Attracting and engaging current and prospective customers, communication is key. 69% of consumers worldwide say email is their preferred communication channel when it comes to receiving messaging from brands, according to a June 2024 survey from Amarus. Consumers are more likely to join your list if they're offered some sort of incentive to do so, such as free shipping or loyalty points in exchange for signing up according to Wonder Kind.

The National Association for Business Resources, a service organization providing knowledge sources to business owners and honoring business excellence to foster a robust community of elite thinkers while delivering a diverse array of tools and resources to executive leadership nationwide. This is your chance to get your company leadership recognized by this prestigious award opportunity, and that isn't just for bragging rights. Awards like this can be used to showcase leadership and credibility which can lead to more trust. That leads to more sales. Go to nationalbusiness.org for more.

National Retail Federation: this early season shopping is happening because Halloween preparations is part of an entire season synonymous with all things Autumn and retailers are delivering. 72% of consumers are planning to celebrate Halloween this year, and they're planning to spend an average of $103 and 63 cents per person. That means total spending is projected to reach over $11.6 billion.

A new survey from Consumer World makes clear that consumers don't love dealing w/ or purchasing products behind locked displays. The loss associated w/ consumers foregoing buying products in lock displays costs merchants more than shoplifting does. Less than 1 in 3 shoppers, get a store employee to unlock the case. Consumers don't want to deal w/ the inconvenience of finding a store attendant to unlock the case, and they'd rather buy elsewhere instead.

What are small businesses doing to compete these days? They're ready to focus on offering discounts, sales, and various other promotions during this upcoming holiday season, and that results in slimmer margins and less profits. That is, even if you're able to make those sales and this all the while, having to fight harder and spend more to just make a buck.

With Amazon now leading the way to end its hybrid work policy. I believe we will now begin to see a real move in business to generally require a return to the traditional model of having our teams physically present.

TikTok has approximately 170 million active users on its platform. More than 7 million small businesses use TikTok in the US and generates $14.7 billion for small businesses. TikTok supported 224,000 US jobs and contribute around $8.5 billion to the US GDP.

Convenience stores are having a moment as business is booming for that category. A category once known as a place to simply grab a soda or a snack, now starting to play a more prominent role in the retail landscape. As brands start to offer more products, services, and dining options, we expect that number to grow and this category to see continued growth.

Brand loyalty can be a holy grail asset for businesses since it so critically leads to capturing attention. That leads to engagement, which of course, tees your business up for potential sales to a customer for which you did not need to pay again to acquire.

YouTube has now surpassed 10% of the total TV content usage in a given month, July 2024, making YouTube the top provider for all TV viewing. Businesses need to be online these days and be thinking about ways to have a presence on YouTube and other streaming providers as they continue to capture viewership, particularly among younger generations.