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Picture this — you find yourself in an industry that is dominated by big chains at the top and crowded with online stores that keep popping up. How do you stay competitive?

Impulse purchases account for a significant chunk of the consumer spending pie. According to a study by Marketing Support, Inc. and Leo J. Shapiro and Associates, about one-third of all consumers make a sizeable impulse buy every week, with a median purchase of $30.

The Harvey Weinstein scandal is back in the news this week – and it’s a reminder that we should seriously think about how we recognize and prevent sexual harassment in the workplace.

There are many lessons to be learned through failure. Each time something does not work in a business, there are endless reasons and factors that could culminate to cause the failure.

Lisa Miles-Heal, General Manager and Chief Technology Officer of global technology company, Unleashed Software, discusses the tech gender gap, its implications and what more needs to be done.

Numbers don’t lie, so if you find yourself at a loss with what’s happening in your business, one of first the things you should do is look at your retail metrics.

When it comes to creating a vibrant company, values are absolutely foundational – in fact, they’re one of the most visible aspects of any company culture.

Software as a Service (SaaS) has paved the way for businesses and consumers to test early cloud services. With SaaS being both flexible and financially attractive, businesses continue to take advantage of the simplicity and high performance the cloud offers.

Stockouts almost always make it to the “worst nightmare” lists of retailers, and for good reason. Not only do they lead to lost sales, but out-of-stocks also result in reduced customer satisfaction and lower loyalty levels.

Conflicts are inevitable, even in the most engaged of workplaces. Regardless of the source of the conflict, if they are left unresolved, conflicts can quickly impact employee morale and productivity.

The success of a business, amongst other things, is largely dependent on their ability to supply their product or service to a customer exactly when and in what quantity they require.

How much money do you lose to stockouts and overstocked items every year? The answer might surprise you.

Who is your favorite retailer and why? We posted that question on LinkedIn last week because we wanted to learn more about the retailers that consumers love.

As industries increase in globalisation, establishing trading relationships with suppliers further and further afield, there is a concurrent and rather ironic push for consumers to support local entities and ‘shop small’.

Whether you’re just setting up shop or been running your store for decades, acquiring new customers is always the name of the game.

Every seasonal business – whether it’s a haunted house attraction open on Halloween or a summer souvenirs shop on the beach – dreads the off-peak season.

Global sourcing occurs when companies go beyond their home borders for sourcing goods and services.

Free healthy meals at work, discounted travel, opportunities for personal development and study, flexible working, and paid time off for volunteering – these are just some of the compelling employee benefits that leading company’s offer.

One of the best ways to get inspired in your retail business is to see merchants like yourself who are killing it.

It is a difficult task to gauge customer satisfaction without some form of survey to do so. However, understanding the extent to which your customer base is happy with your services is integral to your company’s success.

Customer Success is one of the most important strategic priorities at Spotlight Reporting. The more we learn about Customer Success principles, strategy and practice, the more we can see the powerful resonance this could have for accountants in practice.

Dealing with difficult customers can be… well, difficult, but it doesn’t have to be. With the right attitude and action steps, you can effectively navigate these tricky customer situations and emerge (hopefully) unscathed.

We have scoured the marketplace to bring you the five best Xero apps of 2018. From reporting software to time management applications, we’ve covered a wide variety of apps designed to make your life easier.

As some countries ring in the new financial year, now is the time to reflect and make New Year’s resolutions for your SME for the financial year ahead.

Set prices too high and you’ll lose market share, but go too low and you risk leaving revenue on the table and compromising your fledgling brand. Tiered pricing offers a solution by allowing you to segment customers according to the features they want and the price they’re willing to pay. Let’s learn how.

The growth of the coffee industry has been truly unprecedented and experts have been prepared for the bubble to pop.

Successfully managing your social media efforts takes more than just creating an account and posting a few updates every now and then. In order to really make the most out of social, you have to actively listen to what people are saying and be very mindful of each post or response that you put out there.

Over the last five years, peer to peer lending has become a popular alternative to traditional bank lending for individuals.

There are several advantages to getting some good PR for your business. In addition to generating buzz, getting covered by the press can drive traffic and sales while boosting your credibility in the process.

Strategy lies at the heart of most successful businesses. Businesses that plan and have clear objectives or goals, robust accountability and a shared sense of purpose should always outperform those that just show up and go through the motions. During 2017, I presented to 150 accountants at our first Transform! Conference (held in Wellington) and...