Highlights from @MSRETAIL

Some of the trends that we have noticed in the retail industry:

1. Checkins to boost Foot Traffic and Customer Engagement:

Sports Authority Check-In Promo Boosts Foot Traffic, Customer Engagement https://bit.ly/gmYgNX

Social Point of Sale: The Holy Grail for Location-Based Marketers https://t.co/jz3QHpX

2. Mobile rapidly gaining importance in retail:

Mobile and Wireless Update: Predictions for 2011 https://bit.ly/h2r2e5

2-D bar codes give consumers access to a bounty of information https://bit.ly/gtpsrW ..create 2D codes for #free https://bit.ly/gTwH4O

Best Buy Unit Helps to Raise Productivity by Using Knowledge Base with Mobile Access https://bit.ly/c4RdbQ

Home Depot's $64 Million Mobile Investment Rolls Out to 1,970 Stores https://bit.ly/dPLm1y

Surprised? Not us. Shoppers would rather use smartphones than consult store associates, survey finds https://bit.ly/hmSGzi #retail

Five Reasons Retailers Need to be Mobile for the Holidays https://bit.ly/g7o4hT meet reason #6 https://bit.ly/axLuuA

10 groundbreaking retailers show what’s possible in the rapidly emerging arena of mobile commerce https://bit.ly/hNue4K

3. Growth of online vs same-store sales:

Interesting retail trend: Talbots E-commerce grew year over year 20.6% while same-store sales fell 7.1% https://bit.ly/i9ZWnC

ComScore reports online holiday spending surpasses $17.5 billion https://bit.ly/eZEcUL ..a 12% increase

4. Retailers integrating Social Media and Personalization to their online sites:

Lowes.com will become more personal and social in 2011 https://bit.ly/gXu5lZ

HomeDepot.com adds the personal touch https://bit.ly/hrVYsq

Trendspotting: 11 retailers who do social media right https://bit.ly/fKu7Tm

How the Fortune 500 Use Social Media to Grow Sales and Revenue https://on.mash.to/hqytC3

Old Navy turns to social gaming to build buzz for holiday sales https://bit.ly/firJNh

Bing Feature Update: Shop, compare and share on Facebook with new Bing shopping features https://bit.ly/elbHy8

5. Social Buying:

Amazon invests $175 million in Groupon rival LivingSocial https://bit.ly/hYlqJW #retail

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