For customers that visit retail stores and websites, receiving excellent service before, during and after purchases is important. This is why many businesses are looking for ways to implement successful service strategies to provide the best possible experiences for their shoppers.

One method of customer service that is gaining traction among retailersis mobile technology. A recent study by the International Customer Management Institute revealed that companies are aware of the importance of mobile devices and how they can help merchants significantly improve their service practices. Forty-three percent of respondents stated their businesses know how vital mobile technology is for service, and 68 percent believe that it can drasticallyenhance shoppers’ experiences. In addition, 62 percent of retailers say they can use mobile methods to differentiate themselves from their competitors.

Another strategy that merchants can adopt is equipping sales associates in brick-and-mortar locations with mobile devices to give customers the assistance they need immediately, writes Business Insider. This helps answer any questions consumers may have, and the technology can even be used to process payment transactions, allowing patrons to buy items quickly and efficiently.

There are a variety of ways consumers browse for and purchase retail products, and recent technological advances are helping to make the shopping experience easier for customers. Smartphones are giving people tools in the palms of their hands to compare and buy the items they are looking for from retailers regardless of their location. For this reason, merchants may want to be begin implementing mobile strategies and options for these consumers, if they haven't already. Putting more focus on smartphones can help businesses draw in more device-carrying shoppers, both in their stores and on their websites.

Smartphones increasingly used for retail purposes
When it comes to internet retailing, there are still many consumers who prefer to use computers and laptops to browse merchants' sites and purchase their products through the online channels. However, smartphones are increasingly being used for these tasks as well, as they give shoppers more flexibility to research and buy items from anywhere and at anytime. According to The Harris Poll, 81 percent of respondents stated they use computers to look up information about goods and services, and 78 percent said they purchase them using the devices. But when it comes to smartphones, 45 percent use their gadgets to browse wanted products, and 23 percent make payment transactions through the mobile channels. These elements provide more information for shoppers as well as faster payment transactions.

Smartphones can also be used in retail stores
The Harris Poll findings highlight the growing use of smartphones for ecommerce retail purposes, but the devices are also being at brick-and-mortar locations. Internet Retailer reports that a recent study by ad agency Moosylvania revealed that many consumers who own smartphones want more in-store options for using their devices. Shoppers are increasingly using their phones to research items in storefronts, and they also use them to compare prices with other retailers.

Additionally, smartphone owners want access to things like mobile coupons, applications, QR codes and mobile display ads. Many customers also have no hesitance when it comes to making larger purchases on their phones, meaning that retailers can see big revenues by accomodating smartphone owning consumers.

"When it comes to buying most goods and services, speed is beyond the essence," says Norty Cohen, founder and CEO of Moosylvania. "They are researching reviews, comparing prices, photo sharing and making purchases in seconds, and prefer doing so equally online and in-store."

Technology is constantly changing the way retailers manage their stores and operations, whether it's in security, customer intelligence or inventory. Now, smartphones could be well on their way to changing consumer purchases within retail stores.

According to a recently released study by Harris Interactive, 61 percent of consumers surveyed believe that smartphone payments – transactions completed with the simple touch of the devices against point-of-sale terminals – could replace cash when it comes to buying products from retailers. Sixty-six percent think that these devices could be used for purchases instead of credit and debit cards. While the technology is not widespread yet, the findings highlight the growing importance of the trend, and retailers should start paying attention to how consumers are using their smartphones in-store.

However, retail purchases are not the only thing being transformed by smartphones, writes Travel Agent Central. The source states that consumers are using their devices to comparison shop and buy retail goods even when they are not at brick-and-mortar locations. This means that in order to accommodate these device-carrying customers, businesses will need to implement smartphone strategies into their operations to see boosts in revenue and retention.

Although the holiday shopping season got off to an extremely strong start with Black Friday and continuing over the following days, American retailers are concerned about the large amounts of money they could lose due to retail theft, either from employees, customers or inventory errors. For this year's holiday season, research has revealed that companies are expecting nearly $9 billion in losses because of merchandise being stolen. While it's not possible to prevent every situation of theft from occurring, there are strategies that retailers can follow to reduce these instances.

Employee, customer theft combine for big losses

According to a recent study by the Centre for Retail Research, retailers throughout the United States are anticipating large losses during the holiday shopping frenzy. From expected employee theft alone, merchants could see upwards of $4 billion of revenue losses. When it comes to customers stealing merchandise through shoplifting, approximately $3.7 billion could be lost. Additionally, supply chain fraud is another element that results in decreases in retail revenue. For this year's holidays, more than $442 million will be taken away from businesses due to this aspect, the research found. In total, these instances of illegal activity will result in a loss of approximately $8.8 billion for American companies throughout the holiday season.

The Centre for Retail Research also revealed what some of the most stolen items are during the holiday frenzy. Ranking high on the list are women's clothing and accessories, health and beauty products, toys, electronics, jewelry and food.

Retailers saw large theft losses last year

American retailers are constantly trying to crack down on theft year round, and they will certainly attempt to reduce the amount stolen this year when compared to last year's totals. According to a study by the National Retail Federation, retail shrinkage – inventory loss due to theft and errors – in 2011 fell to 1.41 percent, from the previous year's 1.49 percent. Businesses may want to keep this trend going, by being vigilant about combating theft and reducing mistakes.

"Retail theft continues to plague the industry, with billions of dollars of merchandise walking out of the store every day without ever being paid for," said NRF vice president of loss prevention Rich Mellor. "Fighting these self-serving and unethical criminals has been a tedious battle, but we remain resolute in our efforts and our partnerships with law enforcement to combat this growing problem."

It's been an eight-year battle for many retailers, but there may be some good news on the horizon for the group of merchants who are contesting a $7 billion dollar settlement between themselves and credit card giants Visa and MasterCard.

According to Inside Counsel, the potential antitrust agreement was put into place after Visa and MasterCard, along with several banks, were accused of working together to fix credit and debit swipe fees, which are expenses that retailers are charged whenever customers use their plastic cards to make payments. These fees totaled more than $30 billion each year, costing both businesses and consumers large amounts of money. If the settlement goes into effect, Visa and MasterCard would pay retailers $6 billion and would reduce their swipe fees for about eight months, coming to about $1.2 billion in savings.

However, many merchants are against this agreement, arguing that it is not enough and that it gives the card companies too much leeway, as they would be exempt from ever being sued for similar practices again, the source notes. The retailers have filed an appeal against a judge's preliminary approval of the settlement, which could prevent it from being enacted.

"It should prove very significant to the court that the majority of the plaintiffs in this case have repudiated the settlement, and that includes half a dozen national trade associations representing thousands of merchants," stated Mallory Duncan of the National Retail Federation.

One aspect that retailers of all sizes face is theft, either by customers or employees. Billions of dollars each year are lost due to stolen merchandise, and businesses do everything they can to prevent this from happening. There are many strategies that companies can use to accomplish this, it just depends on the needs of retailers.

According to the 2011 National Retail Security Survey by the University of Florida and Tyco Integrated Security, retail shrinkage for 2011 was 1.42 percent, a decrease from the 1.49 percent for 2010. This accounts for more than $35 billion lost throughout the year, the research found.

"With the holidays and 2013 planning in full swing, it's important for retailers to take a look at these statistics and evaluate security strategies accordingly," said Michael Creedon, Tyco's vice president of retail sales and operations. "While theft is down this year, organized retail crime is on the rise and loss prevention solutions remain very important to help shrinkage continue to decline and operations run more efficiently and effectively."

To help prevent theft by customers, New Hampshire Sunday News reports that industry experts believe that effective customer service is a great method for deterring would-be thieves. If they are frequently helped by associates, they will have less opportunities to steal.

One aspect that retailers of all sizes face is theft, either by customers or employees. Billions of dollars each year are lost due to stolen merchandise, and businesses do everything they can to prevent this from happening. There are many strategies that companies can use to accomplish this, it just depends on the needs of retailers.

According to the 2011 National Retail Security Survey by the University of Florida and Tyco Integrated Security, retail shrinkage for 2011 was 1.42 percent, a decrease from the 1.49 percent for 2010. This accounts for more than $35 billion lost throughout the year, the research found.

"With the holidays and 2013 planning in full swing, it's important for retailers to take a look at these statistics and evaluate security strategies accordingly," said Michael Creedon, Tyco's vice president of retail sales and operations. "While theft is down this year, organized retail crime is on the rise and loss prevention solutions remain very important to help shrinkage continue to decline and operations run more efficiently and effectively."

To help prevent theft by customers, New Hampshire Sunday News reports that industry experts believe that effective customer service is a great method for deterring would-be thieves. If they are frequently helped by associates, they will have less opportunities to steal.

One aspect that retailers of all sizes face is theft, either by customers or employees. Billions of dollars each year are lost due to stolen merchandise, and businesses do everything they can to prevent this from happening. There are many strategies that companies can use to accomplish this, it just depends on the needs of retailers.

According to the 2011 National Retail Security Survey by the University of Florida and Tyco Integrated Security, retail shrinkage for 2011 was 1.42 percent, a decrease from the 1.49 percent for 2010. This accounts for more than $35 billion lost throughout the year, the research found.

"With the holidays and 2013 planning in full swing, it's important for retailers to take a look at these statistics and evaluate security strategies accordingly," said Michael Creedon, Tyco's vice president of retail sales and operations. "While theft is down this year, organized retail crime is on the rise and loss prevention solutions remain very important to help shrinkage continue to decline and operations run more efficiently and effectively."

To help prevent theft by customers, New Hampshire Sunday News reports that industry experts believe that effective customer service is a great method for deterring would-be thieves. If they are frequently helped by associates, they will have less opportunities to steal.

American consumers are increasingly using smartphones for a variety of tasks, and these devices are now moving into the shopping realm, especially as the holiday season approaches. Many retailers are gearing up for this trend, as a significant amount of holiday sales are expected to come from smartphones this year.

A recent study by Deloitte found that approximately 50 percent of American consumers own smartphones, and nearly 70 percent of those plan to use their devices to buy items and gifts for the holidays. The research also found that the shoppers who will be using their mobile devices will be spending 72 percent more on products that the customers who do not use smartphones.

"We anticipate that retailers will increasingly interact with mobile shoppers this holiday season," stated Alison Paul, vice president of Deloitte LLP. "This holiday season, branded applications, Wi-Fi connectivity and personalized, location-based promotions from retailers can enable shoppers to make an immediate buying decision in the store."

One large retailers is getting in on the mobile holiday trend. The Motley Fool reports that Wal-Mart is hoping to make shopping in their stores easier for smartphone users over the coming weeks. The company has created a mobile app that customers can download to navigate the aisles as they search for items and gifts. The app also gives consumers the chance to buy products directly from Wal-Mart's website if it's out of stock or they are not able to carry it home themselves.

While the Canadian economy seems to be improving, thanks in large part to higher retail sales throughout the country, it appears as though merchants are losing significant amounts of revenue per day and annually due to shrinkage. This is the result of customers or employees stealing merchandise and going undetected, as well as inventory errors and damaged products. Canadian retailers are doing what they can to stop the losses through alarms, cameras and other security measures.

Theft, errors resulting in large retail losses

According to recent research by PricewaterhouseCoopers and the Retail Council of Canada, retailers throughout the nation are losing approximately $10.8 million each day due to shrinkage. This equates to about $4 billion each year, as the average shrink rate for respondents was calculated at 1.04 percent of net sales. Since 2008, the results of the Canadian Retail Security Survey have held steady near this rate.

However, merchants are doing their best to cut down on theft that contributes to the shrinkage. The study found that 65 percent of companies currently use video recording systems, tip phone lines and observation mirrors to attempt to catch would-be thieves making off with merchandise. On the other hand, only a small amount (35 percent) of retailers utilize alarm systems to detect theft.

Additionally, Radio Frequency Identification (RFID) technology has been made available to Canadian businesses to reduce the shrinkage brought on by accounting and inventory errors. However, the survey revealed that none of the respondents are taking advantage of it. The high cost of implementation is the number one reason as to why RFID solutions have not been widely adopted.

As for the most common forms of merchandise that are stolen from Canadian retailers, the study discovered that alcohol, cosmetics and fragrances and ladies apparel are the items that are taken the most.

Retail sales up throughout Canada

Despite the relatively high shrinkage rate, Canadian retail sales increased for the month of August, climbing 0.3 percent from the previous month to account for $39.1 billion in total purchases. Five out of the 11 subsectors reported gains for August, including booksellers, sporting goods and hobby stores. Of the 10 Canadian provinces, six saw increases in retail sales, with Ontario leading the way, followed by Nova Scotia and Saskatchewan.