Recent Articles From EvanCarmichael.com http://www.evancarmichael.com/ http://www.evancarmichael.com/Retail/3790/Barcode-time-UPC-or-bust.html http://www.evancarmichael.com/Retail/3790/Barcode-time-UPC-or-bust.html Most products come from the vendor or distributor with UPC labels already affixed, but what do you do about those items that don't? Retailers should have a barcoding strategy with their POS systems to make sure they can use scanners to enter transactions for greater speed, accuracy, and efficiency. http://www.evancarmichael.com/Retail/3790/Social-Media-and-You.html http://www.evancarmichael.com/Retail/3790/Social-Media-and-You.html Should you be using Twitter, Facebook or MySpace to promote your small business? http://www.evancarmichael.com/Retail/3790/How-to-Win-in-the-Recession.html http://www.evancarmichael.com/Retail/3790/How-to-Win-in-the-Recession.html Tips for winning in retail during the downturn http://www.evancarmichael.com/Retail/3790/Free-Martketing-Tips-for-Retailers.html http://www.evancarmichael.com/Retail/3790/Free-Martketing-Tips-for-Retailers.html We’ve talked about promotions and upselling and plenty of other ways to increase your sales and improve the customer experience, but how do you get them in the store without spending a fortune on marketing? Follow these tips to get free marketing exposure for your retail store. http://www.evancarmichael.com/Retail/3790/Loyalty-Programs.html http://www.evancarmichael.com/Retail/3790/Loyalty-Programs.html In these trying times for retailers, customers are increasingly shopping based on rewards or loyalty programs. It's no longer enough to have good prices, retailers must make the shopping experience special, and the customer has to feel unique and loved. Carefully designed loyalty programs can maintain sales even in tough times by rewarding repeat customers with special pricing, benefits, and more. http://www.evancarmichael.com/Retail/3790/Retail-Costing-FIFO-LIFO-Average-COST.html http://www.evancarmichael.com/Retail/3790/Retail-Costing-FIFO-LIFO-Average-COST.html Retailers live on their margins, so you obviously need to have a good understanding of your real cost of goods sold (COGS). Understanding your costs from your vendors will help you choose the appropriate method, as will your point of sale system. http://www.evancarmichael.com/Retail/3790/Key-Performance-Indicators-for-Retail-KPI.html http://www.evancarmichael.com/Retail/3790/Key-Performance-Indicators-for-Retail-KPI.html Retail store owners have lots to do besides running reports, but identifying and tracking a few key performance indicators can save time and help a retailer stay ahead of his/her business. http://www.evancarmichael.com/Retail/3790/POS-Security-for-Productivity.html http://www.evancarmichael.com/Retail/3790/POS-Security-for-Productivity.html We talk about data security and video security, but one of the simplest, most fundamental aspects of security is often overlooked or improperly maintained, anti-virus and firewall protection. http://www.evancarmichael.com/Retail/3790/Local-Ecommerce-marketing.html http://www.evancarmichael.com/Retail/3790/Local-Ecommerce-marketing.html Websites and e-commerce take up much of the mindshare around retail these days, but e-commerce still only accounts for about 10% of total retail sales. That means that 90% of purchases are still made IN stores, so if you don't have a great website and shopping cart, you can still compete. Local search tools make it easier than ever to be found by customers who can actually visit your store. http://www.evancarmichael.com/Retail/3790/Leveraging-Video-Surveillance-and-Security-for-Customer-Benefit.html http://www.evancarmichael.com/Retail/3790/Leveraging-Video-Surveillance-and-Security-for-Customer-Benefit.html Do you have a video security system in your store? If so, are you getting the most out of it? There are more uses than just preventing theft, like analyzing customer behavior and traffic flow