Customer Retention

Macy’s has a couple of real problems. It's trying to figure out who its customer is and why they shop in such different ways. The other problem is it doesn't understand millennials, who are now coming of age and have significant spending power. These young people are the future of retailing — and they clearly…

A dapper elderly man stands at Nordstrom's front entrance, humming an Italian tune and smiling at customers as they enter the store's double doors. One woman stops for conversation. A pair of young girls wave to him as they exit the department store, bags in hand. A customer stopped by a few days ago to give him a gift card, just because. Shoppers often pause to take his picture, or even ask him for a hug. Meet Ted DiNunzio, the 99-year-old greeter for the Nordstrom store at Westfield Santa Anita mall who

GNC, the nation's largest specialty retailer of health, wellness and sports nutrition products, launched a new member price program nationwide in April. The rollout of the program followed a nearly two-year test-market campaign in select cities, including Kansas City, Pittsburgh, New York and Chicago. The test campaign yielded higher store traffic, increased revenues and strong margins in those cities, making the decision for GNC to expand the program nationwide an easy one.

Office Depot has launched a new rewards program with several loyalty enhancements even as it moves closer to consummating its merger with OfficeMax. The company’s new program, called simply Office

In commemoration of its 125 years in business and to demonstrate its commitment to and appreciation of its customers, Southern department store chain Belk has launched 125 Days of Prizes, a cross-channel sweepstakes program. During this time, Belk's customers will have the opportunity to win prizes and giveaways from some of the retailer's top designers and brands. Each day, customers will have the chance to win prizes retailing between $500 and $6,500. These giveaways include products from Michael Kors, Calvin Klein and KitchenAid.

Zabar's, the world-renowned New York-based gourmet specialty food retailer, has replaced its homegrown subscription e-commerce program with a new autoship program called Z-Peat. Z-Peat offers customers the ability to subscribe to their favorite and/or frequently purchased Zabar’s items, everything from coffee and teas to babka, bagels and rugelach. Products are automatically shipped to customers who register online at zabars.com for the replenishment program.

I'm always reminded to do an annual survey of customer loyalty programs this time of year because this is when every retail and restaurant chain in America becomes my best friend, sending me well wishes and free gifts for my birthday. Happy birthday to everyone who is willing to exchange personal information for discount coupons and more junk food than is advisable to consume if you want to live to see another birthday.

Most companies want to be customer centric. The biggest roadblock to achieving that goal is breaking down the silos that exist in most companies. Sometimes these are lines of business, divisions, departments or regions. It may be as simple as your organization structure and who reports to whom. If your company is looking to overcome this challenge, then this set of five questions to ask and answer is for you.

Wal-Mart is considering a radical plan to have store customers deliver packages to online buyers, a new twist on speedier delivery services that the company hopes will enable it to better compete with Amazon.com. Tapping customers to deliver goods would put the world's largest retailer squarely in middle of a new phenomenon sometimes known as "crowdsourcing," or the "sharing economy."

About 10,000 people in the United States will turn 65-years-old today. And tomorrow. And the day after. In fact, every day for the next 19 years there will be 10,000 more Americans reaching retirement age. The numbers are staggering and a major reason why retailers need to start taking notice.