This January, retailers from all over the world participated in our survey to gauge what issues are priority for 2016. For those of you who participated, THANK YOU!

Check out the survey results here to see which hot issues retailers are tackling today, find out how you compare with what’s in the media today – omnichannel, mobile, emerging technology, Big Data, customer experience – and then BELOW, see which survey participant won the drawing for the Apple Watch!

Find out what’s happening behind retail doors today!

And the winner is…!

Kate Botelho | The Preservation Society of Newport County

Kate Botelho | The Preservation Society of Newport County | e-Commerce Manager 

The Breakers Mansion. See it on the Preservation Society’s Pinterest: http://bit.ly/1S6th6w

Kate currently works as the E-Commerce Manager and Systems Administrator for The Preservation Society of Newport County, which operates 5 Newport Mansions® stores.

The Preservation Society of Newport County is Rhode Island’s largest cultural organization dedicated to preserving and protecting 11 historic properties and landscapes, 7 of which are National Historic Landmarks.

Kate has been with the organization for 15 years and has worked in all facets of museum retail, including store management, inventory control, receiving and merchandising, buying, and product development and design.

Kate spearheaded the creation of NewportStyle.net®,the online home of the Newport Mansions Stores, in order to bring the Newport, Rhode Island based stores to a larger audience. Currently Kate serves as Secretary for the Museum Store Association’s North Atlantic Chapter.

Kate also led the charge for the update from Retail Pro version 8 to 9 and she built the foundation for a BETA program to build an e-Commerce bridge. Here’s a quick look at their awesome site!

newportstyle.net

When the opportunity presented itself for her to attend the Retail Pro Americas Summit in Las Vegas, Kate jumped at the chance. Here’s a word from Kate:

Being from the non-profit environment these opportunities don’t always come around and I was thankful my institution saw the benefits of my attending. Winning the Apple watch was such an added treat to an already valuable customer summit.

In museum retail we can sometimes be behind the curve with new technologies, but when we first heard about Retail Pro Prism® we wanted to learn all we could. I was not disappointed! My colleague and I left with an excitement for the future of Retail Pro that we brought back with us to Newport.

We are looking forward to utilizing Prism and seeing it benefit our stores.

Kate Botelho

And here’s Kate’s colleague, super impressed by the hardware he saw at our Retail Expo!

They’re always busy at the Preservation Society. Right now, their wholesale department is branching out with their first trade show next week on the Cape, redesigning the store at their Breakers mansions, and opening a new location at the Green Animals Topiary Garden this May.

The Preservation Society’s wholesale show booth was a big hit on the Cape!

Congratulations on your success and on winning the Apple Watch, Kate! 

2016 Retail Pro Americas Summit
A practical perspective on customer-centric retailing in the digital age

February 19, 2016  *  Caesars Palace, Las Vegas  *  9 – 5 + cocktails

Have you signed up yet for the 2016 Retail Pro Americas Summit? Take a sneak peek at what’s happening at the Summit and register today!

Session Sneak Peek
Retail How-To: Your Step-By-Step Guide to Doing More With Retail Pro®

Retail chaos erupts when new trends (mobility, omnichannel, etc.), high complexity (Big Data, multi-national expansion), and extreme pace disrupt operations and engagement – but there’s hope.

Proactive retailers who converge their data/team/resources to focus on a specific issue can transform chaos into efficiency and profitability with
Retail Pro.

See how Retail Pro Prism® can help retailers overcome retail chaos in their stores:

• Customer-centric operations
• Mobility and omnichannel
• Integration for complete data management
• Expansion and global retail
• Efficiency and process control

Speakers

Kevin Connor | Retail Pro International
Director of Product Strategy

Kevin Connor is the visionary strategist for the Retail Pro® product lines, advancing critical applications for the global Retail Pro customer community. Kevin brings over 20 years of experience in the retail software industry, serving in key application and product-related roles from user experience to product management and strategy. Kevin is driven by his passion for design and a deep understanding of global retail.

Ket Venethongkham | Retail Pro International
Director of Retail Pro University

Ket Venethongkham oversees the training and certification of Customers, Business Partners, and Development Partners, establishes educational standards, and teaches Retail Pro professionals worldwide to design, implement and support Retail Pro solutions in the marketplace. Ket has over 12 years of experience as a Trainer, Instructional Designer and Product Evangelist, earning him an impressive reputation as an enthusiastic and dedicated Retail Pro expert.

For the love of retail…! Complete this survey for your chance to win a trip to the 2016 Retail Pro Americas Summit!

Got 2 minutes today to tell us what retail life is like in your business? We want to start 2016 off with a good feel for where retail is today and would love your input in our survey!

And, just for the love of retail, we’re giving two lucky participants a trip to Vegas for the 2016 Retail Pro Americas Summit or an Apple Watch!

But act fast – contest ends January 31st at midnight!

Contest rules

Survey and email submission required for contest entry. Only one submission per participant. One lucky winner will be awarded an Apple Watch (42mm Silver Aluminum Case with Blue Sport Band). Another lucky winner will win a trip to the 2016 Retail Pro Americas Summit (airfare + hotel cost for one night from anywhere in the continental US), at the discretion of Retail Pro International. Rules subject to change at any time. Contest ends Sunday, January 31st, 2016 at 11:59pm. Winners will be selected February 1st, 2016 and announced on Retail Pro International social media and via email, as well as at the 2016 Retail Pro Americas Summit.

For the wealthiest Americans, 2016 is coming up roses.

According to a recent report from the American Affluence Research Center, the top 10 percent of U.S. citizens have a positive outlook regarding their personal net worth and income. Two million households with a minimum $1 million net worth took part in the study. This group of affluent people account for roughly 40% of total consumer spending.

High-end luxury items are seeing strong sales.

Nearly half (46%) of the participants have some large purchases in mind, such as new auto, a cruise, a home remodeling project, and a primary or vacation home. However, 32% of the affluent responded that they plan to defer or reduce expenditures during the next 12 months — an all-time low for the metric.

Affluent households were forecast by the National Retail Federation to spend $33 billion for December holiday gifts or an average of $2,773, which is approximately four times that of all households. But, while a merry Christmas may have been had by the uppercrust or top 10 percent, the air is about to become even more rarified. As the stock market continues to be volatile and threats of terrorism plague tourist locations, the top one percent of consumers will likely be the sweetest spot for retailers.

That’s because the “one percenters” are least likely to be influenced by any of the ripples that would make most mortals quake in fear: Job loss, Wall Street fluctuations — those are largely inconsequential to this shopper breed. But what it does have in common with the general population is a sense of the type of retail experience they want. They are looking for shopping to be easy, convenient, efficient and tailored to make them feel unique. Easy, yes, but not without style.

The super rich seek a meaningful and personalized the shopping experience. Retailers aiming to serve the niche should not only have well trained staff on hand, but also technology tools that will help them to impress their clients. For example, mobile devices for every associate is a start, but how does that help the customer looking to buy a Rolex? The goal should be to gather all the customer data that is collected in real time, analyze it and then provide pertinent suggestions and promotions based on customer context.

It’s a tough row to hoe: High-end clients may think they want the ease of an Amazon, but they often want far more attention, especially if the purchase is pricey or complex. By using data including past purchases and online browsing history, retailers can glean insights to customers shopping behavior that makes the shopping experience relevant.

Of course, interpersonal relationships will still be crucial for sealing the deal. How better to accomplish that task than through technology? Customer relationship management software and data analysis can help associates learn about customers’ tastes and build relationships. Purchases can be tracked and information used to offer tailored loyalty rewards. Ironically, an associate that uses technology to glean customer information can make the personal touch even more meaningful. And offering personal service, custom-fit for every shopper, is the key to enriching and improving revenue in the affluent shopper segment.

Retail is not easy. Ok, let’s face it – most days it’s downright hard.

That’s why retailers everywhere are taking a stand against retail chaos, in their own way, and every action counts.

Tell the world how you’re taking control of your retail environment to drive your strategy, and then find out how Retail Pro® can empower you to do even more at NRF 2016!

How do YOU #StopRetailChaos? Use this hashtag on social media to join the conversation.

McDonalds is joining other fast-food restaurants in automating the ordering process. But at the Golden Arches, it’s happening (for now) mainly in Europe, where 7,000 touch-screen kiosks to perform cashier duty. The touch screens will only accept debit or credit cards.

In the United States, McDonald’s home base, the company recently added 62,000 employees. However, if the kiosks work well across the Atlantic, it stands to reason they’ll be here pronto. The kiosks should increase efficiency and make ordering easier for customers. McDonald’s is a company that tests its outlets on timing and accuracy, at least in the United States, using secret shoppers — so it takes satisfaction seriously.

The system will also be an excellent source of customer data. How many meals are sold? A la carte items? Do people really want an apple pie with that? That could help McDonald’s refine and expand their menus and potentially cater to regional tastes.

We shall see how quickly the kiosks move stateside. But the U.S. has not been shut out entirely; the fast food giant does offer, in select markets, a build-your-own burger kiosk. That’s a digital display in primarily California outlets but also in NYC that lets customers select from various ingredients and make their own creation. The chain has come a long way from what made it popular to begin with: Mass produced food that was uniform. Sure, it’s still relatively cheap and it is certainly speedy, but technology has allowed McDonalds to answer the call of consumers requesting their unique culinary demands be met.

The global interactive display market is expected to reach a value of more than $14 billion by 2020, according to research by Markets and Markets. That’s a huge opportunity for kiosk makers and solution providers, but it also means that retailers should start looking for opportunities in which a display or kiosk can enhance the customer experience — before the competition does.

Retail Pro International is pleased to announce the general availability release for Retail Pro Prism POS – 1.3.4. This release includes several enhancements to the Retail Pro Prism capabilities, including Physical Inventory functionality. Some of the more significant additions are noted below. Contact your Retail Pro Business Partner today for more details and to see if your business is ready for Retail Pro Prism®.

Keep track of all your inventory
Retail Pro Prism now includes a new Physical Inventory (PI) area so you can take regular, physical counts of your merchandise on a macro level in the store or warehouse, or on a smaller scale within a single bin or shelf.

Prism PI Capabilities:

• Start a physical inventory files for any location
• Record physical counts information to a physical inventory file already in process by scanning barcodes or manually typing item identifiers
• Import counts with a file (fixed-length or delimited)
• Read current on-hand values from inventory and write those values to the physical inventory file as the start quantities
• For easier review, a separate discrepancy display lists all items whose physical counts do not equal the starting values
• Print physical inventory information
• Send PI sheets to Retail Pro 9 for updating

Increase efficiency at the POS
This release includes a new Options button that increases efficiency through easier access to most common POS tasks, including:

• Transaction Lookup
• Pending Transactions
• Customer Lookup
• Gift Card Balance check (if use of EFT or central gift cards is enabled)

Look up customer details – securely
Customer area continues to be the focus as consumer-centric initiatives drive store processes. In this release customer functional area includes:

• New “Apply Customer Tax Areas” preference that gives retailers greater flexibility when it comes to assignment of customer tax areas
• Easy access to check and print customer’s central gift card balance (optional)
• New workflow with enhanced security functionality for checking a customer’s store credit balance
• New workflow for ‘forced tender’ transaction

Retail your way with ease

• Automatic Proxy recognition of hardware configuration changes in the Admin Console
• A new version of the Prism Launcher (1.6) for use with iOS 9 devices
• Additional designs for Document Designer
• Enhanced RP Prism Communications via PrismMQ

On October 17, global experts across the retail technologies ecosystem were awarded the Retail Pro business excellence awards for outstanding performance in their regional spheres. For the first time in Retail Pro International history, two partners tied for the coveted global Partner of the Year award, and were recognized for their outstanding performance – Retail Technology Company of Saudi Arabia and Grupo Ejje of El Salvador.

Success is not built in isolation.

At its very core, success is the synergy of collective effort of diverse individuals with distinct strengths, who come together to form something greater, more meaningful, more impactful.

When pursued independently, success is beyond reach even for the greatest of people. But when great people come together – when they persist in determined forward movement toward an even greater goal – that is when success is planted, takes root, and bears abundant fruit.

That is the nature of the alliance between Retail Pro International and its partners. We recognize your continued perseverance for growth. We commend your diligent work and congratulate your great achievement.