While LED lighting has helped many businesses reduce their carbon footprint, each retailer must decide if the endeavor is a worthy long-term investment. By Pat Pape, Contributing Editor. During holiday season 2011, the 74-foot Norway spruce in New York City’s Rockefeller Center was covered in 30,000 multicolored light-emitting diodes (LED). Those glowing decorations were an…
CITGO Introduces Loyalty Bucks Program
Partnering with Exclusive Connection$, CITGO looks to make the loyalty experience streamlined and easy. CITGO Petroleum Corp. knows that when it comes to its network of approximately 6,000 locally owned locations, a “one-size-fits-all” is not always the most effective approach for its brand programs. That is why the company developed its new CITGO Loyalty Bucks…
PeopleMatter Secures $14 Million Financing
Focus on hourly workers in $2.5B market sets software company apart. PeopleMatter, provider of a talent management solution (TMS) specifically designed for hourly workforces in the service industry, announced today a $14-million Series C round of venture funding led by Morgenthaler Ventures. This financing will continue to accelerate PeopleMatter’s product-innovation and customer-acquisition strategies. Existing investors…
The Evolution of Cash Management
Smart safes are getting smarter and so are the convenience store operators who use them. By Howard Riell, Associate Editor It’s all about the money, so handle it intelligently. Having a smart safe—and training employees to use it effectively—relieves a lot of the traditional headaches associated with handling cash, according to Los Angeles-based retail security…
Drew Arberg Joins NACS
Arberg appointed new data integrity coordinator. Drew Arberg has joined NACS as its data integrity coordinator. Most recently, Arberg worked as a research assistant for the Charleston School of Law’s Career Services Department. He graduated from the College of Charleston with a B.A. in political science in 2009. Arberg is a resident of Reston, Va.
Shell Launches iPad App
New app showcases “some of the amazing means we use to produce energy, deliver it to local communities and help people use it more efficiently,” says Shell spokesperson. Shell has launched a free iPad application called INSIDE ENERGY to highlight the vital role innovation and technology play in delivering energy to power people’s lives. A campaign…
Mac’s Rolls Out iSIGN Antennas
Mac’s uses iSIGN technology to gauge message effectiveness and drive ROI. Mac’s Convenience Stores Inc. has expanded its partnership with iSIGN Media Solutions Inc., a provider of interactive mobile advertising solutions, to install iSIGN antennas is approximately 900 additional locations. iSIGN IMS systems are already in place at approximately 500 Mac’s outlets, and mobile interactions…
Will EMV be DOA?
Visa is encouraging retailers to move toward the EMV technology seen in Europe, but some argue by the time it’s implemented in the U.S., the technology will be outdated. By Erin Rigik, Associate Editor. Visa this fall announced plans to speed up the migration to contact chip and contactless EMV chip credit card technology in…
Rutter’s Wins Top Mobile App at NRF
Blackberry, iPhone and Android users can access the Rutter’s mobile app for information on gas prices and more. Rutter’s mobile app was named the Best Mobile Application at the recent Customer Engagement Awards held during the National Retail Federation’s (NRF) annual convention in New York City. “It is great to have our innovation being recognized…
NACStech Opening Session Speaker Announced
Registration is now open for NACStech 2012. Social media guru Paul Ollinger has been announced as the opening general session speaker for NACStech, which will take place May 21-23, 2012, at the Gaylord Opryland Resort in Nashville, Tenn. Registration opened on Jan. 17 for NACStech, the industry’s most comprehensive event for top retail and supplier…