RPW 9-23-08

Retail Paradox Weekly

Retail News Analysis by RSR Research

September 23, 2008

Better Late than Never: Data Security & Customer Privacy Meld into One Challenge

By Brian Kilcourse, Managing Partner
9/23/2008

A couple of weeks ago, my partner Steve Rowen commented in a Retail Paradox Weekly column about TJX Vice Chairman Donald C. Campbell’s recently published statement that “the ‘cure’ to the data breach blues is Chip & PIN technology.” Regardless of the relative merits of that statement, it is clear that many companies who capture and use customer-specific information began doing so with eyes wide shut (from a privacy and security perspective). As one compliance assessment company CEO said to us a year ago, many retailers had a “compliant until caught” attitude. But now the audits are real with real consequences. Like the old comic strip used to say, “There oughta be a law.”

As for the technology that Campbell mentions... More

Rewiring Retail: The Cross-Channel Consortium

By Nikki Baird, Managing Partner
9/23/2008

Last week I had the privilege of attending the inaugural meeting of the Cross-Channel Consortium, a group of industry thought leaders put together through the efforts of Jim Bengier at Sterling Commerce and Kasey Lobaugh at Deloitte Consulting. The companies represented at the table (besides Sterling and Deloitte) included IBM, AT&T, Virtucom, Shop.org, Best Buy, Borders, Limited, and Target. The focus: to identify best practices, challenges, and ways to overcome challenges as the retail industry navigates changing over from a “multiple channel” orientation to a “cross-channel” one.

We ended up having a highly engaging discussion... More

Sneak Preview of Canadian Retailer Report Findings

By Steve Rowen, Managing Partner
9/23/2008

For far too long, the belief that retailers in Canada have the same needs and requirements to satisfy their customers as US-based retailers has permeated the retail ecosystem. We knew this tenet to be false, but the current market provides little data to support the ways in which Canadian retailers face differing and unique business challenges, how they create opportunities from those challenges, and what internal roadblocks they face. We also wanted to uncover what technology enablers are perceived as having the most value to Canadian retailers, as well as how they are planning to implement new retail-focused technological advancements.

For these very straightforward reasons, we launched our first-ever benchmark study of how Canadian retailers are going to market... More