TECHNOLOGY

The retailer with the best customer experience is…
Supermarkets and fast-casual restaurant brands took the top positions in an annual ranking of customer experience. Publix, Chick-fil-A, and H-E-B earned top three positions in Temkin Group’s 2017 Temkin Experience Ratings, a cross-industry benchmark of customer experience. Publix had a score of 84%, closely followed by Chick-fil-A and H-E-B, which both scored 83% in the seventh annual rating.
C-Suite: Steve Tanger on the outlook for outlet centers
Tanger Factory Outlet Centers operates, owns or has an ownership interest in 42 shopping centers nationwide that encompass 14.3 million square feet. The company’s centers are home to more than 3,000 stores operated by 470 different retailers, which affords Tanger President and CEO Steve Tanger a unique vantage point on the retail industry. He spoke recently with Chain Store Age about the outlet shopping industry his father pioneered 35 years ago.

Study: Mobile promotions pay dividends for retailers

Purchases from mobile devices continue to rise and upping ad spend is driving results for retailers.

According to data from Rakuten Marketing., purchases from smartphones that originated from a display ad on a computer increased by 52% between the third and fourth quarter of 2015. During that time tablet purchases that resulted from a display ad on a computer grew by 125%.
Winning with Wi-Fi at Mall of America

Many of the roughly 100,000 average daily visitors to the Mall of America arrive with an expectation of being able to access the Internet via a fast and free Wi-Fi network. Living up to that expectation required the expansive property to rely on several key partners. When Mall of America decided it was time to offer free Wi-Fi for its 40 million annual guests, it turned to Garland, Texas-based AmpThink to design, build and manage the high density wireless network running on Cisco hardware throughout the 5.6 million square foot mall.
Boom in dollar stores may pose threat to grocers

Traditional supermarket retailers are facing competition on all fronts, from online pure players, discount grocery chains and from the extreme-value general merchandise retailers (dollar stores). While dollar stores remain a niche segment, consumables are becoming a more important part of the sector, according to a report on forbes.com.
J.C. Penney moving forward with big new initiatives

The likes of Lowe’s, Home Depot, and Best Buy have a new competitor to deal with—J.C. Penny. "The department store retailer on Monday announced a major expansion into home appliances, as well as two new tests in the home area, one involving Ashley Furniture, and the other national carpet and flooring company Empire Today.
Canadian retailers respond to Fort McMurray wildfires with donations

Both Walmart Canada and Loblaw companies sent financial aid to support the relief efforts in the Fort McMurray community. According to reports published Friday morning, fires in the province of Alberta have to date forced the evacution of 88,000 residents and destroyed more than 1,600 structures.
The ‘least engaging’ retailers are …

Five retail chains rank among the top 10 brands doing a poor job when it comes to emotional engagement, a measure of how well brands meet consumer expectations, according to an annual survey.
Study: Consumers influence other consumers

Retailers who can get consumers to generate social and online content about them have a decided competitive edge.

According to the new “CGC Index” from social marketing technology provider Bazaarvoice, consumer-generated content (CGC), or digital content that people create about a product or service they have experienced, used, purchased, or considered, can have a significant impact on retailer performance.
Study: Millennials like coupons — print or paperless

Despite their tech-savvy reputation, millennials are not above reducing their retail spending with the help of good old-fashioned print coupons.