Green business practices are more available to independent retailers than ever, providing new opportunities to build value. Decreasing material consumption is good for its own sake and many customers like to see businesses acting responsibly.

On top of that, reducing waste also cuts operating costs, which increases bottom line profit. For small businesses, this method to improve experiences, operations, and finances is too important to ignore.

This week's trend report highlights current practices and tools that you can use to optimize customer experience, grow profits, and strengthen brand equity.

Trend report topics:

• Reusing materials in store planning and for store fixtures
• Types of modern store fixtures worth investing in
• Cloud based applications that can help you streamline your business
• Optimizing your point of sale technology to fully leverage its benefits
• Educating customers about e-receipts and bagless cash wrap transactions
• Reconsidering packaging for online orders

For more information on this and related retail trends visit MerchantMethod.com.