Independent artisans are crowding onto the Web
March 1, 2010 – 10:13 am | No Comment

Lure of a global marketplace has craftspeople competing for shoppers through such sites as Etsy.com, Artfire.com and 1000 Markets.

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More shoppers trying to beat the bottom line
March 1, 2010 – 10:25 am | No Comment
More shoppers trying to beat the bottom line

When Greg Schmidt was shopping for a bathroom vanity just before Valentine’s Day, paying regular price never was an option. When he found one he liked on clearance — its price slashed more than 30 percent — Schmidt knew it was time to find a manager of the Alton Lowe’s store.

Women buying clothes for themselves again
March 1, 2010 – 10:22 am | No Comment
Women buying clothes for themselves again

Women are starting to buy clothes for themselves again, an encouraging sign for retailers as spring approaches. A new report suggests that women, middle-income ones in particular, finally are feeling good enough about the economy that they will splurge on a piece of clothing.

Independent artisans are crowding onto the Web
March 1, 2010 – 10:13 am | No Comment
Independent artisans are crowding onto the Web

Lure of a global marketplace has craftspeople competing for shoppers through such sites as Etsy.com, Artfire.com and 1000 Markets.

J.C. Penney pushing style during Oscar broadcast
March 1, 2010 – 10:11 am | No Comment
J.C. Penney pushing style during Oscar broadcast

J.C. Penney Co. knows it scores with consumers on quality and price. Now it wants credit for style with a new tagline that pokes fun at itself: “New look. New day. Who knew?”

Leibovitz Shoots Britney Spears For Candie’s
February 25, 2010 – 9:38 am | No Comment
Leibovitz Shoots Britney Spears For Candie’s

The spring campaign for Candie’s featuring singer Britney Spears was shot by three famous photographers, including Annie Leibovitz.

Build-A-Bear welcomes Zhu Zhu into menagerie
February 25, 2010 – 9:25 am | No Comment
Build-A-Bear welcomes Zhu Zhu into menagerie

Hoping to bolster flagging sales, Build-A-Bear Workshop Inc. has teamed up with another local toymaker: Cepia LLC of Clayton, which sells Zhu Zhu Pets, the robotic hamsters that became a sensation last holiday season.

Disney Invites ‘Goths’ to the Party
February 25, 2010 – 9:21 am | No Comment
Disney Invites ‘Goths’ to the Party

Disney, the company that created “the happiest place on earth” and cornered the market on pink, is embracing a darker aesthetic as it reaches out to an unlikely audience for new merchandise: female “goths.”

Walgreen to Acquire Duane Reade, Add New York Stores
February 25, 2010 – 9:14 am | No Comment
Walgreen to Acquire Duane Reade, Add New York Stores

Walgreen Co., the biggest U.S. drugstore chain, agreed to buy Duane Reade Holdings Inc. from affiliates of Oak Hill Capital Partners for $1.08 billion, including debt, to expand in metropolitan New York.

Simon makes $10b takeover bid
February 25, 2010 – 9:11 am | No Comment
Simon makes $10b takeover bid

Simon Property Group would further consolidate its hold on the major shopping destinations of Massachusetts if it succeeds with its $10 billion offer for bankrupt rival General Growth Properties, operator of Faneuil Hall Marketplace and the Natick Collection.

Fur makes a comeback at NY Fashion Week
February 16, 2010 – 9:06 am | No Comment
Fur makes a comeback at NY Fashion Week

Fur made a comeback Saturday at New York Fashion Week. There were more fur coats on the runways of Peter Som, Prabal Gurung and Adam by Adam Lippes than in recent seasons. Alexander Wang had a cool leather trenchcoat with a strip of mink running entirely down the back.

The pros and cons of concealing product prices online
February 16, 2010 – 9:02 am | No Comment
The pros and cons of concealing product prices online

Much like some fine jewelry shops, some e-commerce sites are making prices for items difficult to spot. Only by adding the merchandise to their shopping carts are consumers able to see the cost.

Winter storms create business winners, losers
February 16, 2010 – 9:00 am | No Comment

Back-to-back snowstorms on the East Coast have brought a blizzard of sales of shovels, groceries and booze. For airlines and department stores, the region’s wintry weather has resulted in millions of dollars of lost revenue.

Facebook, Victoria’s Secret Big With Online Shoppers
February 10, 2010 – 12:01 pm | No Comment

As more retailers look to develop effective social-media strategies, a new study finds that Facebook is by far the most effective way to woo would-be shoppers.

In Age of Friending, Consumers Trust Their Friends Less
February 8, 2010 – 10:47 am | No Comment
In Age of Friending, Consumers Trust Their Friends Less

According to Edelman’s latest Trust Barometer, the number of people who view their friends and peers as credible sources of information about a company dropped by almost half, from 45% to 25%, since 2008.

EC needs Maryland stores to promote on TV this week
February 1, 2010 – 7:27 am | No Comment
EC needs Maryland stores to promote on TV this week

On February 5th, I will be on ABC2News to discuss Valentine’s Day gift ideas. I’m looking for unique stores in Maryland to promote their products to a large audience. Call me today!

As seen on TV… no longer just seen on TV
January 31, 2010 – 2:29 pm | No Comment
As seen on TV… no longer just seen on TV

Infomercial products are morphing from gizmos marketed to insomniac TV watchers to little splurges for shoppers bargain-hunting at stores like Wal-Mart Stores Inc., Target Corp. and Bed Bath & Beyond Inc.

The Washington, D.C. shopping bag tax
January 27, 2010 – 7:38 am | No Comment
The Washington, D.C. shopping bag tax

The Washington, D.C., bag tax seemed simple enough: Beginning Jan. 1, grocery stores in the district would charge five cents a bag, plastic or paper. The goal was to cut down on waste and raise money to clean up the polluted Anacostia River. But nearly a month into the program, it’s turning out that government is having trouble legislating its way out of a plastic bag.

Payvment lets you launch a storefront on Facebook
January 27, 2010 – 7:23 am | No Comment
Payvment lets you launch a storefront on Facebook

Finally, beyond the sale of virtual gifts like hugs and angel wings, Facebook has an app that allows you to open an ecommerce storefront via Payvment. Introduced in November 2009, Payvment uses a PayPal shopping cart for its app to work with Facebook Pages.

2010 Epps Consulting Retail Promotion Calendar
January 22, 2010 – 11:13 am | No Comment
2010 Epps Consulting Retail Promotion Calendar

When is National Bubble Week?
When is National Make Men Dinner (Steak and ….) Day?
When is Mother-In-Law Day?
The 2010 Epps Consulting Retail Promotion Calendar is here!

Fashion Week’s coming… but there are no trends!
January 22, 2010 – 10:14 am | No Comment
Fashion Week’s coming… but there are no trends!

Even as the fashion press gears up for an orgy of trend-spotting at New York fashion week, which starts Feb. 11, many observers feel Mr. Wolfe is right: We’ve reached the end of the trend as the guiding stricture in fashion. The “must-have” currently being attached to certain styles—The trench coat! The one-shoulder dress! Metallics!—is little more than a marketing pitch.