Merchandise returns are a way of life in the retail industry, but with the National Retail Federation (NRF) pegging return fraud as costing retailers a collective $9.6 billion annually, it makes sense to take steps to ensure that as many returns as possible are truly legitimate.

If you think the concept of using Twitter to promote your store or restaurant is, if you’ll excuse the pun, for the birds, you may want to reconsider. The New York Times recently deemed the powerful micro-blogging service “a powerful, low-cost marketing tool for small businesses”—and in truth, Twitter can provide a quick, personalized connection […]

What’s more, the survey indicates, organized retail crime is not only an isolated problem in a handful of areas across the country. A staggering 72% of retailers who participated in the survey said they have identified organized retail crime syndicates who are exporting goods outside of the U.S. or across state lines.

With the use of social media going through the roof, it is easier than ever for retail and restaurant customers to let seemingly the entire world know about the experiences they have had with the businesses they have patronized. If the word is good, put it to work for you.

Suggestive selling is as important for retailers as it is for restaurants. At pcAmerica, we believe that in order to sell suggestively, merchants and their employees should:

The first installment of this series featured pcAmerica’s take on why suggestive selling is so important for retailers and restaurant operators alike. Now it’s time for some practical suggestive sales training tips. Let’s start with the restaurant side. Based on our own experience and input from the National Restaurant Association, we recommend that servers be […]

There’s no denying that leveraging social networking is an effective way to cultivate and maintain relationships with customers, as well as to bolster sales. However, that doesn’t mean retailers and restaurant operators should abandon more traditional ways to increase shopper and diner spending in their establishments. Suggestive selling—which is also known as “up-selling” and uses […]

Part of the trick to a successful email marketing campaign is to make sure you follow the rules of the CAN SPAM Act. The CAN SPAM Act spells out the requirements for messages of this type. Below, we continue with the second half of the CAN SPAM Act’s list of requirements.

Increasingly, retailers and restaurant operators have been leveraging the power of e-newsletters and promotional email “blasts” to maintain closer contact with customers. That’s a great idea—but we at pcAmerica would like to remind you that it’s also important to ensure that these communications don’t violate the CAN-SPAM Act, which spells out requirements for messages of this type.

Just as customers shouldn’t compromise on the products they purchase or the food they consume, retailers and restaurateurs shouldn’t settle for second best when it comes to point of sale solutions. In the past, there existed almost no choice but to do so because most available applications were generic in nature.