What Are the Traits of Good Employees?

Posted on April 15, 2013 by bermanevansretail
As we’ve reported before, it is imperative for companies to have good, customer-oriented employees. So, what traits describe the best employees?
According to Ken Sundheim, a Forbes contributor: “When hiring for any size business, it’s not what the candidates know today.  Information can always be taught.  The most intelligent companies hire on future success and heavily weigh personality when determining the most apt employees. Regardless of industry, pay, age, or sex, all ideal employees share some common traits.  These include, but are not limited to individuals who can be described as or possess the following.”
Click the image to read about Sundheim’s 15 key traits.
How do you stand on these factors?

 

Posted in Career Useful Information, Careers in Retailing, Part 1: Overview/Planning, Part 5: Managing a Retail Business, Part 8: Putting It All Together | Tagged , , , , , , , , , , , , , , | Leave a comment

New Data on Retailers and Social Media

Posted on April 14, 2013 by bermanevansretail
As we have noted before, many retailers are active — and popular — users of social media. But, they are not necessarily using social media to drive revenues.
eMarketer reports that: “Even as fewer ‘buy now’ and ‘add to cart’ buttons sprinkle Facebook’s newsfeeds and apps, U.S. retailers know the importance of being on the site. According to a new eMarketer report, ‘Facebook Commerce: Evolving, Not Extinct,’ the question is whether retailers can crack the commerce half of social engagement. According to the e-tailing group, 98% of U.S. E-commerce merchants surveyed had a Facebook page in Q4 2012, and nearly the same number of respondents (97%) linked to Facebook from their site. It is also notable that sharing in general is on the rise — a tactic growing in popularity as social discovery becomes a bigger part of the shopping process.”
Click the chart to read more from eMarketer.

 

 

 

Posted in Part 2: Ownership, Strategy Mix, Online, Nontraditional, Part 3: Targeting Customers and Gathering Information, Part 7: Communicating with the Customer, Social Media and Retailing | Tagged , , , , , , , , , , , | Leave a comment

Key Loss Prevention Trends

Posted on April 13, 2013 by bermanevansretail
Loss prevention is very important for retailers (see this prior post, for example).
In an interview with the National Retail Federation, Rosamaria Sostilio — Senior Vice-President of Asset Protection for Saks Incorporated identified six loss prevention trends for 2013:
  1. The increased concern about violence in the apprehension of shoplifters
  2. The greater emphasis on emergency response plans
  3. An enhanced approach for dealing with organized retail crime (ORC)
  4. The integration of emerging technologies into operations
  5. The further improvement of background screening practices
  6. More career opportunities in loss prevention
Click on Sostilio’s photo to read more of her NRF interview.

Posted in Career Useful Information, Part 5: Managing a Retail Business, Part 6: Merchandise Management and Pricing | Tagged , , , , , , , , , , , , | 3 Comments