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Lessons from the Kalahari

Switching it all off is more difficult than most of us think!

In planning my trip to the Kalahari in South Africa, I was looking forward to having time to focus on photography. I had anticipated time away, but periodically checking in. I planned on emailing some photos back home. What I was not prepared for was literally being completely cut off and unplugged. It's hard to imagine in this day and age that there are still some towns without internet! And in the Kalahari, you can go many miles and even days without any cell phone service. We don't realize how addicted we have become to being "connected". Maybe we all need to schedule a week a year when we can completely unplug and cleanse our soul. It's amazing what you can discover when you aren't staring down at your smartphone.

Why this is important: "Modern" society comes with many conveniences, especially technology. The question for all of us is whether technology empowers us, or enslaves in ways we don't even realize.

7 Critical things retailers must learn from hotels to survive

Hotels win loyal guests while retailers still try to sell shoppers

Image Credit: Stock Images; Freedigitalphotos.net

While I have traveled internationally for many years, working in foreign countries can be a logistical challenge. And, there is nothing worse than getting sick while working halfway around the world. When I came down with pneumonia last week in India, I encountered the most amazing "knock your socks off" service experience in my career. Through this amazing experience at the ITC Gardenia, I rediscovered why hotels are premier examples of how great customer experiences earn loyal guests for life. In contrast, most retailers are still trying to sell something to strangers who wander in. Retailers need to take a long hard look at guests vs. customers, and discover why they need a Guest Relations Executive on senior staff.

Why this is important: Retailers are so desperate for sales they will do almost anything to sell you something. They could learn a great deal from the great hotels, who focus on the outstanding experience that wins guest loyalty and business for life.

CONTEXT – Partner Needs and Opportunities for Omnichannel

Observations and sound bites from the Melco Forum in Spain

Image Credit: Renjith Krishnan

I was invited by CONTEXT to speak at the Melco Forum in Valencia, Spain last week. Melco Forum proved to be a unique event where vendors and retailers came together in an intimate gathering, to discuss common issues and identify mutual opportunities (#newretailthinking). All too often, vendors of consumer products and retailers are seen as adversaries, or at least as aggressive negotiators. However, in a world where omnichannel is the new normal, there are new opportunities and increasing demands for vendor/retailer partnership. The Melco Forum is a snapshot of the kind of emerging dialog and exchange that will be required for both retailers and vendors to be profitable in an omnichannel world.

Why this is important: Strength or size in the current market does not ensure future success. Future survival will depend upon partners' ability to adapt and collaborate to rapidly changing consumers who shop many channels, any time, everywhere.

Tencent is a case study for the future of retail worldwide

Was Zuckerberg crazy buying WhatsApp for $19B? Crazy like a fox!

We have posted recently about the Chinese holding company Alibaba, who will soon surpass Amazon in size. But, my real story coming out of China last week is the emergence of a whole new kind of internet company. Zuckerberg grabbed the US headlines with his "outrageous" $19 Billion purchase of WhatsApp. Very few had previously heard of WhatsApp. Even fewer know of the new "beast of the east" simply called 0.1 or Tencent. Tencent is a new model that might best be described as a FB+Twit+Tmall+Goog+Paypal conglomerate touching all consumer experience in a mobile world. Zuckerberg may still be a wunderkind.

Why this is important: Mobile devices are rapidly replacing PCs for email, search and purchase. Creating the "stickiest" preferred mobile relationships means that holding company can make money in many ways beyond just selling products at lowest prices.

Hyped for Halftime – Apparently some stop in Flyover Country

Always great to get stories and feedback from our loyal readers

A week ago, we posted a story about "Flyover Country" and my home state of Nebraska. Like many parts of the world, Nebraska is filled with many small villages. Despite how movies portray these small towns, "salt of the earth" type people live here. And, they do know how to have a good time, as you will see in the video below.

Breaking away …

What happens when you leave it all behind and see through other eyes

I'm not real sure that people in the United States really go on vacation anymore. Yes we take "holidays", and even plan some extended trips away from home. But, even when we travel, "it" is always there. "IT" is in fact there throughout most of the world today. It can be virtually impossible to truly break away to free one's mind and live in the moment. If you haven't guessed by now "it" is the internet, with all its blessings and curses of email, Facebook, and instant access. Where can you go to truly break away in this connected world?

Consumers are Rewriting the Rules of Retail in China

In a country that measures time in centuries, retail is changing overnight

Time flies when you are having fun! I couldn't believe that it had been 4 years since I had last visited China. I was intrigued with what I would find in 2013 as I returned to teach a Retail University course. It turned out to be a case of where the professor learned as much as the students. I was simply astounded at the changes in China's retailing that had taken place in just a few years. As in most of the world, it is the consumers and their behaviors that are literally changing the face and fabric of retail in China.

What a wonderful world … full of amazing people … like you

Still an amazing place if you stop talking … look, listen and appreciate

Its year end, so do you write a blog in the last week, or not? It is extremely tempting to skip writing a blog, since everyone will be offline, or at least taking a mental break the last week of the year. Pardon me for being nostalgic, but I just don't have another measurement or retail blog in me at this year's end. Life's spice is to experience our world through the eyes and customs of others.

India – A land of diversity in culture and retailing

Will deregulation change the face of India's retail?

Image Creator: Smarnad; Freedigitalphotos.net

My last stop on my 2012 worldwide tour of retail was Delhi, India this past week. The diverse culture heritage of India's past is reflected in its cities and markets today. This diversity is reflected in everything from food to retailing. Now that India's Parliament voted to allow entry of foreign Big Box retailers, will the 11+ million small shops survive the onslaught of the "whales of retail" … aka Walmart, Tesco and others?

Hitting the pause button … every blogger needs time off!

A photo report from the field while searching for "balance" on safari

I've been writing this weekly blog for well over 260 consecutive weeks. That's over 5 years of staring at a blank screen trying to find a compelling headline and something to say. Do bloggers ever get a week off? Do they need one … YES!

After my around the world tour of retail, I had the opportunity to get back on another plane and go on safari in one of my favorite places on this planet – Africa! I can't begin to describe the utter joy to visit a lodge in the bush veldt which had absolutely NO INTERNET! Oh what a relief it is not to be "always on" and reachable by email or cell phone. And, what a perfect excuse not to write a blog for the week!