Store managers may not be able to increase foot traffic, but they can influence other factors to improve productivity.  Even in a world of declining store traffic, there are a number of things retailers need to do. The five most important are listed below.  Read the article

For the fast-fashion behemoth, it seems like lately they may have lost their forward-thinking mojo. Industry experts and Retailwire Braintrust members weighed in, with Mark Ryski of Headcount Corporation commenting, “It’s ironic that the brand that virtually invented fast fashion is suffering from the impact of a weekly fashion cycle. Fashion is fickle, and it’s clear that H&M is not immune.  Read the article 

With all the hubbub around Go, one would expect that legacy retailers are scrambling to develop their own cashier-less checkout systems, much as they did with two-day and same-day delivery. But according to store traffic and conversion analytics expert Mark Ryski, Amazon’s competitors ain’t taking the bait. Read the article

As much as checkout lines are the bane of retailing — a legitimate friction point that causes some shoppers to switch from bricks to clicks and buy online — cashier-less checkout isn’t a panacea for the challenges brick-and-mortar retailers are facing.  Read the article

Shortly after its launch, Retail Technology Insider reported on the highly anticipated unveiling of the Amazon Go store in Seattle. Mark Ryski points to a different issue from which shoppers’ frustrations stem: a lack of cashiers.  Read the article.

As Nick Wingfield, technology correspondent for The New York Times described in his vivid, first-hand account of shopping at the Amazon Go store, it’s hard not to get excited about the future of retailing. And while the retail industry can use all the good press it can get, I’m not sure this is it.  Read the article

“Management’s actions don’t match their words — so much for the ‘dawn of a new era,'” wrote Mark Ryski, CEO of HeadC1ount Corporation. “I believe Toys ‘R’ Us has crossed the point of no return with the current leadership team.” Read the article

As much as check-out lines are the bane of retailing—a legitimate friction point that causes some shoppers to switch from bricks to clicks and buy online—cashier-less checkout is not a panacea for the challenges brick-and-mortar retailers are facing.  Read the article

Innovation is happening all around the Canadian retail industry. Beyond the great work being done in Canada, it behooves Canadian retailers to also look south of the 49th parallel for inspiration and one story that seems to be consuming much of the innovation oxygen lately is the newly opened Amazon Go store in Seattle.  Read the article

As Nick Wingfield, technology correspondent for New York Times, described in his vivid, first-hand account of shopping at the Amazon Go store, “Inside Amazon Go, a Store of the Future,” it’s hard not to get excited about the future of retailing. “And while the retail industry can use all the good press it can get, I’m not sure this is it,” says Mark Ryski, Author, CEO & Founder of HeadCount Corporation.  Read the article