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 More
retail store management

The COVID-19 pandemic has devastated retail businesses and, as a result, their training budgets. But as stores reopen, the leadership and other interpersonal skills that once were essential are now critical. Resetting expectations, overseeing compliance on health and safety, and coaching in real-time to adjust service levels are just a few of the situations that…

Read More

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 More

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 More
retail trends

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 More
retail negotiation tips

For a job that’s always been tough, retail negotiations is getting that much tougher. Not only are the vendors being tightly squeezed in terms of profitability, they’re feeling the effects of change in the broader retail environment, from new and continually changing customer demands to a fluctuating, uncertain market to unexpected variables like natural disasters.…

Read More
frictionless retail

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…

Read More

Whenever there’s a tough labor market, like there is now, the spotlight returns to recruiting and interviewing skills. But retailers need to do a better job of developing a mindset of recruiting as a continual process, not an isolated event. Smart managers are building recruiting networks to find and attract the talent they need to meet…

Read More
retail management training

Managing multiple locations and regional/territory teams is no easy task. And as the retail environment has continued to change and become more demanding and competitive, the job of multiunit leadership has only become that much more complex. Today’s district and regional managers need an increasingly sophisticated level of skills, strategies, and tools to drive critical…

Read More

The next frontier for online retailers isn’t online at all. As web-based brands recognize that they can’t continue to grow their businesses if they limit their reach to one single channel, they’re increasingly investing in brick-and-mortar storefronts as a means to expand brand exposure and increase customer acquisition. Following the lead of brands such as…

Read More