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One factor that often contributes to retention is how engaged your store associates are.  When store associates are more engaged, they’re less frustrated, more helpful, and they sell much more. Engaged store associates are able to easily execute daily tasks, provide customers with helpful, actionable information, and work productively through their shifts.

Mobile scheduling and employee self-service aren’t just minor conveniences for branch employees, they’re a powerful driver for employee engagement and retention. Branch staff can view their schedules in advance, adjust availability, and bid to swap or pick up shifts to meet their needs.

Valentine’s Day has traditionally been a global holiday, with people feeling the love across much of Europe and the Americas, but there have been fewer celebrants in recent years. Although participation has been declining, according to new research released by the National Retail Federation and Prosper Insights & Analytics, spending for the holiday continues to increase.

I recently spent four great days at the FMI Midwinter Executive Conference talking to leaders in grocery retail about what they are seeing in their stores and in the market. They all had unique and compelling stories to tell, but everything pointed towards some specific trends.

The Reflexis Banking team recently had the opportunity to attend NRF 2019 – Retail’s Big Show. Held annually in January, this show sets the tone for retail in the new year, with the presentation of new solutions, trends, and insights from industry leaders.

The NRF Big Show sets the tone for retail in the new year, with innovative new solutions being announced and insights from industry leaders being shared. We identified four key lessons from NRF 2019 that you can use to improve customer engagement, offer unique in-store experiences, and unleash the power of your store associates.

Reflexis is excited to wrap up another successful year at NRF 2019, Retail’s Big Show. With three days and thousands of retailers, exhibitors, and retail professionals, there’s a lot to take in at the show, so check out the highlights from Reflexis.

Convenience stores are facing increased competition from Quick Service Restaurants (QSRs), dollar stores, and mini-marts opened by larger grocery and pharmacy chains.

Time is money, especially in a fast-paced retail setting. Store associates drive sales by creating a positive customer experience, keeping shoppers engaged and informed, and directing them to value-added purchases.

Amidst the narratives of “retail apocalypse” and the death of brick-and-mortar stores, Reflexions 2018 had a different narrative: optimism about the future of the store.

If you haven’t yet heard about predictive scheduling, you certainly will soon.

Brick-and-mortar stores will always be vital to a retailer’s business. We hear talk of a “retail apocalypse”, of customers going to Amazon and abandoning the shopping practices of old, but the majority of American consumers still want the experience offered by brick-and-mortar stores.

Everybody wants to succeed at their work. They want to bring forward new ideas that can help their company innovate, and they want to improve their own careers by growing their networks and gathering new ideas.

Whether it’s the challenges that come with having an irregular schedule or the high turnover that comes from those challenges, store associates struggle when faced with inconvenient and ineffective schedules.

These are the next-generation of store associates with the power of real-time store operations solutions at their fingertips – better for the employee, store and customer.

Since the last Data Protection Directive was established over two decades ago, it’s clear that not enough focus has been placed on protecting personal data and respecting the rights of the data subjects themselves. With the growing power of the internet and its enormous effect on how data is used, there comes a need for new regulation.

Winter storms and bomb cyclones have been battering the Northeast all winter. As snow piles on top of cars, as electricity goes out, and as temperatures dip below freezing, customers’ day-to-day lives are affected, whether it’s the need to stay warm or the need to shovel driveways.

If you read our recent benchmark report on workforce management, which we called Building A Better Workforce: What Will It Take?, you were exposed to a thoughtful piece of research that read, hopefully, in a measured tone that’s appropriate for a research report.

Even though most retailers in the UK benefited from strong sales over the Christmas period, they have many hurdles ahead of them.

When we think of Valentine’s Day, we think of gifts. From diamond rings to flowers, boxes of chocolates to stuffed animals, gifts are still flying off of shelves around Valentine’s Day. But as the spending power of Generation Z and Millennials continues to grow, these gifts are beginning to change.

Super Bowl LII has come and gone. The New England Patriots were the favored team going into the game, but the Philadelphia Eagles were able to conquer in the end. But just because the Super Bowl is over doesn’t mean that retailers can relax.

Game Day is upon us. You can feel the excitement in the air. Eagles fans hope for an underdog win, that they’ll be able to grab their first Super Bowl win in franchise history. Patriots fans hope to cement their dynastic legacy, looking for their sixth Super Bowl victory since 2001.

Reflexis changed its logo earlier this week. I’d like you to know the why and the what.

Retail is changing, and that change is only going to accelerate.

Retailers in all verticals are having trouble adapting to the shifts in retail today, but luxury brands have their own distinct set of challenges.

Black Friday is quickly approaching, with only two months until the big day. This year’s Black Friday weekend and holiday shopping season is incredibly important for retailers, with holiday shoppers planning to spend 47% more than last year.

The changes are subtle, but they are there.

We’re approaching the end of back-to-school shopping season.

What is the real role of store associates?

Retailers have noticed that the work they need to accomplish is changing.

What does the “C” stand for in C-Store?

We’ve all heard the story. The retail apocalypse is upon us. Stores are closing by the hundreds, the thousands. Retail chains are going bankrupt, reporting losses by the millions.

Online retailers are constantly becoming more efficient and more convenient. Customers are able to browse entire stores at the click of a mouse, scrolling through dozens of options in seconds. Delivery is getting faster, with retailers like Amazon offering unlimited two-day delivery for a low cost of $99/year.

It’s easy for inconsistencies to devolve into a Public Relations (PR) disaster.

We hear a lot of talk about Millennials. Magazine think pieces, the New York Times and Washington Post op-eds, and piles of books go on about the opinions, lifestyles, and work habits of Millennials.

Experiential retail can provide a massive advantage over online retail. But, brick and mortar retailers must find ways to free up store associate time to implement these great experiences. Walking into a store should evoke excitement. Maybe it’s the greeting from a smiling, attentive store associate. Perhaps it’s the beauty tutorial that they’re hosting in […]

More than any other retail vertical, convenience is meant to ensure that customers have what they want when they want it. The irony of “Out-of-Stock” in a “Convenience” store is undeniable. Out-of-stock (OOS) is a problem that plagues retailers of every type. On average, a typical retailer’s OOS is 8.3%[1]. That means that any individual […]

An automated labor management system can work wonders on a Retailers budget by optimizing labor spend, saving managers time, and preventing hefty fines for breaking labor and union rules. This is the second in my five-part series on best store operations practices covering how to thrive when prices drop. In the previous blog, I dove into […]

Introduction The rapid change in consumer demographics, preferences, and shopping behavior is hardly a secret in the retail and consumer goods industry. As of 2015, Millennials outnumber Gen X’ers in the workplace by nearly 20%. This demographic shift poses new challenges for employers as they strive to train and retain their retail workforce. Retailers often […]

Introduction Over the past few years, retailers have taken on operational optimization initiatives across their network of stores with the goal of reducing costs by squeezing labor budgets. This often leads to poor customer service and demotivated store employees. Instead, the focus should be on making stores more efficient by taking a holistic view of […]

The world of Retail is continuously changing and evolving. Today, traditional brick-and-mortar stores receive a constant stream of doom and gloom predictions that online pure-plays, such as Amazon, are the way of the future. While this may sound ominous, the fact is, according to an analysis of the U.S. Census Bureau data, that by 2030, […]

An effective store execution platform works wonders on store performance and task compliance; ensuring that your stores provide the best possible customer experience, every time. In our last blog, “5 Steps to Thriving When Prices Drop”, I outlined how retailers can achieve a consistent, positive in-store experience in five steps. I covered: Streamlining communications to […]

The Wall Street Journal recently reported that sliding food prices are putting pressure on grocers. Grocers can succeed by attracting customers and increasing their average basket size per trip. Keep reading for 5 steps to do so! Over the past year, commodity prices have dropped. This has given grocers the space to discount prices to […]

The holiday season is upon us. This is an important time for Retailers because it brings in a significant portion of their sales, and is also an opportunity for them to cement loyalty with existing customers and win new ones. During the holidays and other peak selling seasons, many first-time buyers have a chance to […]

2016 will be remembered for many things. Near the top of the list will be Pokémon Go – the game that swept across the world overnight. As games go there is much retailers can learn. Pokémon Go has revolutionized the way players can interact with a game. It has created a space for people of […]

Minimum and “living” wages are going up. These changes highlight the need for retailers to have up-to-date automated workforce management solutions to control labor costs and improve productivity and profitability. Labor costs are one of the largest controllable expenses in Retail. For a typical retailer, labor costs average 10-20 percent of revenues. Other industries, such […]

In retail, speed matters. Customers favor retailers who can get them through the line fastest, deliver their orders quickest, and get them the help they need at the drop of a hat. Speed is critical when it comes to implementing new technologies. Retailers, as a whole, have limited budgets when it comes to investing in […]

Omni-Channel initiatives are now standard practice for retailers. A majority of customers have come to expect a good, seamless experience across all channels. Unfortunately, retailers are struggling to meet these expectations.  For example, according to Cognizant’s RIS News 2015 Shopper Survey, 30% of shoppers use “Buy Online, Pick Up in Store” (BOPIS) more than once a month. But […]

Automotive technology developments have given us steady advances in performance, safety, and the overall driving experience. Retailers can apply similar technology to improve associate performance, customer safety, and the overall in-store shopping experience. Over the course of the past 30 years, there have been incredible technological advances in the automotive industry. Much of that technology […]

Retailers have more than enough data to make the right decisions. But speed is of the essence. To maximize the value of big data, retailers must respond rapidly to product and customer insights. Retailers make countless decisions every day that are driven by sales data. This is a big data problem due to the numbers […]

If You Use Email to Communicate Corporate Tasks such as New Product Introductions, Promotions, HR/Training, and Other Activities , You Are Strangling Your Stores. Here’s Why You Need to Switch to Task Management. Editor’s note: you can watch brief videos from retailers such as Vera Bradley, Dick’s Sporting Goods, 24 Hour Fitness, Delhaize America, and […]

Omni-channel retailing — or as some people are increasingly saying, “Retailing” — is complex and can increase costs for retailers. Here are a few ways retailers can improve store-level fulfillment to increase profits and customer service. Retail has changed forever, let’s get that over with. Customer purchases follow an almost infinite number of paths that […]

Reflexis StorePulse Real-time Store Execution Software Enables Retailers to View and Respond to Store Operations, Omni-channel, and Customer Demand Alerts on Windows 10 across PCs, Tablets, and Phones. Reflexis Task Manager Software Also Available on Windows 10 Driving Consistent Execution of Go-To-Market Strategies.   Today’s touch screen generations expect mobility. We all do so much […]

Retailers spend significant time on planning and large sums of money investing in systems that support planning and executing on those plans. This includes areas such as labor planning, merchandise planning, promotions planning, logistics planning and more. However, no matter how well we have planned, when your Store Manager unlocks the door and turns on […]

Many retailers are evolving to compete with pure-play dot-coms, like Amazon. However, Amazon and other pure-plays are also building brick-and-mortar stores. They would not do so if it were not a potential advantage. Amazon’s investment in a physical presence is a sign that traditional retailers should also invest in their stores. November 3rd, 2015 was […]

$600 Billion. That’s the annual loss to retail stemming from Out of Stock (OOS) issues. Worse, Out of Stock issues can result from labor and quality issues in addition to product availability on shelves. If you want to keep your sales and customers, keep watch of your stock, your labor schedules, and store appearance. Out–of-Stock […]

New overtime regulations proposed by the Department of Labor are putting retailers in a tough spot. How can businesses manage labor costs, comply with regulations, and keep costs down?  In a recent Reflexis Blog we covered the impact of the Supreme Court’s ruling on the Affordable Care Act and the Obama Administration’s new overtime proposal. […]

In 2015 the Supreme Court of the United States upheld the Affordable Healthcare Act. The repercussions of this, and other federal proposals, will be tough on retailers, restaurants, and small businesses, especially when it comes to complying with new labor regulations. Retailers should let technology help them comply by optimizing their stores with labor scheduling, time […]

Recent studies show retailers have an excellent opportunity to maximize their stores as a competitive differentiator against online-only retailers. But retailers must change fundamental store operations practices. Will retailers evolve to make the most of the advantages provided by brick-and-mortar stores? “When opportunity knocks, get up and open the door.” I found this quote today […]

Retail’s future belongs to the retailer that provides the best possible customer service. Customers want to buy products and services on their terms. Mastering omni-channel fulfillment will allow retailers to provide the best possible customer experience. According to a recent Forrester Report, e-commerce sales will be 11 percent of total retail sales by 2018. That […]

A recent survey of retailers shows that when it comes to consistently and efficiently executing their go-to-market strategies, including omni-channel, the highest value — but lowest ability of stores to execute — is in accurate labor allocation and scheduling. A recent survey from RIS News asks retailers about their biggest challenges in executing their go-to-market […]

Providing a consistent brand experience in all stores is essential. Technology can play an important role in helping to ensure a consistent customer experience.   I recently had a conversation with a major fashion retailer with more than 600 stores during which we discussed the importance of driving a consistent brand experience for customers across […]

Extreme weather such as the current floods in Texas can represent a hazard to customers and employees. But with up-to-minute alerts in the face of rapidly changing and hazardous conditions, retailers can save lives and help their community. The flooding and storms in Texas bring up an important question: how can retailers respond better to […]

A recent survey of retailers reveals the top causes for failure to execute customer engagement and omni-channel strategies. It also highlights why retailers need a real-time store execution solution on mobile devices. Retailers give high value to processes such as “Buy Online, Pickup in Stores,” “Reserve Online, Pickup in Stores,” and “Ship from Stores.”  Unfortunately, […]

Retailers give a high rating to the value of fast, efficient execution of omni-channel strategies such as “Buy Online, Pickup in Store” and “Buy Online, Ship from Stores.” But systemic challenges need to be addressed for retailers to deliver on their omni-channel promises to customers. Here’s how retailers can overcome the barriers to success. Two […]

Time, and time again, Retail has faced new challenges. The latest is the slow proliferation of 3D printing. As always, retailers can rise to the occasion by providing the one thing no one else can: the best possible customer experience. Today, the big challenger to retail is Amazon.com- an innovative, powerful organization that has been […]

Shoppers expect convenience and choice. Retailers must implement solutions to orchestrate orders, gain network-wide inventory visibility, and use products from one channel to serve customers in another. In short: achieve omni-channel excellence. One of the biggest trends in retail is the tech-enabled customer. Today’s customers expect to be able to buy products from any channel: […]

Today’s current viral sensation involving the debate regarding the color of a certain dress highlights (in whatever hue you choose) the need for real-time retail in responding to new demand triggers — as well as traditional retail challenges like stock-outs. #thedress Or, as I say, Hashtag whatever. The current debate about the color of a […]

Product recalls are a retail fact of life. But with task management and real-time execution software, retailers can turn recalls into an opportunity to increase sales and strengthen brand loyalty. “Nothing can be said to be certain, except death and taxes,” wrote Ben Franklin in 1789. But in the world of retail, at least one […]

The old saying “Everybody talks about the weather, but nobody does anything about it,” is particularly apropos this week as states from Georgia to Maine deal with ice storms, snowstorms, and blizzards. But with a real-time execution system, retailers from headquarters to stores can respond nimbly to weather and its impact on demand — no […]

When developing a mobile strategy for stores, retailers should make customers the number one priority. And part of improving customer service is streamlining how store associates deal with intra-day disruptions so they can remain focused on the customer. I have recently had conversations with retailers who indicated they are developing their mobility strategy for their […]

How Reflexis StorePulse® automatically helps store managers to align sales floor coverage with customer demand in response to real-time changes such as weather. 12 AM, Monday, January 26th, 2015: Massachusetts Governor Charlie Baker signed an Executive Order banning all travel as a pre-emptive measure to save lives in the face of Winter Storm Juno.  The […]

Reflexis customers have won a variety of awards from independent trade magazines for their implementations of labor scheduling, task management, and other solutions. Part 2 of 2. In my previous blog about Reflexis customers’ award winning implementations, I wrote about how gratifying it is to see a retailer receive recognition by an independent trade publication […]

Reflexis customers have won a variety of awards from independent trade magazines for their implementations of labor scheduling, task management, and other solutions. At the recent Reflexions 2014, the annual users group conference held in Las Vegas, 10 retailers and Quick Serve Restaurants presented on the ROI their companies have realized after implementing Reflexis solutions. […]

Retailers and campaign strategists share many similarities. In the end, it all comes down to who has the best strategy and can best execute their marketing campaigns to get the most votes in the polling stations and in stores. Political campaign and Retail marketing strategy might seem worlds apart, but in reality campaign strategists in […]

Whether in the store aisles or on the football field, success requires a combination of good planning, solid leadership, and, most importantly, the ability to respond at the right time in the right way to last-second changes. This Saturday and Sunday, millions of college and NFL fans will again watch their favorite football teams take […]

Legacy labor scheduling software treats retail store associates as interchangeable parts and can be programmatically biased to generate shifts that wreak havoc on employees’ personal lives. While these scheduling practices can yield marginal short-term profitability improvement, recent events at Market Basket and Starbucks are a strong reminder that companies that shift their focus from short-term […]

Brett Friedman, Reflexis Senior Vice President, Global Sales and Marketing, discusses in a Q&A with Chain Store Age how retail CFOs can achieve their business results goals through operational excellence — while executing their customer engagement strategies from online to stores. As the key cog in the wheel of a retail chain’s financial structure, today’s [...]

How retail CIOs can provide a seamless and satisfying shopping experience across all points of customer interaction — from online to stores. To fight back against online-only competitors, retailers with stores are realizing their physical locations have the potential to be a powerful differentiator against the likes of Amazon. By implementing Buy Online/Pickup in Stores, […]

Senior retail executives rate store-level omni-channel operations as top priority — but give low ratings to current systems for operational efficiency and ability to execute Omni-channel processes such as Buy Online/Pickup from Store and web order fulfillment are very important to the survival of brick and mortar retail. Operations such as “Click and Ship” and […]

Weather can have a negative impact on revenue, but it can also drive last-minute opportunities to increase sales and profitability: that is, if retailers are prepared to “seize the day.” Weather and its impact on retail has been in the news quite a lot this winter. An article in the New York Times notes that […]

A playbook for retailers for how to respond to customer and labor trends as rapidly changing demand signals and marketplace shifts occur This Sunday, millions will watch as the last two remaining teams battle for NFL football supremacy. Each team’s success will depend on: Consistently execute passing, blocking, tackling, and other fundamentals Having coaches and […]

Visit us at booth 1628 to learn more about S.M.A.R.T. Store Operations: How Reflexis Social, Mobile, Analytical, and Real-Time solutions help retailers drive better customer engagement in their stores. The 103rd annual BIG Show for Retail, NRF 2014, will be held in New York City soon, and Reflexis will be participating in many events while […]

An IT and store operations veteran looks at how to solve retail’s current and future challenges in the aisles. When I think back to when I was a store manager leading a 70,000 sq. ft. supermarket with more than 200 employees, doing about $800,000 in sales per week, I had a long list of responsibilities […]

If you’re interested in following the Twitter posts or blogs of “influencers” in the retail world, below are a few more to add to the recent “Top 50” list published by Vend. Point of Sale software provider Vend recently published a list of the “Top 50 Retail Influencers,” which is described as a compilation of […]

Mobility, Big Data, best practices, and real-time execution were prominent topics of discussions and presentations at Reflexions 2013, the users group conference for customers and partners of Reflexis Workforce Management™ and store operations solutions. The theme of this year’s conference was “Big Data to Best Practice.” Held in Las Vegas the third week of September, […]

How retailers can take a page from top NFL teams’ in-game adjustments to adeptly respond to surprises that impact the shopping experience and maximize associate/customer engagement. (Editor’s note: This is Part 2 of 2) Let me ask you a question.  How fast are your retail quarterbacks (your store leadership)?  Are they stuck in an office […]

(How retailers can take a page from the NFL’s “playbook” and maximize customer engagement in their stores. Editor’s note: This is Part 1 of 2) Remember phonebooks?  I do.  No, I’m not talking about iPhones, this is not a typo. I mean the paper ones. I can remember staying at hotels in New York City […]

The Affordable Care Act healthcare reform has significant ramifications for retailers. Companies that rely on manual tools and out-of-date Workforce Management technology face the increased risk of penalties, higher coverage costs, and more. With the extension of the deadline of the ACA statutory requirement for large employers (50 or more Full Time Equivalents or FTEs) […]

Big Data is Big News. But What Are People Actually Doing About It? Here are a few ideas how Store Operations could benefit. The world creates 5 exabytes of data every 2 days, which is roughly the same amount of data created between the dawn of civilization and 2003, Google CEO Eric Schmidt said famously […]

Store operations has traditionally had to stand at the end of the line when it comes to being tech-enabled. Retailers appear to have finally realized this trend needs to change, and soon. Workforce management solutions have traditionally been seen as a tactical store operations solution with a generally short-term focus on labor law compliance, payroll […]