Blogs
Shelf Share: A Revealing Research Tool
Whenever someone asks me to describe my job as an industry analyst, I tell them that what I essentially do is market research. Market...
Executive Insight
Blogs
The Coming Payment Processing Liability Shift: Are Your Stores Prepared?
For retailers, that sweet, subtle sound of the credit card swipe is like music to the ears. But what if I told you that,...
Blogs
Wearables Ripe For The Workplace
Corporate and industrial applications, rather than much-publicized consumer use cases, will be the initial drivers of the wearable device market. In the enterprise space,...
Blogs
How To Thrive In Specialty Retail
People always ask me, “How can a retail franchise like Batteries Plus Bulbs be successful selling only batteries and light bulbs?” It’s a good...
Blogs
Innovation Shaping The Store Of The Future
When people think of innovation, they may think about a latest product — a widget that changes everything. But innovation doesn’t have to be...
Blogs
The Store Of The Future Is Already Here
Until recently, access to retail technology has been limited to large enterprises and e-tailers, while small, independent dealers have been left with cash registers,...
Blogs
Apple Takes Another Big Bite from the Smartphone Market
Tuesday’s Apple event proved, once again, that the industry should never underestimate how successfully Apple can break the mold or flaunt conventional wisdom. Everyone...
Blogs
The Data Migration Epiphany: Solutions Vs. Software
When you work in IT, you’re constantly managing expectations. People complain over almost any amount of downtime. But data migrations and system upgrades usually...
Blogs
Health & Wellness Within The Wearables Market
The wearables market represents a significant new market opportunity for device OEMs. Fitness and health trackers currently represent the most popular category within the...
Blogs
3 Reasons Why The Connected Home Will Be Defined By Big Brands
The emerging technology category known as the Internet of Things, and the smart home in particular, are poised to become the Next Big Market....
Blogs
Tailored Content Is Key To Monetization In A Multiscreen World
Today’s TV industry and viewing experience is unlike anything the media landscape has seen before. Gone are the days when families would sit together...
Blogs
Customer-Centric Retailers’ Secret Sauce to Happy Patrons: No Lines!
One universal truth unites customers of all types, ethnic groups, income levels and demographic groups. They all hate to wait! That makes it all...
Blogs
Reversing the $16 Billion Return Tsunami
Numerous research reports have been done on the multibillion-dollar plague of consumer remorse returns, hitting the electronics industry’s feather thin margins hard. A recent...
Blogs
Get Ready For The 64-Bit Tablet Generation
For the past 70 years, U.S. consumer marketers have embraced the concept of “generations.” Generations categorize groups of people by their age and collective...
Blogs
Easy Online Returns Yield Long-Term Dealer Benefits
E-commerce has changed the consumer purchase dynamic. With so many places to shop, it’s now easier than ever to find great deals on practically...
Blogs
TV Retailing Across The Pond
The sphere of U.K. retail is undergoing a lot of changes at present, and it’s fair to say that it’s as competitive as it’s...
Blogs
How CE Retailers Can Use Start-Ups To Ride The Alibaba Wave
There’s a perfect storm of retailing that’s brewing on the horizon. If you’re in the consumer electronics sector, then you have two choices as...
Blogs
The Aereo Case: Video Content Licensing Revenues in a Digital Age
The Supreme Court, in its ruling in ABC vs. Aereo, opted for the status quo over disruption. The Justices in the majority opinion determined that Aereo, to...
Blogs
The Internet Is Your Friend, Not Your Enemy
As the CEO of a company that builds its brand and sells direct via the Internet and at retail across the globe, every day...
Blogs
Service Of The Future: Google Glass Changes Customer’s Expectations
Technology is everywhere — and whether or not it’s visible, it is constantly surrounding us. This will only increase with an expected 26 billion...
Blogs
Cord-Cutting, Unplugged!
A debate is raging with an increasing number of consumers over whether or not they can cut the cable cord. The Washington Post cited...
Blogs
Apple Acquires A Monster
Wow, a $ 3 billion deal for Beats is an incredible achievement for Jimmy and Dre. We are glad to see that the company...
Blogs
Proper Placement of Surround Speakers
The “Standard” placement of left, right, and center speakers in a home theater system is pretty well established — and you’ll find them in...
Blogs
Through The Years With J&R
It was a Thursday in 1972. I remember it clearly. I was working at a small distributor in Brooklyn when a young couple walked...
Blogs
Strategic Vision In CE Is Needed Now More Than Ever
It’s spring again, and financial reports are coming in from many consumer electronics companies — some of which are reporting higher year-over-year sales and...
Blogs
Smartphones: A Bridge To Digital Life
Mobile is quickly replacing the PC as the preferred means of connecting to the Internet, and the variety and convenience of mobile apps have...
Blogs
Shalam’s Personal Appeal For Immigration Reform
Let me take you back to 66 years ago when my family came to the U.S. from Egypt and I was allowed to remain...
Blogs
Best Buy Gives New Life To A Tired Model
The consumer technology landscape is shifting rapidly. More than ever before, new products are changing the way we interact with our electronics; our electronics...
Blogs
The Sound of Whole House Audio, Minus the Wire
It’s safe to say that the custom installation business is my primary source of income. Looking at it from an entirely self-serving point of...
Blogs
Speakers May Be The Weakest Link Audio Systems
When you’ve been in the audio business for a while, family friends, friends — and even friends of— assume that you know something, or...
Blogs
Aereo’s Founder On ‘Protect My Antenna’ Initiative
Last December, we agreed to the broadcasters’ request to seek review of their claims by the United States Supreme Court. We made that decision...
Blogs
CU: Time Warner Cable/Comcast Merger Bad For Consumers
Consumers stand to lose out if Comcast and Time Warner Cable are allowed to merge, according to Consumers Union, the policy and advocacy division...
Blogs
The First One Now Could Later Be Last
It is only a matter of time and success rate before competitors re-engineer the functionality of your new product or service, and bring to...
Blogs
Outboarding Hurts All Of Us
I have been involved with the consumer electronics (CE) industry most of my life. Like many of you, I eat, sleep, and drink consumer...
Blogs
How A Small Company Can Get Big Results In D.C.
My introduction to the Consumer Electronics Association (CEA) was through the International CES, which, for many in the tech industry, serves as a yearly...
Blogs
Setting The Record Straight On UHD
On behalf of the manufacturers, retailers and content developers who are members of the Consumer Electronics Association (CEA), we want to set the record...
Blogs
Consumer Electronics And The “Always-On Consumer”
Consulting firm Vivaldi Partners recently released a study of the many behaviors of a group they call the “always-on consumer” (or AOC). This study...
Blogs
Will Bricking Smartphones Thwart Theft?
According to industry analyst Gartner, 435 million smartphones were sold worldwide in the second quarter of 2013 alone. Smartphone theft is also on the...
Blogs
‘Share Doesn’t Pay The Bills. Profits Do!’
Whenever my appendages hit the keyboard, this philosophical entity invades my body and out spews idyllic ideas. I’m thinking about manufacturers caught in this...
Blogs
It’s a Sad Day for the PC Industry
Sony announced today that it is shutting down its worldwide PC business and selling it off to a Japanese investment firm that will maintain...
Blogs
TV Tip overs – The Emerging Threat
Nothing enhances your entertainment experience like a huge new flat-panel TV. The larger sizes are definitely a selling point, but this could also be...
Blogs
Don’t Give Up The Ship When Out Of Work
I saw the best minds of my generation … unemployed in masses. Unexpected unemployment is plaguing our industry at unprecedented levels. What was once...