Where in the World is The Cultural Traveler?
from MSA
Response to the 2009 edition of The Cultural Traveler guidebook has been very positive at major travel events both in the United States and globally. Take a look at some photos of where The Cultural Traveler has been distributed in the past several months. More

MSA Mid-Atlantic and North Atlantic Chapters Are Ready for Their Fall Meetings
from MSA
Detailed meeting information with complete agendas for MSA's Mid-Atlantic and North Atlantic Chapters has been posted to the MSA Web site. Choose your chapter from the pull-down menu to download the registration form and start making plans to see your local colleagues. More

Two New Positions Posted to MSA's Job Source
from MSA
Two new positions have been posted to Job Source, MSA's online resource for the most up-to-date job listings in the cultural commerce industry. More

Apple Preps iPhone Face Recognition
from The Register
The US Patent and Trademark Office recently published 33 new Apple patent applications. The object-identification filing describes a system in which a handheld's camera captures an image of an object either in visual light or infrared, then compares that image with information stored over a network. Apple uses a museum visit to illustrate the utility of this technology: You could simply point your iPhone at a work of art and quickly be presented with info about its artist, genre, provenance, and the availability of T-shirts featuring that work in the museum store. More

Six New Strategies for Mobile Commerce Aim to Drive Sales, Loyalty and Intelligence
from Retail Touch Points
While mobile marketing has been established as a new way to advertise and engage consumers, the ability to purchase on the mobile phone is offering consumers a new channel on which to shop. The emergence of iPhone applications and mobile-configured Web sites are bringing convenience and usability to consumers on the go. More

Google Gadget Helps Customers Find You in Real Life
from Small Business Trends
Everyone loves useful gadgets and Google has just come out with yet another one. Meet the Google Maps driving directions gadget that makes it easy for customers to get directions to your brick and mortar store. More

How to Build Super-Profitable Multiple-Purchase Programs
from OneCoast
One simple way to increase the number of times a customer buys from you during the year is to create "multiple-purchase programs". These programs generate more income and even better, predictable recurring income. More

The Elements of a Great Shopping Experience
from Forbes
New Wharton research finds that 35 percent of shoppers have had an extraordinary retail experience in the past six months. But in order to hit that mark, retailers must deliver on as many as 10 different elements of the shopping experience simultaneously. Retailers are rewarded when shoppers tell others about their experience. More

August and September: Great Months to Host a Fabulous Event
from OneCoast
It is time to start planning and communicating your events for August and September. Lynni Megginson puts together some terrific suggestions for early fall events which will bring in your customers. There is still plenty of time. More

Wisdom of the Crowd
from One Coast
Not only do consumers talk amongst themselves about which businesses they like and which they don’t, but nowadays, more customers are sharing those thoughts, whether good or bad, with thousands of others by posting comments on Web sites, writing about experiences on blogs and using other means of electronic feedback. More

CRM Author Points to Three Key Tenets for Retailers to Win the Customer Race
from Retail Touch Points
Rich Hanks never set out to be a business author, guru or academic superstar. As chairman and president of automated feedback solution provider mindshare he simply wanted to publish a book that contained usable information for executives struggling with the practical applications of customer service and how that service hits or misses with customers. More

Crank Up Your Customers' Confidence
from Entrepreneur
For small businesses that sell online, the importance of protecting customer data is a given. Unfortunately, the best security and privacy practices in the world are useless unless you first secure the customer's trust--no easy task in today's world. Here, several industry professionals explain how to present your small business site as safe and reputable. More

To Beat the Recession, Open Your Books
from Business Week
Most entrepreneurs keep the inner workings of company finances hidden from employees, especially when their businesses are struggling. But some executives have embraced open book management, an approach based on transparency and accountability. They train their employees to understand key financial measurements and show workers how their actions affect profits. More

Credit Fee Probe Needed
from Hartford Courant
Recent credit card legislation curtailed some of the industry's flagrant anti-consumer activities — but more needs to be done. One pressing item is the amount of money that credit card companies charge merchants. This little-known "interchange fee" or "swipe fee" can amount to 2 percent or more on each transaction. More

Consumer Cost Cutting Nets Compounded Savings
from the Dallas Examiner
Consumers are shopping the generic brand shelf, brown-bagging it at lunch time and otherwise finding ways to save money during the great recession. Apparently, the bad economy is forcing consumers to do something they should always do, but don't during good times -- save money by spending wisely on needs, not wants. More

Ten Great Things to Do in Airports
from Financial Post
You have some time at the airport. You say, "There's nothing to do." Well, you could take a short walk to a quiet office cubicle with high-speed internet, or a day spa offering a wide range of massage options or a relaxing set of rocking chairs for curling up with a good book, or even a permanent exhibit of Zimbabwean sculpture. More

Marketers Weave Web of Loyalty
from DM News
Many multichannel merchants are investing in the e-commerce customer experience as a way to drive results even as economic pressures force them to cutback in other areas. These retailers are also delving further into the connection between online customer experience and customer loyalty. More

Surveys Show Retail Theft Increasing
from STORES Magazine
Preliminary results of the National Retail Security Survey show an increase in the rate of retail theft for the first time in six years. Retail theft -- a catch-all term that includes shoplifting, employee theft, administrative error and vendor fraud -- averaged 1.52 percent of retail sales in 2008, which translates into losses of $36.5 billion. That's up from 1.44 percent in 2007 ($34.8 billion). More

Scents and Sellability
from STORES Magazine
Smell is a powerful sense credited with triggering emotional responses, even improving moods. It's no wonder, then, that a growing number of retailers are targeting the nose when it comes to reinforcing branding and enhancing the overall shopping experience. More

Is the Worst Over? Most Economists say Yes
from NPR
At the beginning of 2009, many Americans feared an economic depression was at hand. In January alone, U.S. employers slashed nearly three-quarters of a million jobs. Now, as the year's second half begins, most economists are saying the worst of the recession is over, and that slow growth will begin in the fall. More

Give 'Em Hill: Ankh if You Love Tut
from Mercury News
Any day is a good day when you come home with a rubber duckie. Especially a rubber duckie dressed up like an ancient Egyptian mummified rubber duckie with beady little eyes that I swear were looking the other direction a minute ago. Said duck is the evidence of my recent visit to the King Tut exhibit at the de Young Museum in San Francisco. More

What Makes the Arts 'Essential'? Let Me Draw You a Picture
from Los Angeles Times
Ben Donenberg recently sent an article to a local philanthropic leader about the importance of helping arts organizations during the recession. He thought he might draw inspiration from it, but that was too optimistic. "I don't need inspiration," he quickly replied. "We aren't supporting the arts; we're supporting essentials." I know times are tough and charities have a lot of demands. But I would argue that the arts are essential -- and they are under threat. More

OCMA's Quiet Sale of 18 Paintings Raises Hackles
from the Los Angeles Times
The Orange County Museum of Art was tooling along, a sporty little contender in the contemporary art world, its reputation sparkling from the good reviews its exhibitions consistently have earned in Southern California and across the nation. Then, suddenly, it got splashed with grime. At least that's how some critics see it, although museum director Dennis Szakacs insists there was nothing blameworthy in OCMA's sale of 18 California Impressionist paintings from the early 1900s. More