESVILLE, N.C. — Lowe’s Creative Ideas magazine is extending its reach into cyber territory to offer consumers home-improvement project ideas for the New Year.

Since its launch in 1998, the nearly 15-year-old magazine has enjoyed what it touts as one of the largest circulations for a free publication nationwide. Evolving with the times, the magazine now has a top-rated free iPad app in the iTunes Newsstand, as well as a robust following on Pinterest and more than 1,000 how-to videos available online at YouTube.com/Lowes.

From a virtual basketball court to a projected hologram image, Rookie USA, a new children’s athletic apparel and footwear concept in New York City, deploys the latest in cutting-edge technology to engage customers and gain a competitive edge. The strategy extends to the decision to rely primarily on LED lighting to illuminate the 5,500-sq.-ft. store.

By Chris Donnelly, managing director, Accenture Retail

Ahead of the holidays, 56% of U.S. consumers told us that they expected to ‘showroom’ as they bought gifts this year — underlining the threat of online pure play retailers to the success, and even existence, of traditional retailers. However, traditional retailers can compete and even win this battle.

Retail chains are keeping a sharp eye on IT solutions that will deliver a fast return on investment and streamline business operations. A step in the right direction is to transition a legacy-based applications to the cloud, but a lack of understanding among the corporate hierarchy can slow efforts.