Posts by Mary Beth Garcia
Retail Trends: Reflecting on 2022, Looking Ahead to 2023
Greetings! As we close out 2022, it’s a time of reflection. Looking back on my first year as owner and CEO of MOHR Retail, my immediate thought is, boy, did it fly by! For those of us in the business of retail, this year has been both challenging and rewarding. It began with supply chain issues…
Read MoreTo Succeed in an Unpredictable Holiday Season, Refocus on the Human Factors
It’s hard to believe that October is here already. For retailers, back-to-school has quickly transitioned into the fall and winter holiday seasons. During this all-important time of the year, you want to maximize each and every customer interaction. Even before the pandemic pushed practices like BOPIS (buy online/pick up in store) into the spotlight, retailers were…
Read MoreHow Effective Retail Leaders Prevent Burnout and Keep Great Talent
“Executive leaders need to recognize that burnout’s real and that no one is going to approach you saying they’re burned out. They may feel it’s a sign of weakness and keep it to themselves. Leaders need to ask about it proactively. Dig in to what’s happening and how people feel.” – Joe Jeffries, CEO, Westlake Ace…
Read MoreHiring in Retail: Finding and Selecting the Right Candidate
The retail industry is no stranger to constant change, intense pressure, and high turnover, but the last few years have tested even the most battle-hardened among us. Today, a shortage of qualified talent — and the competition for it — is creating a serious employment crisis, and it’s heating up just as retailers are staffing up…
Read MoreFrom Burnout to Skill Deficits, A Retail Leadership Check-Up as the Pandemic Enters a New Phase
From the retail store floor to the corporate office, leaders, managers, team leads, and supervisors are adapting their strategies and focusing on enhancing their retail leadership skills as the pandemic wears on. We recently reconvened our virtual Retail & Service Leadership Exchange Forum (RSLEF) to check in with some of the top retailers in North…
Read MoreBrick-and-Mortar Retailers Share Covid-19 Lessons, Insights
Retailers are used to upheaval and constant change. Over the past decade alone, the “retail apocalypse” has dominated the news as traditional brick-and-mortar retailers have scrambled to adapt to the competitive threat of digital disruptors and changing consumer preferences. By the end of 2019, savvy retail businesses were gaining traction in their strategies with a…
Read MoreHow the DiSC Profile Can Help You Be a More Effective Retail Leader
Stress, change, and uncertainty hit retailers hard when the coronavirus pandemic upended all semblance of normal or “business as usual.” While the pandemic was an extreme example, change is an everyday reality in retail. And one of the things we know from our work using the DiSC® Profile is that, at an individual level, it…
Read MoreHow Retailers Can Keep Business on Track During Coronavirus
There’s one thing you can count on in retail: If it’s not one thing, it’s another. And that means change and new challenges are never far away. With news about coronavirus dominating the headlines, concern over the spread continues to rise. We know the health and safety of your employees and customers is the number…
Read More4 Trending Retail Management Themes for the Coming Year
Another year is drawing to a close, and as is usual in retail, whew, what a year! Change is always part of the retail story, but with change can come some exciting new opportunities—if you’re prepared to seize them. The evolution of brick and mortar continues, as both traditional retailers and formerly online-only retailers experiment…
Read MoreCreating Customer Experiences in a Frictionless Retail World
More than 100 million products were purchased on Amazon Prime Day in 2019. So is it official? Is brick & mortar dead? Not hardly. During the 2018 holiday season, for example, shoppers spent twice as much in physical stores as they did on Amazon, and 93% of them went to a physical store. Looking ahead…
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